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Emmett Till - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 '' August 28, 1955) was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois, visiting his relatives in Money, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region, when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store there. Several nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam arrived at Till's great-uncle's house where they took Till, transported him to a barn, beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River, weighting it with a 70-pound (32 kg) cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. His body was discovered and retrieved from the river three days later.
  Till was returned to Chicago and his mother, who had raised him mostly by herself, insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to show the world the brutality of the killing. Tens of thousands attended his funeral or viewed his casket and images of his mutilated body were published in black magazines and newspapers, rallying popular black support and white sympathy across the U.S. Intense scrutiny was brought to bear on the condition of black civil rights in Mississippi, with newspapers around the country critical of the state. Although initially local newspapers and law enforcement officials decried the violence against Till and called for justice, they soon began responding to national criticism by defending Mississippians, which eventually transformed into support for the killers.
  The trial attracted a vast amount of press attention. Bryant and Milam were acquitted of Till's kidnapping and murder, but only months later, in a magazine interview, protected against double jeopardy, they admitted to killing him. Till's murder is noted as a pivotal event motivating the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
  Problems identifying Till affected the trial, partially leading to Bryant's and Milam's acquittals, and the case was officially reopened by the United States Department of Justice in 2004. As part of the investigation, the body was exhumed and autopsied resulting in a positive identification. He was reburied in a new casket, which is the standard practice in cases of body exhumation. His original casket was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. Events surrounding Emmett Till's life and death, according to historians, continue to resonate, and almost every story about Mississippi returns to Till, or the region in which he died, in "some spiritual, homing way".[2]
  Early childhoodEmmett Till was the son of Mamie Carthan (1921''2003) and Louis Till (1922''1945). Emmett's mother was born in the small Delta town of Webb, Mississippi. The Delta region encompasses the area of northwestern Mississippi in the watershed of the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers. When Mamie Carthan was two years old, her family moved to Argo, Illinois, as part of the general migration of black families to the North to escape lack of opportunity and unequal treatment under the law.[3] Argo received so many Southern migrants it was named "Little Mississippi"; Carthan's mother's home was often used as a way-station for people who had just moved from the South as they were trying to find jobs and homes. Mississippi was the poorest state in the U.S. in the 1950s, and the Delta counties were some of the poorest in Mississippi.[4] In Tallahatchie County, where Mamie Carthan was born, the average income per household in 1949 was $690 ($6,324 in 2010 dollars); for black families it was $462 ($4,234 in 2010 dollars).[5] Economic opportunities for blacks were almost nonexistent. Most of them were sharecroppers who lived on land owned by whites. Blacks were not allowed to vote and they had very few legal rights.
  Till was born in Chicago and nicknamed "Bobo" as an infant by a family friend. Emmett's mother largely raised him with her mother; she and Louis Till separated in 1942 after she found out he had been unfaithful, and later choked her to unconsciousness, to which she responded by throwing scalding water at him.[6] For violating court orders to stay away from Mamie, Emmett's father was forced by a judge to choose between jail or enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1943,[7] and died in 1945. When he was six years old Emmett contracted polio, leaving him with a persistent stutter.[8] Mamie and Emmett moved to Detroit where she met and married "Pink" Bradley in 1951. Emmett preferred to live in Chicago, so he relocated to live with his grandmother; his mother rejoined him with his stepfather later that year. The marriage dissolved in 1952, however, and Pink Bradley returned to Detroit.[9]
  Mamie Till Bradley and Emmett lived alone together in a busy neighborhood in Chicago's South Side with extended relatives close by. She began working as a civilian clerk for the U.S. Air Force for a better salary, and recalled that Emmett was industrious enough to help with chores at home, although he sometimes got distracted. His mother remembered that he did not know his own limitations at times. Following their separation, Pink Bradley paid her a visit and began threatening her. At eleven years old, Emmett, with a butcher knife in hand, told Pink he would kill him if he did not leave.[10] Usually, however, Emmett was happy. He and his cousins and friends pulled pranks on each other (Emmett once took advantage of an extended car ride when his friend fell asleep and placed the friend's underwear on his head) and spent their free time in pickup baseball games. He was a natty dresser and often the center of attention around his peers.[11]
  In 1955, Emmett was stocky and muscular, weighing about 150 pounds (68 kg) and standing 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m). Despite his age at 14 years old, whites in Mississippi claimed he looked like an adult.[12] Mamie Till Bradley's uncle, 64-year-old Mose Wright, visited them in Chicago during the summer and told Emmett stories about living in the Mississippi Delta. Emmett wanted to see for himself. Bradley was ready for a vacation and planned to take Emmett with her, but after he begged her to visit Wright, she relented. Wright planned to accompany Till with a cousin, Wheeler Parker, and another, Curtis Jones, would join them soon. Wright was a sharecropper and part-time minister who was often called "Preacher".[13] He lived in Money, Mississippi, another small town in the Delta that consisted of three stores, a school, a post office, a cotton gin, and a couple hundred residents, 8 miles (13 km) north of Greenwood. Before his departure for the Delta, Till's mother cautioned him that Chicago and Mississippi were two different worlds and he should know how to behave in front of whites in the South.[14] He assured her he understood.[15]
  Since 1882, when statistics on lynchings began to be collected, more than 500 African-Americans had been killed by extrajudicial violence in Mississippi alone.[16] The majority of the incidents took place between 1876 and 1930; though far less common by the mid-1950s, these racially motivated murders still occurred. Throughout the South a severely divided racial caste system was predicated upon avoiding interracial relationships. Although this occurred, particularly among white men and black women, the protection of white women from black men was the hinge upon which the caste system functioned, and although it rarely happened, even the suggestion of sexual contact between black men and white women carried the most severe penalties for black men. A resurgence of the enforcement of these mores was evident following World War II.[17] Racial tensions were furthermore on the rise after the United States Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education to end segregation in public education. Many segregationists viewed the ruling as an avenue to allow interracial marriage. The reaction among whites in the South was to constrain blacks forcefully from any semblance of social equality.[18] A week before Till arrived, a black man named Lamar Smith was shot in front of the county courthouse in Brookhaven for political organizing. Three men were arrested, but were acquitted.[19]
  Encounter between Till and Carolyn BryantTill arrived in Money, Mississippi on August 21, 1955. On August 24, he and cousin Curtis Jones skipped church where Wright was preaching, joining some local boys as they went to Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market to buy candy. The teenagers were children of sharecroppers and had been picking cotton all day. The market was owned by a white couple, 24-year-old Roy Bryant and his wife Carolyn, and mostly catered to the local sharecropper population. Carolyn was alone in the store that day; her sister-in-law was in the rear of the store watching children. Jones left Till with the other boys while Jones played checkers across the street. According to Jones, the other boys reported that Till had a photograph of an integrated class at the school he attended in Chicago,[note 1] and Till bragged to the boys that the white children in the picture were his friends. He pointed to a white girl in the picture, or referred to a picture of a white girl that had come with his new wallet,[20] and stated that she was his girlfriend. One or more of the local boys dared Till to speak to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant.[21]
  The facts of what transpired in the store are still disputed but according to several versions Till may have wolf-whistled at Bryant.[22] A newspaper account following his disappearance stated that Till sometimes whistled to alleviate his stuttering.[23] His speech was sometimes unclear; his mother said he had particular difficulty with pronouncing "b" sounds, and may have whistled to overcome problems asking for bubble gum.[24] According to other stories, Till may have grabbed Carolyn Bryant's hand and asked her for a date, or said "Bye, baby" as he left the store,[12] or "You needn't be afraid of me, baby, I've been with white women before."[25] Carolyn Bryant later asserted that Till had grabbed her at the waist and asked her for a date. She said the young man also used "unprintable" words.[26]
  In any event, Carolyn Bryant was so alarmed she ran outside to a car to retrieve a pistol from under the seat. Upon seeing her do this, the teenagers left immediately.[25] One of the other boys ran across the street to tell Curtis Jones what happened. When the older man, with whom Jones was playing checkers, heard the story, he urged the boys to leave quickly, fearing violence. Carolyn Bryant told others of the events at the store, and the story spread quickly. Jones and Till declined to tell Mose Wright, fearing they would get in trouble.[27] Till expressed a desire to return home to Chicago. Roy Bryant was on an extended trip hauling shrimp to Texas and did not return home until August 27.[28]
  MurderWhen Roy Bryant was told of what had transpired, he aggressively questioned several young black men who entered the store. That evening, Bryant, with a black man named J. W. Washington, approached a young black man walking along a road. Bryant ordered Washington to seize the young man, put him in the back of his pickup truck, and took him to be identified by an as-yet unnamed companion of Carolyn's who had witnessed the episode with Till. Friends or parents vouched for the young men in Bryant's store, and Carolyn's companion denied that the young man Bryant and Washington seized was the one who had accosted her. Somehow, however, Bryant learned that the young man who had done it was from Chicago and was staying with Mose Wright.[note 2] Several witnesses overheard Bryant and his 36-year-old half-brother John William "J. W." Milam discussing taking Till from his house.[29]
  In the early morning hours'--between 2:00 am and 3:30 am'--on Sunday, August 28, 1955, Roy Bryant, Milam, and another man (who may have been black) drove to Mose Wright's house. Milam was armed with a pistol and a flashlight. He asked Wright if he had three boys in the house from Chicago. Till shared a bed with another cousin; there were eight people in the small two-bedroom cabin. Milam asked Wright to take them to "the nigger who did the talking". When they asked Till if it was him, he replied, "Yeah", for which they threatened to shoot him and told him to get dressed.[12][30] The men threatened to kill Wright if he reported what he had seen. Till's great-aunt offered the men money, but they did not respond. They put Till in the back of a pickup truck and drove to a barn at the Clint Shurden Plantation in Drew. Till was pistol-whipped and placed in the bed of the pickup truck again and covered with a tarpaulin. Throughout the course of the night, Bryant, Milam, and witnesses recall them being in several locations with Till. According to some witnesses, they took Till to a shed behind Milam's home in the nearby town of Glendora where they beat him again and tried to decide what to do. Witnesses recall between two and four white men and two and four black men who were either in or surrounding the pickup truck where Till was seated. Others passed by Milam's shed to the sounds of someone being beaten. Accounts differ as to when Till was shot; either in Milam's shed or by the Tallahatchie River. He was driven to Bryant's store where several people noticed blood pooling in the truck bed. Bryant explained he killed a deer, and in one instance showed the body to a black man who questioned him, saying "that's what happens to smart niggers".[31]
  Well, what else could we do? He was hopeless. I'm no bully; I never hurt a nigger in my life. I like niggers'--in their place'--I know how to work 'em. But I just decided it was time a few people got put on notice. As long as I live and can do anything about it, niggers are gonna stay in their place. Niggers ain't gonna vote where I live. If they did, they'd control the government. They ain't gonna go to school with my kids. And when a nigger gets close to mentioning sex with a white woman, he's tired o' livin'. I'm likely to kill him. Me and my folks fought for this country, and we got some rights. I stood there in that shed and listened to that nigger throw that poison at me, and I just made up my mind. 'Chicago boy,' I said, 'I'm tired of 'em sending your kind down here to stir up trouble. Goddam you, I'm going to make an example of you'--just so everybody can know how me and my folks stand.'
  J. W. Milam, Look magazine, 1956[12]In an interview with William Bradford Huie in Look magazine in 1956, Bryant and Milam stated that their intention was to beat Till and throw him off an embankment into the river to frighten him. They told Huie that while they were beating Till, however, he called them bastards, declared he was as good as they, and in the past had sexual encounters with white women. They then put Till in the back of their truck, drove to a cotton gin to take a 70-pound (32 kg) fan'--the only time they admitted to being worried, thinking that by this time in early daylight they would be spotted and accused of stealing'--and drove for several miles along the river looking for a place to dispose of Till. They shot him by the river and weighted his body with the fan.[12][note 3]
  Mose Wright stayed on his front porch for twenty minutes waiting for Till to return. He did not go back to bed. He and another man went into Money, got gasoline, and drove around trying to find Till. Unsuccessful, they returned home by 8:00 am.[32] After hearing from Wright that he would not call the police because he feared for his life, Curtis Jones placed a call to the Leflore County sheriff and another to his mother in Chicago, who, hysterical, called Mamie Till Bradley.[33] Wright and his wife also drove to Sumner, where Elizabeth Wright's brother contacted the sheriff.[34]
  Bryant and Milam were questioned by Leflore County Sheriff George Smith. They admitted they had taken the boy from his great-uncle's yard but claimed they had released him the same night in front of Bryant's store. Bryant and Milam were arrested for kidnapping.[35] Word got out that Till was missing, and soon Mississippi state field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Medgar Evers, and Amzie Moore, head of the Bolivar County chapter, became involved, disguising themselves as cotton pickers and going into the cotton fields in search of any information that might help find Till.[36]
  Three days after his abduction, Till's swollen and disfigured body was found by two boys fishing in the Tallahatchie River. His head was very badly damaged. He had been shot above the right ear, an eye was dislodged from the socket, there was evidence that he had been beaten on the back and the hips, and his body weighted to the fan blade, which was fastened around his neck with barbed wire. He was nude, but wearing a silver ring with the initials "L. T." and "May 25, 1943" carved in it.[37][note 4]
  Confusion about Till's whereabouts and a positive identification of the body retrieved from the river compounded issues in the case that eventually influenced the trial. Hodding Carter in the Delta Democrat-Times, a local Mississippi newspaper, reported that Till may have been hidden by his relatives or perhaps returned to Chicago for his safety.[38] The body's face was unrecognizable due to trauma and the result of being submerged in water. Mose Wright was called to the river and identified Till. The silver ring Till wore was removed and returned to Wright, and further passed to the district attorney. Stories from witnesses, both black and white, conflict about whether the ring was on Till's body and who knew he had worn it previously.[39]
  Funeral and reactionAlthough racially motivated murders had occurred throughout the South for decades, the circumstances surrounding Emmett Till grew beyond the details of a 14-year-old boy who had unknowingly defied a severe social caste system. Till's murder brought considerations about segregation, law enforcement, relations between the North and South, the social status quo in Mississippi, the NAACP, White Citizens' Councils, and the Cold War, all of which were played out in a drama staged in newspapers all over the U.S. and abroad.[40] When Till went missing, a three-paragraph story was printed in the Greenwood Commonwealth and quickly picked up by other Mississippi newspapers. They reported on his death when the body was found, and the next day, when a picture of him his mother had taken the previous Christmas showing them smiling together appeared in the Jackson Daily News and Vicksburg Evening Post, editorials and letters to the editor were printed expressing shame at the people who had caused Till's death. One read "Now is the time for every citizen who loves the state of Mississippi to 'Stand up and be counted' before hoodlum white trash brings us to destruction." The letter went on to state that Negroes were not the downfall of Mississippi society, but whites like those in White Citizens' Councils that condoned violence.[41]
  Till's body was clothed, packed in lime, and put in a pine coffin and prepared for burial. It may have been embalmed while in Mississippi. Mamie Till Bradley demanded that the body be sent to Chicago; she later stated that she endeavored to halt an immediate burial in Mississippi and called several local and state authorities in Illinois and Mississippi to make sure that her son was returned to Chicago.[42] A doctor did not examine Till post-mortem.[43]
  Mississippi's governor, Hugh L. White, deplored the murder, asserting that local authorities should pursue a "vigorous prosecution". He sent a telegram to the national offices of the NAACP promising a full investigation and assuring them "Mississippi does not condone such conduct". Delta residents, both black and white, also distanced themselves from Till's murder, finding the circumstances abhorrent. Local newspaper editorials denounced the murderers without question.[25][44] Leflore County Deputy Sheriff John Cothran stated, "The white people around here feel pretty mad about the way that poor little boy was treated, and they won't stand for this."[45]
  Soon, however, discourse about Till's murder became more complex. Robert Patterson, executive secretary of the segregationist White Citizens' Council, lamented Till's death by reiterating that racial segregation policies were in force for blacks' safety and that their efforts were being neutralized by the NAACP. In response, NAACP executive secretary Roy Wilkins characterized the incident as a lynching and stated that Mississippi was attempting to maintain white supremacy through murder, and "there is in the entire state no restraining influence of decency, not in the state capital, among the daily newspapers, the clergy, nor any segment of the so-called better citizens".[46] Mamie Till Bradley told a reporter that she would seek legal aid to help law enforcement find her son's killers and that the State of Mississippi should share the financial responsibility. She was misquoted; it came out as "Mississippi is going to pay for this".[47]
  The A. A. Rayner Funeral Home in Chicago received Till's body, and upon arrival, Bradley insisted on viewing it to make a positive identification, later stating that the stench from it was noticeable two blocks away.[48] She decided to have an open casket funeral, saying "There was just no way I could describe what was in that box. No way. And I just wanted the world to see."[36] Tens of thousands of people lined the street outside the mortuary to view Till's body, and days later thousands more attended his funeral at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ. Photographs of his mutilated corpse circulated around the country, notably appearing in Jet magazine and The Chicago Defender, both black publications, and drew intense public reaction. According to The Nation and Newsweek, Chicago's black community was "aroused as it has not been over any similar act in recent history".[49][note 5] Till was buried September 6 in Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.
  News about Emmett Till spread to both coasts. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and Illinois Governor William Stratton also became involved, urging Governor White to see that justice be done. The tone in Mississippi newspapers changed dramatically. They falsely reported riots in the funeral home in Chicago. Bryant and Milam appeared in photos of them smiling in military uniforms[50] and Carolyn Bryant's beauty and virtue were extolled. Rumors of an invasion of outraged blacks and northern whites were printed throughout the state so that the Leflore County sheriff took them seriously. Local businessman, surgeon, and civil rights proponent T. R. M. Howard, one of the wealthiest blacks in the state, warned of a "second civil war" if "slaughtering of Negroes" was allowed.[51] Following Wilkins' comments, white opinion began to shift. According to historian Stephen Whitfield, a specific brand of xenophobia in the South was particularly strong in Mississippi, urging whites to reject the influence of Northern opinion and agitation.[52] This independent attitude was profound enough in Tallahatchie County that it earned the nickname "The Freestate of Tallahatchie", according to a former sheriff, "because people here do what they damn well please", making the county often difficult to govern.[53]
  Consequently, Tallahatchie County Sheriff Clarence Strider, who initially positively identified Till's body and stated that the case against Milam and Bryant was "pretty good", on September 3 announced his doubts that the body pulled from the Tallahatchie River was Till's, who, he speculated, was probably still alive. The body, according to Strider, was planted by the NAACP: a cadaver stolen by T. R. M. Howard, who colluded to place Till's ring on it.[54] Strider was motivated to change after the comments made in the press about the people of Mississippi, later saying, "The last thing I wanted to do was to defend those peckerwoods. But I just had no choice about it."[25][note 6]
  Bryant and Milam were indicted for murder, despite the reservations of the grand jury's prosecuting attorney, Hamilton Caldwell, who was not confident a conviction would ever be returned in a case of white violence against a black male accused of insulting a white woman. A local black paper was surprised at the indictment and praised the decision, as did the New York Times. The high profile comments made in Northern newspapers and by the NAACP concerned the prosecuting attorney, Gerald Chatham, who worried that they would not be able to secure a guilty verdict, even with the evidence they had. Initially, with limited funds, Bryant and Milam had difficulty finding attorneys to represent them, but five attorneys at a Sumner law firm offered their services pro bono.[52] Collection jars were placed in stores and other public places in the Delta, eventually gathering $10,000 for the defense.[55]
  TrialThe town of Sumner in Tallahatchie County served as the venue for the trial as the body had been found there. Sumner had only one boarding house and the small town was besieged by reporters from all over the country. David Halberstam called it "the first great media event of the civil rights movement".[56] A reporter who had covered the trials for Bruno Hauptmann and Machine Gun Kelly remarked that this was the most publicity for any trial he had ever seen.[25] No hotels were available for black visitors. Mamie Till Bradley arrived to testify and the trial also attracted black congressman Charles Diggs from Michigan. Bradley, Diggs, and several black reporters stayed at Howard's home in Mound Bayou, which, on a large lot surrounded by Howard's armed guards, resembled a compound. The day before the start of the trial, a young black man named Frank Young arrived to tell Howard he knew of two witnesses to the crime. Levi "Too Tight" Collins and Henry Lee Loggins were black employees of Leslie Milam, J. W.'s brother, in whose shed Till was beaten. Collins and Loggins were spotted with J. W. Milam, Bryant, and Till. The prosecution team was unaware of Collins and Loggins. Sheriff Strider, however, booked them into the Charleston, Mississippi jail to keep them from testifying.[57]
  The trial was held in September 1955, lasting for five days; and attendees remember the weather being very hot. The courtroom was filled to its 280-spectator capacity, and as a matter of course racially segregated.[58] Press from major national newspapers attended, including black publications; black reporters were made to sit segregated from the white press, farther from the jury. Sheriff Strider welcomed black spectators coming back from lunch with a cheerful, "Hello, Niggers!"[59] Some visitors from the North found the court to be run with surprising informality. Jury members were allowed to drink beer on duty and many white men in the audience wore handguns holstered to their belts.[60]
  The defense's primary strategy was arguing that the body pulled from the river could not be positively identified and they questioned whether Till was dead at all. The defense asserted that Bryant and Milam had taken Till, but had let him go. They furthermore attempted to prove that Mose Wright'--who was addressed as "Uncle Mose" by the prosecution and "Mose" by the defense'--could not identify Bryant and Milam as the men who took Till from his cabin. Only Milam's flashlight was in use, and no other lights in the house were turned on. Milam and Bryant identified themselves to Wright the evening they took Till'--the third man did not speak'--but Wright only saw Milam clearly. Wright's testimony was considered remarkably courageous and a first in the state for a black man implicating the guilt of a white man in court. Journalist James Hicks, who worked for the black news wire service National News Association, was present in the courtroom and was especially impressed that Wright stood to identify Milam, pointing to him and saying "Thar he" (There he is),[note 7] calling it a historic moment and one filled with "electricity".[63] A writer for the New York Post noted that following his identification Wright sat "with a lurch which told better than anything else the cost in strength to him of the thing he had done".[64] A reporter who covered the trial for the New Orleans Times-Picayune stated it was "the most dramatic thing I saw in my career".[65]
  Mamie Till Bradley testified that she instructed her son to watch his manners in Mississippi and that should a situation ever come to his being asked to get on his knees to ask forgiveness of a white person, he should do it without a thought. The defense questioned her identification of her son in the casket in Chicago and a $400 life insurance policy she had taken out on him.[66]
  While the trial progressed, Leflore County Sheriff George Smith, Howard, and several reporters, both black and white, attempted to locate Collins and Loggins. They could not, but found three witnesses who had seen Collins and Loggins with Milam and Bryant on Leslie Milam's property. Two of them testified that they heard someone being beaten, blows, and cries.[66] One testified so quietly the judge ordered him several times to speak louder, he heard the victim call out, "Mama, Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy."[67] Judge Curtis Swango allowed Carolyn Bryant to testify, but not in front of the jury, after the prosecution objected that her testimony was irrelevant to Till's abduction and murder. It may have been leaked in any case to the jury. Sheriff Strider testified for the defense his theory that Till was alive, the body retrieved from the river was white, and a doctor from Greenwood stated on the stand that the body was too decomposed to identify, and therefore had been in the water too long for it to be Till.[68]
  In the concluding statements, one prosecuting attorney admitted that what Till did was wrong, but it warranted a spanking, not murder. Gerald Chatham passionately called for justice and mocked the sheriff and doctor's statements that alluded to a conspiracy. Mamie Bradley indicated she was very impressed with his summation.[69] The defense stated that the prosecution's theory of the events the night Till was murdered were improbable, and said the jury's "forefathers would turn over in their graves" if they convicted Bryant and Milam. Only three outcomes were possible in Mississippi for capital murder: life imprisonment, the death penalty, or acquittal. On September 23 the jury acquitted both defendants after a 67-minute deliberation; one juror said, "If we hadn't stopped to drink pop, it wouldn't have taken that long."[70]
  In post-trial analyses, blame for the outcome varied. Mamie Till Bradley was criticized for not crying enough on the stand. The jury was noted to have been picked almost exclusively from the hill country section of Tallahatchie County, which, due to its poorer economic make-up, found whites and blacks competing for land and other agrarian opportunities. Unlike the population living closer to the river (and thus closer to Bryant and Milam in Leflore County) who possessed a noblesse oblige toward blacks according to historian Stephen Whitaker, those in the eastern part of the county were remarkably virulent in their racism. The prosecution was criticized for dismissing any potential juror who knew Milam or Bryant, for the fear that such a juror would vote to acquit. Afterward, Whitaker noted that this was a mistake as anyone who had personally known the defendants usually disliked them.[25][69] One juror voted twice to convict, but on the third discussion, acquiesced and voted with the rest of the jury to acquit.[71] In later interviews, the jurors acknowledged that they knew Bryant and Milam were guilty, but simply did not believe life imprisonment or the death penalty fit punishment for whites who had killed a black man.[72] This is somewhat disputed by later interviews with two jurors who stated as late as 2005 that they believed the defense's case, that the prosecution had not proven that Till had died and that it was his body that was removed from the river.[71]
  In November 1955 a grand jury declined to indict Bryant and Milam for kidnapping, despite the testimony given that they had admitted taking Till. Mose Wright and a young man named Willie Reed, who testified to seeing Milam enter the shed where screams and blows came from, both testified in front of the grand jury.[73] T. R. M. Howard paid to relocate Wright, Reed, and another black witness who testified against Milam and Bryant, to Chicago.[69]
  Media discourseReactions from newspapers in major international cities and Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and socialist publications were furious about the verdict and very critical of American society. Southern newspapers, particularly in Mississippi, wrote that the court system had done its job.[74] Till's story continued to make news for weeks following the trial, especially sparking debate between Southern, Northern, and black newspapers, the NAACP and various high-profile segregationists about justice for blacks and the propriety of Jim Crow society.
  In October 1955, the Jackson Daily News reported facts about Till's father that had been suppressed by the U.S. military. While serving in Italy, Louis Till raped two women and killed a third. He was court-martialed and hanged by the Army near Pisa in July 1945. Mamie Till Bradley and her family knew none of this, having only been told that Louis had been killed for "willful misconduct". Mississippi senators James Eastland and John C. Stennis probed Army records to uncover Louis Till's crimes. Although Emmett Till's murder trial was over, news about his father remained on the front pages of Mississippi newspapers for weeks in October and November 1955, further engaging debate about Emmett Till's actions and Carolyn Bryant's integrity. Stephen Whitfield writes that the lack of attention paid to identifying or finding Till is "strange" compared to the amount of published discourse about his father.[75] Emmett Till's urges, to white Mississippians, were genetic instincts violently apparent in Louis Till. According to historians Davis Houck and Matthew Grindy, "Louis Till became a most important rhetorical pawn in the high-stakes game of north versus south, black versus white, NAACP versus White Citizens' Councils".[76]
  Protected against double jeopardy, Bryant and Milam struck a deal with Look magazine in 1956 to tell their story to William Bradford Huie for between $3,600 and $4,000. The interview took place in the law firm of the attorneys who had defended Bryant and Milam. Huie did not ask the questions; Bryant and Milam's own attorneys did. They had never heard the story before either. According to Huie, the older Milam was more articulate and sure of himself than Bryant. Milam admitted to shooting Till and neither of them thought of themselves as guilty or that they had done anything wrong.[77] Following their interview, however, their support base eroded in Mississippi.[78] Blacks refused to shop at their stores, they went bankrupt, and were unable to secure loans from banks to plant crops.[25]
  Reaction to Huie's interview with Bryant and Milam was explosive. Their brazen admission that they had slain Till caused prominent civil rights leaders to push the federal government harder to investigate the case. Till's murder was one of several reasons the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was passed; it allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in local law enforcement issues when civil rights were being compromised.[25] Huie's interview, in which he said that Milam and Bryant had acted alone, overshadowed inconsistencies in earlier versions of the stories. Details about Collins and Loggins and anyone else who had possibly been involved in Till's abduction, murder, or the clean-up of it, were, according to historians David and Linda Beito, forgotten.[79][note 8]
  If the facts as stated in the Look magazine account of the Till affair are correct, this remains: two adults, armed, in the dark, kidnap a fourteen-year-old boy and take him away to frighten him. Instead of which, the fourteen-year-old boy not only refuses to be frightened, but, unarmed, alone, in the dark, so frightens the two armed adults that they must destroy him.... What are we Mississippians afraid of?
  Emmett Till began to seep into the consciousness of Americans through media and literature. Langston Hughes dedicated an untitled poem (eventually to be known as "Mississippi'--1955") to Till in his October 1, 1955 column in The Chicago Defender. It was reprinted across the country and continued to be republished with various changes from different writers.[81]William Faulkner, a Mississippi native who often focused on racial issues, wrote two essays on Till: one before the trial in which he pleaded for American unity and one after, a piece titled "On Fear" that was published in Harper's in 1956 in which he questioned why the tenets of segregation were based on irrational reasoning.[80] Till's murder was the focus of a 1957 television episode for the U.S. Steel Hour titled "Noon on Doomsday" written by Rod Serling, who was fascinated with how quickly Mississippi whites supported Bryant and Milam. Although the script was rewritten to avoid mention of Till, or even that the murder victim was black, White Citizens' Councils vowed to boycott U.S. Steel. The eventual product bore no resemblance to the Till case.[82]Gwendolyn Brooks wrote a poem titled "A Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi. Meanwhile, A Mississippi Mother Burns Bacon" in 1960. The same year Harper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird in which a white attorney is committed to defending a black man named Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman. Lee, whose novel had a profound effect on civil rights, has not publicly stated Robinson's origins, but literature professor Patrick Chura notes several compelling similarities between Till's case and that of Robinson.[83]James Baldwin loosely based his 1964 drama Blues for Mister Charlie on the Till case. He later divulged that Till's murder had been bothering him for several years.[84]
  Bob Dylan recorded a song titled "The Death of Emmett Till" in 1962. Till was mentioned in the 1968 autobiography of Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, in which she states she first learned to hate during the fall of 1955.[85]Audre Lorde's poem "Afterimages" (1981) focuses on the perspective of a black woman thinking of Carolyn Bryant 24 years after the murder and trial, and Bebe Moore Campbell's 1992 novel Your Blues Ain't Like Mine centers on the events of Till's death. Toni Morrison's only play as of 2010 is Dreaming Emmett (1986), a feminist look at the roles of men and women in black society, which she was inspired to write while considering "time through the eyes of one person who could come back to life and seek vengeance".[86]Emmylou Harris includes a song called "My Name is Emmett Till" on her 2011 album, Hard Bargain (Emmylou Harris). According to scholar Christopher Mettress, Till is often reconfigured in literature as a specter that haunts the white people of Mississippi, causing them to question their involvement in evil, or silence about injustice.[84]
  Later eventsAfter relocating to Texas for several years, Milam and Bryant returned to Mississippi.[note 9] Milam died of cancer in 1980, at the age of 61. Bryant worked as a welder while in Texas, until increasing blindness forced him to give up this employment. At some point he and Carolyn divorced. In 1980 he married for a second time. He operated a store in Ruleville, Mississippi, and was convicted in 1984 and 1988 of food stamp fraud. In a 1985 interview, he denied that he had killed Till, but said, "if Emmett Till hadn't got out of line, it probably wouldn't have happened to him." Fearing economic boycotts and retaliation, Bryant lived a private life, and refused to allow himself to be photographed or the exact location of his store revealed, explaining that "this new generation is different and I don't want to worry about a bullet some dark night."[87] In 1994, at the age of 63, he died of cancer.[88]
  Till's mother married Gene Mobley, became a teacher, changed her surname to Till-Mobley, and continued her life as an activist working to educate people about what happened to her son. In 1992, Till-Mobley had the opportunity to listen while Bryant was interviewed about his involvement in Till's murder. With Bryant unaware that Till-Mobley was listening, he asserted that Till had ruined his life, expressed no remorse, and stated "Emmett Till is dead. I don't know why he can't just stay dead."[89]
  In 1996, documentary filmmaker Keith Beauchamp, who was greatly moved by Till's open casket photograph,[56] started background research for a feature film he planned to make about Till's murder, and asserted that as many as 14 people may have been involved, including Carolyn Bryant Donham, who had also remarried. Mose Wright heard someone with "a lighter voice" affirm that Till was the one in his front yard immediately before Bryant and Milam drove away with Till. Beauchamp spent the next nine years creating The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, released in 2003. That same year, PBS aired an installment of American Experience titled "The Murder of Emmett Till". In 2005, CBS journalist Ed Bradley aired a 60 Minutes report investigating the Till murder, part of which showed him tracking down Carolyn Bryant at her home in Greenville, Mississippi.[90]
  A 1991 book written by Stephen Whitfield, another by Christopher Mettress in 2002, and Mamie Till-Mobley's own memoirs the next year all posed questions as to who was involved in the murder and cover-up, leading Federal authorities to resolve the questions about the identity of the body pulled from the Tallahatchie River.[91] In 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it was reopening the case to determine whether anyone other than Milam and Bryant was involved.[92]David T. Beito, professor at the University of Alabama, states that Till's murder "has this mythic quality like the Kennedy assassination".[65]
  The body was exhumed and an autopsy conducted by the Cook Countycoroner in 2005. Using DNA from Till's relatives, dental comparisons to images taken of Till, and anthropological analysis, the body exhumed was positively identified as Till's. It had extensive cranial damage, a broken left femur, and two broken wrists. Metallic fragments were found in the skull consistent with being shot with a .45 caliber gun.[93]
  In February 2007, a Leflore County grand jury, composed primarily of black jurors, and empaneled by Joyce Chiles, a black prosecutor, found no credible basis for Beauchamp's claim that 14 people took part in Till's abduction and murder. Beauchamp was angry with the finding, but David Beito and Juan Williams, who worked on the reading materials for the Eyes on the Prize documentary, were critical of Beauchamp for trying to revise history and taking attention away from other cold cases.[94] The grand jury also failed to find sufficient cause for charges against Carolyn Bryant Donham. Neither the FBI nor the grand jury found any credible evidence that Henry Lee Loggins, identified by Beauchamp as a suspect who could be charged, had any role in the crime. Other than Loggins, Beauchamp refused to name any of the people he alleged were involved.[65]
  Influence on civil rightsSomehow [Till's death and trial] struck a spark of indignation that ignited protests around the world... It was the murder of this 14-year-old out-of-state visitor that touched off a world-wide clamor and cast the glare of a world spotlight on Mississippi's racism.
  Through the constant attention it received, Till's case became emblematic of the disparity of justice for blacks in the South. The Chicago Defender in 1955 urged their readers to react to the acquittal by voting in large numbers.[96]Myrlie Evers, Medgar Evers' wife'--and eventual widow'--stated that Till's case resonated so strongly because it shook "the foundations of Mississippi, both black and white'--with the white community because it had become nationally publicized, with us blacks, because it said not even a child was safe from racism and bigotry and death."[95] The NAACP asked Mamie Till Bradley to tour the country relating the events of her son's life, death, and the trial of his murderers. It was one of the most successful fundraising campaigns the NAACP had ever known.[97] Journalist Louis Lomax acknowledges Till's death to be the start of what he terms the "Negro revolt" and scholar Clenora Hudson-Weems characterizes Till as a "sacrificial lamb" for civil rights. NAACP operative Amzie Moore considers Till the start of the Civil Rights Movement, at the very least, in Mississippi.[98]
  The 1987 14-hour Emmy award-winning documentary Eyes on the Prize, and the accompanying reading materials Eyes on the Prize and Voices of Freedom, that exhaustively encompass the major figures and events of the Civil Rights Movement, begin with the murder of Emmett Till. Furthermore, Stephen Whitaker states, as a result of the attention Till's death and the trial received,
  Mississippi became in the eyes of the nation the epitome of racism and the citadel of white supremacy. From this time on, the slightest racial incident anywhere in the state was spotlighted and magnified. To the Negro race throughout the South and to some extent in other parts of the country, this verdict indicated an end to the system of noblesse oblige. The faith in the white power structure waned rapidly. Negro faith in legalism declined, and the revolt officially began on December 1, 1955, with the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott.[25]
  In Montgomery, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white bus rider, sparking a year-long well-organized grassroots boycott of the public bus system, designed to force the city to change its segregation policies. Parks later said when she did not get up and move to the rear of the bus, "I thought of Emmett Till and I just couldn't go back."[99] According to author Clayborne Carson, Till's death and the widespread coverage of the students integrating Little Rock Central High School in 1957 were especially profound for younger blacks: "It was out of this festering discontent and an awareness of earlier isolated protests that the sit-ins of the 1960s were born."[100] After seeing pictures of Till's mutilated body, in Louisville, Kentucky, young Cassius Clay (later famed boxer Muhammad Ali) and a friend took out their frustration by vandalizing a local railyard, causing a locomotive engine to derail.[101][102]
  In 1963, Sunflower County resident Fannie Lou Hamer, herself a sharecropper, was jailed and beaten for attempting to register to vote. The next year, she led a massive voter registration drive in the Delta region. Before 1954, 265 black people were registered to vote in the Delta although they represented 41% of the population. The summer Emmett Till was killed, no blacks were registered in the Delta.[103] The Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964 registered 63,000 black voters and they were required to form their own political party because they were forbidden from joining the established parties in Mississippi.[104]
  The story of Emmett Till is one of the most important of the last half of the 20th century. And an important element was the casket.... It is an object that allows us to tell the story, to feel the pain and understand loss. I want people to feel like I did. I want people to feel the complexity of emotions.
  Till continues to be the focus of literature and memorials. A statue was unveiled in Denver in 1976 (and has since been moved to Pueblo, Colorado) featuring Till with Martin Luther King, Jr. Till was included among the forty names of people who had died in the Civil Rights Movement (listed as martyrs[106]) on the granite sculpture of the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, dedicated in 1989. In 1991, a 7-mile (11 km) stretch of 71st Street in Chicago, was renamed "Emmett Till Road". Mamie Till-Mobley attended many of the dedications for the memorials, including a demonstration in Selma, Alabama on the 35th anniversary of the march over the Edmund Pettis Bridge. She later wrote in her memoirs, "I realized that Emmett had achieved the significant impact in death that he had been denied in life. Even so, I had never wanted Emmett to be a martyr. I only wanted him to be a good son. Although I realized all the great things that had been accomplished largely because of the sacrifices made by so many people, I found myself wishing that somehow we could have done it another way."[107] Till-Mobley died in 2003, the same year her memoirs were published.
  James McCosh Elementary School in Chicago, where Till had been a student, was renamed the "Emmett Louis Till Math And Science Academy" in 2005.[108] The "Emmett Till Memorial Highway" was dedicated between Greenwood and Tutwiler, Mississippi, the same route his body took to the train station on its way to Chicago. It intersects with the H. C. "Clarence" Strider Memorial Highway.[109] In 2007, Tallahatchie County issued a formal apology to Till's family, reading "We the citizens of Tallahatchie County recognize that the Emmett Till case was a terrible miscarriage of justice. We state candidly and with deep regret the failure to effectively pursue justice. We wish to say to the family of Emmett Till that we are profoundly sorry for what was done in this community to your loved one."[110] The same year, Georgia congressman John Lewis, whose skull was fractured while being beaten during the 1965 Selma march, sponsored a bill that provides a plan for investigating and prosecuting unsolved Civil Rights era murders. The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act was signed into law in 2008.[111]
  On July 9, 2009, a manager and three laborers at Burr Oak Cemetery were charged with digging up bodies, dumping them in a remote area, and reselling the plots. Till's grave was not disturbed, but investigators found his original glass-topped casket rusting in a dilapidated storage shed.[112] When Till was reburied in a new casket in 2005, there were plans for an Emmett Till memorial museum, where his original casket would be installed. The cemetery manager, who administered the memorial fund, pocketed donations intended for the memorial. It is unclear how much money was collected. Cemetery officials also neglected the casket, which was discolored, the interior fabric torn, and bore evidence that animals had been living in it, although its glass top was still intact. The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. acquired the casket a month later. According to director Lonnie Bunch III, it is an artifact with potential to stop future visitors and make them think.[105]
  See alsoNotes^Accounts are unclear; Till had just completed the seventh grade at the all-black McCosh Elementary School in Chicago (Whitfield, p. 17).^Some recollections of this part of the story relate that news of the incident traveled in both black and white societies very quickly. Others state that Carolyn Bryant refused to tell her husband and Till's oldest cousin Maurice Wright, perhaps put off by Till's bragging and clothes, told Roy Bryant at his store about Till's interaction with Bryant's wife. (Whitfield, p. 19.)^Several major inconsistencies between what Bryant and Milam told interviewer William Bradford Huie and what they had told others were noted by the FBI. They told Huie they were sober, yet reported years later they had been drinking. In the interview, they stated they had driven what would have been 164 miles (264 km) looking for a place to dispose of Till's body, to the cotton gin to obtain the fan, and back again, which the FBI noted would be impossible in the time they were witnessed having returned. Several witnesses recalled that they saw Bryant, Milam, and two or more black men with Till's beaten body in the back of the pickup truck in Glendora, yet they did not admit to being in Glendora to Huie. (FBI, [2006], pp. 86''96.)^Many years later, there were allegations that Till had been castrated. (Mitchell, 2007) John Cothran, the deputy sheriff who was at the scene where Till was removed from the river testified, however, that apart from the decomposition typical of a body being submerged in water, his genitals were intact. (FBI [2006]: Appendix Court transcript, p. 176.) Mamie Till-Mobley also confirmed this in her memoirs. (Till-Bradley and Benson, p. 135.)^When Jet publisher John H. Johnson died in 2005, people who remembered his career considered his decision to publish Till's open casket photograph his greatest moment. Michigan congressman Charles Diggs recalled that for the emotion the image stimulated, it was "probably one of the greatest media products in the last 40 or 50 years". (Dewan, 2005)^Strider was apparently unable to be consistent with his own theory. Following the trial he told a television reporter that should anyone who had sent him hate mail arrive in Mississippi "the same thing's gonna happen to them that happened to Emmett Till". (Whitfield, p. 44.)^The trial transcript reads the line as "There he is", although witnesses recall variations of "Dar he", "Thar he", or "Thar's the one". Wright's family protested that Mose Wright was made to sound illiterate and insists he said "There he is." (Mitchell, 2007)^A month after Huie's article appeared in Look, T. R. M. Howard worked with Olive Arnold Adams of The New York Age to put forth a version of the events that agreed more with the testimony at the trial and what Howard had been told by Frank Young. It appeared as a booklet titled Time Bomb: Mississippi Exposed and the Full Story of Emmett Till. Howard also acted as a source for an as-yet unidentified reporter using the pseudonym Amos Dixon in the California Eagle. Dixon wrote a series of articles implicating three black men, and Leslie Milam, who, Dixon asserted, had participated in Till's murder in some way. Time Bomb and Dixon's articles had no lasting impact in the shaping of public opinion. Huie's article in the far more widely circulated Look became the most commonly accepted version of events. (Beito and Beito, pp. 150''151.)^Such was the animosity toward the murderers that in 1961, while in Texas, when Bryant recognized the license plate of a Tallahatchie County resident, he called out a greeting and identified himself. The resident, upon hearing the name, drove away without speaking to Bryant. (Whitaker, 2005)References^Houck and Grindy, p. 20.^Houck and Grindy, pp. 4''5.^Whitfield, p. 15.^Beito and Beito, p. 116.^Whitaker (1963), p. 19.^Till-Mobley and Benson, pp. 14''16.^Till-Mobley and Benson, p. 17.^Till-Mobley and Benson, pp. 36''38.^Till-Mobley and Benson, pp. 56''58.^Till-Mobley and Benson, pp. 59''60.^Till-Mobley and Benson, pp. 70''87.^ abcdeHuie, William Bradford (January 1956). The Shocking Story of Approved Killing in Mississippi, Look Magazine. Retrieved October 2010.^FBI (2006), p. 6.^Hampton, p. 2.^Till-Mobley and Benson, pp. 98''101.^Whitfield, p. 5.^Whitaker (1963), pp. 2''10.^Whitaker (1963), pp. 61''82.^FBI (2006), p. 18.^FBI (2006), p. 44.^Hampton, p. 3.^Wright, pp. 50''51.^Mettress, p. 20.^Whitfield, p. 18.^ abcdefghiWhitaker, Stephen (Summer 2005). A Case Study in Southern Justice: The Murder and Trial of Emmett Till, Rhetoric & Public Affairs8 (2), pp. 189''224.^FBI (2006), p. 40.^Hampton, pp. 3''4.^FBI (2006), p. 46.^FBI (2006), pp. 47''49.^FBI (2006), pp. 51''56.^FBI (2006), pp. 60''66.^FBI (2006), pp. 55''57.^Hampton, p. 4.^Whitfield, p. 21.^FBI (2006), p. 68.^ abHampton, p. 6.^FBI (2006), pp. 69''79.^Metress, pp. 14''15.^FBI (2006), pp. 77''79.^Houck and Grindy, p. 6.^Houck and Grindy, pp. 19''21.^Hampton, p. 5.^FBI (2006), pp. 80''81.^Beito and Beito, p. 118.^Whitfield, pp. 23''26.^Metress, pp. 16''20.^Houck and Grindy, pp. 22''24.^Till-Mobley and Benson, p. 132.^Whitfield, p. 23.^Houck and Grindy, p. 29.^Houck and Grindy, pp. 31''37.^ abWhitfield, pp. 28''30.^Whitaker (1963), pp. 21''22.^Beito and Beito, p. 119.^Whitfield, p. 34.^ abDewan, Shaila (August 28, 2005). "How Photos Became Icon of Civil Rights Movement", The New York Times. Retrieved on October 5, 2010.^Beito and Beito, pp. 121''122.^Whitfield, p. 38.^Beito and Beito, p. 122.^Hampton, pp. 10''11.^Whitfield, image spread p. 6.^Till-Mobley and Benson, image spread p. 12.^Hampton, p. 11.^Whitfield, p. 39.^ abcMitchell, Jerry (February 19, 2007). Re-examining Emmett Till case could help separate fact, fiction, USA Today [originally published in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger]. Retrieved on October 1, 2010.^ abBeito and Beito, pp. 124''126.^Whitfield, p. 40.^Beito and Beito, p. 126.^ abcBeito and Beito, p. 127.^Whitfield, pp. 41''42.^ abRubin, Richard (July 21, 2005). The Ghosts of Emmett Till, New York Times Magazine. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.^Beito and Beito, p. 128.^Whitfield, pp. 48''49.^Whitfield, pp. 46''47.^Whitfield, p. 117.^Houck and Grindy, pp. 134''135.^Whitfield, p. 52.^Hampton, pp. 13''14.^Beito and Beito, pp. 150''151.^ abWhitfield, p. 68.^Mettress, Christopher (Spring 2003). "Langston Hughes's "Mississippi-1955": A Note on Revisions and an Appeal for Reconsideration" African American Review, 37 (1), pp. 139''148.^Whitfield, pp. 83''84.^Chura, Patrick (Spring 2000). "Prolepsis and Anachronism: Emmet Till and the Historicity of To Kill a Mockingbird", Southern Literary Journal, 32 (2), pp. 1''26.^ abMettress, Christopher (Spring 2003). "No Justice, No Peace": The Figure of Emmett Till in African American Literature" MELUS, 28 (1), pp. 87''103.^Carson, et al, pp. 41''43.^Whitfield, pp. 119''120.^Atiks, Joe (August 25, 1985). "Emmett Till: More Than A Murder". The Clarion-Ledger. Reproduced July 2, 2011, at "US Slave" blog. Retrieved July 16, 2013.^FBI (2006), pp. 24''26.^Till-Mobley and Benson, p. 261.^"60 Minutes Story on Emmett Till Targets Carolyn Bryant", George Mason University's History News Network, c. 2005^Segall, Rebecca; Holmberg, David (February 3, 2003). "Who Killed Emmett Till?", The Nation, 276 (4), pp. 37''40.^Justice Department to Investigate 1955 Emmett Till Murder, Press release (May 10, 2004), U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved on October 5, 2010.^FBI (2006), pp. 99''109.^Breed, Allen (March 3, 2007). End of Till case draws mixed response, Associated Press (hosted at The Boston Globe). Retrieved on October 6, 2010.^ abWhitfield, p. 60.^Carson, et al, pp. 39''40.^Till-Mobley and Benson, pp. 191''196.^Beito and Beito, p. 130.^Houck and Grindy, p. x.^Carson, et al, p. 107.^Hampton, p. 321.^Gorn, p. 76''77.^Whitfield, p. 62.^Carson, et al, p. 177''178.^ abTrescott, Jacqueline (August 27, 2009). Emmett Till's Casket Donated to the Smithsonian, The Washington Post. Retrieved on October 6, 2010.^Civil Rights Memorial, Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved on October 12, 2010.^Till-Mobley and Benson, pp. 259''260, 268.^Lynch, La Risa R. (1 Mar. 2006). "South Side School Named for Emmett Till". Chicago Citizen. ^Houck and Grindy, p. 4.^Resolution Presented to Emmett Till's Family, Emmett Till Memorial Committee Tallahatchie County (October 2, 2007). Retrieved on October 6, 2010.^H.R. 923: Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007, govtrack.us (2007''2008). Retrieved on September 8, 2009.^Authorities discover original casket of Emmett Till[dead link], CNN (July 10, 2009). Retrieved on July 10, 2009.BibliographyBeito, David; Beito, Linda (2009). Black Maverick: T. R. M. Howard's Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power, University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-03420-6Carson, Clayborne; Garrow, David; Gill, Gerald; Harding, Vincent; Hine, Darlene Clark (eds.) (1991). Eyes on the Prize: Civil Rights Reader Documents, Speeches, and Firsthand Accounts from the Black Freedom Struggle 1954''1990, Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-015403-0Federal Bureau of Investigation (February 9, 2006). Prosecutive Report of Investigation Concerning (Emmett Till) (Flash Video or PDF). Retrieved October 2011.Gorn, Elliott (1998). Muhammad Ali: The People's Champ, University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-06721-1Hampton, Henry, Fayer, S. (1990). Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1980s. Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-05734-8Houck, Davis; Grindy, Matthew (2008). Emmett Till and the Mississippi Press, University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-934110-15-7Mettress, Christopher (2002). The Lynching of Emmett Till: A Documentary Narrative, The American South series University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0-8139-2122-8Till-Mobley, Mamie; Benson, Christopher (2003). The Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America, Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6117-4Whitaker, Hugh Stephen (1963). A Case Study in Southern Justice: The Emmett Till Case, Florida State University (M.A. thesis). Retrieved October 2010.Whitfield, Stephen (1991). A Death in the Delta: The story of Emmett Till, JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-4326-6Wright, Simeon; Boyd, Herb (2010). Simeon's Story: An Eyewitness Account of the Kidnapping of Emmett Till, Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-55652-783-8Further readingThe Murder of Emmett Till.American Experience Transcript and additional materials for PBS film.Emmett Till at the Open Directory ProjectThe original 1955 Jet magazine with Emmett Till's murder story pp. 6''9, and Emmett Till's Legacy 50 Years Later" in Jet, 2005.1985 documentary, The Murder and the Movement: The Story of the Murder of Emmett TillNPR pieces on the Emmett Till murderEmmett Till Math & Science Academy (Chicago)Keith Beauchamp's The Untold Story of Emmett Louis TillDevery S. Anderson, "A Wallet, a White Woman, and a Whistle: Fact and Fiction in Emmett Till's Encounter in Money, Mississippi," Southern Quarterly Summer 2008Booknotes interview with Christopher Benson on Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America, April 25, 2004.Fictionalized accounts of Till and the ensuing events
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How 'thank you' fell out of fashion
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  We are, ladies and gentlemen, approaching the end of days '' at least in terms of etiquette. First, strangers email me hoping I enjoyed the sunny weekend. Have we met? Who are you? What are you trying to sell me through this importunate penetration of my sacred veil of intimacy, you disgusting blob (no offence)?
  Second, they sign off their emails with a kiss. Perhaps, I once thought, this farewell kiss from strangers (often from women with attractive-sounding names and all their own teeth) meant that I'm so gorgeous that even online they can't help themselves from hitting on me. The truth turned out to be much more dismal. They didn't fancy me, but thought that "x" is a professionally acceptable means of concluding a business communication. Which it isn't.
  What's needed, incidentally, is an emoticon that means a firm handshake rather than an air kiss. But the online world doesn't roll that way: it goes all the way on the first date, as it were, and then has nowhere to go afterwards. Thanks, internet, for ruining flirting (ironic face).
  And then, third, right now, men are wearing flip-flops. In offices! As though that were legitimate workwear! Which it isn't!
  Can we just rewind and start the business of being civilised human beings communicating in elegant English again? Apparently not. A new survey suggests that Britons are more likely to say "cheers" or "ta" than "thank you". Some of you even use the word "cool" to express gratitude, not realising that it connotes '' at best '' agreement rather than thanks. True, while I eschew "cool", I sometimes sign off with "coolio", but only to give my communications a retro mid-90s gangsta vibe.
  Don't you realise, I want to say to people who say "cool" instead of "thank you", that Edward de Bono pointed out that "cool" confers no moral excellence on an action or person and yet it is presumed to be what everyone in this benighted verbally challenged, amoral age aspires to be? No? Well, you should.
  Four out of 10 respondents said "thank you" was too formal, while one in 10 said it was old-fashioned. What the poll didn't report is that six out of 10 think the four out of 10 should stop thinking informality is a good thing, while nine out of 10 thought the one out of 10 who thinks "thank you" is old fashioned should be put in stocks and pelted with wet sponges until they recant.
  But what sort of people are we dealing with here? Who substitutes "thank you" for "nice one" for instance? I suspect you say "nice one" only if the kind of verbally challenged person derided by Jarvis Cocker in Sorted for Es and Whizz:
  "Everybody asks your name/ They say we're all the same/ and it's "nice one, geezer"/ But that's as far as the conversation went."
  In other words, the sort of clubbable, glazed-eyed festival goer who knows how to pitch a tent and score excellent drugs but not, surely, one with whom you might have a detailed argument about the relevance to modern life of Epicurus's philosophy nor one who puts a premium on personal daintiness, if you catch my drift. And "cool"? Wannabe hipster doofuses with receding hairlines, paunches and a doomed existential quest to be thought groovy by twentysomethings with asymmetric hair and sexual confidence to spare. I may sound derisive here, but I was that hipster doofus. Once.
  And who says "Cheers!" instead of thank you? Nervous people desperate for approval, uncertain of their status and judging by the appropriation of this drinking toast, recovering or non-recovering alcoholics. This may sound unfairly judgmental but I don't care for your opinion. Thank you!
  What about "ta"? Often this is used by those (think Rory Kinnear's character in Count Arthur Strong) who want to be thought nice people by others of lower social status than they. "Ta", in other words, is the go-to informality for poshos making nice to those they suspect to be proles but whom they want on side for reasons too boring to get into. Boris Johnson is too posh to make nice thus, but you can imagine Dave or Sam Cam saying "ta" when they're in the corner shop (as if that scenario ever happens) rather than bawling out the Boden call centre (where the more formal, if sarcastic, "thank you!" would be deployed).
  "Wicked"? Counter-cultural macram(C) weavers who eschewed formal education in favour of the university of life. What this means is, actually, they can't construct sentences involving subjunctive clauses since their sense of grammar has been corrupted by acid flashbacks from the 1960s. Or perhaps that's unfair.
  Clearly using two syllables rather than one is just too much effort for slugabed Britons '' especially now the sun has been out for a couple of days. No wonder we have to import workers from eastern Europe to do the laborious tasks for which this slacker nation that once '' incredibly '' ruled (though obviously quite immorally) the greatest empire, the world is now too lazy to perform. (God they'd lap this stuff up at the Mail or Telegraph.)
  The classic configuration of gratitude is being supplanted among the younger generation (is there an emoticon yet for an angry face looking at you over my oldster's bifocals?) with constructions such as "wicked" and "nice one". Both, clearly, are not expressions of gratitude but ones of approbation. They don't mean thank you, thank you very much.
  Let's consider that venerable abbreviation "ta". I've used it, you've used it and anybody with minimal competence in British slang uses it. But should we? After all, as Collins English Dictionary points out, "ta" originated in the 18th century as "imitative of baby talk". What, are we taking borderline pre-verbal babies as role models for correct English usage now?
  "Ta" was used in TS Eliot's The Waste Land as the poet parodied lower-class London speech to suggest, perhaps, a Spenglerian decline in values of English usage. Thus, instead of Hamlet's "Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night", Eliot's London toughs said farewell thus: "Goonight Bill. Goonight Lou. Goonight May. Goonight. Ta ta. Goonight. Goonight." The "ta ta" did not signify of gratitude, to be sure, but it was an infantilised farewell nonetheless. Modern life, Eliot thus implied (prefiguring Blur), is rubbish.
  I know what you're thinking. I don't need no tight-arse anti-semite ponce of a poet to teach me 'ow to talk proper, noworrimean, yer? Good point, and well expressed, if I may say so. You were going for Arthur "Yus my Dear" Mullard, right?
  Nonetheless I worry that infantile "goonight" and the babyish "ta", signify that we are creating a linguistic waste land in lieu of the commanding English of Shakespeare, Milton and, to a lesser extent, Peter Andre.
  In the not-too distant future, I predict, while the French will sign off their letters according to long-established formules de politesse such as "Je vous prie d'agr(C)er, mesdames, messieurs, l'expression de mes sentiments distingu(C)s", while across the Channel we'll be concluding our correspondence with "Laters, yeah? Goo-goo ga-ga innit." Just wait and see.
  What next? Why not, if someone does something that requires your expression of gratitude, pull out their spine and leave their bloody corpse twitching on the pavement rather than making the verbal effort to say thank you properly?
  Or perhaps I'm going too far. After all, this isn't the first survey to predict the death of the thank you. Two years ago a survey commissioned by Food Network UK found that even though the average Briton still says thank you up to 5,000 times a year, 40% of respondents believed they use "thank you" less than previous generations.
  The problem then is not that Britons are less willing to express gratitude, but that we express that gratitude in a manner that drives farts like me nuts. Hold that thought.
  The Food Network survey was done to launch the first Thank You Day. The what now? Aren't there so many dedicated days nowadays that the Thank You Day probably clashed with '' oooh '' IBS Day, which isn't to be confused with National IDS day (IBS is about bowels, IDS about the work and pensions secretary '' very different things.). But do we need one? We're British after all, it's not like we're, erm '... [Subs, please could you insert a gratuitous slur here? Ta!]
  Thank You Day actually takes place on 11 January, so you've plenty of time to prepare celebrations. I'm thinking street parties, nationwide cordiality-offs, hugging your refuse collector and telling him/her "Thank you '' for being you!". Like any of that's going to happen in this increasingly graceless, asocial, gratitude-free kingdom.
  Are we in fact expressing enough gratitude? The new survey found that more than half of us feel appreciated by our partners but only 5% by our bosses. When did your boss last say "thank you"? Never, that's when, because he/she is too busy saying "wicked", "laters" "ta", "cool" and "you go girl" so they don't seem too old to attract the attention of the Inhuman Resources department in the next round of voluntary redundancies. Am I right? You know I am.
  But the survey also found that 83% of those surveyed (there were 2,000 respondents who, actually, would have preferred an iPad mini each rather than, as they got, a functionally worthless "cheers, mate" from researchers) think we need to express more gratitude. Britons need to stop saying sorry and say thank you more; for truly, every day is National Sorry Day in this over-apologetic, under-grateful country.
  But there's a problem: "thank you" may not always signify gratitude. Think of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon the convenience-store owner in The Simpsons and his sometimes cod-cheery passive aggressive "Thank you! Come again!" As Slavoj Å½iÅ¾ek points out in his guide to Lacanian psychoanalysis, How to Read Lacan, we must distinguish manifest from latent content. What this means is that Apu is sometimes being sarcastic and it's the devil of a job to find out when.
  In his superbly choleric guide to English usage, The King's English, Kingsley Amis helpfully distinguished between berks and wankers. The former are the kind of people Eliot implicitly excoriated. Or, as Amis put it: "Berks are careless, coarse, crass and of what anybody would agree is of a lower social class than one's own. They speak in a slipshod way with dropped Hs, intruded glottal stops and many mistakes in grammar. Left to them the English language would die of impurity like late Latin."
  Typically berks don't know or care that adverbs are different from adjectives and use the latter in lieu of the former. This ignorance, incidentally, qualifies berks to monopolise the positions of "expert" summarisers during fatuous football commentaries on Radio 5 Live. Here's another way to spot a berk: no berk can express gratitude properly, thanks very much.
  And wankers? "Wankers are prissy, fussy, priggish, prim and of what they would probably misrepresent as a higher social class than one's own. They speak in an over-precise way with much pedantic insistence on letters not generally sounded, especially Hs. Left to them the language would die of purity, like medieval Latin."
  Amis counselled a middle way between slipshod and punctilious, between, as it were, berkshire and wankerdom. Surprising: I took Amis pere to be pure-blood wanker '' an ally in the unending fight against wrongness in its many linguistic forms. But perhaps he's right. Our task, as English speakers, is to express ourselves elegantly and gratefully in a tongue not hobbled by rules. For that reason I'd like to thank you for reading this article, and add: Laters, yeah? Wicked! Big love x.
Jesse Jackson Calls George Zimmerman A ''Known Murderer'''...
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  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Thu, 18 Jul 2013 01:20
  Add Jesse to the list of people Zimmerman can sue for libel.
  Via Newsbusters:
  HAYES: Reverend, if, when you've just named a number of young black men who have lost their lives to gunshots, some by police officers, some by not. All of which raise tremendous amounts of outrage and frustration and grief.
  And my question to you is, if what is playing into these deaths, if what played into the death of Trayvon Martin are hundreds of years of history, of stereotyping, of prejudice and bias, of apprehensions of young black men, of the way that they are portrayed in our society, in the policies that target them, as a practical matter of law enforcement, what is the solution, then? If we can't undo that history, what will prevent the next Trayvon Martin in your mind?
  JACKSON: Well, it's slow progress. It is, in fact, Emmett Till who was killed and the juror said they know that the killers were guilty but they didn't see his life worth a white men going to jail for. Then you have another dimension when Medgar Evers was killed in the same basic premise, an all-white jury that frees the known killers.
  Now, you have the case here of a known murderer who profiled, racially profiled Trayvon and pursued him over the objections of the dispatchers, didn't want to let another little punk get away, then he murdered him and walked away from the dead body and gave his gun to the police department where he found sanctuary for 44 days. It is amazing the similarities of pattern. But yet again, this undercurrent of retrogression. We see progress in so many areas. We will not let even this break our spirit.
Because I said so: Obama wins back the right to indefinitely detain under NDAA
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  Source: USA RSS
  Thu, 18 Jul 2013 01:17
  The Obama administration has won the latest battle in their fight to indefinitely detain US citizens and foreigners suspected of being affiliated with terrorists under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012.
  Congress granted the president the authority to arrest and hold individuals accused of terrorism without due process under the NDAA, but Mr. Obama said in an accompanying signing statement that he will not abuse these privileges to keep American citizens imprisoned indefinitely. These assurances, however, were not enough to keep a group of journalists and human rights activists from filing a federal lawsuit last year, which contested the constitutionality of Section 1021, the particular provision that provides for such broad power.
  A federal judge sided with the plaintiffs originally by granting an injunction against Section 1021, prompting the Obama administration to request an appeal last year. On Wednesday this week, an appeals court in New York ruled in favor of the government and once again allowed the White House to legally indefinitely detain persons that fit in the category of enemy combatants or merely provide them with support.
  Now with this week's appellate decision, plaintiffs intend on taking their case to the Supreme Court. Should the high court agree to hear their argument, the top justices in the US may finally weigh in on the controversial counterterrorism law.
  The so-called ''indefinite detention'' provision of last year's National Defense Authorization Act has been at the center of debate since before President Barack Obama autographed the bill in December 2011, but a federal lawsuit filed by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Chris Hedges and others only two weeks after it went into effect remains as relevant as ever in light of a decision delivered Wednesday by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
  The plaintiffs in case had previously been successful in convincing a federal district judge to keep Section 1021 from being put on the books, but the latest ruling negates an earlier injunction and once again reestablished the government's right to indefinitely detain people under the NDAA.
  Tangerine Bolen, a co-plaintiff in the case alongside Hedges, told RT, ''Losing one battle is not losing the war. This war is an assault on truth itself. It flaunts reason, sanity and basic decency. We will not stand down in the face of these egregious assaults on our rights and liberties.''
  In a statement published to TruthDig, Hedges called the ruling ''distressing'' and said, ''It means there is no recourse now either within the Executive, Legislative or Judicial branches of government to halt the steady assault on our civil liberties and most basic Constitutional rights.''
  Section 1021 of the NDAA reads in part that the president of the US can indefinitely imprison any person who was part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban or associated forces engaged in hostilities against the US or its coalition partners, as well as anyone who commits a "belligerent act" against the US under the law of war, "without trial, until the end of the hostilities.'' The power to do as much was allegedly granted to the commander-in-chief after the Authorization to Use Military Force was signed into law shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but a team of plaintiffs have argued that Section 1021 provides the White House with broad, sweeping powers that put the First Amendment-guaranteed rights to free speech and assembly at risk while also opening the door for the unlawful prosecution of anyone who can be linked to an enemy of the state.
  Only two weeks after the 2012 NDAA was signed into law, Hedges filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration challenging the constitutional validity of Section 1021.
  ''I have had dinner more times than I can count with people whom this country brands as terrorists '... but that does not make me one,'' he said at the time.
  Naomi Wolf, an American author, told the Guardian last year that she has skipped meetings with individuals and dropped stories that she believed are newsworthy ''for no other reason than to avoid potential repercussions under the bill.''
  Hedges first filed suit on Jan 13, 2012, and was eventually joined by a number of activists, reporters and human rights workers from both the US and abroad, including Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, journalist Alexa O'Brien, Revolution Truth founder Bolen and Icelandic PM Birgitta J"nsd"ttir. District Court Judge Katherine Forrest granted the plaintiffs a preliminary injunction against Section 1021 that May, only to make that decision permanent four months later. The Obama administration filed a stay against that injunction just days after, though, and the appeals court ruled this week that Judge Forrest's decision must be vacated.
  Carl Mayer, an attorney for the plaintiffs, previously told RT that he expected the White House to lose the appeal. ''The Obama administration has now lost three times. They lost the temporary injunction, they lost the motion for reconsideration and they lost the hearing for permanent injunction. I say three strikes and you're out,'' he said.
  But with the court's 3-0 ruling this week, a federal panel concluded that the plaintiffs involved in the suit do not have standing to challenge Section 1021. In doing so, however, they offered what is the most official interpretation yet of a law that has continuously attracted criticism for nearly two years now.
  After years of debate, the appeals court said once and for all that the NDAA does not apply to American citizens, and rehashed the Obama administration's insistence that it simply reaffirmed rights afforded to the government through the AUMF.
  ''Section 1021(e) provides that Section 1021 just does not speak '-- one way or the other '-- to the government's authority to detain citizens, lawful resident aliens or any other persons captured or arrested in the United States,'' the court ruled.
  ''We thus conclude, consistent with the text and buttressed in part by the legislative history, that Section 1021 means this: With respect to individuals who are not citizens, are not lawful resident aliens and are not captured or arrested within the United States, the President's AUMF authority includes the authority to detain those responsible for 9/11 as well as those who were a part of, or substantially supported, al-Qaeda, the Taliban or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners '-- a detention authority that Section 1021 concludes was granted by the original AUMF.''
  ''But with respect to citizens, lawful resident aliens, or individuals captured or arrested in the United States, Section 1021 simply says nothing at all,'' it concluded.
  The AUMF, however, is still open to interpretation. An earlier legal ruling concluded that the AUMF ''clearly and unmistakable'' authorized detaining those who were ''part of or supporting forces hostile to the US.'' Then a memo issued in March 2009 just weeks' into Pres. Obama's first term even added that the government has the authority ''to detain persons who were part of or substantially supported'' anyone engaged in hostilities against US or its partners.
  ''In any event, the March 2009 Memo took the view that 'the AUMF is not limited to persons captured on the battlefields of Afghanistan' nor to those 'directly participating in hostilities,''' the appeals court noted. When the DC Circuit weighed in further down the road, it determined that the AUMF authorized detention for those who ''purposefully and materially support'' those hostile forces, although this week's ruling makes note that the Circuit Court has failed to ever figure out what ''support'' exactly means.
  ''The government contends that Section 1021 simply reaffirms authority that the government already had under the AUMF, suggesting at times that the statute does next to nothing at all. Plaintiffs take a different view,'' wrote the court this week.
  Definitions aside, however, the appeals court wrote that Hedges and his American co-plaintiffs lack standing to challenge the indefinite detention provisions since a subsection of that rule, 1021(e), frees US citizens from detention under the NDAA.
  ''We recognize that Section 1021 perhaps could have been drafted in a way that would have made this clearer and that the absence of any reference to American citizens in Section 1021(b) led the district court astray in this case. Perhaps the last-minute inclusion of Section 1021(e) as an amendment introduced on the floor of the Senate explains the somewhat awkward construction,'' wrote the court. ''But that is neither here nor there. It is only our construction, just described, that properly gives effect to the text of all of the parts of Section 1021 and thus reflects congressional intent.''
  At the same time, though, the appeals court acknowledged that Iceland's J"nsd"ttir, co-plaintiff Kai Wargalla of Germany and other foreign persons could be detained indefinitely under the NDAA. Although J"nsd"ttir has argued that her well-documented affiliation with the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks '-- particularly with regards to classified material its published much to the chagrin of the US government '-- is enough to land her in hot water, the court said indefinite imprisonment in a military jail cell is an unrealistic fear and she therefore lacks standing.
  J"nsd"ttir, 46, has been a member of the Iceland parliament since 2009, the same year that US Army Private first class Bradley Manning began supplying materials to WikiLeaks. J"nsd"ttir and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange worked directly with raw video footage supplied by Manning showing a US helicopter fatally wounding innocent civilians and journalists, which the website later released under the name ''Collateral Murder.'' And although Pfc. Manning is currently on trial for ''aiding the enemy'' by supplying WikiLeaks '-- and indirectly al-Qaeda '-- with that intelligence, the court said J"nsd"ttir herself has nothing to fear.
  ''The claims of J"nsd"ttir and Wargalla stand differently. Whereas Section 1021 says nothing about the government's authority to detain citizens, it does have real meaning regarding the authority to detain individuals who are not citizens or lawful resident aliens and are apprehended abroad,'' the court ruled.
  Elsewhere, the judges wrote that the government insists that WikiLeaks and Manning provided ''some support'' to hostile forces by publishing classified intelligence, and that the 25-year-old Army private is indeed facing prosecution for such that could put him away for life.
  ''One perhaps might fear that J"nsd"ttir's and Wargalla's efforts on behalf of WikiLeaks could be construed as making them indirect supporters of al-Qaeda and the Taliban as well,'' wrote the court. ''The government rejoins that the term 'substantial support' cannot be construed so in this particular context. Rather, it contends that the term must be understood '-- and limited '-- by reference to who would be detainable in analogous circumstances under the laws of war.''
  Because ''plaintiffs have provided no basis for believing that the government will place J"nsd"ttir and Wargalla in military detention for their supposed substantial support,'' the court has rejected their lawsuit.
  ''In sum, Hedges and O'Brien do not have Article III standing to challenge the statute because Section 1021 simply says nothing about the government's authority to detain citizens,'' concluded the court. ''While Section 1021 does have meaningful effect regarding the authority to detain individuals who are not citizens or lawful resident aliens and are apprehended abroad, J"nsd"ttir and Wargalla have not established standing on this record. We vacate the permanent injunction and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.''
  Meanwhile, the court's decision did little to resolve what actually is allowed under the AUMF. In fact, the court said Section 1021 ''does not foreclose the possibility that previous 'existing law' may permit the detention of American citizens,'' making note of American Yaser Esam Hamdi and a three-year ordeal that left him without the right to habeas corpus or an attorney after he was picked up in post-9/11 Afghanistan on suspicion of terroristic ties. Instead, it confirmed that foreign citizens engaged with substantially supporting hostile forces'-- neither of which term is still properly defined '-- can be locked up in military jails.
  Hedges previously said that he thought that the US was already using the NDAA to put some people away.
  ''If the Obama administration simply appealed it, as we expected, it would have raised this red flag,'' Hedges said during an online Q-and-A session on Reddit when the White House last fought back. ''But since they were so aggressive it means that once Judge Forrest declared the law invalid, if they were using it, as we expect, they could be held in contempt of court. This was quite disturbing, for it means, I suspect, that US citizens, probably dual nationals, are being held in military detention facilities almost certainly overseas and maybe at home.''
  In a statement published to TruthDig on Wednesday, Hedges said that he plans to appeal. If accepted, the case of Hedges v Obama may go all the way to the Supreme Court. That's a decision that will weigh with the justices, however, and Hedges said they are by no means required to hear their request.
  ''It is a black day for those who care about liberty,'' wrote Hedges.
  In her statement to RT, Bolen rejected the notion that she and others lack standing to challenge a law that plaintiffs believe is being used in secrecy.
  ''Good people have come forward to challenge the madness of the US government in the wake of 9/11 - people who have every reason to fear this atrocious panoply of laws and policies that are fundamentally eroding guaranteed liberties and basic human rights,'' she said.
  ''The United States Government itself is behaving as a terror. Through indefinite detention of innocent civilians at Guantanamo, secret rendition, torture, murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq and illegal drone bombings - it is fundamentally eroding the rule of law while harming national security. Courts are contradicting themselves on whether the government has the right to indefinitely detain even its own citizens, Congress has supported dragnet surveillance and other assaults on everything we were founded on, and yet somehow, our fears are only 'speculation,''' she said.
Group of tech giants to demand greater NSA transparency
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  Archived Version
  Source: CNET News - Politics and Law
  Thu, 18 Jul 2013 01:17
  Sixty-three companies, trade groups, and civil liberties groups will ask officials for greater latitude in reporting U.S. government requests for user information, according to a letter obtained by AllThingsD.
  Many of technology's most prominent companies will reportedly join civil liberties groups on Thursday in calling for dramatically increased transparency regarding U.S. government surveillance activities.
  Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are part of an alliance signing a letter to be published Thursday that calls on President Barack Obama and Congress to allow Internet and telecommunications companies to offer more details about U.S. government requests for user information, according to an AllThingsD report. The alliance, which reportedly includes 63 companies, investors, and trade groups, will request greater latitude in regularly reporting information about the number of requests they receive; the number of individuals, accounts, or devices; and the number of requests received for communications content or subscriber information, according to the report.
  "Basic information about how the government uses its various law enforcement-related investigative authorities has been published for years without any apparent disruption to criminal investigations," a copy of the letter obtained by AllThingsD reads. "We seek permission for the same information to be made available regarding the government's national security-related authorities."
  The letter is the most concerted effort to date by tech companies to address allegations they participated in controversial data collection programs run by the National Security Agency. The NSA and the Obama administration have said the goals of the surveillance programs were to track down foreign terrorists and terrorist threats.
  Legally barred from discussing their participation in the program, Google and Microsoft have petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to lift a gag order prohibiting them from disclosing more information about government requests they receive for customer data. To date, the companies have released only totals that combine legal requests made under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act with others related to criminal investigations involving fraud, homicide, and kidnapping, making it impossible to determine how many FISA requests they have received.
  According to AllThingsD, the alliance includes companies and groups such as AOL, Digg, Dropbox, Evoca, Heyzap, LinkedIn, Meetup, Mozilla, Reddit, Salesforce.com, Tumblr, Twitter, Yahoo, YouNow, Union Square Ventures, Y Combinator, Public Knowledge, Reporters Without Borders, and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Greenwald "Never Hear US Media Say Isn't It Odd People Seek Asylum In A Country Know For Torture
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  Thu, 18 Jul 2013 01:16
New House Bill Wipes Mortgage Fraud Clean For Banksters
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  Source: Northeast Intelligence Network
  Thu, 18 Jul 2013 01:06
  Written by Susanne Posel, Special Contributor To The Hagmann and Hagmann Report
  The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC), headed by chair Jeb Hensarling, has approved proposed bill entitled, ''Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act'' (PATH) that is being sold to the American public as a way ''to create a sustainable housing finance system.''
  Hensarling explained : ''Our plan helps taxpayers and homeowners. It gives power and control back to consumers. Under the current broken system, unaccountable Washington elites have more of a say over who gets a mortgage than your local bank. The current system is a government monopoly run by the same types of Washington bureaucrats who run the IRS. America can do better. Americans deserve better.''
  Buried in PATH is the creation of the National Mortgage Data Repository (NMDR) which is the brainchild of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
  The NMDR would be ''the first comprehensive repository of detailed mortgage loan information. The database will primarily be used to support the agencies' policymaking and research efforts and to help regulators better understand emerging mortgage and housing market trends.''
  Richard Corday, director of the CFPB asserts that ''in order to understand what is going on in the mortgage marketplace and develop appropriate consumer protections, we must have the best facts and data. This database will be a valuable tool for regulators and researchers and we look forward to partnering with FHFA on this important work.''
  The NMDB would be utilized in conjunction with agencies to:
  ' Monitor the relative health of mortgage markets and consumers.' Provide new insight on consumer decision making.' Monitor new and emerging products in the mortgage market.' View both first and second lien mortgages for a given borrower.' Understand the impact of consumers' debt burden.
  The problem that justifies the NMDB is the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) that is a database that was incorporated in 1995 and privately held.
  MERS board of directors is filled with vested interest from technocrats such as:
  ' Freddie Mac' Wells Fargo' Citigroup' JP Morgan & Chase Co' Fannie Mae' Bank of America
  Those financially invested in MERS include:
  ' Bank of America' Citigroup' HSBC' Sun Trust' Wells Fargo' Fannie Mae' Freddie Mac
  Hensarling took a ski-trip last April and met with powerful members of the financial Elite who have also made campaign contributions to him through the SuperPAC Jobs, Economy and Budget (JEB) Fund just before PATH was announced by the HFSC.
  The ''weekend getaway'' was attended by:
  ' A representative from the American Securitization Forum (ASF)' Len Wolfson, lobbyist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)' VISA' And other members of the retail industry and finance corporations
  Those who have contributed to the JEB Fund around the time of the ski-trip weekend are:
  ' Capital One' Credit Suisse' PricewaterhouseCoopers' MasterCard' UBS' US Bank' National Association of Federal Credit Unions' Koch Industries' Cash America International' CheckSmart Financial' Regions Financial' JP Morgan & Chase Co
  Considering the implications of PATH for the banksters, it may be that those technocrats who contributed to the JEB Fund would be the first to take advantage of the bill should it pass through to become a law.
  Supporting PATH, the American Bankers Association (ABA) released a statement saying: ''We commend Chairman Hensarling for this thoughtful measure to begin the essential work of reforming our nation's housing finance system and protecting taxpayers, which includes reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and refocusing the Federal Housing Administration.''
  The ABA went on to say: ''We strongly support provisions of the Chairman's bill that would delay implementation of pending mortgage rules, including Qualified Mortgage, and provide some important and needed changes to that rule. More time is needed to ensure that banks can comply with these complex new rules to avoid unintended effects on credit availability. Clarifications to the rules are also necessary, both those still to be proposed by regulators and others included in this legislation.''
  The NMDR would wipe the slate clean with regard to the mortgage fraud that has become apparent with cases being filed in courts all across the nation. Homeowners and attorneys have realized that with the use of MERS, the banks have been able to robosign their way into mortgage debt that was foreclosable.
  However, MERS has proven to be a bit of a thorn for the banksters when it comes to proving they hold title to the property they are in the process of seizing. In fact, it appears that the financial Elite did not consider the clogging of the courts and losing their right to foreclose on home based on the lack of evidence that they hold title of the property because of MERS.
  Instead, the technocrats have devised a way to take the homes from ALL homeowners regardless of whether or not they have previously won during foreclosure litigation, are in the process of litigation and would file a complaint with the courts at a future date.
  One of the outcomes of PATH would be the right of the technocrats to stop current legal standing of the homeowners in court with regard to foreclosure litigation.
  Without this provision, the homeowner cannot sue to stop the foreclosure, nor can new complaints be filed with the courts.
  But one of the biggest advantages of PATH would be for the technocrats to reopen foreclosure litigation that was ruled on in favor of the homeowner.
  Just as with criminal law, the right of protection from being retried for a ''crime'' is protected under Jeopardy clause.
  The civil version of the Jeopardy clause works much the same of the criminal counterpart. Jeopardy can terminate ''in four instances: after acquittal; after dismissal; after a mistrial; and on appeal after conviction.''
  What this means for PATH and the NMDR is that a homeowner who previously won a suit against the bank and kept their home, would now be under threat of having the case reopened under the new evidence argument.
  The bank could simply open a new case in light of PATH that would empower them bring this law in as evidence (should the law be passed). This would also allow the banks to circumvent the Ex Post Facto clause .
  By using PATH as the reason to bring old litigation to new light, this scheme would serve to give the banks a way to acquire those properties anyway.
  It is a three-fold win for the technocrats thanks to Henserling and the HFSC.
  Read the rest here: http://www.occupycorporatism.com/new-house-bill-wipes-mortgage-fraud-clean-for-banksters/
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Misanthropy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Thu, 18 Jul 2013 00:22
  Misanthropy is the general hatred, mistrust or disdain of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope, or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. The word's origin is from Greek words Î¼á–ÏƒÎÏ‚ (misos, "hatred") and á¼Î½Î¸ÏÏ‰ÏÎÏ‚ (anthrÅpos, "man, human"). The condition is often confused with asociality.
  Western thought[edit]Literature[edit]Misanthropy has been ascribed to a number of writers of satire, such as William S. Gilbert ("I hate my fellow-man"). Jonathan Swift is widely believed to be misanthropic (see A Tale of a Tub and, most especially, Book IV of Gulliver's Travels).
  Moli¨re's character Alceste in Le Misanthrope (1666) states:
  ''My hate is general, I detest all men;Some because they are wicked and do evil,Others because they tolerate the wicked,Refusing them the active vigorous scornWhich vice should stimulate in virtuous minds.[1][2]''Philosophy[edit]In Western philosophy, misanthropy has been connected to isolation from human society. In Plato's Phaedo, Socrates defines the misanthrope in relation to his fellow man: "Misanthropy develops when without art one puts complete trust in somebody thinking the man absolutely true and sound and reliable and then a little later discovers him to be bad and unreliable...and when it happens to someone often...he ends up...hating everyone."[3] Misanthropy, then, is presented as the result of thwarted expectations or even excessively naive optimism, since Plato argues that "art" would have allowed the potential misanthrope to recognize that the majority of men are to be found in between good and evil.[4]Aristotle follows a more ontological route: the misanthrope, as an essentially solitary man, is not a man at all: he must be a beast or a god, a view reflected in the Renaissance of misanthropy as a "beast-like state."[5]
  It is important to distinguish between philosophical pessimism and misanthropy. Immanuel Kant said that "Of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing can ever be made," and yet this was not an expression of the uselessness of mankind itself. Kant further stated that hatred of mankind can take two distinctive forms, aversion from men (Anthropophobia) or enmity towards them.[6] The condition can arise partly from dislike and partly from ill-will.[6]
  Another example of mistaken misanthropy is Jean-Paul Sartre's quote "Hell is other people." On the face of it, this looks deeply misanthropic, but actually Sartre may have been making an observation about the tendency of human beings to lack self-awareness. Unaware people tend to project out their worst fears and most deeply disliked personal characteristics onto other people, rather than participate in meaningful introspection. Thus, when they look at other people they often see the worst of what is in their own personality. Alternately, Sartre may have been making the statement that "Hell is other people" due to the existential dread that results from being surrounded by people who lack self-awareness and oppress others through acting in bad faith. See also Sartre's novel, La Naus(C)e. Read in this context, Sartre's writings would be considered misanthropic since they are an attempt to derive an authentic meaning independent from mankind.
  The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (an early influence on Friedrich Nietzsche) on the other hand, was as famously misanthropic as his reputation, which included his philosophical antinatalism. He wrote that "human existence must be a kind of error." It should be added, however, that misanthropy does not necessarily equate with an inhumane attitude towards humanity. Schopenhauer concluded, in fact, that ethical treatment of others was the best attitude, for we are all fellow sufferers and all part of the same will-to-live; he also discussed suicide with a sympathetic understanding which was rare in his own time, when it was largely a taboo subject.
  Martin Heidegger had also been said to show misanthropy in his concern of the "they" '-- the tendency of people to conform to one view, which no-one has really thought through, but is just followed because, "they say so". This might be thought of as more of a criticism of conformity rather than people in general. Unlike Schopenhauer, Heidegger was opposed to any systematic ethics, however in some of his later thought he does see the possibility of harmony between people, as part of the four-fold, mortals, gods, earth and sky.
  Persian thought[edit]In early and pre-Islamic philosophy, certain thinkers such as Ibn al-Rawandi, a skeptic of Islam, and Muhammad ibn Zakariya ar-Razi often expressed misanthropic views.[7]
  In the Judeo-Islamic philosophies (800''1400), the Jewish philosopherSaadia Gaon, uses the Platonic idea that the self-isolated man is dehumanized by friendlessness[8] to argue against the misanthropy of anchoriteasceticism and reclusiveness.[9]
  See also[edit]
VIDEO-MSNBC's Roberts: Being 'White, Straight, Males' Is The Trifecta Of Privilege | MRCTV
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Fox News Warns Al-Qaeda Could 'Hack Your Car & Crash It'
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  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 22:09
  Fox News on Tuesday advised viewers to revert to vehicles from the 1960s or even a "horse and buggy" because Al-Qaeda terrorists could take over the computer in their car and make it crash.
  In a segment titled "Al Qaeda Behind the Wheel: How Terrorists Could Crash Your Car," cyberterrorism analyst Morgan Wright said that it was a "fact" that "you can take control of a car" through systems like General Motor's OnStar.
  "My concern is when they not only just hack the car, they hack the systems that control these cars or have access to them," Wright noted. "A lot of people say that's farfetched, but one of my examples, you know, on Sept. 10th, 2001, we thought it was farfetched to fly four airplanes into a building, never thought it could happen. So, never say never."
  "So, what do we do as consumers?" Fox News host Jenna Lee wondered.
  "Go back to the horse and buggy," Wright said. "As these things come more connected, your car is loaded with maybe 70, 80 computers at a time, monitoring your emissions, your telemetry, your tire pressure, things like that. So again, maybe it's a short-range thing, maybe it's somebody controlling it from afar. But the point about it is, the more connected we become as a society, the more vulnerabilities we have, because, guys, that's just the Internet."
  Lee then wondered how concerned -- on a scale of one to ten -- should people be about terrorists hacking cars.
  "Right now, I'd say on a scale of one to ten, it's a one and a half," Wright admitted. "There's only one car out there right now, the Infinity Q50 that has a true steering-by-wire system that you could actually -- if you could access to it -- could actually control the vehicle."
  "We thought if you drove a 1968 Camaro, a 1963 Impala, maybe a 1965 Mustang, you wouldn't have these problems, right?" Lee recommended.
  Following the tragic death of Buzzfeed's Michael Hasting, conspiracy theorists -- including former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke -- speculated that the government may have caused the acceleration and subsequent fiery crash.
  But Jalopnik's Jason Torchinsky took a look at claims of terrorists carjackings earlier this year and came to the conclusion that it was "fearmongering bullshit."
MSNBC's Race Baiting Zimmerman Verdict Coverage A Ratings Disaster, Crushed By Both Fox And CNN'... | Weasel Zippers
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  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:59
  Words can't describe the joy I feel when I see MSNBC's ratings implode.
  Via Politico:
  MSNBC's ratings woes came into sharp relief on Monday with the release of the preliminary numbers for the Zimmerman verdict.
  In the 10-11 p.m. hour on Saturday night, when the verdict in, Fox News had 3,682,000 total viewers; CNN had 3,407,000 total viewers and won the coveted demo with 1,716,000 viewers aged 25-to-54.
  In the same hour, MSNBC had 1,298,000 total viewers '-- about one-third of Fox's total '-- and a mere 510,000 viewers in the demo.
  Despite branding itself as ''the place for politics,'' MSNBC went wall-to-wall on the Zimmerman trial after watching its ratings tank in recent months. It doesn't seemed to have helped.
Fox Crushed MSNBC In Ratings After Sanford Verdict on Saturday Night | NewsBusters
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  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:59
  Dylan Byers at Politico underlined that all of MSNBC's focus on the Zimmerman trial did not pay off when the verdict came down on Saturday night -- a time when MSNBC is usually running stale "Lockup" shows.
  During the 10-11 p.m. hour, when the verdict was released, Fox News had 3,682,000 total viewers while MSNBC with 1,298.000. (CNN and HLN both placed ahead of MSNBC).
  MSNBC also trailed dramatically in the 25-54 demographic, with just 510,000 viewers, compared to 1,716,000 on CNN, 1,113,000 on Fox and 980,000 on HLN.
  Byers concluded: ''Despite branding itself as "the place for politics," MSNBC went wall-to-wall on the Zimmerman trial after watching its ratings tank in recent months. It doesn't seemed to have helped.''
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: Jahar's World | Culture News | Rolling Stone
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  July 17, 2013 11:00 AM ET
  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of Rolling Stone.
  Illustration by Sean McCabe
  Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone's long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens. ''THE EDITORS
  Peter Payack awoke around 4 a.m. on April 19th, 2013, and saw on his TV the grainy surveillance photo of the kid walking out of the minimart. The boy, identified as "Suspect #2" in the Boston bombing, looked familiar, thought Payack, a wrestling coach at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. On the other hand, there were a million skinny kids with vaguely ethnic features and light-gray hoodies in the Boston area, and half the city was probably thinking they recognized the suspect. Payack, who'd been near the marathon finish line on the day of the bombing and had lost half of his hearing from the blast, had hardly slept in four days. But he was too agitated to go back to bed. Later that morning, he received a telephone call from his son. The kid in the photo? "Dad, that's Jahar."
  "I felt like a bullet went through my heart," the coach recalls. "To think that a kid we mentored and loved like a son could have been responsible for all this death. It was beyond shocking. It was like an alternative reality."
  People in Cambridge thought of 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev '' "Jahar" to his friends '' as a beautiful, tousle-haired boy with a gentle demeanor, soulful brown eyes and the kind of shy, laid-back manner that "made him that dude you could always just vibe with," one friend says. He had been a captain of the Cambridge Rindge and Latin wrestling team for two years and a promising student. He was also "just a normal American kid," as his friends described him, who liked soccer, hip-hop, girls; obsessed over The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones; and smoked a copious amount of weed.
  Payack stared at his TV, trying to reconcile Dzhokhar, the bomber accused of unspeakable acts of terrorism, with the teenage boy who had his American nickname "Jahar" inscribed on his wrestling jacket. He'd worn it all the time.
  That afternoon, Payack spoke with CNN, where he issued a direct appeal. "Jahar," he said, "this is Coach Payack. There has been enough death, destruction. Please turn yourself in."
  At that precise moment, just west of Cambridge, in suburban Watertown, Jahar Tsarnaev lay bleeding on the floor of a 22-foot motorboat dry-docked behind a white clapboard house. He'd been wounded just after midnight in a violent confrontation with police that had killed his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan. For the next 18 hours, he would lie quietly in the boat, as the dawn broke on a gray day and thousands of law-enforcement officials scoured a 20-block area in search of him. He was found just after 6 p.m., though it would take nearly three more hours for FBI negotiators to persuade him to surrender.
  The following morning, Payack received a text from one of the agents with the FBI's Crisis Negotiating Unit. He'd heard Payack's televised appeal, told him he'd invoked the coach's name while speaking with Jahar. "I think it helped," the agent said. Payack was relieved. "Maybe by telling Jahar that I was thinking about him, it gave him pause," Payack says. "Maybe he'd seen himself going out as a martyr for the cause. But all of a sudden, here's somebody from his past, a past that he liked, that he fit in with, and it hit a soft spot."
  When investigators finally gained access to the boat, they discovered a jihadist screed scrawled on its walls. In it, according­ to a 30-count indictment handed down in late June, Jahar appeared to take responsibility for the bombing, though he admitted he did not like killing innocent people. But "the U.S. government is killing our innocent civilians," he wrote, presumably referring to Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I can't stand to see such evil go unpunished.'‰.'‰.'‰.'‰We Muslims are one body, you hurt one, you hurt us all," he continued, echoing a sentiment that is cited so frequently by Islamic militants that it has become almost clich(C). Then he veered slightly from the standard script, writing a statement that left no doubt as to his loyalties: "Fuck America."
  In the 12 years since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, there have been more than 25 plots to strike the United States hatched by Americans, most of which were ill-conceived or helped along by undercover operatives who, in many cases, provided their targets with weapons or other materials. A few '' including the plots to blow up the New York subway system and Times Square '' were legitimate and would have been catastrophic had they come to fruition. Yet none did until that hazy afternoon of April 15th, 2013, when two pressure-cooker­ bombs exploded near the marathon finish line on Boylston Street, killing three people, including an eight-year-old boy. Close to 300 more were injured by flying shrapnel, with many losing a leg, or an arm, or an eye; a scene of unbelievable carnage that conjured up images of Baghdad, Kabul or Tel Aviv.
  An uneasy panic settled over Boston when it was revealed that the Tsarnaev brothers were not, as many assumed, connected to a terrorist group, but young men seemingly affiliated with no one but themselves. Russian (C)migr(C)s, they had lived in America for a decade '' and in Cambridge, a city so progressive it had its own "peace commission" to promote social justice and diversity. Tamerlan, known to his American friends as "Tim," was a talented boxer who'd once aspired to represent the United States in the Olympics. His little brother, Jahar, had earned a scholarship to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and was thinking about becoming an engineer, or a nurse, or maybe a dentist '' his focus changed all the time. They were Muslim, yes, but they were also American '' especially Jahar, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen on September 11th, 2012.
  Since the bombing, friends and acquaintances of the Tsarnaevs, as well as the FBI and other law-enforcement officials, have tried to piece together a narrative of the brothers, most of which has focused on Tamerlan, whom we now know was on multiple U.S. and Russian watch lists prior to 2013, though neither the FBI nor the CIA could find a reason to investigate him further. Jahar, however, was on no one's watch list. To the contrary, after several months of interviews with friends, teachers and coaches still reeling from the shock, what emerges is a portrait of a boy who glided through life, showing virtually no signs of anger, let alone radical political ideology or any kind of deeply felt religious beliefs.
  At his arraignment at a federal courthouse in Boston on July 10th, Jahar smiled, yawned, slouched in his chair and generally seemed not to fully grasp the seriousness of the situation, while pleading innocent to all charges. At times he seemed almost to smirk '' which wasn't a "smirk," those who know him say. "He just seemed like the old Jahar, thinking, 'What the fuck's going on here?'" says Payack, who was at the courthouse that day.
  It had been the coach who'd helped Jahar come up with his nickname, replacing the nearly impossible-to-decipher Dzhokhar with a simpler and cooler-sounding rendering. "If he had a hint of radical thoughts, then why would he change the spelling of his name so that more Americans in school could pronounce it?" asks one longtime friend, echoing many others. "I can't feel that my friend, the Jahar I knew, is a terrorist," adds another. "That Jahar isn't, to me."
  "Listen," says Payack, "there are kids we don't catch who just fall through the cracks, but this guy was seamless, like a billiard ball. No cracks at all." And yet a deeply fractured boy lay under that facade; a witness to all of his family's attempts at a better life as well as to their deep bitterness when those efforts failed and their dreams proved unattainable. As each small disappointment wore on his family, ultimately ripping them apart, it also furthered Jahar's own disintegration '' a series of quiet yet powerful body punches. No one saw a thing. "I knew this kid, and he was a good kid," Payack says, sadly. "And, apparently, he's also a monster."
  Though Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was raised largely in America, his roots are in the restive North Caucasus, a region that has known centuries of political turmoil. Born on July 22nd, 1993, he spent the first seven years of his life in the mountainous Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, where his father, Anzor, had grown up in exile. Anzor is from Chechnya, the most vilified of the former Soviet republics, whose people have been waging a near-continuous war since the 18th century against Russian rule. Dzhokhar's mother, Zubeidat, is an Avar, the predominantly Muslim ethnic group of Chechnya's eastern neighbor, Dagestan, which has been fighting its own struggle for independence against the Russians since the late 1700s. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Chechen nationalists declared their independence, which resulted in two brutal wars where the Russian army slaughtered tens of thousands of Chechens and leveled its capital city, Grozny. By 1999, the violence had spread throughout the region, including Dagestan.
  Though Islam is the dominant religion of the North Caucasus, religion played virtually no role in the life of Anzor Tsarnaev, a tough, wiry man who'd grown up during Soviet times, when religious worship in Kyrgyzstan was mostly underground. In Dagestan, where Islam had somewhat stronger footing, many women wear hijabs; Zubeidat, though, wore her dark hair like Pat Benatar. The couple met while Anzor was studying law and were married on October 20th, 1986. The next day, their first child, Tamerlan, was born. Three more children would follow, all of them born in Kyrgyzstan, where Anzor secured a job as an investigator in the prosecutor's office in the nation's capital, Bishkek.
  It was a prestigious position, especially for a Chechen, but Anzor had larger ambitions. He hoped to take his family to America, where his brother, Ruslan, an attorney, was building an upper-middle-class life. After Russia invaded Chechnya in 1999, setting off the second of the decade's bloody wars, Anzor was fired from his job as part of a large-scale purge of Chechens from the ranks of the Kyrgyz government. The Tsarnaevs then fled to Zubeidat's native Dage­stan, but war followed close behind. In the spring of 2002, Anzor, Zubeidat and Jahar, then eight, arrived in America on a tourist visa and quickly applied for political asylum. The three older children, Ailina, Bella and Tamerlan, stayed behind with relatives.
  To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here
Boston Mayor Menino shreds Rolling Stone over 'celebrity treatment' of Tsarnaev | Twitchy
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  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:55
  Boston Mayor Thomas Menino sees Rolling Stone's shameful Dzhokhar Tsarnaev cover as a spit in the faces of the victims and survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing, and he's making sure that Rolling Stone co-founder and publisher Jann Wenner knows exactly how he feels:
  Boom.
  Here's the full letter:
  Dear Mr. Wenner,
  Your August 3 cover rewards a terrorist with celebrity treatment. it is ill-conceived, at best, and re-affirms a terrible message that destruction gains fame for killers and their ''causes''. There may be valuable journalism behind your sensational treatment, though we can't know because almost all you released is the cover. (Editor's note: Rolling Stone has since posted the full article online.)
  To respond to you in anger is to feed into your obvious marketing strategy. So I write to you instead to put the focus where you could have: on the brave and strong survivors and on the thousands of people '-- their family and friends, volunteers, first responders, doctors, nurses, and donors '-- who have come to their side. Among those we lost, those who survived, and those who help carry them forward, there are artists and musicians and dancers and writers. They have dreams and plans. They struggle and strive The survivors of the Boston attacks deserve Rolling Stone cover stories, though I no longer feel that Rolling Stone deserves them.
  Sincerely,
  Thomas M. MeninoMayor of Boston
  Magnificently put, Mayor Menino.
  ***
  Related:
  Carson Daly calls out 'irresponsible' Rolling Stone for terror-glamorizing Tsarnaev cover
  'Go to hell': Vocalist David Draiman of Disturbed destroys 'ultra-liberal' Rolling Stone in epic rant
  Tommy Lee, OneRepublic, John Rich slam Rolling Stone's rock-star treatment of Tsarnaev; Jack Osbourne calls for boycott
  WaPo writer: 'Baseless' Rolling Stone blowback is product of 'tedious outrage machine'
  'Boston Strong': CVS tweets refusal to sell terror-glamorizing Rolling Stone issue
  'Ridiculous!': Kevin Sorbo blasts Rolling Stone's glamorization of Boston bomber
  Ralph Macchio retweet sums up disgraceful Rolling Stone cover in a 'pathetic' nutshell
  'Serious and thoughtful': Rolling Stone issues statement on Tsarnaev cover
  'Rolling go f*ck yourself?': Iron Sheik puts Rolling Stone in a camel clutch
  Another: Walgreens tweets refusal to sell Rolling Stone issue featuring Tiger Beat-ish Tsarnaev cover
Notice to Congress -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Former Liberian Regime of Charles Taylor
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  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:22
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  July 17, 2013
  NOTICE
  - - - - - - -
  CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TOTHE FORMER LIBERIAN REGIME OF CHARLES TAYLOR
  On July 22, 2004, by Executive Order 13348, the President declared a national emergency with respect to the former Liberian regime of Charles Taylor pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States constituted by the actions and policies of former Liberian President Charles Taylor and other persons, in particular their unlawful depletion of Liberian resources and their removal from Liberia and secreting of Liberian funds and property, which have undermined Liberia's transition to democracy and the orderly development of its political, administrative, and economic institutions and resources.
  Although Liberia has made significant advances to promote democracy, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone convicted Charles Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the actions and policies of Charles Taylor and others have left a legacy of destruction that could still challenge Liberia's transformation and recovery. The actions and policies of these persons continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, the national emergency declared on July 22, 2004, and the measures adopted on that date to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond July 22, 2013. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13348.
  This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.
  BARACK OBAMA
Imagining If The Races Were Reversed In The Zimmerman Case
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  Source: JustOneMinute
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:21
  I am shocked that the shooting of Chris Cervini by Roderick Scott was overlooked for so long by so many (but not all!) during the Zimmerman hoop-la. Geez, imagine if a black man intent on stopping crime shot a white kid. Or rather than imagine, check this case from upstate New York that unfolded during 2009:
  Late Friday evening, a Monroe County jury reached a unanimous verdict in the trial of Roderick Scott: not guilty of manslaughter in the first degree. Scott had gunned down a teenage hoodlum who had been breaking into cars in his neighborhood. The prosecution portrayed it as an act of vigilante behavior run amok; Scott and his defense team presented the incident as the unfortunate result of reasonable behavior by a concerned citizen paired with the foolishness of a teenager under the influence of alcohol, drugs and bad peers.
  The kids were caught in the act of breaking into cars and had the drug/alcohol thing, so Scott had that going for him. On the other hand, Scott "had the build of a football player", was never actually struck by any of the teens, and managed to shoot the dead boy twice, once in the back. Ooops.
  Unlike Zimmerman, Scott was promptly arrested. Like Zimmerman, he was eventually acquited by a jury that apparently felt his self-defense argument created reasonable doubt.
  Here is some eerily prescient speculation from 2009:
  Had this same series of events occurred with a different cast of characters, could we expect the public and, more important, the jury, to treat the actors the same way? In this case, Scott was an African American man, his victim a white teenaged male. Had the race of these two been reversed -- a white man shooting an African American youth -- would the trial have received more attention? Would motives have been scrutinized more closely? Would conservative commentators rallied to the shooter's defense (because you know how criminally-inclined those youth are...)? Would activists have championed the cause of the victim as yet another casualty of stereotypes and bigotry? Difficult to say, but all fair questions to ask. Perhaps this community was lucky, in a way, that the characters were cast as they were.
  I guess we have some answers there.
  Meanwhile, after all their hyperventilating about the hideous Stand Your Ground law in Florida, let's take a nano-second to review the entirety of the NY Times coverage of this upstate New York case:
  That was easy. Hello, Charles Blow? Helloooooo?
  PILING ON: The DoJ has time on its hands and is trolling for tips on a private citizen without any of those vexing warrants or indictments or the sorts of things that we normally associate with the FBI's Most Wanted list. Well, if they want to investigate acquited citizens, maybe we can tip them off to the Roderick Scott case.
Licensed Vodka Production in Russia Plummets Nearly 30%
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  Source: RIA Novosti
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 16:12
  MOSCOW, July 17 (RIA Novosti) '' Licensed vodka makers in Russia are distilling much less of the country's most famous spirit because, market watchers say, it is increasingly being made illegally.
  According to data released by the State Statistics Service on Wednesday, legal vodka production plummeted 28.3 percent in the first six months of this year, compared with the same period last year.
  This year, the government-imposed minimum price of a half-liter bottle of vodka was raised to 170 rubles ($5) from 98 rubles ($3). That price is reinforced by higher excise duties for alcohol.
  Russia's Union of Alcohol Producers had protested that such a hike would likely translate into more counterfeit products flooding the market.
  Vadim Drobiz, who heads the independent Center for the Study of Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets, said in an interview that the state had failed to prevent illegally produced vodka from being sold in stores. ''That translates into growth of the illegal market,'' he added.
  He said he expected sales of licensed vodka to fall 10 percent this year, and production '' 20 to 25 percent.
  Kleshchukov, CEO of Organic Vodka Group, said he anticipated that license vodka production would drop 25 percent this year. He said demand for vodka had remained relatively unchanged, and the output contraction was due to legitimate products being replaced with illegal ones.
  ''The main fall is observed in the so-called 'popular product' segment, where vodka costs 170 rubles [$5] to 200 rubles [$6],'' he said. ''The other segments are not falling, whereas the premium segment is even rising.''
  He added that production for the lower-price segment would continue to contract next year.
Soldiers Allege Laura Poitras, Co-Author of NSA Scoop, Had Foreknowledge of 2004 Iraqi Attack on U.S. Troops | The Weekly Standard
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  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 13:07
  Soldiers Allege Laura Poitras, Co-Author of NSA Scoop, Had Foreknowledge of 2004 Iraqi Attack on U.S. Troops
  Prior to the attack, the streets were eerily quiet. "There was nothing else going on," Ditto said. "People had left the streets, which was pretty common when there was an attack about to happen. It was kind of one of the things we would look for. When things got too quiet it's because the locals were alerted that there was going to be an attack. And to see anybody up with a camera about to film something it's because they were waiting" for an attack to happen.
  "It was later we had found out that Zarqawi's soldiers, basically in response to a raid on a mosque the night prior, sort of wanted to try to get revenge there," Ditto said, referring to the deceased leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
  According to Devil's Sandbox, Poitras met with three commanding U.S. Army officers two days after the ambush: "The [Brigade Commander] turned to Laura Poitras and ask her if she had seen and filmed the attack on his men. Ditto's platoon had reported seeing windows taped around Adhamiya, a sure sign that the local civilians knew of the ambushes in advance. The fact that the shops were all secured, gates were locked, and nobody was out on the streets that morning also strongly indicated that the locals had foreknowledge of the engagements. The [Brigade Commander] and Major Warington wanted to know if Poitras had advance knowledge of the attacks. It stood to reason that she did, because she was living with Doctor Aladhadh's family in the middle of one of the kill zones."
  Bruning, who was not embedded with the 2nd Battalion but conducted numerous interviews with the troops who were, told me Tuesday night that Doctor Riyadh Aladhadh, the main subject of Poitras's documentary, "was strongly suspected of being one of the key insurgent leaders for the Sunni insurgency of that particular district of Baghdad."
  "If she had advance knowledge, she did not call and warn the battalion. Major Warrington had given her his contact information" 10 days prior to the attack, Bruning wrote in Devil's Sandbox. "She had the ability to report the pending attacks to her fellow countrymen. She did not do this."
  During her November 22 meeting with Army officers, Poitras denied that she had been on the rooftop, and the two U.S. soldiers who saw the woman on the rooftop failed to positively identify her, so she was let go, according to the book. Bruning told me Tuesday night that if the commanding officer had known for sure she was on the roof, "he would have arrested her right there on the spot."
  Bruning claims in his book that Poitras later admitted to him in an email that she had in fact been on the roof that day. Bruning revealed for the first time to THE WEEKLY STANDARD on Tuesday night that he provided a copy of the email to a U.S. soldier, who in turn contacted U.S. law enforcement, which allegedly led to a Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation. "That triggered a JTTF investigation in New York," Bruning told me. "The JTTF guys flew out here. They interviewed me. They interviewed the guys from the platoon. I turned over all the documentation I had."
  No charges have ever been filed against Poitras, but Bruning and Ditto say the soldiers ambushed in Adhamiya on November 20, 2004 found the circumstantial evidence to be compelling. "To be exactly positioned to capture a vehicular ambush in the middle of Baghdad is either a huge fluke or you have foreknowledge that that was coming," Bruning told me.
  "The fact that she was standing there with [Aladhadh], the guy who everybody suspected was responsible for orchestrating the attack and had been living with him was proof enough for everybody in [Battalion] 2-162 to believe that she had foreknowledge," Bruning said. "It just defied all logic that she wouldn't have known it was coming."
  THE WEEKLY STANDARD tried to contact Poitras through the Freedom of the Press Foundation on Tuesday but did not receive a response.
Glenn Greenwald says his house may have been broken into.
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  Source: WT news feed
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:42
  Edward Snowdon (REUTERS)
  Media reports have said Mr Snowden is travelling with four laptop computers but Mr Greenwald said the former contractor is not foolish enough to store information where it could be easily seized.
  "There are all sorts of smarter and safer ways for someone who knows what they're doing - and he knows what he's doing - to store and carry large amounts of data," he said.
  In an article in the Guardian, which first published the documents, Mr Greenwald said that Mr Snowden told him he never gave any information to the Russian or Chinese governments.
  He said he spoke to Mr Snowden over the weekend and on Tuesday and that the leaker "vehemently denied" rumours that his data had been acquired by Moscow or Beijing.
  Mr Greenwald quoted him as saying that "I never gave any information to either government, and they never took anything from my laptops."
  Critics of Mr Snowden's leaks have often wondered at his relationship with Chinese or Russian authorities.
  Currently stranded in Moscow, the 30-year-old has applied for asylum in 27 countries in a bid to evade US justice for disclosing the existence of US electronic surveillance operations on a global scale.
  Mr Greenwald confirmed the conventional thinking that Venezuela is Mr Snowden's most likely destination.
  ''I didn't spend any time talking about his asylum plans, I don't really know what he's planning on doing in terms of that," he told AFP.
  "To me, Venezuela seems like the most logical choice because it's bigger and stronger than the other two countries that offered asylum and will be able to protect him."
  "He's anxious about the next step... but feels really good about the debate he provoked," he added.
  "He's very calm, without any fear and definitely happy about the choices that he made.''
BREAKING! Edward Snowden May Leave Moscow Airport Very Soon!
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Attorney General Holder Targets 'Stand Your Ground' Laws Talking To NAACP Convention
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FBI bars Florida from releasing autopsy report in shooting of Todashev, friend of Marathon bombing suspect
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  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:41
  Source: Boston Globe
  A Florida medical examiner's office said Tuesday that the FBI has ordered the office not to release its autopsy report of a Chechen man fatally shot by a Boston FBI agent in May because of the federal agency's active internal investigation into his death.
  The medical examiner's office said it completed the autopsy report on Ibragim Todashev, a friend of suspected Boston Marathon bomber c, on July 8 and that the report was ''ready for release.'' The agent shot and killed Todashev on May 22 in his Orlando apartment during an interrogation related to the Boston Marathon bombings.
  ''The FBI has informed this office that the case is still under active investigation and thus not to release the document,'' Tony Miranda, forensic records coordinator for Orange and Osceola counties in Orlando, said in a letter to the media today. Miranda said state law bars his office from releasing the report if an criminal investigation is ongoing.
  The FBI and the Justice Department are conducting an internal inquiry into the shooting, but critics have called for an independent inquiry, questioning the blanket of secrecy surrounding the case.
  The FBI and the Massachusetts State Police sought out Todashev after the Marathon bombings, but have refused to release details of the shooting. Media reports have provided conflicting accounts: Some said Todashev attacked the agent with a blade during an interrogation, while others said Todashev was unarmed. Another said he lunged at the agent with a metal pole or a broomstick.
  The medical examiner's office said it would check with the FBI every month for permission to release the autopsy report, and that such delays most frequently happen with homicide cases.
  According to media reports, Todashev was about to sign a confession implicating himself and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who is now dead, in the 2011 slayings of three men in Waltham. Instead, Todashev lunged at the agent, who was injured, according to reports. The agent shot Todashev multiple times, according to family members who released photos of Todashev's dead body as part of their call for an inquiry into his death.
  Family members and advocacy groups have questioned the media accounts, pointing out that Todashev had repeatedly cooperated with the FBI and had been weakened by recent knee surgery.
  The Council on American-Islamic Relations and the ACLU have called for independent inquiries into the shooting.
  The council said in a letter to the Department of Justice, which oversees the FBI and is participating in the internal inquiry, that FBI agents had approached Todashev in an aggressive manner. In one instance, the council said, six law enforcement agents drew their guns and pushed Todashev to the ground.
  Todashev, a 27-year-old ethnic Chechen like Tsarnaev, came to America in 2008 to study English and won asylum that year from his native Russia. He lived in Allston and Cambridge before moving south to Florida.
  A mixed martial arts fighter, Todashev was arrested in 2010 in Boston for a road-rage incident and again in Florida weeks before he was killed for allegedly beating a man in a fight over a parking space.
  According to CAIR in Florida, which is conducting its own investigation into Todashev's slaying, Todashev had spoken to the FBI at least three times at their offices after the Marathon bombings. Family and friends have said he postponed a trip home to Chechnya to speak with the FBI the night of May 21, staying up with them past midnight until he was killed.
  Maria Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @mariasacchetti
Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail app under investigation
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  Source: Culture | guardian.co.uk
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:39
  Jay-Z performs on the second day of the Yahoo! Wireless Festival at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London on 13 July. Photograph: Joseph Okpako/Getty Images
  A privacy advocacy group has asked the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate the app created for Jay-Z's new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. The Electronic Privacy Information Centre (Epic) has accused Samsung of implementing software that is unnecessarily invasive, "depriving users of meaningful choice regarding the collection of their data".
  Around 1.2 million people installed Samsung's Android-enabled Magna Carta app, affording them early access to Jay-Z's new LP. In order to install the programme, users reportedly had to agree to give up details of their location, phone call details, networks and other apps on their phones. They also had to sign in through Facebook or Twitter and give the Magna Carta app permission to post on their behalf.
  As rapper Killer Mike put it, when he saw the app's privacy requests: "I read this and, 'Naw, I'm cool [without]' '... I'm not comfortable with that."
  In its request to the FTC on Tuesday, Epic asked that Samsung be ordered to "delete the user data that was improperly obtained" and, in future, collect only user data that is "necessary to run the app".
  "Samsung failed to disclose material information about the privacy practices of the app '... and failed to implement reasonable data minimisation procedures," Epic said.
  Samsung insisted that its Magna Carta app is in line with other similar products. "Any information obtained through the application download process was purely for customer verification purposes, app functionality purposes, and for marketing communications, but only if the customer requests to receive those marketing communications," the company told the Los Angeles Times in a statement. "Samsung is in no way inappropriately using or selling any information obtained from users through the download process," it said.
  In Jay-Z's Twitter Q&A last week, reporter Dylan Beyers asked him for his reaction to charges that his app was "invasive". "Sux," Hova tweeted, "must do better".
  Magna Carta Holy Grail is currently the UK's number one album.
Italy court sentences Pirelli head in spying probe
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  Source: Reuters: World News
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:38
  TweetShare thisEmailPrintPirelli president Marco Tronchetti Provera smiles in the paddock after the third practice session of the Italian F1 Grand Prix at the Monza circuit September 8, 2012.
  Credit: Reuters/Giorgio Perottino
  MILAN | Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:02am EDT
  MILAN (Reuters) - A Milan court handed the chairman of tire maker Pirelli, Marco Tronchetti Provera, a 20 month suspended jail sentence on Wednesday in a case involving the use of Telecom Italia's data to spy on Italy's elite.
  Tronchetti Provera, one of Italy's most prominent businessmen who was head of Telecom Italia from 2001 to 2006, was convicted on charges of receiving illegal information from stolen phone data in 2004. He was also ordered to pay 900,000 euros ($1.2 million) to the telecoms company.
  A lawyer for Tronchetti Provera, who denies any wrongdoing, said there was "no logic" in the verdict and that he would appeal. The sentence will not take effect until the appeal process is exhausted.
  The case centers on accusations that some Telecom Italia employees spied on Italian public figures by stealing sensitive data.
  Tronchetti Provera was not in court. In the past he has repeatedly said Telecom Italia had reported the suspected abuse to the authorities and had seen its reputation damaged as a result.
  ($1 = 0.7612 euros)
  (Reporting by Ilaria Polleschi; Writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by David Holmes)
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Infinit is a new simple file sharing app for OSX, using P2P
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  Source: Hacker News
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:34
  Back in 2006, a London/Prague-based company called AllPeers was, in the words of TechCrunch founder Mike Arrington, set to ''take the world by storm'' (and I remember feeling exactly the same way).
  Based on the peer-to-peer bittorrent protocol, it consisted of a Firefox browser plugin that offered a dead-simple way for users to share files on their computer with anybody else in their AllPeers buddy list. Sadly, however, the startup was arguably ahead of its time and deadpooled in 2008.
  (When I met the defunct company's co-founder and serial entrepreneur Cedric Maloux in 2011, I excitedly uttered the words, ''you were like Dropbox before Dropbox''. He gave me a look in return that only those who have 'failed' startup scars can truly appreciate.)
  Of course, it could be argued that in the time that's passed, the one-to-one and one-to-many file sharing problem has largely been solved thanks to the cloud and a plethora of file sharing and cloud-storage services that ride its coattails. But still, I couldn't help have my interest piqued when hearing about French startup Infinit, which enters private Beta today with a new P2P file sharing service that is more than a little reminiscent of the simplicity of AllPeers.
  Shunning bittorrent for its own file sharing technology '-- developed off the back of co-founder Julien Quintard's PhD research on decentralized file systems while at the University of Cambridge '-- the Mac OSX-only app sees Infinit's service integrated directly with OSX's Finder, not dissimilar to Apple's own AirDrop for local network file sharing.
  Once installed, the Infinit icon shows up in the user's Finder favourites, just like their own home folder or an attached USB drive, for example, whilst the Infinit interface consists of 8 avatars '-- seven of your most shared with 'friends' plus yourself '-- and a search bar for finding and sharing with others, including based on their email address. File transfers are initiated via a simple drag and drop of the content you wish to share onto the avatar of the person you wish to share it with, and a menu item in the Finder's menu bar keeps tabs on how file transfers are progressing, new file transfer requests, and access to other settings.
  In terms of security, Infinit says it uses direct encryption for files transferred between a sender's device and a recipient's device, ''ensuring both security and privacy such that no third-party can ever interact with or access the exchanged data'', including Infinit itself.
  Pricing-wise, Infinit will offer a free option with a limit of 2GB for file sizes, and various paid plans where file size will be unlimited. In addition, it says that anyone who downloads Infinit during its private Beta will get an unlimited version of the file transfer application ''for life'' (or as long as it avoids the fate of AllPeers).
  Infinit is a graduate of the Le Camping accelerator program and is backed to the tune of $500,000 from Alive Ideas, a fund held by the founders of Clubic (now M6 Web), as well as two unnamed early executives at Sun Microsystems.
  Infinit is a peer-to-peer file system and file transfer application allowing users to store, access and share their files in a safe and collaborative way from any Internet-connected device. Users can aggregate their hard drive space together by sharing files or folders with one another. Shared files are hosted permanently on multi-person, multi-device networks created by the users. By aggregating storage space, users have access to more content and are no longer constrained to the storage capacity of their local...
  '†' Learn moreDropbox was founded in 2007 by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi. Frustrated by working from multiple computers, Drew was inspired to create a service that would let people bring all their files anywhere, with no need to email around attachments. Drew created a demo of Dropbox and showed it to fellow MIT student Arash Ferdowsi, who dropped out with only one semester left to help make Dropbox a reality. Guiding their decisions was a relentless focus on crafting a...
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Geen benzine langs Italiaanse snelwegen
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  Source: VK: Home
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:31
  Bewerkt door: redactie '' 17/07/13, 13:47 '' bron: ANP
  (C) EPA. Een benzinestation in Napels op archiefbeeld.
  Toeristen die van of naar Itali rijden, moeten met een goedgevulde tank op weg gaan. Personeel van tankstations langs Italiaanse snelwegen staakt, dus brandstof is niet of heel moeilijk te krijgen, waarschuwt de ANWB. Medewerkers legden het werk dinsdagavond neer en willen pas vrijdagochtend weer aan het werk.
  Mensen krijgen het advies te tanken, voor ze de grens overgaan naar Itali. Toeristen die al in het Zuid-Europese land verblijven, kunnen het beste tanken bij pompstations in de steden en langs provinciale wegen. Lange wachttijden zijn daarbij volgens de Duitse ANWB (ADAC) niet uitgesloten. Een beperkt aantal tankstations langs de snelwegen is open.
  Met de actie willen vakbonden de regering onder druk zetten op te treden tegen oliemaatschappijen en tankstations die in strijd met de cao werken en wetten niet nakomen. Dat leidt volgens hen tot werkloosheid. Minister Flavio Zanonato van Economische Ontwikkeling wil met de vakbonden praten, maar de ontmoeting zal pas volgende week donderdag plaatshebben.
Greta Van Susteren Destroys Trayvon Martin Family Attorney For Saying Her Job Is To Be A 'Social Engineer'. (video)
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  Source: WT news feed
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:31
  A fiery confrontation erupted between Fox News Channel anchor Greta Van Susteren and Tryavon Martin family attorney Jasmine Rand on Monday night after the lawyer argued that it was her job as a legal counsel to also be a ''social engineer.'' Her comment spurred Van Susteren to blast Rand for not properly understanding her role as an attorney and for presumptuously questioning the decision reached by a jury.
  Rand was openly critical of the jury's decision to acquit George Zimmerman of culpability for the 2012 shooting death of Martin in her appearance on Fox News.
  ''I don't think that they properly considered the evidence,'' Rand declared. ''If they had listened to the evidence and they had followed the law, then George Zimmerman would have been convicted of murder.''
  ''You're a lawyer, right?'' Van Susteren asked sternly. ''It's your duty '-- it's not mine, it's not yours, or anybody else '-- but it's the jury's duty to weigh [the evidence]. All of the sudden, suddenly, afterwards you say they can't do their job?''
  ''I have a greater duty beyond being an attorney, and that's to be a social engineer,'' Rand shot back. ''And when the law doesn't get it right, I believe that we have the right to peacefully, and morally, conscientiously object to the decision of the jury.''
  Van Susteren did not appreciate what she called Rand's ''deeply disturbing'' response. The Fox host said that she knows Rand is aware that many of the Americans protesting the verdict did not watch the case as intently as the jury did and is not as aware of the facts of the case.
  ''This social engineering? I don't know. That's more like social manipulation,'' Van Susteren said. ''Justice is presented in a courtroom with both sides having an opportunity. That's justice.''
  ''Courtrooms do not always deliver justice,'' Rand countered. ''You're aware of the civil rights movement.''
  ''I bet if we put my career up next to yours in terms of yours on civil rights and what we've done in a courtroom for poor people, I'll put my career up against yours any day you want, jasmine,'' The Fox host declared. ''I just don't criticize juries.''
  Rand said that she meant by invoking the term ''social engineer'' that Zimmerman would not have been arrested in the first place were it not for the outcry from American minorities demanding the state indict Zimmerman on some charge.
  If Van Susteren had the time, it's likely that she would have informed Rand that criminal indictments in America are not handed down as a response to unrest. Further, maybe Van Susteren would have mentioned that the state could not convict Zimmerman after, by her own admission, they charged him only as a result of the public clamor.
  But Van Susteren delivered an effective dressing down nonetheless. It was glorious to watch.
  Watch the exchange below via Fox News Channel:
  > >Follow Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) on Twitter
McAfees Phyllis Schneck leading candidate for DHS cybersecurity post
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  Source: WT news feed
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:30
  Phyllis Schneck, the vice president and chief technology officer for public sector at McAfee, is the likely choice to be the next deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity at DHS. The DHS deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity oversees DHS's cyber operations, including its relationship with private businesses which run utilities and critical infrastructure.
  Phyllis Schneck, the vice president and chief technology officer for public sector at McAfee, is the likely choice to be the next deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity at DHS.
  The Hillreports that the DHS deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity oversees DHS's cyber operations, including its relationship with private businesses which run utilities and critical infrastructure.
  Mark Weatherford previously held the position, but left the department in May to become a principal at the Chertoff group.
  Earlier this year Weatherford described the position is the top cybersecurity job in the federal government besides the head of the National Security Agency (NSA).
  ''I'm biased beyond any shadow of a doubt '... [but] I think there are two important cybersecurity jobs in the nation right now: Gen. [Keith] Alexander's role at the National Security Agency and the deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity at DHS,'' Weatherford told theHill. ''Not just because of the executive order, but when you look at DHS's responsibility of working with the 16 critical infrastructure [sectors across] the nation, there is no single person that has broader influence over those.''
  Schneck has been on several witness panels at congressional hearing on cybersecurity, especially those that deal with the partnership between the public and private sectors to protect key U.S. infrastructure.
  Schneck would be a critical hire as DHS will soon begin a cybersecurity program that will require critical infrastructure companies to follow a set of security standards as part of President Obama's executive order on cybersecurity.
  Among the other candidates considered for the position were Deborah Plunkett, an official at the NSA, Tiffany Jones, head of Symantec's public-sector programs and strategic initiative teams, and Jeff Moss, a hacker that founded the annual Black Hat hacker conference.
  Leave a commentRegister for your own account so you may participate in comment discussion. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to abide by our Comment Guidelines, our Privacy Policy, and Terms of Use. Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief. Names are displayed with all comments. Learn more about Joining our Web Community.
Al Qaeda Confirms Top Pentagon Propaganda!
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  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:30
Convenient. FBI blocks slain Tsarnaev associate's autopsy release
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  Archived Version
  Source: USA RSS
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:24
  The FBI has ordered a Florida medical examiner's office not to release the autopsy report of a Chechen man who was killed during an FBI interview in May over his ties to one of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers.
  The autopsy report for Ibragim Todashev, 27, killed by an FBI agent during an interrogation which took place in his apartment on May 22 was ready for release on July 8. However, the FBI barred its publication, saying an internal probe into his death is ongoing.
  ''The FBI has informed this office that the case is still under active investigation and thus not to release the document,'' according to statement by Tony Miranda, forensic records coordinator for Orange and Osceola counties in Orlando.
  The medical examiner's office promised to check on a monthly basis whether the FBI is ready to grant permission for release of the autopsy report.
  Todashev was interrogated by the FBI several times following the Boston Marathon bombings, with the final interview resulting in a fatal altercation. He was supposedly questioned over his alleged role in an unsolved 2011 triple homicide in Waltham, Massachusetts, which bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have been implicated in. Todashev was reportedly about to sign a written statement which would have tied him to the murders when he allegedly attacked an FBI agent.
  The Bureau's statement issued on the day of the incident provided no details of what transpired, saying only that the person being interviewed was killed when a ''violent confrontation was initiated by the individual.''
  Investigators, most of them speaking anonymously, would later offer conflicting accounts of what happened in Todashev's final minutes, with some claiming the man brandished a knife and others insistinghe was unarmed.
  Ibragim Todashev's father showed pictures of his dead son's body at a press conference in Moscow. The photographs revealed he had been shot six times, including once in the crown of his head. His father suspected the head wound could indicate a kill shot.
  Despite the FBI's promise to look into the case, civil rights activists have called for an independent investigation.
  The US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division announced on Monday it was overseeing a federal inquiry into the shooting incident.
  ''Federal prosecutors will review the evidence and make an independent determination whether a federal criminal investigation is warranted,'' the Boston Herald cites a letter by US Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roy L. Austin as saying.
  Todashev's widow, Reniya Manukyan, welcomed news of the federal inquiry.
  ''We are glad that DOJ started. Hopefully it will bring more attention of the public and everybody will question the FBI and why they are not releasing anything,'' she said.
Michael Hastings Cremated, Family Never Requested; Wife Has Hired Private Detective
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  Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:23
  There are many new developments in the Michael Hastings story. Hastings is the journalist who was killed in an unusual fiery car crash, a few weeks ago.According to a San Dego 6 news reporter, Kimberly Dvorak, Hastings' body was cremated without the consent of the Hasting's family. Dvorak also reports that she was threatened for investigating the story and that Hastings' wife has hired a private detective.
  (ht Warren Tilson)
Smoke & Mirrors on CIA/NSA Collaboration all to describe Snowden Risk
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  Archived Version
  Source: Interesting News Items
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:23
  Sounds like someone is trying to play down the internal intelligence battle, but then we see the Snowden money shot at the end.
  http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/07/16/the_cias_new_black_bag_is_digital_nsa_cooperation?page=full
School meal kills 19 in India
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  Source: BBC News - Home
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 05:03
  17 July 2013Last updated at00:56 ETAt least 20 children have died and dozens more have fallen sick after eating a tainted school meal in India's eastern state of Bihar.
  The poisoning occurred at a government school in the village of Marakh in Saran district.
  A probe has been launched and 200,000 rupees ($3,370) in compensation offered to the families of each of the dead.
  India's Mid-Day Meal Scheme provides free food to try to boost attendance, but often suffers from poor hygiene.
  Twenty eight sick children were taken to hospitals in the nearby town of Chhapra and the state capital, Patna, after the incident.
  A total of 47 students of a primary school in Dharmasati Gandaman village fell sick on Tuesday after eating the free lunch.
  'Food poisoning'There are fears the death toll could rise as some of the children, all below the age of 12, are critically ill.
  The father of one sick child, Raja Yadav, said his son was vomiting after returning from school and had to be rushed to hospital.
  Doctors treating the patients say that "food poisoning" was the cause of the deaths.
  "We suspect it to be poisoning caused by insecticides in vegetable or rice," Amarjeet Sinha, a senior education official, told the BBC.
  A doctor treating the children at a hospital in Patna said contaminated vegetable oil could have led to the poisoning.
  Patna-based journalist Amarnath Tewary says villagers told local reporters that similar cases of food poisoning after having Mid Day Meals had taken place in the area previously.
  Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called an emergency meeting and ordered a team of forensic experts to the school.
  Bihar is one of India's poorest and most populous states.
  The Mid-Day Meal is the world's largest feeding programme reaching out to 120 million children in 1.2 million schools across the country, according to the government.
  It was first introduced for poor and disadvantaged children in the southern city of Chennai in 1925.
Obama: If you oppose the Gang of Eight immigration bill you're probably scared of minorities
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  Source: Twitchy » US Politics
  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 05:02
  During an interview on Spanish-language network Telemundo today, Obama implied opponents of the Gang of Eight amnesty bill are motivated by racism. You might have thought that the race card would have an expiration date or at least dim in the light of the post-racial president, but Obama makes sure that our politics are continually colored by skin-deep analysis.
Facebook Reports More Unfriending And Blocking Sunday Than Any Day In Its History | Unreal News Online
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  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 02:26
  Image16Jul
  MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA '' Passions ran high Sunday night as CNN and other news outlets reported the not guilty Zimmerman verdict. Tweets and Facebook status updates were filled with posts ranging from cries of vengeance to jubilant shouts of joy. Strong opinions were prevalent and as a result more people hit the unfriend and block buttons in any day in Facebook's history. Said Zuckerberg, ''Everybody had something to say about Sunday's verdict. Charges of racism were thrown around at everyone. Tempers flared and a lot of connections and ties were severed. It was even worse than the day the Casey Anthony verdict was announced. It really makes you wonder what would have happened if Facebook were around in 1995 when the O.J. Simpson trial reached its conclusion.''
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VIDEO-'US citizen has no right to free speech?' State Dept spokesperson grilled over Snowden - YouTube
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  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 02:18
Feds consider civil rights charges against George Zimmerman | GlobalPost
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  Wed, 17 Jul 2013 02:08
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  George Zimmerman was acquitted by the state of Florida in the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin but he may face more charges at the federal level.
  The US Justice Department said Sunday it would look into the case and consider whether to bring criminal civil rights charges against Zimmerman.
  The department opened an investigation into the shooting last year but stepped aside so the state could conduct its own investigation.
  "Experienced federal prosecutors will determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation of any of the limited federal criminal civil rights statutes within our jurisdiction," the statement said, according to The Associated Press.
  The department added that it will determine "whether federal prosecution is appropriate in accordance with the department's policy governing successive federal prosecution following a state trial."
  A jury found Zimmerman not guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter Saturday night after a highly publicized trial.
  Zimmerman admitted to killing Martin that rainy night in February 2012 but claimed it was in self defense.
  More from GlobalPost: 'Justice for Trayvon' shouts echo after Zimmerman found not guilty
  Civil rights groups including the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union called upon US Attorney General Eric Holder to look into the case.
  "Those of us who are fathers, particularly of African-American boys, find it shockingly frightening," Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington bureau said in a statement.
  The message, he said, is, "Not only can we do this, we can get away with it."
  If the Justice Department does open a federal civil rights case it will likely be a tough case to prove.
  "There are several factual and legal hurdles that federal prosecutors would have to overcome," Alan Vinegrad, the former US Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, told AP.
  "They'd have to show not only that the attack was unjustified, but that Mr. Zimmerman attacked Mr. Martin because of his race and because he was using a public facility, the street."
  President Barack Obama said on Sunday that "a jury has spoken."
  "I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher," Obama said.
  But he asked the public to respect the Martin family's appeal for "calm reflection" in the case.
  http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/130714/feds-consider-civil-rights-charges-against-georg
boeing sales cancelled - Google Search
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:19
  Boeing 787 Profit Plan Strained by Order Cancellation - WSJ.comonline.wsj.com/.../SB10000872396390444082904577607763462282088. html- Cached23 Aug 2012 ... Qantas Airways' cancellation of orders for 35 Boeing 787 Dreamliners ...Boeinghas set ambitious sales forecasts for the 787 and enjoyed an ...Boeing loses 747-8 sales, defers deliveries of newest jumbo jet ...seattletimes.com/html/.../2020910238_boeing747xml.html- Cached2 May 2013 ... That jet was ordered then canceled by Atlas Air. ''We're in ... She said Boeing hasa lot of active sales campaigns to fill up that delivery flow.Boeing 717 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBAe canceled its Avro RJX (an updated BAe 146 with modern engines); Fairchild... In January 2005, citing slow sales, Boeing announced that it planned to end ...List of Boeing 787 orders and deliveries - Wikipedia, the free ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boeing_787_orders_and_deliveries- CachedThis article lists the orders and deliveries for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. As ofJune 2013, the two largest airline orders are by All Nippon Airways (66) and ...Competition between Airbus and Boeing - Wikipedia, the free ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_between_Airbus_and_Boeing- Cached - SimilarAs of April 2009 no airline has cancelled an order for the passenger version ofthe .... Most aircraft dominating the companies' current sales, the Boeing 737-NG ...Boeing Commercial Airplanes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Commercial_Airplanes- Cached - SimilarThe Boeing trademark, a stylized planet and airplane in gray, shown next to the ...and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes is Ray Conner, the former head ofSales, ....Boeing 7J7 '' high-efficiency propfan airliner, canceled and may later ...Orders and Deliveries - Boeingwww.boeing.com/commercial/orders/
  [PDF] The Boeing Company 2010 Annual Reportwww.boeing.com/assets/pdf/companyoffices/financial/.../annual_report.pdf
  Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer .... Ina strong year for sales, new orders for ...... termination or cancellation costs.Boeing 787 leads United's flight cancellation list - Wichita Business ...www.bizjournals.com/wichita/.../boeing-787-leads-uniteds-flight.html- Cached3 Jul 2013 ... s 787 Dreamliner accounted for most canceled flights for United. ...Boeingmaintains the more recent problems with the 787 are simply ''teething pains'' like... Aero Business Group in Wichita still sees possible Beechcraft sale ...U.S OKs Sale of Boeing F-15 or Lockheed Martin F-35 to South ...edmonds.patch.com/.../us-oks-sale-of-boeing-f-15-or-lockheed-martin-f-35- toc6f6be29b3- CachedU.S OKs Sale of Boeing F-15 or Lockheed Martin F-35 to South Korea. Locked ina crisis with its neighbor to the north, South Korea is expected to make a ...
Korean Air Buying 747-8s to End Boeing's Sales Drought - Bloomberg
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:17
  By Julie Johnsson and Thomas BlackJune 18, 2013 9:50 PM EDTKorean Air Lines Co. (003490) agreed to buy five Boeing Co. (BA) 747-8 passenger planes as part of a planned $3.6 billion purchase of wide-body aircraft, giving a sales boost to a jumbo jet whose output is being cut due to weak demand.
  Korean Air, the second-largest global operator of the jumbo known for its iconic fuselage hump, is the first at the Paris Air Show to commit to the 747-8 Intercontinental, which lists for $351 million. The Seoul-based carrier also intends to buy six twin-engine 777-300ER jets from Chicago-based Boeing, according to a statement yesterday at the expo.
  Boeing still trails Airbus SAS in sales of four-engine jets at the Paris event after the European planemaker agreed on June 17 to sell 20 A380 superjumbos to Doric Asset Finance Ltd. Big aircraft are falling from favor as airlines turn to new, less-fuel-thirsty twin-engine models that can fly longer routes and reduce engine maintenance costs.
  ''You're looking at survival rations for two very hungry programs,'' said Richard Aboulafia, a vice president of Fairfax, Virginia-based consulting firm Teal Group, speaking of the A380 and 747-8 deals announced in Paris.
  Boeing's latest jumbo jet model is proving tough to sell although it has better economics than earlier versions and is an attractive option on high-density routes, Robert Mann, an aviation consultant based in Port Washington, New York, said in an interview yesterday.
  The largest and most expensive jets made by Boeing have drawn three new orders this year against five cancellations, according to Boeing's website.
  ''The Intercontinental is a variation of the 1960s classic with a lot of tweaks: much better propulsion and much better payload,'' said Mann, who heads R. W. Mann & Co. ''But over the lifetime of a jet, the bias is in favor of the very large'' twin-engine jets.
  Korean Air's purchase isn't firm and won't be added to Chicago-based Boeing's orders website until the terms are final. Once this occurs, Korean Air will hold orders for 10 passenger versions of the stretched 747 jet, according to the airline. It has also received three of the seven freighters it ordered.
  ''The economics and reliability of these airplanes, combined with the unique passenger experience, played a big part in our decision,'' Walter Cho, Korean Air's executive vice president of corporate strategy and planning, said at a news conference at the show.
  Korean Air shares gained as much as 1.1 percent to 31,750 won and traded at 31,550 won as of 10:24 a.m. in Seoul. The stock has fallen 30 percent this year, compared with a 5.3 percent drop in the benchmark Kospi index.
  Korean Air expects to start taking delivery of the planes starting in 2016 once a final agreement is reached, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The airline plans to take out all 15 747-400s from its fleet by 2017 as part of its plan to operate more fuel-efficient planes.
  Indonesia's flag carrier, PT Garuda (GIAA) Indonesia, is considering buying three to five Airbus SAS A380s or 747-8 jumbo jets to help ferry religious pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, Chief Executive Officer Emirsyah Satar said yesterday in Paris.
  Korean Air operates 36 747-400 jets and three of the new freighters, according to data compiled by Ascend Online Fleets, giving it the second-largest 747 fleet behind the 54 jumbos flown by British Airways.
  Boeing has only 105 747-8 orders and said in April it would pare production 13 percent to 1.75 a month by early 2014.
  To contact the reporters on this story: Julie Johnsson in Chicago at jjohnsson@bloomberg.net; Thomas Black in Dallas at tblack@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editors responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net; Ed Dufner at edufner@bloomberg.net
Boeing: 777 sales
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:16
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Holder Tells NAACP He Will Continue Investigating Zimmerman For Possible Federal Charges'...
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  Archived Version
  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:13
  Throwing his liberal supporters a bone.
  Washington (CNN) '' Attorney General Eric Holder, a longtime target of Republicans who have tried to force him out of office, now faces the prospect of angering liberal supporters when the Justice Department decides whether to file federal charges in the Trayvon Martin killing.
  Civil rights groups are planning nationwide vigils, and more than a million people support an online petition drive calling for admitted shooter George Zimmerman to face federal charges in the February 2012 killing.
  Holder confronted that political pressure Tuesday in a speech to the NAACP, which is conducting the petition drive.
  He repeated his pledge for a full investigation of Martin's death in the aftermath of Zimmerman's acquittal on murder and manslaughter charges by a Florida court, but was careful to avoid any promise or hint of federal charges.
  Instead, Holder took aim at ''stand your ground'' laws like the one in Florida that provides the right to respond with deadly force if attacked outside their home. Those laws ''senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods,'' he said.
  ''By allowing '-- and perhaps encouraging '-- violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety,'' Holder said in his first public comment on self-defense legislation passed in some form in more than 30 states.
  Zimmerman's lawyers didn't invoke Florida's ''stand your ground'' law in court, but it was included in the instructions to the jury that acquitted him. Holder's focus Tuesday on a broader legal issue avoided the difficult decision he faces over whether to bring federal criminal charges.
U.S. to Russia: Turn over Snowden or risk 'long-term problems'
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  Archived Version
  Source: The Top Information Post
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:10
  The White House left no doubt on Tuesday that American patience with Russia playing host to NSA leaker Edward Snowden is wearing thin.
  ''The Russian government has an opportunity here to work with us,'' press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his daily briefing. ''This should not be something that causes long-term problems for U.S.-Russian relations.''
  Washington and Moscow have been ''engaging on a number of important issues, both economic and security related issues, and we want to continue that relationship unimpeded by this issue,'' Carney added. By turning over Snowden, or at least expelling him, Russia could ''resolve this situation that they have been dealing with now for three weeks.''
  Could the dispute over Snowden lead Obama to cancel his planned attendance at he Group of 20 summit in Russia? Carney did not close out that possibility. ''The president intends to travel to Russia in September for the G20 summit. And I don't have any further announcements.''
  By the standards of diplo-speak, that's nearly a ''frank and candid exchange of views'' '' code for an all out verbal fight.
  ''Our interest has always been in seeing him expelled from Russia and returned to the United States,'' Carney told reporters.
  ''He should not be allowed to engage in further international travel except as necessary to return to the United States,'' Carney said of Snowden, who is regarded in some quarters as a whistleblower for disclosing the incredibly broad sweep of NSA spying on American citizens.
  ''He is not a human rights activist, he is not a dissident,'' Carney insisted. ''He is accused of leaking classified information, he's been charged with three felony counts related to the leaking of classified information. And for those reasons he should be returned to the United States.''
  Carney's comments came after Snowden's lawyer asked Russia to give the former NSA contractor-turned-secrets-spiller temporary asylum, saying his client could face persecution and even torture or death.
  Carney repeatedly underlined that Snowden, if handed over, ''should be afforded every bit of due process here in the United States.''
  Leave CommentsComments
Eric Holder: Self-defense is deadly; 'People who feel threatened have a duty to retreat' [video]
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  Archived Version
  Source: Twitchy » US Politics
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:09
  The concept of self-defense is terribly outdated in this day and age. At least that's what Attorney General Eric Holder seems to believe.
  Addressing the NAACP this afternoon, Holder, using the context of the Zimmerman trial, bemoaned the destruction resulting from citizens exercising their right to defend themselves:
  For Holder, this was a perfect opportunity to rail against Florida's Stand Your Ground legislation '-- despite the fact that SYG was never invoked by Zimmerman:
  It also afforded him a platform for his ridiculous contention that when faced in public with a potentially dangerous confrontation, the onus is on the victim:
  Transcript:
  ''There has always been a legal defense for using deadly force if '-- and the ''if'' is important '-- if no safe retreat is available. But we must examine laws that take this further by eliminating the commonsense and age-old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat outside their homes if they can do so safely. By allowing and perhaps encouraging violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety. The list of resulting tragedies is long, and unfortunately has victimized too many who are innocent. It is our collective obligation. We must stand our ground.''
  How does that work, exactly?
  So now, potential victims are the enemy?
  And they have a ''duty to retreat''?
  Bravely running away may be Holder et al.'s M.O.:
  But that sort of twisted logic doesn't work for those of us in the real world:
Zimmerman Family Suspects Obama Is Tapping Their Phones
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  Archived Version
  Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:05
  In a media appearance Tuesday morning, the brother of the recently acquitted George Zimmerman said that he and his family have concerns that the Obama administration is tapping their communications, reports Infowars..Appearing on Fox News, Robert Zimmerman said ''We do have concerns and always have of having our phones tapped, having our phones listened to by the administration or whomever.''''A lot of the things that we do are connecting in person'--that's how we've managed to stay hidden for so long. It's kind of old school, but it works'...We're back to what we were doing in March of 2012, because it's right in everybody's mind right now.'' he added, referring to staying safe in the wake of several threats and acts of violence related to last week's ''Not Guilty'' decision.(Via Drudge)
VIDEO-MSNBC Anchor: My Friends And Family Are Ashamed To Be White After Zimmerman Verdict'... | Weasel Zippers
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 21:50
  Libs are seriously deranged, I don't know what else to say.
  Via Mediaite:
  ''There's a lot of white shame today,'' said MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts on Tuesday. The anchor said on MSNBC that his white family and friends, as well as social media contacts, have expressed their shame over their race as it relates to the verdict in the trail of George Zimmerman. ''If you're an other,'' Roberts warned, ''Be worried.''
  ''I've been getting this from family, loved ones, all the people in my life and through social media, and I'll say it, honestly, there's a lot of white shame today,'' Roberts told MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry. ''And while we look at lady justice and she's supposed to be blind, it's like, what are we saying about the life of this kid being disposable?''
  Keep reading'...
Stevie Wonder won't perform in Florida because of George Zimmerman verdict | Fox News
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 21:46
  Stevie Wonder says he won't perform in Florida and other states with a "stand your ground" law.
  In a video posted on YouTube, the 63-year-old singer said at a concert in Quebec City, Canada, on Sunday "that until the 'stand your ground' law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again."
  Wonder added: "Wherever I find that law exists, I will not perform in that state or in that part of the world."
  The "stand your ground" law allows people to use deadly force if they believe their life is in danger.
  George Zimmerman shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during a February 2012 confrontation in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman said he fired his gun in self-defense.
  A six-member jury acquitted Zimmerman of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges on Saturday.
  Wonder's representative said the singer had no further comment.
More than 5M smartwatches to ship in 2014, says Canalys | Cutting Edge - CNET News
  Link to Article
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 21:41
  Smartwatches are all the rage -- or at least they will be in 2014. The research firm expects worldwide shipments to hit 500,000 this year and climb past 5 million by 2014.
  Soon everyone may be wearing a smartwatch.
  (Credit: CNET)Wearable technology may get a big boost from smartwatches next year.
  Smartwatch shipments are expected to explode to more than 5 million worldwide in 2014, research firm Canalys said in a forecast released Tuesday.
  The research firm estimates that more than 330,000 smartwatches were shipped in 2012. This year, with the release of the Kickstarter-born Pebble Watch, Canalys expects smartwatch shipments to climb past 500,000.
  Canalys predicts a new generation of devices from Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and others will spur the huge jump in smartwatch shipments.
  "Smartwatches will be the most important new product category in consumer electronics since the iPad defined the market for tablets," said Chris Jones, Canalys vice president and principal analyst, in the forecast. "Software platforms tied to smartwatches will also be a tremendous opportunity for developers to write apps in categories such as health and wellness or sports and fitness."
  Smartwatch rumors have been pouring out at a rapid pace over the last several months. Apple and Microsoft are both believed to be feverishly working on smartwatches, but so far, neither company has confirmed it will launch such a device.
  In March, Samsung revealed it's been working on wearable devices that act like smartphones. Even Google may be joining the fray with a smartwatch reportedly being developed by its Android unit.
  (Via The Next Web)
FDA clears brain scan to diagnose ADHD in children | ksl.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 21:39
  FDA clears brain scan to diagnose ADHD in children
  By Associated Press
  July 16th, 2013 @ 9:42am
  WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first medical scan that can help diagnose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children by measuring brain waves.
  The agency said Monday it cleared the NEBA system to help confirm ADHD for people ages 6 to 17. Doctors can use the device to confirm an ADHD diagnosis or to determine if more testing is necessary.
  The device, from Augusta, Ga.-based NEBA Health, measures the frequency of two standard brain waves known as theta and beta waves. Children with ADHD tend to have a higher ratio of these waves than children who don't have the disorder.
  The FDA approved the 15- to 20-minute test based on a study of 275 patients who had attention or behavioral issues. Clinicians evaluated the patients using the NEBA Health System as well as standard diagnostic tools like behavioral questionnaires, IQ tests and physical exams. An independent group of researchers then reviewed the data and reached a consensus on whether each patient had ADHD or not. The study results showed that use of the NEBA System helped doctors make a more accurate diagnosis than using traditional methods alone.
  About ADHD
  One of the most common neurobehavioral disorders of childhoodUsually first diagnosed in childhoodOften lasts into adulthoodChildren with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors, or be overly activeSource: CDC"Diagnosing ADHD is a multistep process based on a complete medical and psychiatric exam," said Christy Foreman, director of FDA's Office of Device Evaluation, in a statement. "The NEBA System along with other clinical information may help health care providers more accurately determine if ADHD is the cause of a behavioral problem."
  Estimates of ADHD in U.S. children vary, but the American Psychiatric Association states that it affects 3 to 7 percent of school-aged children.
  (Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.){{title}} {{/articles}} {{/recommendations}}
Crypto-Gram: July 15, 2013
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 21:34
  by Bruce SchneierChief Security Technology Officer, BTschneier@schneier.comhttp://www.schneier.com
  A free monthly newsletter providing summaries, analyses, insights, and commentaries on security: computer and otherwise.
  For back issues, or to subscribe, visit .
  You can read this issue on the web at . These same essays and news items appear in the "Schneier on Security" blog at , along with a lively and intelligent comment section. An RSS feed is available.
  In this issue:
  Blowback from the NSA SurveillanceThere's one piece of blowback that isn't being discussed -- aside from the fact that Snowden has killed the chances of any liberal arts major getting a DoD job for at least a decade -- and that's how the massive NSA surveillance of the Internet affects the US's role in Internet governance.
  Ron Deibert makes this point:
  But there are unintended consequences of the NSA scandal that will undermine U.S. foreign policy interests -- in particular, the "Internet Freedom" agenda espoused by the U.S. State Department and its allies.
  The revelations that have emerged will undoubtedly trigger a reaction abroad as policymakers and ordinary users realize the huge disadvantages of their dependence on U.S.-controlled networks in social media, cloud computing, and telecommunications, and of the formidable resources that are deployed by U.S. national security agencies to mine and monitor those networks.
  Writing about the new Internet nationalism, I talked about the ITU meeting in Dubai last fall, and the attempt of some countries to wrest control of the Internet from the US. That movement just got a huge PR boost. Now, when countries like Russia and Iran say the US is simply too untrustworthy to manage the Internet, no one will be able to argue.
  We can't fight for Internet freedom around the world, then turn around and destroy it back home. Even if we don't see the contradiction, the rest of the world does.
  http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/12/opinion/...
  The new Internet nationalism:https://www.schneier.com/essay-416.htmlhttp://www.cnas.org/theinternetyalta
  Evidence that the NSA Is Storing Voice Content, Not JustMetadataThere's been some interesting speculation that the NSA is storing everyone's phone calls, and not just metadata. The first link, below, is definitely worth reading.
  I expressed skepticism about this just a month ago. My assumption had always been that everyone's compressed voice calls are just too much data to move around and store. Now, I don't know.
  There's a bit of a conspiracy-theory air to all of this speculation, but underestimating what the NSA will do is a mistake. General Alexander has told members of Congress that they *can* record the contents of phone calls. And they have the technical capability.
  I believe that, to the extent that the NSA is analyzing and storing conversations, they're doing speech-to-text as close to the source as possible and working with that. Even if you have to store the audio for conversations in foreign languages, or for snippets of conversations the conversion software is unsure of, it's a lot fewer bits to move around and deal with.
  And, by the way, I hate the term "metadata." What's wrong with "traffic analysis," which is what we've always called that sort of thing?
  http://blog.rubbingalcoholic.com/post/52913031241/...
  My previous skepticism:https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/05/...
  More:http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57589495-38/...http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/...http://dailycaller.com/2013/06/10/...https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?...
  Metadata:http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/interactive/...
  NSA Secrecy and Personal PrivacyIn an excellent essay about privacy and secrecy, law professor Daniel Solove makes an important point. There are two types of NSA secrecy being discussed. It's easy to confuse them, but they're very different.
  Of course, if the government is trying to gather data about a particular suspect, keeping the specifics of surveillance efforts secret will decrease the likelihood of that suspect altering his or her behavior.
  But secrecy at the level of an individual suspect is different from keeping the very existence of massive surveillance programs secret. The public must know about the general outlines of surveillance activities in order to evaluate whether the government is achieving the appropriate balance between privacy and security. What kind of information is gathered? How is it used? How securely is it kept? What kind of oversight is there? Are these activities even legal? These questions can't be answered, and the government can't be held accountable, if surveillance programs are completely classified.
  This distinction is also becoming important as Snowden keeps talking. There are a lot of articles about Edward Snowden cooperating with the Chinese government. I have no idea if this is true -- Snowden denies it -- or if it's part of an American smear campaign designed to change the debate from the NSA surveillance programs to the whistleblower's actions. (It worked against Assange.) In anticipation of the inevitable questions, I want to change a previous assessment statement: I consider Snowden a hero for whistleblowing on the existence and details of the NSA surveillance programs, but not for revealing specific operational secrets to the Chinese government. Charles Pierce wishes Snowden would stop talking. I agree; the more this story is about him the less it is about the NSA. Stop giving interviews and let the documents do the talking.
  Back to Daniel Solove, this excellent 2011 essay on the value of privacy is making the rounds again. And it should.
  Many commentators had been using the metaphor of George Orwell's "1984" to describe the problems created by the collection and use of personal data. I contended that the Orwell metaphor, which focuses on the harms of surveillance (such as inhibition and social control) might be apt to describe law enforcement's monitoring of citizens. But much of the data gathered in computer databases is not particularly sensitive, such as one's race, birth date, gender, address, or marital status. Many people do not care about concealing the hotels they stay at, the cars they own or rent, or the kind of beverages they drink. People often do not take many steps to keep such information secret. Frequently, though not always, people's activities would not be inhibited if others knew this information.
  I suggested a different metaphor to capture the problems: Franz Kafka's "The Trial," which depicts a bureaucracy with inscrutable purposes that uses people's information to make important decisions about them, yet denies the people the ability to participate in how their information is used. The problems captured by the Kafka metaphor are of a different sort than the problems caused by surveillance. They often do not result in inhibition or chilling. Instead, they are problems of information processing -- the storage, use, or analysis of data -- rather than information collection. They affect the power relationships between people and the institutions of the modern state. They not only frustrate the individual by creating a sense of helplessness and powerlessness, but they also affect social structure by altering the kind of relationships people have with the institutions that make important decisions about their lives.
  The whole essay is worth reading, as is -- I hope -- my essay on the value of privacy from 2006.
  I have come to believe that the solution to all of this is regulation. And it's not going to be the regulation of data collection; it's going to be the regulation of data use.
  Blog entry URL:http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/06/...
  Solove's essay:http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/...
  Snowden and the Chinese:http://online.wsj.com/article/...http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/world/asia/...http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/06/14/...http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/17/...
  Wikileaks smears:http://www.fastcompany.com/1707146/...http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/03/02/...
  My previous Snowden essays:http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/06/...http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/06/...
  Charles Pierce on Snowden:http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/...
  Solove's 2011 essay:https://chronicle.com/article/...
  My essay:https://www.schneier.com/essay-114.html
  A good rebuttal to the "nothing to hide" argument:http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/06/...
  Petition the NSA to Subject its Surveillance Program to PublicCommentI have signed a petition calling on the NSA to "suspend its domestic surveillance program pending public comment." This is what's going on:
  In a request today to National Security Agency director Keith Alexander and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the group argues that the NSA's recently revealed domestic surveillance program is "unlawful" because the agency neglected to request public comments first. A federal appeals court previously ruled that was necessary in a lawsuit involving airport body scanners.
  "In simple terms, a line has been crossed," Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told CNET. "The agency's function has been transformed, and we think the public should have an opportunity to say something about that."
  It's an ambitious -- and untested -- legal argument. No court appears to have ever ruled that the Administrative Procedure Act, which can require agencies to solicit public comment, has applied to the supersecret intelligence community. The APA explicitly excludes from judicial review, for instance, "military authority exercised in the field in time of war."
  EPIC is relying on a July 2011 decision (PDF) it obtained from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dealing with installing controversial full-body scanners at airports. The Transportation Security Agency, the court said, was required to obtain comment on a rule that "substantively affects the public."
  This isn't an empty exercise. While it's unlikely that a judge will order the NSA to suspend the program pending public approval, the process will put pressure on Washington to subject the NSA to more oversight, and pressure the NSA into more transparency. We've used these tactics before. Two decades ago, EPIC launched a similar petition against the Clipper Chip, a process that eventually led to the Clinton administration and the FBI abandoning the effort. And EPIC's more recent action against TSA full-body scanners is one of the reasons we have privacy safeguards on the millimeter wave scanners they are still using.
  The more people who sign this petition, this, the clearer the message it sends to Washington: a message that people care about the privacy of their telephone records, Internet transactions, and online communications. Secret judges should not be allowed to use secret interpretations of secret laws to authorize the NSA to engage in domestic surveillance. Sooner or later, a court is going to recognize that. Until then, the more noise the better.
  Add your voice here. It just might work.
  Petition:http://epic.org/2013/06/...http://epic.org/NSApetition/
  News article:http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57589640-38/...
  New Details on Skype EavesdroppingThis article, on the cozy relationship between the commercial personal-data industry and the intelligence industry, has new information on the security of Skype.
  Skype, the Internet-based calling service, began its own secret program, Project Chess, to explore the legal and technical issues in making Skype calls readily available to intelligence agencies and law enforcement officials, according to people briefed on the program who asked not to be named to avoid trouble with the intelligence agencies.
  Project Chess, which has never been previously disclosed, was small, limited to fewer than a dozen people inside Skype, and was developed as the company had sometimes contentious talks with the government over legal issues, said one of the people briefed on the project. The project began about five years ago, before most of the company was sold by its parent, eBay, to outside investors in 2009. Microsoft acquired Skype in an $8.5 billion deal that was completed in October 2011.
  A Skype executive denied last year in a blog post that recent changes in the way Skype operated were made at the behest of Microsoft to make snooping easier for law enforcement. It appears, however, that Skype figured out how to cooperate with the intelligence community before Microsoft took over the company, according to documents leaked by Edward J. Snowden, a former contractor for the N.S.A. One of the documents about the Prism program made public by Mr. Snowden says Skype joined Prism on Feb. 6, 2011.
  Reread that Skype denial from last July, knowing that at the time the company knew that they were giving the NSA access to customer communications. Notice how it is precisely worded to be technically accurate, yet leave the reader with the wrong conclusion. This is where we are with all the tech companies right now; we can't trust their denials, just as we can't trust the NSA -- or the FBI -- when it denies programs, capabilities, or practices.
  Back in January, we wondered whom Skype lets spy on their users. Now we know.
  The article quoted:https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/technology/...
  Skype's denial:http://blogs.skype.com/2012/07/26/...
  We can't trust the NSA:http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/06/...https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/06/...https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying/wordgameshttp://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/nsa-numbers/http://fabiusmaximus.com/2013/06/11/...
  My post from last January:https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/01/...
  Pre-9/11 NSA ThinkingThis quote is from the Spring 1997 issue of "CRYPTOLOG," the internal NSA newsletter. The writer is William J. Black, Jr., the Director's Special Assistant for Information Warfare.
  Specifically, the focus is on the potential abuse of the Government's applications of this new information technology that will result in an invasion of personal privacy. For us, this is difficult to understand. We *are* "the government," and we have no interest in invading the personal privacy of U.S. citizens.
  This is from a Seymour Hersh "New Yorker" interview with NSA Director General Michael Hayden in 1999:
  When I asked Hayden about the agency's capability for unwarranted spying on private citizens -- in the unlikely event, of course, that the agency could somehow get the funding, the computer scientists, and the knowledge to begin making sense out of the Internet -- his response was heated. "I'm a kid from Pittsburgh with two sons and a daughter who are closet libertarians," he said. "I am not interested in doing anything that threatens the American people, and threatens the future of this agency. I can't emphasize enough to you how careful we are. We have to be so careful -- to make sure that America is never distrustful of the power and security we can provide."
  It's easy to assume that both Black and Hayden were lying, but I believe them. I believe that, 15 years ago, the NSA was entirely focused on intercepting communications outside the US.
  What changed? What caused the NSA to abandon its non-US charter and start spying on Americans? From what I've read, and from a bunch of informal conversations with NSA employees, it was the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That's when everything changed, the gloves came off, and all the rules were thrown out the window. That the NSA's interests coincided with the business model of the Internet is just a -- lucky, in their view -- coincidence.
  Black quote:http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/cryptologs/...
  Hayden quote:http://cryptome.org/nsa-hersh.htm
  How the NSA Eavesdrops on AmericansA few weeks ago, the "Guardian" published two new Snowden documents. These outline how the NSA's data-collection procedures allow it to collect lots of data on Americans, and how the FISA court fails to provide oversight over these procedures.
  The documents are complicated, but I strongly recommend that people read both the "Guardian" analysis and the EFF analysis -- and possibly the "USA Today" story.
  Frustratingly, this has not become a major news story. It isn't being widely reported in the media, and most people don't know about it. At this point, the only aspect of the Snowden story that is in the news is the personal story. The press seems to have had its fill of the far more important policy issues.
  I don't know what there is that can be done about this, but it's how we all lose.
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/...http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/...
  Analysis:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/20/...https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/06/...http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/...
  NSA E-Mail EavesdroppingMore Snowden documents analyzed by the "Guardian" -- two articles -- discuss how the NSA collected e-mails and data on Internet activity of both Americans and foreigners. The program might have ended in 2011, or it might have continued under a different name. This is the program that resulted in that bizarre tale of Bush officials confronting then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in his hospital room; the "New York Times" story discusses that. What's interesting is that the NSA collected this data under one legal pretense. When that justification evaporated, they searched around until they found another pretense.
  This story is being picked up a bit more than the previous story, but it's obvious that the press is fatiguing of this whole thing. Without the Ashcroft human interest bit, it would be just another story of the NSA eavesdropping on Americans -- and that's lasts week's news.
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/27/...http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/27/...
  More stories:https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/us/...http://reason.com/24-7/2013/06/28/...
  News"Final Report on Project C-43." This finally explains what James Ellis was talking about in "The Possibility of Non-Secret Encryption" when he dropped a tantalizing hint about wartime work at Bell Labs.http://techpinions.com/...Related:https://www.schneier.com/essay-377.html
  Details of NSA data requests from US corporations.http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/06/...
  John Mueller and Mark Stewart ask the important questions about the NSA surveillance programs: why were they secret, what have they accomplished, and what do they cost?https://chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2013/06/13/...This essay attempts to figure out if they accomplished anything.http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/17/opinion/...This essay attempts to figure out if they can be effective at all.http://live.wsj.com/article_email/...
  Companies allow US intelligence to exploit vulnerabilities before they patch them. No word on whether these companies would delay a patch if asked nicely -- or if there's any way the government can require them to. Anyone feel safer because of this?http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/...
  A fine piece: "A Love Letter to the NSA Agent who is Monitoring my Online Activity."http://www.happyplace.com/24470/...A similar sentiment is expressed in this video.http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/ba0cc80eec/...
  Lessons from Japan's response to terrorism by Aum Shinrikyo.http://lhote.blogspot.com/2013/06/...
  The future of satellite surveillance is pretty scary -- and cool.http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/...Remember, it's not any one thing that's worrisome; it's everything together.
  Interesting story of a spear phishing attack against the "Financial Times."http://labs.ft.com/2013/05/a-sobering-day/
  Ron Beckstrom gives a talk (video and transcript) about "Mutually Assured Destruction," "Mutually Assured Disruption," and "Mutually Assured Dependence."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwxC1HslvQghttp://www.beckstrom.com/PDFspeech.pdf
  Great story on the cracking of the Kryptos Sculpture at the CIA headquarters.http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/...
  Interesting article on the history of, and the relationship between, secrecy and privacy: "As a matter of historical analysis, the relationship between secrecy and privacy can be stated in an axiom: the defense of privacy follows, and never precedes, the emergence of new technologies for the exposure of secrets. In other words, the case for privacy always comes too late. The horse is out of the barn. The post office has opened your mail. Your photograph is on Facebook. Google already knows that, notwithstanding your demographic, you hate kale."http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/06/24/...
  Lessons from biological security.http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/06/...I recommend his book, "Learning from the Octopus: How Secrets from Nature Can Help Us Fight Terrorist Attacks, Natural Disasters, and Disease."
  This is an interesting article about a new breed of malware that also hijacks the victim's phone text messaging system, to intercept one-time passwords sent via that channel.http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_111/...
  Adding a remote kill switch to cell phones would deter theft.http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/13/technology/mobile/...http://www.nbcnews.com/business/...Here we can see how the rise of the surveillance state permeates everything about computer security. On the face of it, this is a good idea. Assuming it works -- that 1) it's not possible for thieves to resurrect phones in order to resell them, and 2) that it's not possible to turn this system into a denial-of-service attack tool -- it would deter crime. The general category of security is "benefit denial," like ink tags attached to garments in retail stores and car radios that no longer function if removed. But given what we now know, do we trust that the government wouldn't abuse this system and kill phones for other reasons? Do we trust that media companies won't kill phones it decided were sharing copyrighted materials? Do we trust that phone companies won't kill phones from delinquent customers? What might have been a straightforward security system becomes a dangerous tool of control, when you don't trust those in power.
  The NSA has published some new symmetric algorithms: SIMON and SPECKhttp://eprint.iacr.org/2013/404.pdfIt's always fascinating to study NSA-designed ciphers. I was particularly interested in the algorithms' similarity to Threefish, and how they improved on what we did. I was most impressed with their key schedule. I am *always* impressed with how the NSA does key schedules. And I enjoyed the discussion of requirements. Missing, of course, is any cryptanalytic analysis.
  This is a really good paper describing the unique threat model of children in the home, and the sorts of security philosophies that are effective in dealing with them. Stuart Schechter, "The User IS the Enemy, and (S)he Keeps Reaching for that Bright Shiny Power Button!" Definitely worth reading.http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/?id=194484
  The US Department of Defense is blocking sites that are reporting about the Snowden documents. I presume they're not censoring sites that are smearing him personally. Note that the DoD is only blocking those sites on its own network, not on the Internet at large. The blocking is being done by automatic filters, presumably the same ones used to block porn or other sites it deems inappropriate.http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/28/...
  Interesting law journal article: "Privacy Protests: Surveillance Evasion and Fourth Amendment Suspicion," by Elizabeth E. Joh.https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?...Read this while thinking about the lack of any legal notion of civil disobedience in cyberspace.
  Here's a transcript of a panel discussion about NSA surveillance. There's a lot worth reading here, but I want to link to Bob Litt's opening remarks. He's the General Counsel for ODNI, and he has a lot to say about the programs revealed so far in the Snowden documents.http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/07/...As always, the fundamental issue is trust. If you believe Litt, this is all very comforting. If you don't, it's more lies and misdirection. Taken at face value, it explains why so many tech executives were able to say they had never heard of PRISM: it's the internal NSA name for the database, and not the name of the program. I also note that Litt uses the word "collect" to mean what it actually means, and not the way his boss, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Jr., used it to deliberately lie to Congress.
  How Apple continues to make security invisible.http://www.macworld.com/article/2041724/...iOS security white paper:http://css.csail.mit.edu/6.858/2012/readings/...
  Evgeny Morozov makes a point about surveillance and big data: it just looks for useful correlations without worrying about causes, and leads people to implement "fixes" based simply on those correlations -- rather than understanding and correcting the underlying causes.http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/...
  A philosophical perspective on the value of privacy.http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/07/...
  This study concludes that there is a benefit to forcing companies to undergo privacy audits: "The results show that there are empirical regularities consistent with the privacy disclosures in the audited financial statements having some effect. Companies disclosing privacy risks are less likely to incur a breach of privacy related to unintentional disclosure of privacy information; while companies suffering a breach of privacy related to credit cards are more likely to disclose privacy risks afterwards. Disclosure after a breach is negatively related to privacy breaches related to hacking, and disclosure before a breach is positively related to breaches concerning insider trading."http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?...
  This is a really interesting article on secret languages. It starts by talking about a "cant" dictionary of 16th-century thieves' argot, and ends up talking about secret languages in general.http://thejunket.org/2012/04/issue-three/...
  Nice history of Project SHAMROCK, the NSA's illegal domestic surveillance program from the 1970s. It targeted telegrams.http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/06/...
  We don't know what they mean, but there are a bunch of NSA code names on LinkedIn profiles: ANCHORY, AMHS, NUCLEON, TRAFFICTHIEF, ARCMAP, SIGNAV, COASTLINE, DISHFIRE, FASTSCOPE, OCTAVE/CONTRAOCTAVE, PINWALE, UTT, WEBCANDID, MICHIGAN, PLUS, ASSOCIATION, MAINWAY, FASCIA, OCTSKYWARD, INTELINK, METRICS, BANYAN, MARINAhttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130617/...
  This is a *really* interesting article on something I've never thought about before: how free games trick players into paying for stuff.http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RaminShokrizade/...
  US Offensive Cyberwar PolicyToday, the United States is conducting offensive cyberwar actions around the world.
  More than passively eavesdropping, we're penetrating and damaging foreign networks for both espionage and to ready them for attack. We're creating custom-designed Internet weapons, pretargeted and ready to be "fired" against some piece of another country's electronic infrastructure on a moment's notice.
  This is much worse than what we're accusing China of doing to us. We're pursuing policies that are both expensive and destabilizing and aren't making the Internet any safer. We're reacting from fear, and causing other countries to counter-react from fear. We're ignoring resilience in favor of offense.
  Welcome to the cyberwar arms race, an arms race that will define the Internet in the 21st century.
  Presidential Policy Directive 20, issued last October and released by Edward Snowden, outlines US cyberwar policy. Most of it isn't very interesting, but there are two paragraphs about "Offensive Cyber Effect Operations," or OCEO, that are intriguing:
  OECO can offer unique and unconventional capabilities to advance US national objectives around the world with little or no warning to the adversary or target and with potential effects ranging from subtle to severely damaging. The development and sustainment of OCEO capabilities, however, may require considerable time and effort if access and tools for a specific target do not already exist.
  The United States Government shall identify potential targets of national importance where OCEO can offer a favorable balance of effectiveness and risk as compared with other instruments of national power, establish and maintain OCEO capabilities integrated as appropriate with other US offensive capabilities, and execute those capabilities in a manner consistent with the provisions of this directive.
  These two paragraphs, and another paragraph about OCEO, are the only parts of the document classified "top secret." And that's because what they're saying is very dangerous.
  Cyberattacks have the potential to be both immediate and devastating. They can disrupt communications systems, disable national infrastructure, or, as in the case of Stuxnet, destroy nuclear reactors; but only if they've been created and targeted beforehand. Before launching cyberattacks against another country, we have to go through several steps.
  We have to study the details of the computer systems they're running and determine the vulnerabilities of those systems. If we can't find exploitable vulnerabilities, we need to create them: leaving "back doors," in hacker speak. Then we have to build new cyberweapons designed specifically to attack those systems.
  Sometimes we have to embed the hostile code in those networks -- these are called "logic bombs" -- to be unleashed in the future. And we have to keep penetrating those foreign networks, because computer systems always change and we need to ensure that the cyberweapons are still effective.
  Like our nuclear arsenal during the Cold War, our cyberweapons arsenal must be pretargeted and ready to launch.
  That's what Obama directed the US Cyber Command to do. We can see glimpses of how effective we are in Snowden's allegations that the NSA is currently penetrating foreign networks around the world: "We hack network backbones -- like huge Internet routers, basically -- that give us access to the communications of hundreds of thousands of computers without having to hack every single one."
  The NSA and the US Cyber Command are basically the same thing. They're both at Fort Meade in Maryland, and they're both led by Gen. Keith Alexander. The same people who hack network backbones are also building weapons to destroy those backbones. At a March Senate briefing, Alexander boasted of creating more than a dozen offensive cyber units.
  Longtime NSA watcher James Bamford reached the same conclusion in his recent profile of Alexander and the US Cyber Command (written before the Snowden revelations). He discussed some of the many cyberweapons the US purchases:
  According to Defense News' C4ISR Journal and Bloomberg Businessweek, Endgame also offers its intelligence clients -- agencies like Cyber Command, the NSA, the CIA, and British intelligence -- a unique map showing them exactly where their targets are located. Dubbed Bonesaw, the map displays the geolocation and digital address of basically every device connected to the Internet around the world, providing what's called network situational awareness. The client locates a region on the password-protected web-based map, then picks a country and city -- say, Beijing, China. Next the client types in the name of the target organization, such as the Ministry of Public Security's No. 3 Research Institute, which is responsible for computer security -- or simply enters its address, 6 Zhengyi Road. The map will then display what software is running on the computers inside the facility, what types of malware some may contain, and a menu of custom-designed exploits that can be used to secretly gain entry. It can also pinpoint those devices infected with malware, such as the Conficker worm, as well as networks turned into botnets and zombies -- the equivalent of a back door left open...
  The buying and using of such a subscription by nation-states could be seen as an act of war. 'If you are engaged in reconnaissance on an adversary's systems, you are laying the electronic battlefield and preparing to use it' wrote Mike Jacobs, a former NSA director for information assurance, in a McAfee report on cyberwarfare. 'In my opinion, these activities constitute acts of war, or at least a prelude to future acts of war.' The question is, who else is on the secretive company's client list? Because there is as of yet no oversight or regulation of the cyberweapons trade, companies in the cyber-industrial complex are free to sell to whomever they wish. "It should be illegal," said the former senior intelligence official involved in cyberwarfare. "I knew about Endgame when I was in intelligence. The intelligence community didn't like it, but they're the largest consumer of that business."
  That's the key question: How much of what the United States is currently doing is an act of war by international definitions? Already we're accusing China of penetrating our systems in order to map "military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis." What PPD-20 and Snowden describe is much worse, and certainly China, and other countries, are doing the same.
  All of this mapping of vulnerabilities and keeping them secret for offensive use makes the Internet less secure, and these pretargeted, ready-to-unleash cyberweapons are destabilizing forces on international relationships. Rooting around other countries' networks, analyzing vulnerabilities, creating back doors, and leaving logic bombs could easily be construed as acts of war. And all it takes is one overachieving national leader for this all to tumble into actual war.
  It's time to stop the madness. Yes, our military needs to invest in cyberwar capabilities, but we also need international rules of cyberwar, more transparency from our own government on what we are and are not doing, international cooperation between governments, and viable cyberweapons treaties. Yes, these are difficult. Yes, it's a long, slow process. Yes, there won't be international consensus, certainly not in the beginning. But even with all of those problems, it's a better path to go down than the one we're on now.
  We can start by taking most of the money we're investing in offensive cyberwar capabilities and spend them on national cyberspace resilience. MAD, mutually assured destruction, made sense because there were two superpowers opposing each other. On the Internet there are all sorts of different powers, from nation-states to much less organized groups. An arsenal of cyberweapons begs to be used, and, as we learned from Stuxnet, there's always collateral damage to innocents when they are. We're much safer with a strong defense than with a counterbalancing offense.
  This essay originally appeared on CNN.com. It had the title "Has U.S. Started an Internet War?" -- which I had nothing to do with. Almost always, editors choose titles for my essay without asking my opinion -- or telling me beforehand.http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/18/opinion/...
  Cyberwar arms race:https://www.schneier.com/essay-421.htmlhttps://www.schneier.com/essay-411.html
  Presidential Policy Directive 20:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/...
  EPIC's suit from last October:http://epic.org/privacy/cybersecurity/...
  Policy outline:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/07/...
  Snowden's allegations:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...
  Alexander's statement:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7GUraTzzPo
  James Bamford's writing:http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/...
  US accuses China:https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/07/world/asia/...
  Here's an essay on the NSA's -- or Cyber Command's -- TAO: the Office of Tailored Access Operations. This is the group in charge of hacking China.http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/06/10/...
  None of this is new. Read this Seymour Hersh article on this subject from 2010.http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/11/01/...
  Finding Sociopaths on FacebookOn his blog, Scott Adams suggests that it might be possible to identify sociopaths based on their interactions on social media.
  My hypothesis is that science will someday be able to identify sociopaths and terrorists by their patterns of Facebook and Internet use. I'll bet normal people interact with Facebook in ways that sociopaths and terrorists couldn't duplicate.
  Anyone can post fake photos and acquire lots of friends who are actually acquaintances. But I'll bet there are so many patterns and tendencies of "normal" use on Facebook that a terrorist wouldn't be able to successfully fake it.
  Okay, but so what? Imagine you had such an amazingly accurate test...then what? Do we investigate those who test positive, even though there's no suspicion that they've actually done anything? Do we follow them around? Subject them to additional screening at airports? Throw them in jail because we *know* the streets will be safer because of it? Do we want to live in a "Minority Report" world?
  The problem isn't just that such a system is wrong, it's that the mathematics of testing makes this sort of thing pretty ineffective in practice. It's called the "base rate fallacy." Suppose you have a test that's 90% accurate in identifying both sociopaths and non-sociopaths. If you assume that 4% of people are sociopaths, then the chance of someone who tests positive actually being a sociopath is 26%. (For every thousand people tested, 90% of the 40 sociopaths will test positive, but so will 10% of the 960 non-sociopaths.) You have postulate a test with an amazing 99% accuracy -- only a 1% false positive rate -- even to have an 80% chance of someone testing positive actually being a sociopath.
  This fallacy isn't new. It's the same thinking that caused us to intern Japanese-Americans during World War II, stop people in their cars because they're black, and frisk them at airports because they're Muslim. It's the same thinking behind massive NSA surveillance programs like PRISM. It's one of the things that scares me about police DNA databases.
  Many authors have written stories about thoughtcrime. Who has written about genecrime?
  http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/the_internet_fingerprint
  The 4% number:http://www.amazon.com/dp/0767915828/counterpane
  BTW, if you want to meet an actual sociopath, I recommend this book and blog.http://www.amazon.com/...http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/books/review/...http://www.sociopathworld.com/
  Schneier NewsI'm now on the board of directors of the EFF.https://www.eff.org/press/releases/...
  Last month, I gave a talk at Google. It's another talk about power and security, my continually evolving topic-of-the-moment that could very well become my next book. This installment is different than the previous talks and interviews, but not different enough that you should feel the need to watch it if you've seen the others.https://www.youtube.com/watch?...There are things I got wrong. There are contradictions. There are questions I couldn't answer. But that's my process, and I'm okay with doing it semi-publicly. As always, I appreciate comments, criticisms, reading suggestions, and so on.http://boingboing.net/2013/06/29/...http://renaissancechambara.jp/2013/06/30/...
  A long interview with me on EconTalk; this one is mostly about security and power.http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2013/06/...
  I was on the Lou Dobbs Show in mid-June.http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2484933934001
  My Fellowship at the Berkman CenterI have been awarded a fellowship at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, for the 2013-2014 academic year. I'm excited about this; Berkman and Harvard is where a lot of the cool kids hang out, and I'm looking forward to working with them this coming year.
  In particular, I have three goals for the year:
  * I want to have my own project. I'll be continuing to work on my research -- and possible book -- on security and power and technology. There are a bunch of people I would like to work with at Harvard: Yochai Benkler, Larry Lessig, Jonathan Zittrain, Joseph Nye, Jr., Steven Pinker, Michael Sandel. And others at MIT: Ethan Zuckerman, David Clark. I know I've forgotten names.
  * I want to make a difference on a few other Berkman projects. I don't know what yet, but I know there will be options.
  * I want to work with some students on their projects. There are *always* interesting student projects, and I would like to be an informal advisor on a few of them. So if any of you are Harvard or MIT students and have a project you think I would be interested in, please email me.
  I'm not moving to Boston for the year, but I'll be there a lot.
  https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/newsroom/...
  Protecting E-Mail from EavesdroppingIn the wake of the Snowden NSA documents, reporters have been asking me whether encryption can solve the problem. Leaving aside the fact that much of what the NSA is collecting can't be encrypted by the user -- telephone metadata, e-mail headers, phone calling records, e-mail you're reading from a phone or tablet or cloud provider, anything you post on Facebook -- it's hard to give good advice.
  In theory, an e-mail program will protect you, but the reality is much more complicated.
  * The program has to be vulnerability-free. If there is some back door in the program that bypasses, or weakens, the encryption, it's not secure. It's very difficult, almost impossible, to verify that a program is vulnerability-free.
  * The user has to choose a secure password. Luckily, there's advice on how to do this.
  * The password has to be managed securely. The user can't store it in a file somewhere. If he's worried about security for after the FBI has arrested him and searched his house, he shouldn't write it on a piece of paper, either.
  * Actually, he should understand the threat model he's operating under. Is it the NSA trying to eavesdrop on *everything*, or an FBI investigation that specifically targets him -- or a targeted attack, like dropping a Trojan on his computer, that bypasses e-mail encryption entirely?
  This is simply too much for the poor reporter, who wants an easy-to-transcribe answer.
  We've known how to send cryptographically secure e-mail since the early 1990s. Twenty years later, we're still working on the security engineering of e-mail programs. And if the NSA is eavesdropping on encrypted e-mail, and if the FBI is decrypting messages from suspects' hard drives, they're both breaking the engineering, not the underlying cryptographic algorithms.
  On the other hand, the two adversaries can be very different. The NSA has to process a ginormous amount of traffic. It's the "drinking from a fire hose" problem; they cannot afford to devote a lot of time to decrypting everything, because they simply don't have the computing resources. There's just too much data to collect. In these situations, even a modest level of encryption is enough -- until you are specifically targeted. This is why the NSA saves all encrypted data it encounters; it might want to devote cryptanalysis resources to it at some later time.
  Password advice:http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/06/...
  The NSA saves encrypted traffic:https://threatpost.com/...http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/06/...
  Is Cryptography Engineering or Science?Responding to a tweet by Thomas Ptacek saying, "If you're not learning crypto by coding attacks, you might not actually be learning crypto," Colin Percival published a well-thought-out rebuttal, saying in part:
  If we were still in the 1990s, I would agree with Thomas. 1990s cryptography was full of holes, and the best you could hope for was to know how your tools were broken so you could try to work around their deficiencies. This was a time when DES and RC4 were widely used, despite having well-known flaws. This was a time when people avoided using CTR mode to convert block ciphers into stream ciphers, due to concern that a weak block cipher could break if fed input blocks which shared many (zero) bytes in common. This was a time when people cared about the "error propagation" properties of block ciphers -- that is, how much of the output would be mangled if a small number of bits in the ciphertext are flipped. This was a time when people routinely advised compressing data before encrypting it, because that "compacted" the entropy in the message, and thus made it "more difficult for an attacker to identify when he found the right key". It should come as no surprise that SSL, designed during this era, has had a long list of design flaws.
  Cryptography in the 2010s is different. Now we start with basic components which are believed to be highly secure -- e.g., block ciphers which are believed to be indistinguishable from random permutations -- and which have been mathematically proven to be secure against certain types of attacks -- e.g., AES is known to be immune to differential cryptanalysis. From those components, we then build higher-order systems using mechanisms which have been proven to not introduce vulnerabilities. For example, if you generate an ordered sequence of packets by encrypting data using an indistinguishable-from-random-permutation block cipher (e.g., AES) in CTR mode using a packet sequence number as the CTR nonce, and then append a weakly-unforgeable MAC (e.g., HMAC-SHA256) of the encrypted data and the packet sequence number, the packets both preserve privacy and do not permit any undetected tampering (including replays and reordering of packets). Life will become even better once Keccak (aka. SHA-3) becomes more widely reviewed and trusted, as its "sponge" construction can be used to construct -- with provable security -- a very wide range of important cryptographic components.
  He recommends a more modern approach to cryptography: "studying the theory and designing systems which you can *prove* are secure."
  I think *both* of statements are true -- and not contradictory at all. The apparent disagreement stems from differing definitions of cryptography.
  Many years ago, on the Cryptographer's Panel at an RSA conference, then-chief scientist for RSA Bert Kaliski talked about the rise of something he called the "crypto engineer." His point was that the practice of cryptography was changing. There was the traditional mathematical cryptography -- designing and analyzing algorithms and protocols, and building up cryptographic theory -- but there was also a more practice-oriented cryptography: taking existing cryptographic building blocks and creating secure systems out of them. It's this latter group he called crypto engineers. It's the group of people I wrote "Applied Cryptography," and, most recently, co-wrote "Cryptography Engineering," for. Colin knows this, directing his advice to "developers" -- Kaliski's crypto engineers.
  Traditional cryptography is a science -- applied mathematics -- and applied cryptography is engineering. I prefer the term "security engineering," because it necessarily encompasses a lot more than cryptography -- see Ross Andersen's great book of that name. And mistakes in engineering are where a lot of real-world cryptographic systems break.
  Provable security has its limitations. Cryptographer Lars Knudsen once said: "If it's provably secure, it probably isn't." Yes, we have provably secure cryptography, but those proofs take very specific forms against very specific attacks. They reduce the number of security assumptions we have to make about a system, but we still have to make a lot of security assumptions.
  And cryptography has its limitations in general, despite the apparent strengths. Cryptography's great strength is that it gives the defender a natural advantage: adding a single bit to a cryptographic key increases the work to encrypt by only a small amount, but doubles the work required to break the encryption. This is how we design algorithms that -- in theory -- can't be broken until the universe collapses back on itself.
  Despite this, cryptographic systems are broken all the time: well before the heat death of the universe. They're broken because of software mistakes in coding the algorithms. They're broken because the computer's memory management system left a stray copy of the key lying around, and the operating system automatically copied it to disk. They're broken because of buffer overflows and other security flaws. They're broken by side-channel attacks. They're broken because of bad user interfaces, or insecure user practices.
  Lots of people have said: "In theory, theory and practice are the same. But in practice, they are not." It's true about cryptography. If you want to be a cryptographer, study mathematics. Study the mathematics of cryptography, and especially cryptanalysis. There's a lot of art to the science, and you won't be able to design good algorithms and protocols until you gain experience in breaking existing ones. If you want to be a security engineer, study implementations and coding. Take the tools cryptographers create, and learn how to use them well.
  The world needs security engineers even more than it needs cryptographers. We're great at mathematically secure cryptography, and terrible at using those tools to engineer secure systems.
  Ptacek's tweet:https://twitter.com/tqbf/status/346328557989007360
  Percival's rebuttal:http://www.daemonology.net/blog/...
  Ross Anderson's book:http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/book.html
  After writing this, I found a conversation between the two where they both basically agreed with me:https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5896167
  See also Stefan Lucks' response to this essay on my blog.http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/07/...
  Sixth Movie-Plot Threat Contest WinnerOn April 1, I announced the Sixth Mostly-Annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest:
  For this year's contest, I want a cyberwar movie-plot threat. (For those who don't know, a movie-plot threat is a scare story that would make a great movie plot, but is much too specific to build security policy around.) Not the Chinese attacking our power grid or shutting off 911 emergency services -- people are already scaring our legislators with that sort of stuff. I want something good, something no one has thought of before.
  On May 15, I announced the five semi-finalists. Voting continued through the end of the month, and the winner is Russell Thomas:
  It's November 2015 and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) is underway in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Over the past year, ocean level rise has done permanent damage to critical infrastructure in Maldives, killing off tourism and sending the economy into freefall. The Small Island Developing States are demanding immediate relief from the Green Climate Fund, but action has been blocked. Conspiracy theories flourish. For months, the rhetoric between developed and developing countries has escalated to veiled and not-so-veiled threats. One person in elites of the Small Island Developing States sees an opportunity to force action.
  He's Sayyid Abdullah bin Yahya, an Indonesian engineer and construction magnate with interests in Bahrain, Bangladesh, and Maldives, all directly threatened by recent sea level rise. Bin Yahya's firm installed industrial control systems on several flood control projects, including in the Maldives, but these projects are all stalled and unfinished for lack of financing. He also has a deep, abiding enmity against Holland and the Dutch people, rooted in the 1947 Rawagede massacre that killed his grandfather and father. Like many Muslims, he declared that he was personally insulted by Queen Beatrix's gift to the people of Indonesia on the 50th anniversary of the massacre -- a Friesian cow. "Very rude. That's part of the Dutch soul, this rudeness", he said at the time. Also like many Muslims, he became enraged and radicalized in 2005 when the Dutch newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons of the Prophet.
  Of all the EU nations, Holland is most vulnerable to rising sea levels. It has spent billions on extensive barriers and flood controls, including the massive Oosterscheldekering storm surge barrier, designed and built in the 80s to protect against a 10,000-year storm surge. While it was only used 24 times between 1986 and 2010, in the last two years the gates have been closed 46 times.
  As the UNCCC conference began in November 2015, the Oosterscheldekering was closed yet again to hold off the surge of an early winter storm. Even against low expectations, the first day's meetings went very poorly. A radicalized and enraged delegation from the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) presented an ultimatum, leading to denunciations and walkouts. "What can they do -- start a war?" asked the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment in an unguarded moment. There was talk of canceling the rest of the conference.
  Overnight, there are a series of news stories in China, South America, and United States reporting malfunctions of dams that resulted in flash floods and death of tens or hundreds people in several cases. Web sites associated with the damns were all defaced with the text of the SIDS ultimatum. In the morning, all over Holland there were reports of malfunctions of control equipment associated with flood monitoring and control systems. The winter storm was peaking that day with an expected surge of 7 meters (22 feet), larger than the Great Flood of 1953. With the Oosterscheldekering working normally, this is no worry. But at 10:43am, the storm gates unexpectedly open.
  Microsoft Word claims it's 501 words, but I'm letting that go.
  This is the first professional -- a researcher -- who has won the contest. Be sure to check out his blogs, and his paper at WEIS this year.
  Congratulations, Russell Thomas. Your box of fabulous prizes is on its way to you.
  http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/07/...
  Since 1998, CRYPTO-GRAM has been a free monthly newsletter providing summaries, analyses, insights, and commentaries on security: computer and otherwise. You can subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your address on the Web at . Back issues are also available at that URL.
  Please feel free to forward CRYPTO-GRAM, in whole or in part, to colleagues and friends who will find it valuable. Permission is also granted to reprint CRYPTO-GRAM, as long as it is reprinted in its entirety.
  CRYPTO-GRAM is written by Bruce Schneier. Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist, called a "security guru" by The Economist. He is the author of 12 books -- including "Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust Society Needs to Survive" -- as well as hundreds of articles, essays, and academic papers. His influential newsletter "Crypto-Gram" and his blog "Schneier on Security" are read by over 250,000 people. He has testified before Congress, is a frequent guest on television and radio, has served on several government committees, and is regularly quoted in the press. Schneier is a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, a program fellow at the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute, a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an Advisory Board Member of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the Security Futurologist for BT -- formerly British Telecom. See .
  Crypto-Gram is a personal newsletter. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of BT.
  Copyright (c) 2013 by Bruce Schneier.
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  Schneier.com is a personal website. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of BT.
Banning Advice Columnists in the Name of Occupational Licensing - Reason.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 21:32
  The state of Kentucky believes that writing a newspaper column is not protected by the First Amendment.
  RELATED ARTICLESMORE ARTICLES BY Brian DohertyOn May 7, Kentucky's office of attorney general sent a letter to newspaper advice columnist John Rosemond. The letter ordered him to sign a consent decree that he would stop practicing psychology without a license in their state, and stop calling himself a psychologist in Kentucky as well, since he was not licensed by the state's Board of Examiners of Psychology.
  The kicker is that Kentucky claims that writing an advice column that appears in a newspaper in the state'--in the specific case of their complaint, the Lexington Herald-Leader, though it appears in others as well'--is not an act of freedom of the press, but rather practicing psychology without the required license.
  Rosemond has written an advice column since 1976, which is currently syndicated by McClatchy-Tribune (and by Rosemond himself to a different set of publications). It appears in around 200 papers. He's also the author of many books of parenting and family advice, including five best-sellers. He generally advocates tough discipline as the best means to raise a happy and successful child.
  Rosemond's advice in his column as it appeared on February 12 in the Lexington Herald-Leader struck retired Kentucky psychologist Thomas Kerby Neill the wrong way. Rosemond has advised parents worried about a sullen and underachieving teen to take away privileges until he improved, and not to give in to any counterpressure from the kid. Neill wrote a letter of complaint the very next day to the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology.
  Neill admitted in the letter that while Rosemond's advice ''might work very well,'' he felt that since Rosemond had met neither child nor parents, and couldn't personally follow up on how the advice was working out, his advice was ''both unprofessional and unethical.'' Rosemond, Neill insisted, ''would be on much safer ground to recommend that the family seek direct professional help.''
  To Neill's credit, while he explicitly said that ''the Board certainly has no jurisdiction with respect to the advice anyone might give in a syndicated column,'' the Board itself seemed to disagree. (Neill just wanted them to prevent Rosemond or Kentucky newspapers in which his column appeared from calling him a ''psychologist.'') The attorney general's office wouldn't comment this week on why they decided to impose their officious demand on Rosemond. An attorney general's office spokesperson said their office was merely acting as an agent of the state Board of Examiners of Psychology. But the letter came formally not just from the Board, but from the attorney general's office, over the names of both Attorney General Jack Conway and Assistant Attorney General Brian T. Judy, in his capacity as counsel for the Board.
  That the letter from the state described the same column as Neill complained about indicates his complaint likely triggered the unconstitutional demand. The letter demanded that Rosemond agree to stop publishing his column in Kentucky papers by May 30. He has not, and two letters Rosemond sent to the state seeking an extension and trying to clarify the matter have received no formal reply.
  ''I was incredulous'' when the letter from the attorney general's office arrived, Rosemond says. ''I could not possibly imagine such a blatant attempt to restrict my First Amendment rights. I wasn't upset by it, as much as just unbelieving.''
  Rosemond was already inclined to be appalled by Kentucky's demand. ''One of my heroes is Milton Friedman,'' Rosemond says. ''I'm completely in line with him about professional licensing [Friedman roughly argued that the practice was an illegitimate extension of ancient guild privilege that generally harmed rather than helped consumers, while propping up income for the protected profession] and I do not believe there's any legitimate justification for regulating the practice of psychology, no good evidence that people with Ph.Ds provide better advice on matters of living than people with high school diplomas.'' (Rosemond has a master's degree and is licensed in his home state of North Carolina as a psychologist.)
  Rosemond had a personal attorney who worked in the same firm as lawyers who were fighting against the libertarian public interest law firm the Institute for Justice (IJ) in a case, and they advised Rosemond to approach IJ.
  Rosemond did, and on Wednesday IJ will be filing a suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (Rosemond v. Conway et al.) seeking to enjoin the state from enforcing any restrictions on Rosemond's ability to publish his column and call himself a psychologist.
  Each act of publishing the column in the state identifying himself as a psychologist could, if the state's assertions hold up, leave Rosemond open to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The suit points out that the same logic in Kentucky's complaint could lead them to ban Rosemond's books, since they also are sold in Kentucky and call him a psychologist.
  The suit claims that Rosemond's column ''is pure speech and does not fall within any historically recognized exception to the First Amendment'' and that ''the application by Defendants of the Psychology Practice Act, as well as the attendant regulations and policies of the Psychology Board, to ban Plaintiff Rosemond's advice column from Kentucky is a content-based restriction on his speech'' and that Kentucky has no ''compelling state interest in banning advice columns from newspapers of general circulation.''
  IJ is already fighting two similar legal challenges to governments who think occupational licensing laws trump the First Amendment. In May 2012, IJ sued to challenge the state of South Carolina's belief that Steve Cooksey could not blog about his thoughts and experiences regarding the ''paleo diet'' without being duly licensed by its Board of Dietetics/Nutrition. That suit was initially thrown out in October 2012 by a federal district court on the grounds that Cooksey lacked standing to sue because he had not actually been punished by the state, but merely ordered what to do. In June of this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit reinstated the case and sent it back for consideration by the district court. The Institute is also embroiled in suing the state of Texas over its insistence that it is illegal to give veterinary advice over the Internet.
PressTV - New studies: 'Conspiracy theorists' sane; government dupes crazy, hostile
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:23
  Recent studies by psychologists and social scientists in the US and UK suggest that contrary to mainstream media stereotypes, those labeled ''conspiracy theorists'' appear to be saner than those who accept the official versions of contested events.
  The most recent study was published on July 8th by psychologists Michael J. Wood and Karen M. Douglas of the University of Kent (UK). Entitled ''What about Building 7? A social psychological study of online discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories,'' the study compared ''conspiracist'' (pro-conspiracy theory) and ''conventionalist'' (anti-conspiracy) comments at news websites.
  The authors were surprised to discover that it is now more conventional to leave so-called conspiracist comments than conventionalist ones: ''Of the 2174 comments collected, 1459 were coded as conspiracist and 715 as conventionalist.'' In other words, among people who comment on news articles, those who disbelieve government accounts of such events as 9/11 and the JFK assassination outnumber believers by more than two to one. That means it is the pro-conspiracy commenters who are expressing what is now the conventional wisdom, while the anti-conspiracy commenters are becoming a small, beleaguered minority.
  Perhaps because their supposedly mainstream views no longer represent the majority, the anti-conspiracy commenters often displayed anger and hostility: ''The research'... showed that people who favoured the official account of 9/11 were generally more hostile when trying to persuade their rivals.''
  Additionally, it turned out that the anti-conspiracy people were not only hostile, but fanatically attached to their own conspiracy theories as well. According to them, their own theory of 9/11 - a conspiracy theory holding that 19 Arabs, none of whom could fly planes with any proficiency, pulled off the crime of the century under the direction of a guy on dialysis in a cave in Afghanistan - was indisputably true. The so-called conspiracists, on the other hand, did not pretend to have a theory that completely explained the events of 9/11: ''For people who think 9/11 was a government conspiracy, the focus is not on promoting a specific rival theory, but in trying to debunk the official account.''
  In short, the new study by Wood and Douglas suggests that the negative stereotype of the conspiracy theorist - a hostile fanatic wedded to the truth of his own fringe theory - accurately describes the people who defend the official account of 9/11, not those who dispute it.
  Additionally, the study found that so-called conspiracists discuss historical context (such as viewing the JFK assassination as a precedent for 9/11) more than anti-conspiracists. It also found that the so-called conspiracists to not like to be called ''conspiracists'' or ''conspiracy theorists.''
  Both of these findings are amplified in the new book Conspiracy Theory in America by political scientist Lance deHaven-Smith, published earlier this year by the University of Texas Press. Professor deHaven-Smith explains why people don't like being called ''conspiracy theorists'': The term was invented and put into wide circulation by the CIA to smear and defame people questioning the JFK assassination! ''The CIA's campaign to popularize the term 'conspiracy theory' and make conspiracy belief a target of ridicule and hostility must be credited, unfortunately, with being one of the most successful propaganda initiatives of all time.''
  In other words, people who use the terms ''conspiracy theory'' and ''conspiracy theorist'' as an insult are doing so as the result of a well-documented, undisputed, historically-real conspiracy by the CIA to cover up the JFK assassination. That campaign, by the way, was completely illegal, and the CIA officers involved were criminals; the CIA is barred from all domestic activities, yet routinely breaks the law to conduct domestic operations ranging from propaganda to assassinations.
  DeHaven-Smith also explains why those who doubt official explanations of high crimes are eager to discuss historical context. He points out that a very large number of conspiracy claims have turned out to be true, and that there appear to be strong relationships between many as-yet-unsolved ''state crimes against democracy.'' An obvious example is the link between the JFK and RFK assassinations, which both paved the way for presidencies that continued the Vietnam War. According to DeHaven-Smith, we should always discuss the ''Kennedy assassinations'' in the plural, because the two killings appear to have been aspects of the same larger crime.
  Psychologist Laurie Manwell of the University of Guelph agrees that the CIA-designed ''conspiracy theory'' label impedes cognitive function. She points out, in an article published in American Behavioral Scientist (2010), that anti-conspiracy people are unable to think clearly about such apparent state crimes against democracy as 9/11 due to their inability to process information that conflicts with pre-existing belief.
  In the same issue of ABS, University of Buffalo professor Steven Hoffman adds that anti-conspiracy people are typically prey to strong ''confirmation bias'' - that is, they seek out information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs, while using irrational mechanisms (such as the ''conspiracy theory'' label) to avoid conflicting information.
  The extreme irrationality of those who attack ''conspiracy theories'' has been ably exposed by Communications professors Ginna Husting and Martin Orr of Boise State University. In a 2007 peer-reviewed article entitled ''Dangerous Machinery: 'Conspiracy Theorist' as a Transpersonal Strategy of Exclusion,'' they wrote:
  ''If I call you a conspiracy theorist, it matters little whether you have actually claimed that a conspiracy exists or whether you have simply raised an issue that I would rather avoid'... By labeling you, I strategically exclude you from the sphere where public speech, debate, and conflict occur.''
  But now, thanks to the internet, people who doubt official stories are no longer excluded from public conversation; the CIA's 44-year-old campaign to stifle debate using the ''conspiracy theory'' smear is nearly worn-out. In academic studies, as in comments on news articles, pro-conspiracy voices are now more numerous - and more rational - than anti-conspiracy ones.No wonder the anti-conspiracy people are sounding more and more like a bunch of hostile, paranoid cranks.
  KB/HSN
Navy vet wakes up with no memory, speaks only Swedish | MyFOX8.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:14
  Michael Thomas Boatwright
  When police found the unconscious man in a Southern California Motel 6, the IDs on him said he was Michael Thomas Boatwright from Florida.
  But when the man awoke at Desert Regional Medical Center a few days later, he said he'd never heard of Boatwright.
  He didn't recall serving in the U.S. Navy. Or of being born in Florida.
  When doctors told him he had five tennis rackets in his hotel room, he couldn't say why.
  When they showed him photos of himself with others, he didn't recognize them, or himself.
  And he didn't speak a word of English.
  The man said his name was Johan Ek.
  And he said it in Swedish.
  That was back in February.
  Today, the 61-year-old man says he has come to terms with the name ''Michael Boatwright,'' but only because doctors told him he should.
  He still feels like Johan Ek from Sweden.
  And he can't explain why.
  The case was first reported by the Desert Sun.
  Digging in the past
  Before she became a social worker at Desert Regional Medical Center, Lisa Hunt-Vasquez was an archeologist.
  Those digging skills came in handy the day she met Johan Ek/Michael Boatwright.
  Her mission: Help Boatwright figure out who he is.
  She first contacted the military.
  Among the IDs police discovered on him was one from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  He'd served from 1971 to 1973 in the Navy as an aviation mechanic.
  Hunt-Vasquez dug deeper.
  The Asia connection
  She found a website for the TRP English school in China.
  Turns out Boatwright taught English there for four years, until May.
  In an essay he wrote for the site, he mentioned he worked as an English instructor in Japan for 10 years, and that he was married to a Japanese woman. They have a 12-year-old son together, he wrote.
  The leads looked promising.
  But there was one hitch.
  Photos found with Boatwright in the motel room showed a young man living in what looked like a European city, not Asia.
  Hunt-Vasquez kept searching.
  She came across several websites dedicated to graphic designs. Boatwright often used the screen name 'korstemplar' and listed himself as a Swede living and teaching in China.
  The pieces were falling into place.
  A roadblock
  He had lived in Japan, married, became a father. He then moved to China.
  The school in China told her he was divorced.
  He lived there until May, when his visa expired and he flew to California.
  But when she contacted the Japanese and Chinese consulates, neither had next-of-kin information for him, according to the Desert Sun.
  Staffers called all the numbers on the phone Boatwright had with him. They either went to voice mail or no one picked up, the newspaper said.
  She had hit a dead end.
  His life so far
  Everything Boatwright knows about his life before February 28 he knows because his social worker told him or because he read it on websites.
  He told CNN he learned that in 1987 he operated a consulting company called Kultur Konsult Nykoping.
  That is somewhat of a Swedish connection.
  He doesn't have any independent knowledge of his life before he woke up in the hospital. He doesn't even know exactly what his consulting company did.
  Boatwright told CNN he'd been a good tennis player, and the Tennis Channel had interviewed him years ago.
  Perhaps, he said, he'd come to southern California for the tennis tournament season. That would certainly explain the five rackets in his hotel room.
  A 'fugue state'
  According to the Desert Sun, Boatwright is in a ''fugue state.''
  People in this condition lose their sense of personal identity, according to the Cleveland Clinic. They become confused about past events and often wander far from home.
  Fugue states, such as dissociative fugue, are often triggered by trauma, such as the death of a loved one or a serious accident, according to Dr. Aaron Anderson, a neurologist at Emory University School of Medicine.
  Patients sometimes assume different personalities, Anderson added.
  The relatively rare disorder often goes away on its own, but it can take several months.
  What the future holds
  Now that Boatwright's story has spread to the Swedish media, several Swedes have come forth to say they knew him in the 1980s.
  Late Monday night, the Desert Sun reported it found Boatwright's sister in Louisiana.
  ''I haven't talked to him in years. He just disappeared,'' Michelle Brewer told the paper.
  Learning about his life hasn't helped him much psychologically.
  He still feels isolated in the hospital, so Hunt-Vasquez encouraged him to reach out to members of the local Swedish-American community.
  ''They said he was getting depressed because he wasn't able to communicate,'' said Linda Kosvic, chairman of the Vasa Order of America chapter in San Jacinto, California. ''We've been trying to provide him support and make him feel more comfortable.''
  Members visit him in the hospital, bringing him Swedish foods.
  The hospital would like to discharge Boatwright, but they have no place to send him, said Richard Ramhoff, a spokesman for Desert Regional Medical Center.
  They can't send him home until they know where home is.
  The-CNN-Wire' & (C) 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
10 Ways to Protect Against a Snowden Incident on Your Network
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:08
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The Tale of the Re-Routed Bolivian President's Plane Is Falling Apart - Philip Bump - The Atlantic Wire
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:02
  As you may have heard by now, Bolivian president Evo Morales supposedly had a tough time flying from home from Moscow last night after France, Portugal, Italy, and Spain refused to allow his plane to enter their airspace and Austria forced his plane to land and searched it. Except: Much of that reporting comes from a single source, the Bolivian government, and some of it has been contradicted.
  We took a look at each claim to evaluate its accuracy.
  The claim: France and Spain denied the plane use of its airspace.The first reports that the countries had rejected requests from Morales' pilots to fly through their airspace appeared in a story from the Associated Press.
  In a midnight press conference, Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia said that not only France and Portugal, but also Italy and Spain were denying the plane permission to fly through their airspace. '...
  "The ambassador for Spain in Austria has just informed us that there is no authorization to fly over Spanish territory and that at 9 a.m. Wednesday they would be in contact with us again," said Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra ...
  A later Guardian story offers more details from Bolivia's foreign minister, David Choquehuanca.
  Choquehuanca earlier told reporters in Bolivia that Portugal and France had abruptly cancelled air permits. "They say it was due to technical issues, but after getting explanations from some authorities we found that there appeared to be some unfounded suspicions that Mr Snowden was on the plane."
  Today, France and Spain disputed Choquehuanca's claims, as reported by the AP.
  Two officials with the French Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Morales' plane had authorization to fly over France. They would not comment on why Bolivian officials said otherwise. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named according to ministry policy.
  An official with Spain's foreign ministry said Wednesday that the country on Tuesday authorized Morales' plane to fly within its airspace and to make a refueling stop. The official said Bolivia asked again this morning for permission and got it.
  The refueling stop was apparently in the Canary Islands, a stop which occurred Wednesday afternoon. The Guardian offers more clarity.
  Spain, where Morales's plane is due to refuel during its current journey, denied Bolivian claims that it only agreed to allow the plane to refuel in the Canaries if Bolivian authorities allowed it to be inspected. The foreign minister said this was not the case. The prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, said authorisation was given for the refuelling stop but that it was important that Snowden was not aboard.
  There is a decent amount of wiggle room in both countries' statements, as is the nature of official responses from government agencies. For example, does France's denial extend to Tuesday? It's not clear.
  Update, Friday: France has apologized for the "delay" in granting Morales permission to use its airspace, according to an article by the Kuwait News Agency.
  French President Francois Hollande said in a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday evening that as soon as he had learned Morales was aboard the blocked plane, he ordered French air space to be opened for him. ...
  Also on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called his Bolivian counterpart to express "the regrets of France following the difficulty caused for President Morales by the delay in confirming the over-flight rights" in France, a statement in Paris said.
  Meanwhile, Spain has admitted that it was informed by unnamed others that Snowden was on the plane, according to the AP.
  Update, Saturday: The French newspaper Le Monde appears to have confirmed the apology above.
  Update, July 9: Spain plans to apologize for the misunderstanding '-- but insists its airspace was never closed.
  The claim: The plane was "re-routed" to Austria.The AP's original article, which suggests that the plane was re-routed to Austria, quotes Choquehuanca as saying that the refusal of France and Portugal to allow Morales to fly overhead "put the president's life at risk." An audio recording between the plane's pilots and air traffic control in Austria might explain why, as the Guardian pointed out.
  Control tower: Do you need any assistance?
  Pilot: Not at this moment. We need to land because we cannot get a correct indication of the fuel indication so as a precaution we need to land.
  Why the plane landed in Austria isn't clear, but it doesn't seem to have been at the insistence of the Austrians.
  According to records of the plane's flight path, it travelled from Russia into Belarus, then over Poland and the Czech Republic until it entered Austrian airspace. Midway over Austria, the plane turned west, then doubled back before landing. (You can watch the flight path in an animation here.) If it was rerouted from its original path, that only occurred once the plane was in Austria.
  The claim: Portugal and Italy denied use of its airspace.The Guardianhas more on this claim, too.
  The Portuguese foreign ministry said that Portugal had granted permission for the plane to fly through its airspace but declined Bolivia's request for a refuelling stop in Lisbon due to unspecified technical reasons.
  We reached out to the embassies of Portugal and Italy Wednesday afternoon; neither had representatives immediately available to answer questions. Italian authorities didn't respond to requests from the Associated Press either.
  Update, Thursday: According to a statement from Portugal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs excerpted by Negocios Online (and translated by a reporter that contacted us), Portugal and Bolivia went back and forth for two days over how Morales' plane might use Portuguese airspace. On Monday, Portugal told Bolivia it could fly over Portugal but not stop and refuel in Lisbon due to "technical reasons." The Bolivia pilots insisted on including that stop in their flight plan; Portugal again said it wasn't possible. Eventually, the Bolivian plane asked to fly over Portuguese territory to land in Las Palmas, a territory of Spain of the West African coast. That request was granted.
  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ends its statement by saying, in essence: Sorry for the inconvenience, but you had 24 hours to develop an alternate route, and didn't.
  The claim: The plane was searched.Once the plane was on the ground, members of the airport police force walked through the plane, according to a reporter who spoke with the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald. According to The New York Times, permission to do so was granted by the Bolivians.
  The claim: Snowden could have been on the plane.This is perhaps the easiest claim to debunk. Morales' plane, The Times notes, departed from Vnukovo Airport, which is 27 miles away and on the opposite side of Moscow from Sheremetyevo Airport where Snowden is currently living.
  Photo: Evo Morales sits with the president of Austria. (AP)
  Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at pbump at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Spain publicly apologizes to Bolivia over President Morales' plane blockade '-- RT News
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:00
  Spain has apologized for closing its airspace to Bolivian President Evo Morales' plane, which had to land at Vienna airport and was subsequently searched following reports that NSA leaker Edward Snowden was on board.
  "We regret this fact ... the procedure was not appropriate and bothered the president [Morales], putting him in a difficult situation," Spain's ambassador to Bolivia, Angel Vzquez, told journalists.
  The unconventional treatment of the Bolivian president has outraged Latin America.
  Bolivia has accused Spain, France, Italy and Portugal of closing their skies to the president's plane, which was thoroughly searched at the airport in Vienna on July 3 after being told it was allegedly carrying the former NSA employee Snowden from Moscow to Bolivia.
  "We recognize publicly that perhaps the procedures used in the Vienna airport by our representative were not the most effective," Angel Vzquez said
  Last week Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said that his country was ready to apologize to Bolivia for offending Morales, although he denied closing Spain's airspace to Morales' flight.
  The 30-year-old former NSA contractor is wanted in the US on charges of espionage after revealing secret NSA surveillance programs and fears he could face the death penalty in his home country. He fled American soil for Hong Kong in May and then flew to Moscow, where he has been stuck in an airport transit zone for three weeks.
  So far, three countries in Latin America '' Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua '' said they could offer Asylum to the American whistleblower.
  Washington has aggressively sought to have Snowden returned to US soil, where he is wanted on espionage charges.
  Last week, Snowden said he is seeking political asylum in Russia because he can't fly to Latin America.
  On Tuesday, the Russian Migration Service confirmed receiving the whistleblower's application for temporary asylum, which may take authorities up to three months to consider.
  Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier stated that Moscow would grant him asylum if Snowden stopped activities aimed at harming ''our American partners.''
EXCLUSIVE; Turkey's Erdogan Didn't Follow NATO's Orders To Attack Syria, Protests Are 'Foreign Conspiracy', EU Membership Blocked : The Jack Blood Show
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 19:53
  Browse > Home / Featured / EXCLUSIVE; Turkey's Erdogan Didn't Follow NATO's Orders To Attack Syria, Protests Are 'Foreign Conspiracy', EU Membership Blocked''They have thrown a shadow on Turkey's image, stained Turkey's international power. Now they are trying to play the same game in Brazil'... the game is the same, the symbols are the same, the banners are the same, Twitter and Facebook are being used the same way, and the international media reacts the same; they are being operated from the same centre.'' '' Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan
  (AE) '' The international media's well coordinated about face on their previously lauded golden boy Erdogan was immediate, and very noticeable. This lead me to review the timeline of some critical events leading up to Erdogan's apparent fall from NATO's grace'...
  TIMELINE OF EVENTS
  2013.5.11 Reyhanli Turkey Car Bombings (Syrian border, 51 killed, 140 injured, attempt is made to blame Syrian government, no proof) [1]2013.5.16 Erdogan & Obama Meeting In Washington DC ('Assad must go', but another likely topic is, why didn't you take our Reyhanli ''cue'' and invade Syria?, ERDOGAN TAKES STAND OPPOSING CHEMICAL WEAPONS) [2]2013.5.27 Turkey's Raid On Al Qaeda's Al Nusra Front Members In Adana Turkey (2 Kg of chemical weapon ''Sarin Gas'' seized, group has links to the Reyhanli Turkey Car Bombings of 2013.5.11) [3] [4]2013.5.28 Turkey's Protests Against Erdogan Begin (Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park sit in, one day after raid on Al Nusra Front found Sarin Gas, 12 days after Erdogan's meeting with Obama) [5]2013.6.6 Erdogan Claims ''Foreign Agents'' & ''Foreign Conspiracy'' Behind Turkey Riots (Facebook, Twitter & Spies; even Russia's media ridicules Erdogan for this claim [6], but it's the exact same CIA backed blueprint used for ''Operation Arab Spring'', The Revolution Business) [7]2013.6.22 Turkey's EU Membership Talks Blocked By Germany & Netherlands (scheduled for 2013.6.26, postponed until 2013.10.x, excuse of ''concerns over Turkey's handling of anti government protests'') [8]2013.6.23 Erdogan Again Claims ''Foreign Agents'' & ''Foreign Conspiracy'' Behind Turkey Riots (same game being played on Brazil, same symbols, same banners, same international media) [9]
  The timeline of events above leads me to speculate the following'...
  Erdogan missed his NATO cue to intervene in Syria after the devastating Reyhanli bombings, he was then summoned to Washington DC to explain himself to Obama, then during his Washington statement Erdogan publicly rejects the use of chemical weapons in Syria, 11 days later Erdogan raids Al Nusra Front's cache of Sarin Gas at Adana Turkey, the following day protests begin in Turkey against Erdogan, this is clearly a threat, Erdogan even claims the protests are a ''foreign conspiracy'', the protests continue, now further punishment has been provided by Germany and the Netherlands to block Turkey's scheduled EU membership talks.
  By saying this I am in no way supporting Erdogan, for he has made many great errors by participating in NATO's covert war on Syria, and therefore alienating his own people. This is inexcusable, and the actions within Syria amount to war crimes, however, it must be noted that Erdogan appears to have limits, and the timeline indicates that he refused to participate in a large Sarin Gas attack inside Syria, and instead seized those chemical weapons, and likely prevented an attack that would have been blamed on the Syrian government in order to trigger Obama's ''Red Line'', which has now been trigger by very dubious means.
  See sources and videos below'...
  [1] 2013.5.11 Turkey Claims Syrian Intelligence Behind Bombing On Border (Reyhanli) (RT, youtube.com):
  Double car-bomb blasts have rocked a Turkish town near the country's border with Syria. Dozens are dead and scores more injured following the attack. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombings, but Turkey is focusing on Kurdish rebels or Syrian involvement.
  [2] 2013.5.16 'Assad Must Go' Says Turkey & The US (Erdogan & Obama Meeting In Washington DC) (Euronews, youtube.com):
  A day of talks between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan were dominated by the civil war there but Obama refused to see US troops drawn into the conflict.
  ''There is no magic formula for dealing with the extraordinarily violent difficult situation like Syria,'' said Obama. '' I reserve the option of taking additional steps both diplomatic and military.''
  Prime Minister Erdogan was more forthright about his aims:
  ''Syria should not be an area controlled by terrorist groups. The use of chemical weapon must be prevented. Security for all the minorities must be provided. These are the priorities.''
  In the end both men stressed the strength of their relations over trade, terrorism and commercial interests. But they both also voiced intentions towards the Middle East with Erdogan going ahead with a visit to Gaza and Obama announcing a trip to the West Bank.
  [3] 2013.5.30 Al Qaeda's Jabhat Al Nusra Caught With Sarin Gas Inside Turkey (2013.5.27 Raid) (RT, youtube.com):
  Turkish security forces found a 2-Kg cylinder with sarin gas after searching the homes of jihadist militants from al-Qaeda's Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front) who were previously detained, Turkish media reports. The gas was reportedly going to be used in a bomb.
  The sarin gas was found in the homes of suspected Syrian Islamists detained in the southern provinces of Adana and Mersia following a search by Turkish police on Wednesday, reports say. The gas was allegedly going to be used to carry out an attack in the southern Turkish city of Adana.
  On Monday, Turkish special anti-terror forces arrested 12 suspected members of the Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda affiliated group which has been dubbed ''the most aggressive and successful arm'' of the ''Syrian rebels''. The group was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in December 2012.
  Police also reportedly found a cache of weapons, documents and digital data which will be reviewed by police.
  Following the searches, five of those detained were released following medical examinations at the Forensic Medicine Institution Adana. Seven suspects remain in custody. Turkish authorities are yet to comment on the arrests.
  [4] 2013.5.31 Toxic Warfare; Rebels Caught With Sarin Gas Amid Syria Arms Supply Scandal (2013.5.27 Raid) (RT, youtube.com):
  Suspected Syrian militants have reportedly been detained in Turkey with a cylinder of highly poisonous sarin gas found in their possession. Those arrested are believed to be members of the Al- Qaeda linked Al-Nusra Front. Earlier this month, UN investigators voiced suspicion the nerve agent was being used by opposition fighters. RT's Middle East correspondent Paula Slier reports.
  [5] 2013 Protests In Turkey (wikipedia.org):
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_protests_in_Turkey
  [6] 2013.6.6 Twitter, Spies & Looters; Erdogan Blames 'Foreign Agents' For Turkey Riots (RT, youtube.com):
  For a sixth night running in Turkey, it was more of the same.
  Clashes leading to police unleashing their water cannons and tear gas on protesters. A third fatality has been confirmed in the unrest, after a man died from head injuries in an Ankara hospital. Activists want the police chiefs responsible for their violent tactics removed and urged officials to ban the use of tear gas. Protesters also want all those that have been detained, released saying that could end the days of riots. The Turkish Prime minister returns from a trip to North Africa later, and will be expected to do something about the public discontent which has seen demands for him to reverse all his policies. But as RT's Irina Galushko reports, Erdogan appears to be looking for scapegoats.
  [7] 2012.8.14 PROOF The 'Arab Spring' Was Contrived; The Revolution Business (CANVAS, F. William Engdahl, Gene Sharp, Otpor, Revolution Training Software, Srdja Popovic) (deadlinelive.info):
  http://deadlinelive.info/2012/08/14/proof-the-arab-spring-was-contrived-the-revolution-business/
  [8] 2013.6.22 Tension Between Germany & Turkey (EU Membership Talks Postponed) (Euronews, youtube.com):
  Activists in Turkey have continued their presence in Istanbul's Taksim square, holding a silent protest.
  In Ankara, there more demonstrations against the police detention of activists.
  Meanwhile their politicians thoughts are elsewhere after a potentially damaging fall out with Germany.
  Both countries Foreign Ministries have summoned the others ambassador for talks.
  Turkey has accused Angela Merkel of attacking it for political gain, after she criticised the country earlier in the week for its treatment of protestors.
  Turkey's European Union Affairs Minister, Egemen Bagis, warned Merkel not to interfere.
  ''As you know there are elections in September in Germany. So, if Mrs Merkel is looking for domestic election material, that should not be Turkey.'' Bagis said, adding ''If Mrs Merkel looks at what happened with Sarkozy, who massively exploited this situation before, she can clearly see the consequences. The ones who mess with Turkey do not end up well.''
  The accusations have angered the German government. Andreas Peschke, spokesman for the German Department of Foreign Affairs, said:
  ''These remarks were received with incomprehension here, it does not work that way, and that is why the Turkish ambassador was summoned.''
  On Thursday, Germany, along with the Netherlands, blocked the next stage of talks for Turkey to join the EU. The German government refused to say whether the decision was linked to the Turkish crackdown.
  [9] 2013.6.23 Erdogan Says Activists 'Playing Into Hands' Of Turkey's Enemies (Euronews, youtube.com):
  A week of calm in Istanbul has come to an end after police clashed with protesters on Saturday night, using water canons to disperse them.
  In Ankara, smoke grenades were used to clear people from the area.
  On the streets, people chanted for the resignation of Prime Minister Erdogan. Many threw red carnations at the lines of riot police forming around them.
  Erdogan responded, saying protesters were playing into the hands of Turkey's enemies:
  ''They have thrown a shadow on Turkey's image, stained Turkey's international power. Now they are trying to play the same game in Brazil.'' Erdogan went on to add: ''The game is the same, the symbols are the same, the banners are the same, Twitter and Facebook are being used the same way, and the international media reacts the same; they are being operated from the same centre.''
  Tags: Al Nusra Front, Al Qaeda, Chemical Weapons, CIA, Erdogan, EU Membership, Free Syrian Army (FSA), International Media, Mercenaries, MI6, NATO, Operation Arab Spring, Revolution Business, Sarin Gas, Turkey, War On Syria
BBC News - Fugitive Edward Snowden trapped in Russia - Putin
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:39
  15 July 2013Last updated at12:31 ETThe US authorities have in effect trapped fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden in Russia, President Vladimir Putin has said.
  But Mr Putin said Mr Snowden would leave if he was able to.
  The former intelligence systems analyst has been offered asylum in a number of Latin American states, but has no documents with which to leave the transit zone at Moscow airport.
  The US has charged Mr Snowden with leaking classified information.
  Mr Putin has refused to hand over the fugitive to the US authorities, but says he can only stay in Russia if he stops leaking secrets about US surveillance schemes.
  He said there were signs that Mr Snowden was "changing his position".
  However, he added that Mr Snowden did not want to stay in Russia but wanted to take up residence in "another country".
  'No invitation'Asked what Mr Snowden's future was, the Russian president said: "How should I know? It's his life."
  "He came to our territory without invitation. And we weren't his final destination... But the moment he was in the air... our American partners, in fact, blocked his further flight," he said.
  "They have spooked all the other countries, nobody wants to take him and in that way, in fact, they have themselves blocked him on our territory."
  Mr Snowden has been stuck in the transit area of Sheremetyevo airport - reportedly staying at the airport's Capsule Hotel - since arriving from Hong Kong on 23 June.
  The American has sent requests for political asylum to at least 21 countries, most of which have turned down his request. However, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have indicated they could take him in.
  But he is unable to leave the transit zone without asylum documents, a valid passport or a Russian visa - he reportedly has none of these.
  And some European countries are likely to close their airspace to any plane suspected of carrying the fugitive.
  At a news conference on Friday, Mr Snowden said he was seeking temporary asylum in Russia before he could safely travel to Latin America. However, Moscow officials say they have so far received no such request.
  Mr Snowden's leaking of thousands of classified US intelligence documents has led to revelations that the National Security Agency is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data.
  The documents have also indicated that both the UK and French intelligence agencies allegedly run similarly vast data collection operations, and the US has been eavesdropping on official EU communications.
Army Apologizes For 'Scary' Choppers In Port Angeles CBS Seattle
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:33
  File image of Black Hawks (Photo by Faleh Kheiber-Pool/Getty Images)
  SEATTLE (AP) '-- Port Angeles Mayor Cherie Kidd met with Army officials Monday and received an apology for a nighttime training exercise last week that she says ''terrorized my city'' with low-flying helicopters.
  Kidd went to Joint Base Lewis-McChord demanding answers. Why didn't the Army notify city officials of the late-night training mission? Thundering choppers shook residents, awakened children and startled animals in the Olympic Peninsula city about 80 miles northwest of the army base in Western Washington.
  The mayor met for an hour with the base commander, Col. H. Charles Hodges Jr., and two officers with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, she said.
  ''They listened to me and heard our concerns,'' she said Monday afternoon. ''They apologized and they said they are going to do everything possible for it not to happen again.
  ''That's what I needed to hear,'' Kidd said.
  In addition, Hodges agreed to attend the Tuesday night city council meeting to apologize in person to council members and the public, she said.
  Kidd was one of the people awakened by the exercise.
  ''We have a Coast Guard base and know what our Coast Guard helicopters sound like,'' she said. ''I've never heard anything like that.''
  ''It was horrendously loud and frightening. There were lights on some of the helicopters that just really upset us,'' she said.
  Dozens of people called emergency dispatchers late Thursday night and early Friday morning to ask about military helicopters circling and spotlighting the city, The Peninsula Daily News reported.
  Dispatchers didn't have anything to tell them. The Clallam County sheriff's office didn't find out until later Friday that the copters from Lewis-McChord were training at the Coast Guard base at Ediz Hook, on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
  ''There was evidently some miscalculation about the noise and disruption it would cause,'' Kidd said.
  The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers, is recognized for proficiency in nighttime operations, its website says.
  ''They are highly trained and ready to accomplish the very toughest missions in all environments, anywhere in the world, day or night, with unparalleled precision. They employ highly modified Chinook, Black Hawk and assault and attack configurations of Little Bird helicopters,'' the website says.
  Landing lights may have shined on homes, Hodges told the Peninsula Daily News, but the copters weren't hovering over the city.
  The Department of Defense had announced through the Federal Aviation Administration's Notices to Airmen that there would be heavy military activity in the vicinity of Port Angeles., said Cmdr. Craig O'Brien, operations officer at the Coast Guard base.
  Such notices are not sent out to the media or local law enforcement, but the system is accessible to the general public, he told the newspaper.
  The Coast Guard has already apologized to the city, Kidd said Monday. And the Army is well on its way to making amends.
  ''Port Angeles is very patriotic town. We support our military,'' she said. ''This incident we felt was inappropriate.''
  She was assured no further military exercises are planned in Port Angeles in the near future, ''for which I am very grateful,'' Kidd said.
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  Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
VIDEO-Social Engineer-Greta Van Susteren Bitch Slaps Martin Attorney 'Jasmine Rand' In Feisty Interview - YouTube
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:27
VIDEO-Could bankers be jailed for negligence - YouTube
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:23
VIDEO-Korean Pilots Avoided Manual Flying, Former Trainers Say - Bloomberg
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:17
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  Investigating Pilots in Asiana Flight 214 Disaster
  As the Asiana Airlines Inc. (020560) jet neared Los Angeles International Airport, Captain Vic Hooper told his Korean co-pilot to make a visual approach, meaning he'd manually fly instead of letting automation do the work.
  The co-pilot froze, leaving them too high and off course, Hooper said about the incident, which occurred several years ago. Hooper said he had to take over the controls to get the Boeing Co. (BA) 777 back on track.
  ''I don't need to know this,'' Hooper said the co-pilot told him later, explaining why a maneuver that's second nature to most U.S. airline pilots rattled him. ''We just don't do this.''
  U.S. crash investigators are examining the manual flying skills and cockpit teamwork among the pilots of Asiana Flight 214 as they determine why the 777 crashed in San Francisco on July 6, killing three teenaged girls from China. Two passengers remain in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, according to a statement yesterday.
  Pilots were being told by air-traffic controllers to use visual approaches the day of the accident because the airport's glide slope, which helps line up the correct path to the runway, was closed for construction, U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman said last week.
  Too LowThe plane was coming in too low and had gotten almost 40 miles an hour slower than the target approach speed when its landing gear and tail struck a seawall short of the runway, Hersman said.
  Lee Hyo Min, a spokeswoman at Asiana, declined to discuss the manual flying skills of its pilots, citing the NTSB investigation.
  Asiana (020560) shares fell 0.6 percent to 4,810 won, the lowest since April 2010, at the close of Seoul trading. The stock has slumped 22 percent this year, compared with a 6.5 percent decline in South Korea's benchmark Kospi index. Korean Air Lines Co. (003490) rose 0.2 percent today.
  ''As planes become more sophisticated, the government has told airlines that they need to narrow the gap between digital and analogue systems,'' Kwon Yong Bok, director general of aviation safety policy at the South Korean transport ministry, said in an interview today when asked about pilots' dependence on automation. He didn't elaborate.
  Asiana PilotsThree aviators who flew for Asiana or who helped train crews in Korea said in interviews that the Asiana pilots they flew with, while intelligent and well trained on automated systems, rarely flew manually.
  Hooper is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and a former Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) captain with more than 25,000 hours in the cockpit.
  Ross Aimer, a retired United Airlines captain who trained crews at Korean Air Lines (003490)for Boeing subsidiary Alteon Training in 2008 and 2009, and Kenneth Musser, of Roswell, Georgia, said they also noticed that many Korean pilots struggled with visual approaches. Musser, a former Delta pilot, flew 777s for Asiana for almost four years until 2009.
  ''You will never hear an Asiana pilot request a visual approach,'' said Hooper, who flew for the Korean carrier from 2006 to 2011 after ending his U.S. airline career. ''That happens all the time here'' in the U.S.
  Touch, GosVisual landing is one of the first skills an aviator in the U.S. learns, as a civilian practicing on single-engine planes with an instructor at a small airport or as a military student pilot.
  In both cases, pilots make dozens or hundreds of unassisted landings before graduating to more sophisticated aircraft, Aimer said.
  Civilians in Korea rarely learn to become pilots because the country doesn't have the same network of public airports, Aimer said. Most non-military pilots hired by Asiana are sent to flight school by the carrier, he said.
  Among Korean pilots, even those who flew in the military, comfort with manual flying was unusual, he said.
  ''They know their procedures almost better than we did as instructors,'' said Aimer, who now works at Los Angeles-based Aero Consulting Experts. ''But we all noticed they all had more trouble with a simple visual approach than with a very sophisticated approach.''
  Improving RecordDavid Greenberg, a retired Delta executive, was hired by Korean Air in 2000 to bolster its safety and pilot training following three fatal crashes from 1997 through 1999.
  ''I observed it,'' Greenberg, speaking in an interview, said of Korean pilots' deficiencies in hand-flying planes, while adding it wasn't worse than with pilots elsewhere in the world.
  A Korean Air Boeing 747 struck a hilltop in Guam on Aug. 6, 1997, killing 228 of the 254 people aboard. The NTSB said the co-pilot and flight engineer failed to monitor the captain, who had gotten too low, and found Korean Air's training ''inadequate.''
  Korean Air has had a ''stellar'' safety record since its last fatal accident in 1999, Penny Pfaelzer, the company's Phoenix-based spokeswoman, said in an interview. The company brought in outside pilots and managers and revamped its safety and training, Pfaelzer said.
  ''They've established training that is the gold standard in Asia,'' she said.
  Eroding SkillsThere were no fatal accidents involving Korea's two main carriers after 1999 until a 2011 Asiana cargo plane caught fire while in flight and crashed, according to AviationSafetyNetwork, a Web-based database of crashes.
  Delta experienced a similar shortfall in pilot skills in the 1980s after introducing more automated Boeing 757s and 767s to its fleet, Greenberg said.
  Flying skills have eroded globally in an era of heavily automated jets, said Robert Mann, a former airline executive who runs consultant R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, New York.
  International flight crews, who may make only four trips a month and spend most of that time on autopilot, ''probably don't get enough hand-flying,'' Mann said.
  While the accident involved different circumstances, the Air France (AF) pilots who crashed in the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009, killing 228 people, had difficulty flying the plane by hand after a malfunction switched off the Airbus SAS A330's automation, according to France's Bureau of Investigations and Analysis.
  Three SecondsAfter noticing their plane had slowed to well below the target landing speed, the Asiana Flight 214 pilots didn't attempt to abort their landing in San Francisco until less than 3 seconds before it struck the seawall, Hersman said.
  While the pilot at the controls had almost 10,000 hours of flight experience, he had flown only 10 legs and 35 hours in the wide-body 777. A management captain making his first flight as an instructor was supervising from the co-pilot's seat. Another pilot aboard to give the primary pilots a rest break was seated in the rear of the cockpit.
  From the time that the plane descended through 500 feet, the point at which Boeing advises pilots to abort if they aren't sure the landing is set up properly, none of the crew voiced concerns until the final seconds before the crash, according to Hersman.
  The Korean government has announced it will investigate whether the crew followed procedures and how they were trained, according to a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport statement.
  To contact the reporters on this story: Alan Levin in Washington at alevin24@bloomberg.net; Julie Johnsson in Chicago at jjohnsson@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bernard Kohn at bkohn2@bloomberg.net
  Enlarge imageFormer Asiana Pilots Say Manual Flying Secondary to AutomationJustin Sullivan/Getty Images
  Burned seats are visible in the wrecked fuselage of Asiana Airlines flght 214 as it sits in a storage area at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco on July 12, 2013.
  Burned seats are visible in the wrecked fuselage of Asiana Airlines flght 214 as it sits in a storage area at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco on July 12, 2013. Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
  0:38
  July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Dr. Geoffrey Manley, chief of neurosurgery at San Francisco General Hospital, talks with reporters about the death of a third victim of the July 6 Asiana Airlines crash. The victim, described only as a female minor, had been in critical condition since arriving at the hospital, Rachael Kagan, a spokeswoman, said. The two other victims, 16-year-olds Ye Meng Yuan and Wang Lin Jia of China, died at the site of the crash. (Source: Bloomberg)
  Enlarge imageAsiana Pilot Skills Affected by Cultural Barriers, Trainers SayHaruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg
  U.S. crash investigators are examining the manual flying skills and cockpit teamwork among the pilots of Asiana Airlines Inc. Flight 214 as they determine why their Boeing Co. 777 crashed July 6 in San Francisco while making a visual approach.
  U.S. crash investigators are examining the manual flying skills and cockpit teamwork among the pilots of Asiana Airlines Inc. Flight 214 as they determine why their Boeing Co. 777 crashed July 6 in San Francisco while making a visual approach. Photographer: Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg
  ''As planes become more sophisticated, the government has told airlines that they need to narrow the gap between digital and analogue systems,'' Kwon Yong Bok, director general of aviation safety policy at the South Korean transport ministry, said in an interview today when asked about pilots' dependence on automation. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
Putin Urges Snowden to Leave Russia
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:01
  MOSCOW'--President Vladimir Putin said he hopes Edward Snowden, the U.S. National Security Agency leaker, will leave Russia as soon as possible and reiterated that he doesn't want the situation to damage relations with the White House.
  Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesRussian President Vladimir Putin dove in a deep-sea submersible in the Gulf of Finland on Monday to view the wreckage of a frigate that sank in 1869.
  Mr. Putin noted that Mr. Snowden remains in Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport only because the U.S. has prevented the fugitive from reaching his desired final destination in Latin America.
  The comments Monday highlighted Mr. Putin's delicate maneuvering. Though Mr. Snowden's arrival has presented an opportunity for the Russian president to burnish his American-defiant reputation at home and abroad, Mr. Putin isn't seeking a major blowup in ties with Washington. Such a collapse in relations would imperil a high-profile September meeting that Mr. Putin has planned with President Barack Obama in Russia'--an event the Kremlin doesn't want to derail.
  Russia declined the White House's request to expel Mr. Snowden in part because the U.S. would be highly unlikely to expel a Russian asylum-seeker at the Kremlin's request. But that doesn't mean Mr. Putin views Mr. Snowden sympathetically. The former KGB apparatchik, whose inner circle comprises security-service loyalists, views whistleblowing activities with skepticism and hasn't expressed support for Mr. Snowden's plight or cause.
  The Americans "themselves scared all the other countries such that no one wants to take him, and thereby blockaded him on our territory," Mr. Putin said. "It's a Christmas present for us," he joked.
  The Russian president made the remarks during a question-and-answer session with students on an island in the Gulf of Finland. While there, he boarded an underwater rover resembling a medicinal gelatin capsule to have a look at an 1869 shipwreck, an experience that he said was akin to traveling in a time machine.
  Mr. Snowden, who is wanted by U.S. authorities for leaking information about the NSA's surveillance operations, gathered a group of prominent Russians at the airport Friday and asked them to help him gain asylum in Russia.
  The 30-year-old former security contractor described the move as a temporary measure until he can find a way to reach Latin American countries that have offered him safe harbor.
  Mr. Snowden told invitees that the Kremlin's condition for him to receive asylum'--that he stops releasing information that harms Russia's "American partners"'--isn't a problem.
  Mr. Putin recounted those conditions on Monday. "From the start, we made him an offer: 'If you want to stay, go ahead, but you will have to cease your political activities. We have certain relations with the United States and we don't want you to harm the relationship with the U.S. with your activities,' " Mr. Putin said.
  "He said, 'No.''--You laugh but he was serious. He said, 'No, I want to continue my activities, I want to fight for human rights, I think that the U.S. is violating certain international norms, is intruding into private life and my goal is to fight against this.' 'We said, 'Fine, but then we won't be involved. We have our own things to fight against.' "
  Mr. Putin told the students that Mr. Snowden is now "starting to change his position, though the situation isn't completely clear yet." The president reiterated that he'd rather Mr. Snowden go elsewhere. "As soon as he's allowed to go somewhere else, I hope he will do that," Mr. Putin said.
  Invitees to Friday's tightly controlled meeting, which airport officials helped organize, included a number of prominent Kremlin loyalists, setting the stage for Mr. Putin to approve Mr. Snowden's request if he so chooses.
  It is unclear how Mr. Snowden drew up the invite list, which also included Kremlin critics such as representatives from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The U.S. subsequently accused Russia of organizing a "propaganda platform" for Mr. Snowden.
  Russian officials said Monday that they had yet to receive an asylum application from Mr. Snowden.
  Anatoly Kucherena, a Kremlin-connected lawyer who attended Friday's meeting and has offered to help formulate Mr. Snowden's application, said Monday he hasn't heard from the former U.S. security contractor yet. But Mr. Kucherena said that judging by their conversation Friday, he expects Mr. Snowden to apply soon.
  Mr. Putin was also asked what will happen to Mr. Snowden in the end. "How would I know?" the president and former KGB agent said. "It's his life, his fate."
  Write to Paul Sonne at paul.sonne@wsj.com
  A version of this article appeared July 16, 2013, on page A11 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Putin Urges Snowden to Leave.
Italy's First Black Minister Greeted With "Nooses On Lampposts"
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  Source: Zero Hedge
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 14:28
  While the US has had its share of race-related social issues in recent days, nothing compares to Italy where not only was the country's first black minister (of integration!) of Congolese origin, Cecile Kyenge, compared to an orangutan two days ago by Roberto Calderoli, vice president of Italy's Senate and a senior parliamentarian in the anti-immigration Northern League, but following a visit to the city of Pescara she was met with a "protest" where nooses were hung from lammposts.
  And just so the message was not lost, "he nooses appeared on lampposts with posters signed by far-right group Forza Nuova: "Immigration, the noose of the people!" read one of the slogans on the posters. Another said: "Everyone should live in their own country." Nothing like Italy, whose economy has been ravaged by the worst depression in decades, developing its own Golden Dawn movement to really help with integration issues and globalized worker mobility.
  From AFP:
  Kyenge, who is of Congolese origin, has called for a reform of Italian law to make it easier for children born to immigrant parents to acquire citizenship.
  Prime Minister Enrico Letta called for an end to the insults against Kyenge, saying this was a "shameful chapter" for Italy and could lead to a "major clash".
  Ever since being named to the cabinet in April, Kyenge has faced a barrage of abuse - particularly from members of the anti-immigration Northern League party.
  Northern League MEP Mario Borghezio said her nomination was "bloody stupid" and that she had "a face like a housewife", while one local party activist said the minister should be raped in a vicious Facebook rant about crimes committed by immigrants.
  Northern League senator Roberto Calderoli, who has courted controversy for years with a series of racist, sexist and Islamophobic jibes, on Saturday said: "When I see pictures of Kyenge, I cannot help thinking of similarities with an orangutan".
  In an interview with La Repubblica daily out on Monday, Calderoli then claimed that he had animalistic comparisons for all the ministers, including ones who looked like a frog, a peacock and a St Bernard's dog.
  Letta on Monday said Calderoli's remarks were "unacceptable" and called on Northern League leader Roberto Maroni to put an end to the attacks by his party members "as quickly as possible".
  Calderoli is deputy speaker of the Senate and there have been calls for his resignation from centre-left lawmakers and anti-racism campaigners.
  Ah, zee political stabeeleetee. Then again, with the "untouchable Don" Mario Draghi, whose own past is checkered beyond comaprison in charge of Europe, courtesy of the Goldman Sachs immunity, not even race war breaking out in Europe will make a dent on the ECB's intentions to centrally plan the future of the continent using peripheral bond yields for the long to very long term future.
  And not surprisingly, courtesy of precisely such social distractions, it is the "Mario Draghis" of the world, not to mention Italy's far more "deserving" politicians, that have so far completely avoided even one noose on even one lammpost in all their Gulfstream-chartered, taxpayer-funded jaunts around the world.
  Average:Your rating: NoneAverage: 5(3 votes)
China's 'Combat Troops' in Africa | Killer Apps
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 14:10
  For the second time in a little over a year, China has infantry on the ground in Africa, reflecting the Chinese military's increasingly global presence.
  395 peacekeepers from the People's Liberation Army just arrived in the Saharan nation of Mali as part of the U.N. mission to help restore order there. Specifically, Beijing has sent engineering, medical and "guard" teams to the Malian capital of Bamako, according to the Chinese defense ministry. These troops are reportedly part of the PLA's 16th Army, a formation comprised of infantry, armor and artillery divisions.
  China traditionally sends thousands of engineering, medical and other support troops on U.N. missions each year. Of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China is the largest manpower contributor to U.N. peacekeeping missions.
  However, until very recently, China did not send infantry on U.N. missions. In fact, Beijing officially insists the soldiers in Mali aren't combat troops, perhaps in order to maintain the idea that China doesn't send official combat troops on peacekeeping missions.
  "The Chinese security force is actually a guard team that will mainly be responsible for the security of the [U.N. mission] headquarters and the living areas of peacekeeping forces," a Chinese defense ministry spokesman is quoted by China's state-run Xinhua news agency as saying.
  Still, this latest deployment marks the second time in the last two years that China has sent infantry soldiers to Africa with the purpose of guarding peacekeeping missions. In 2011, Beijing sent infantrymen to guard PLA engineers participating in a U.N. mission in South Sudan. Despite Beijing's claims that these troops were there solely for the purpose of guarding the engineers, the U.S. China Economic and Security Review pointed out that these guards were from an "elite" combat unit.
  The mission to protect PLA engineers and medics isn't without merit; just last week, seven UN personnel were killed when their convoy was attacked in Sudan. And the operation reflects China's growing interest in Africa. Chinese business leaders have been all over the continent for the last decade, spending billions of dollars on projects and prompting some to worry that Beijing was going to beat the U.S. in the African influence game (an assertion U.S. President Barack Obama dismisses). All of this has prompted Chinese military deployments aimed at protecting Chinese workers abroad.
  The Chinese navy has been conducting anti-piracy operations in the Arabian Sea for years. And in early 2011, China sent military transport planes and even a guided missile destroyer to Libya to help evacuate some of the tens of thousands of Chinese citizens there as the revolution against former Libyan dictator Muammar al Qaddafi heated up.
  These latest deployments of Chinese infantry are simply a reflection of China's growing role in the world, motivated by the need to protect Chinese investments and to be seen as a more responsible player in global security affairs, say several experts.
  "This role is not limited to Africa, and thus I don't see this current shift as an 'Africa' policy, but rather the evolution of their U.N. role coupled, possibly, with a long-standing special relationship with Mali," professor Deborah Brautigam with John Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. "If they want to play a leadership role in the U.N., they need to step up and expand what they contribute to its various parts."
  For now, that means sending in a relative handful of troops. In the future, the numbers may not be quite so small.
  "China is slowly setting the scene for eventually sending a combat unit to some future UN peacekeeping operation," said David Chinn, former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso who now teaches at The George Washington University. "In this sense, this is a significant development and is in keeping with China's policy of slowing expanding the size and function of its support to peacekeeping."
LA Times - Brain scans of inmates turn up possible link to risks of reoffending
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Zimmerman's lawyer calls prosecutors 'disgrace' to profession
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 14:00
  Zimmerman's lawyer calls prosecutors 'disgrace' to professionTop News
  Zimmerman's lawyer calls prosecutors 'disgrace' to profession
  Mon, Jul 15 22:56 PM EDT
  By Chris Francescani
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - George Zimmerman's chief defense lawyer on Monday called Florida prosecutors "a disgrace to my profession" for holding back evidence for months and pledged a new effort to impose sanctions against them.
  Mark O'Mara and co-counsel Don West argued the self-defense case that helped Zimmerman win an acquittal of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges on Saturday for the 2012 shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.
  The law requires prosecutors to share evidence with defense attorneys, especially if it helps exonerate defendants. The requirement is known as the Brady disclosure.
  O'Mara accused prosecutors of several Brady violations, which were heard by Judge Debra Nelson before the trial. Nelson postponed some of her decisions on sanctions until after trial, saying the process was time-consuming.
  "This is not acceptable, and is not going to be tolerated in any case that I'm involved in," O'Mara told Reuters in New York on Monday, accusing special prosecutor Angela Corey and lead trial attorney Bernie de la Rionda of Brady violations.
  "They are a disgrace to my profession," O'Mara said, referring specifically to de la Rionda and Corey. "They said my client was 'lucky' to have been acquitted. Really?"
  Corey responded that O'Mara's comments were unprofessional and challenged him to point to any judge's ruling that her office improperly withheld evidence.
  "Our office adhered to the highest standards of ethical behavior," Corey told Reuters in a telephone interview. "Our rules of professional conduct regulate comments like that. I don't think those are the kind of comments that are appropriate."
  Her office confirmed last week that it had fired its information technology director, Ben Kruidbos, who had testified in a pre-trial hearing that files he created with text messages and images he retrieved from Martin's phone were not handed to the defense.
  Kruidbos testified last month that he found embarrassing photos on Martin's phone that included pictures of a clump of jewelry on a bed, underage nude females, marijuana plants and a hand holding a semi-automatic pistol.
  O'Mara said he intends to amend his request for sanctions against the prosecutors in light of testimony from the trial, calling prosecutors' failure to turn over data from Martin's phone records for months "an undeniable Brady violation."
  Prosecutors handed over raw data from Martin's phone, but O'Mara accused them of withholding additional data that had been extracted by Kruidbos. Corey countered that the judge determined the defense was in possession.
  O'Mara has quarreled with the prosecutors since they charged Zimmerman last year and has become increasingly aggressive in his criticism of the prosecution since his client's acquittal.
  A jury in Sanford, Florida, found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter after a three-week trial in which defense lawyers argued that the neighborhood watch volunteer, shot Martin in self-defense.
  (Additional reporting by Barbara Liston; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Christopher Wilson)
  Zimmerman's lawyer calls prosecutors 'disgrace' to professionTop News
  Zimmerman's lawyer calls prosecutors 'disgrace' to profession
  Mon, Jul 15 22:56 PM EDT
  By Chris Francescani
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - George Zimmerman's chief defense lawyer on Monday called Florida prosecutors "a disgrace to my profession" for holding back evidence for months and pledged a new effort to impose sanctions against them.
  Mark O'Mara and co-counsel Don West argued the self-defense case that helped Zimmerman win an acquittal of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges on Saturday for the 2012 shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.
  The law requires prosecutors to share evidence with defense attorneys, especially if it helps exonerate defendants. The requirement is known as the Brady disclosure.
  O'Mara accused prosecutors of several Brady violations, which were heard by Judge Debra Nelson before the trial. Nelson postponed some of her decisions on sanctions until after trial, saying the process was time-consuming.
  "This is not acceptable, and is not going to be tolerated in any case that I'm involved in," O'Mara told Reuters in New York on Monday, accusing special prosecutor Angela Corey and lead trial attorney Bernie de la Rionda of Brady violations.
  "They are a disgrace to my profession," O'Mara said, referring specifically to de la Rionda and Corey. "They said my client was 'lucky' to have been acquitted. Really?"
  Corey responded that O'Mara's comments were unprofessional and challenged him to point to any judge's ruling that her office improperly withheld evidence.
  "Our office adhered to the highest standards of ethical behavior," Corey told Reuters in a telephone interview. "Our rules of professional conduct regulate comments like that. I don't think those are the kind of comments that are appropriate."
  Her office confirmed last week that it had fired its information technology director, Ben Kruidbos, who had testified in a pre-trial hearing that files he created with text messages and images he retrieved from Martin's phone were not handed to the defense.
  Kruidbos testified last month that he found embarrassing photos on Martin's phone that included pictures of a clump of jewelry on a bed, underage nude females, marijuana plants and a hand holding a semi-automatic pistol.
  O'Mara said he intends to amend his request for sanctions against the prosecutors in light of testimony from the trial, calling prosecutors' failure to turn over data from Martin's phone records for months "an undeniable Brady violation."
  Prosecutors handed over raw data from Martin's phone, but O'Mara accused them of withholding additional data that had been extracted by Kruidbos. Corey countered that the judge determined the defense was in possession.
  O'Mara has quarreled with the prosecutors since they charged Zimmerman last year and has become increasingly aggressive in his criticism of the prosecution since his client's acquittal.
  A jury in Sanford, Florida, found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter after a three-week trial in which defense lawyers argued that the neighborhood watch volunteer, shot Martin in self-defense.
  (Additional reporting by Barbara Liston; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Christopher Wilson)
How to Use Social Media to Juice Your Story's Popularity | Gadget Lab | Wired.com
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 13:42
  Do you love this story? You should. Everyone loves it. Look at all my Facebook likes. Or check out the Twitter hashtag #lovemystory. As you'll see, lots of people love it. And the traffic stats? Awesome. Because it's a great story '... and because I paid for it to be popular.
  In an era when a story's success is defined by its impact, there are a lot of cheats. Need to boost pageviews? You could rent a botnet for $2 an hour and point many thousands of visitors to your story. But counting pageviews is old-school'--''engagement'' is where it's at today. So I went to Fiverr, a service that lets you pay people $5 for all sorts of tasks. First, I paid someone to get 6,000 people to spend at least 30 seconds viewing my story. To juice social media I paid $5 for 2,000 shares on Facebook. I also put down $5 for 500 people to tweet my story and another $5 for 500 retweets of my own tweet. Money can't buy me love? Nonsense.
  But what really counts is influence. I need a hashtag with Klout. So I went to BuySellAds to pay someone influential to tweet it for me. I couldn't afford the $4,600 Paris Hilton would charge, but I could swing $29 for Tiago Castro to tweet to his 100,000 followers. And who knows, if enough people love this story, maybe I can hire Snooki ($6,250) for my next one.
  Mat Honan is a senior writer for Wired's Gadget Lab and the co-founder of the Knight-Batten award-winning Longshot magazine.
  Read more by Mat Honan
  Follow @mat on Twitter.
Airframe Details for Asiana 777 HL7742
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 05:32
  Airframe Details for Asiana 777 HL7742Posted byBRIAN BOSTICK1:58 PM on Jul 07, 2013According to Aviation Week Intelligence Network's Fleet Database, the Asiana Airlines 777 involved in yesterday's accident was a 777-28EER, Serial No. 29171/Line No. 553, built in February 2006 and delivered to Asiana Airlines in March 2006. The aircraft was equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW4090 engines. As of April 2013, the airframe had accumulated 35,746 hr. and 5,185 cycles.
  The aircraft was the seventh out of 12 777s that Asiana received between February 2001 and July 2012. Asiana has not disposed of any 777s it operated. The carrier has one 777-200ER on order.
  While this is the third 777 lost in an accident or incident, four more 777s have been permanently withdrawn from service for parts, bringing the total number of 777s permanently out of service to seven. A total of 1,120 777s have been built so far.Incidentally, the accident aircraft's tail number, HL7742, is oddly similar to HL7442, a Korean Air Lines 747-200B that crashed into the Okhotsk Sea in September 1983 after being shot down by a Soviet fighter.
  Tags:TW99
VIDEO-San Francisco Flight 214 Hoax - YouTube
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 05:22
Yahoo wins motion to declassify court documents in PRISM case
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  Source: CNET News
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:57
  Ruling will allow the Internet company to publicly reveal it challenged a U.S. government order to participate in the National Security Agency's controversial data collection program.
  Yahoo has won a motion from a secretive court that allows it to publicly reveal its efforts to avoid becoming part of PRISM, the National Security Agency's controversial data collection program.
  The U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ruled Monday that the Justice Department must unseal documents from a classified 2008 case that Yahoo has said will demonstrate the Internet company "objected strenuously" to providing the government with customer data.
  "The Government shall conduct a declassification review of this Court's Memorandum Opinion of [Yahoo's case] and the legal briefs submitted by the parties to this Court," the ruling read. "After such review, the Court anticipates publishing that Memorandum Opinion in a form that redacts any properly classified information."
  The ruling, first noted by the Daily Dot, gives the Justice Department two weeks to provide estimates on how long it expects the review process to take.
  A Yahoo spokesperson said the company was "very pleased" with the court's decision. "Once those documents are made public, we believe they will contribute constructively to the ongoing public discussion around online privacy," the representative said in a statement.
  Because the 2008 case was conducted in a court under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), details of the dispute were never made public beyond a heavily redacted court order and Yahoo was not even allowed to reveal that it was involved in the case. Monday's order was made by the same court that Yahoo originally petitioned five years ago to review the government's order over concerns it violated its users' Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.
  The court responded at the time that the company's concerns were "overblown" and that "incidentally collected communications of non-targeted United States persons do not violate the Fourth Amendment."
  Google, Apple, Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook, and other Internet companies were left reeling after a pair of articles last month alleged that they provided the NSA with "direct access" to their servers through a so-called PRISM program. Subsequent reporting by CNET revealed that this was not the case, and the Washington Post backtracked from its original story on PRISM.
  Yahoo has previously denied the allegations regarding participation in the program, calling them "categorically false."
  Legally barred from discussing their participation in the program, Google and Microsoft have petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to lift a gag order prohibiting them from disclosing more information about government requests they receive for customer data. To date, the companies have released only totals that combine legal requests made under FISA with others related to criminal investigations involving fraud, homicide, and kidnapping, making it impossible to determine how many FISA requests they have received.
  (Via TNW)
RMS Does Interview With Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started A Conversation With At A Party
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:51
Chicago police start using facial-recognition software to arrest suspects
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  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:46
  Police officers in Chicago, Illinois can remotely access video shot from any of the city's 24,000 closed-circuit television cameras, and they are already using that ability to nab suspects who thought they could outsmart surveillance.
  According to a recent Chicago Sun-Time article by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Frank Main, police officers in the Windy City recently issued their first arrest stemming from the use of space-age facial-recognition technology coupled with thousands of cameras that collect live video in real-time at all hours of the day.
  Pierre Martin, 34, was arrested on May 2 and charged with armed robbery in connection with two incidents from earlier this year. During one of those events, a video camera owned by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and wired to the city's three detective branches and the Criminal Information Prevention Center at police headquarters was rolling when Martin allegedly encountered his victim.
  Months later, investigators were able to use the footage recorded using the CTA cameras and comb through a database of 4.5 million criminal booking shots in order to identify Martin as a person of interest. He is the first individual to be picked up by the CPD using the facial-recognition technology, but only one month after a city-wide roll-out he is likely to not be the last.
  The Transportation Security Administration has given the CTA a $5.4 million grant to aid with the program, and that money has been used to update an already impressive arsenal of city-licensed surveillance cameras to run in tandem with NeoFace, a high-tech analysis program used by various governments and law enforcement agencies around the globe to grab biometric data off of an image and match it to another.
  According to an April 2013 press release from NeoFace's parent company, NEC Corporation of America, NeoFace exemplifies ''facial recognition as an effective and non-intrusive tool for identification,'' and has been deployed more than 200 times across 30 countries in only a few short years. Its use in Chicago is one of the latest, however, and the arrest of one individual already signals that other cities may follow suit.
  ''This was our first success,'' Chicago Police Cmdr. Jonathan Lewin told the Sun-Times, adding, ''as we pick up our training, you will see ongoing successes.''
  Currently, Chicago cops can only rely on pre-recorded footage, with the system configured to avoid real-time surveillance. ''It's only post-event,'' Lewin told the Sun-Times. But as similar programs become introduced elsewhere, the capabilities of systems like NeoFace are likely to put the activity of anyone, anywhere on the radar of authorities.
  RT reported last week that the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC feeds footage from over 150 speed cameras, 50 red light lenses and more than 120 other closed-circuit television cams across the city to special analysis centers where local investigators can try to identify people caught on film breaking the law after the fact. One lawmaker likely to pursue an opportunity to run for DC mayor next year told the Washington Times that he wants officers everywhere to be able to monitor those cameras in real-time, and intends on fighting for that ability as Election Day approaches. Civil liberty advocates in Chicago, DC and elsewhere aren't impressed, however, and warn that systems such as NeoFace could let police profile anyone of their choosing.
  ''Given Chicago's history of unlawful political surveillance,'' Harvey Gross man of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois said in 2011, ''it is critical that appropriate controls be put in place to rein in these powerful and pervasive surveillance cameras now available to law enforcement throughout the city.''
  ''The ubiquity and technological reach of Chicago's surveillance camera system present a fundamental threat to the privacy and First Amendment rights of all persons in Chicago,'' added ACLU of Illinois senior staff counsel Adam Schwartz in a statement at the time. ''The current mayor and other city officials have said that their goal is to place a camera on every corner, blanketing the entire city in an integrated fashion. If that goal is achieved, the lives of residents of Chicago will be changed. We will be forced to make decisions about where to go and when with the knowledge that all of our actions can be watched and recorded.''
  Two years down the road, those cameras are quickly growing in number and federal aid courtesy of the TSA is only helping speed up the process of putting an eye in the sky on every street block.
  Lewin, the CPD commander that spokes to the Sun-Times for this week's article, said, ''There will absolutely no random surveillance '-- and facial recognition'--of subjects in the public way.'' Meanwhile, though, federal officers are investigating new ways to help identify anyone, anywhere using a database that aims to contain biometric information on every adult in the country. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced plans to have a database of 14 million photographs on file by next year when it rolls out its Next Generation Identification system, which will use surveillance camera clips and other footage to match suspects almost instantaneously up with a pool of persons derived from state DMV photo-shoots and other government-owned images. Both the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Electronic Privacy Information Center have sued the FBI in hopes of learning more about the NGI program before its intended roll-out in 2014.
  >>Read More...
The anti-choice backlash is cruelty couched as care | Laurie Penny | Comment is free | The Guardian
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:42
  Members of the anti-abortion groups, Youth Defence and the Life Institute hold a picket outside Leinster House, Dublin. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
  A great deal of evil is done in the name of protecting people from themselves. In Europe and America, religious conservatives fighting to stop women having abortions have realised they can't rely on the language of sin and shame any more. Instead, anti-choice arguments are being couched in terms of care. Abortion, the rhetoric runs, hurts women '' and women aren't capable of making adult decisions about their own bodies. That's best left to the church, or the state.
  Last week, battles for the future of abortion provision gripped the news media on both sides of the Atlantic. Texas and North Carolina have become the latest US states to push for laws effectively banning abortion, and in the Republic of Ireland, a 20-year fight to grant women the right to terminate a pregnancy if they are literally dying on the table has been won to muted celebration. Ireland still has a constitutional ban on abortion in almost all circumstances, and the new bill brings in extra criminal sanctions for the thousands of women every year forced to obtain one without proper medical supervision.
  Ireland's murky anti-choice zealots, Youth Defence, favour the "protecting women" line of argument in public, with slogans like "Love them both"' and "Abortion '' kills one, hurts another". On private message boards, though, the same old language of misogyny still rules: "witchcraft", "baby killers", "repent for ever", and, as one charmer put it, "if u open your legs u better take care of that baby".
  The United States has not officially banned abortion '' not yet. Instead, it has simply made it next to impossible for women to access safe, legal pregnancy termination. This year alone, 17 states have passed a total of 43 individual restrictions on abortion; since 2011, there have been 178. The latest, set to become law in Texas this week, imposes strict new conditions that will close most abortion clinics in the state '' all in the name of protecting women.
  The long-term psychological and health consequences that anti-choice groups claim are associated with abortion '' everything from depression to breast cancer '' have never been proven. The risks associated with pregnancy and labour, though, are serious and demonstrable, from postnatal depression to death in childbirth. That's the basic issue that most progressive lawmakers, with the exception of heroes such as Texas senator Wendy Davis, have been too squeamish to raise: it is monstrous to force a woman to go through pregnancy and labour against her will when the medical technology to prevent her having to do so is available.
  The rhetoric may be all cuddles and concern, but the results, for millions of women shut out from vital services across the world, will be just as cruel. It's a bit like deciding, instead of making a person homeless, to go to their house every day and gradually remove every piece of furniture "for their own good". First, you take away the kitchen, because accidents happen there; then you confiscate the bed, because lying around all day is unhealthy; finally, you demolish the roof and walls, because fresh air is good for you. The story ends the same way, but you get to pretend you haven't really kicked anyone out of their own home. That's precisely the logic being applied to women's right to control their own bodies.
  Of course, some women find abortion a traumatic experience, partly because some jurisdictions go out of their way to make sure they do '' for example, by making women with crisis pregnancies travel hundreds of miles to clinics surrounded by religious zealots waving pictures of bloody foetuses. However, women still put themselves through this process, and they will continue to do so no matter what sadistic sanctions are put in place. This is because any abortion pales in comparison to the trauma of being forced to carry and give birth to a child against your will.
  A creeping backlash against women's sexual, social and economic freedom is taking place in the west, and attacks on abortion provision are the brutal core of that backlash. Some people believe that, despite technological advancement, women should still pay a higher price for our sexuality than men do. They believe women should be punished for sexual behaviour with the risk of pregnancy. And if we become pregnant as a result of rape, as 40 Irish women did in 2011, well, that's tough luck, and it was probably our own fault anyway.
  Women cannot truly be the equals of men in any society where we are denied control over our fertility. The anti-choice backlash is couched in terms of care, but if women are denied basic bodily autonomy '' if our fundamental human rights are confiscated by the state '' we will remain second-class citizens.
Secrets Exposed: How the NSA Rubber-Stamps Warrentless Spying | Common Dreams
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:35
  If we are to regard ourselves as a grown-up nation'--and anything else will henceforth be mortally dangerous'--then we must, as the Biblical phrase goes, put away childish things; and among these... the first to go, in my opinion, should be... the search for absolute security...
  '--George Kennan, The Sources of Soviet Conduct, in Foreign Affairs (1947.)
  Now we know what they so badly wanted to tell us but couldn't and what a revelation it is. I refer to the exciting and long-awaited news reported in the Wall Street Journal as to what it was that Senators Mark Udall and Tom Wyden have been dying to tell the American public about the operations of the NSA but were unable to disclose because the information was of such a top-secret nature.NSA spying protest in Philadelphia 7/4/2013 (Photo: Flickr Creative Commons/Talk Radio News Service)
  According to the WSJ, the secret information that the senators had that was so confidential they could only hint at it was an interpretation of one word in the Patriot Act by the FISA Court. The super super secret word was ''relevant.'' To the non-lawyer this may seem like a secret that was hardly worth keeping and, indeed, it may even seem so to the legal mind. To understand the true importance of this revelation, a bit of history is called for. The word ''relevant'' has become important because of two other words, ''special needs.''
  In legal parlance ''special needs'' has referred to two different things. In one context it refers to individuals who, because of abilities and related issues, are described as having ''special needs.'' In another context, and the one that concerns us today, it refers to situations that'--because of their great importance'--are used to justify the government obtaining court orders permitting it to conduct searches without first obtaining a warrant as would normally be required by the 4th amendment to the Constitution.
  ''Special needs'' finds its genesis in a 1989 case in which a court ruled that an individual's Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search was not violated when random drug tests were conducted on railway workers. The court reasoned that running a railroad was a sufficiently dangerous operation that it was reasonable for the government to conduct random drug tests of employees without first obtaining a court order permitting the tests. Following this line of reasoning, the FISA court greatly expanded the use of ''special needs'' to include warrantless collection of vast amounts of communication information that it claims pertain to ''special needs'''--i.e. ''terrorist" activities. Once the court adopted the broad interpretation of ''special needs,'' the jump to ''relevant'' was an easy one. Relevant, too, comes with a bit of history, however.
  Until the FISA Court adopted a broader meaning for ''relevant,'' something was considered ''relevant'' in criminal law if it was information pertinent to a particular investigation. If, for example, a prosecutor sought an order asking a judge to permit the prosecutor to tap the phone of Whitey Bulger so it could see if he was ordering people to be killed, a court would almost certainly have considered that ''relevant'' to the inquiry and permitted the tap without requiring that Whitey be given notice of the tap. If, however, the prosecutor asked the court for permission to obtain the phone records of all the residents of the community in which the prosecutor thought Whitey lived, the court would have laughed the prosecutor out of the court while denying the request.
  The FISA court, as we now know, lacks a sense of humor. Not only does it lack a sense of humor, it has quite a different idea of what is meant by the word ''relevant'' when used in the context of its activities. It believes that, because of the special needs attendant upon terrorist investigations, an order permitting the aggregation of records on millions of people would be relevant to an investigation. Put another way, it would seem that anything the government wants, the FISA court thinks the government should get.
  The FISA judges do not take kindly to the suggestion that the court is simply a rubber stamp for the government's request for secret orders. That became obvious when Russell Tice, a former NSA analyst described the FISA Court as a ''kangaroo court with a rubber stamp.'' Reggie Walton, the Court's presiding judge took umbrage at the comment, telling the Guardian: ''The perception that the court is a rubber stamp is absolutely false... There is a rigorous review process of applications submitted by the executive branch.'' Judge Walton's assertion of 'rigorous review' was borne out by statistics.
  According to a report in the Guardian, in 2012 the court received 1,856 requests for surveillance, which was a 5% increase over the number of requests received in 2011. Although there was a slight increase in the number of requests received, there was one number that neither increased nor decreased during those two years. The unchanged number was zero'--the number of requests for surveillance that the FISA court, applying the rigorous scrutiny described by Judge Walton, turned down. Zero does not help us understand the meaning of ''rigorous review.'' The requests for surveillance that were approved, however, help us understand the meaning of ''special needs'' and ''relevant.''
  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
  Christopher Brauchli is a columnist and lawyer known nationally for his work. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Colorado School of Law where he served on the Board of Editors of the Rocky Mountain Law Review. He can be emailed at brauchli.56@post.harvard.edu. For political commentary see his web page at http://humanraceandothersports.com
VIDEO-AUDIO-Al Sharpton Unhinged: Whites Have ''The Capacity To Out Kill [Blacks] And Not Have To Pay For It'''... | Weasel Zippers
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:33
  Yes, Sharpton (on his radio show) is now talking about a race war.
  REV. Al SHARPTON (15 July 2013): To get just angry and get revenge might relive some of your feelings, but doesn't change anything. And it doesn't stop the risk cause it will; one you kill and then you pursued to go to jail. Then they're going to be revenge and kill two or three more of us because they know the law is imbalanced and they got better shot of getting away. There's some in this country who would like nothing better than to start seeing killing on both sides because they had the capacity to out kill and not have to pay for it. And we can romanticize all we want if we do so and so they're going to stop. Look at history that is not what happened. Anytime there is a revolt they come in with all kinds of stuff and wipe people out.
Billionaire Entrepreneur Promises to Get You From L.A. to San Francisco in 30 Minutes - Truthdig
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:31
  Billionaire Entrepreneur Promises to Get You From L.A. to San Francisco in 30 MinutesPosted on Jul 15, 2013Elon Musk, the co-founder of PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors, says he will reveal the ''fifth form'' of transportation (after boats, trains, cars and planes) on Aug. 12.
  Musk has been tweeting up a storm without giving too much of an advanced look.
  The Verge reports that Musk has already said what he calls the ''Hyperloop'' would ''be a 'a cross between a Concorde, a rail gun, and an air hockey table,' and would be able to deliver people the 380 miles between Los Angeles and San Francisco in just 30 minutes, dramatically outpacing California's bullet train project, which would make the same trip in just under three hours.''
  California voters approved a multibillion dollar high speed rail project in 2008, but the state has yet to build out the rail line, which came under fire from multiple parties, including Musk.
  The entrepreneur tweeted Monday that his new project will be open source and he's ''happy to work with the right partners. Must truly share philosophical goal of breakthrough tech done fast & w/o wasting money on BS.''
  '--Posted by Peter Z. Scheer
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George Zimmerman Trial Juror #b37 Does Interview With Her Identity Concealed
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:21
VIDEO-Zimmerman Prosecution's Star Witness Explains To Piers Morgan The Difference Between ''N*gger'' And ''N*gga'''... | Weasel Zippers
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:12
  Thanks to CNN I now know the ''a'' at the end makes it non-racist.
  Via Mediaite:
  '... Jeantel explained to Morgan that ''the whole world say it's a racist word'' but the version of the word that she testified Martin had used in reference to Zimmerman, spelled ''n-i-g-g-a'' doesn't mean what most people think it means. It doesn't mean a ''black male'' as Morgan assumed, she said, but rather any kind of man, including ''Chinese'' for example. Morgan helpfully pointed out that that's the version rappers use in their music.
  ''But nigger,'' Jeantel said, stressing the ''-er.,'' is a ''racist word.'' She said ''I'd advise you not to be by black people'' when you say that word, Jeantel explained, ''because they're not going to have it like that.'' And this is not just in her community as Morgan posited but in the entire ''generation.''
  Keep reading'...
Mexico Captures Head of 'Zetas' Cartel - WSJ.com
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:01
  MEXICO CITY'--The Mexican government Monday said its navy captured the leader of the country's most violent drug-trafficking organization, an important victory for the new administration of Mexican President Enrique Pe±a Nieto.
  APAn undated photo of Miguel Angel Trevi±o, the leader of the 'Zetas.'
  Miguel Angel Trevi±o, the head of the "Zetas" crime organization, was captured in northern Mexico, Deputy Interior Minister Eduardo Sanchez said in a televised news conference. Mr. Trevi±o had taken over the control of the feared crime group after leader Heriberto Lazcano was killed in a shootout with Mexican marines in October 2012.
  A navy helicopter intercepted a pickup truck in which Mr. Trevi±o and two others were riding on a country road at 3:45 a.m. Monday, Mr. Sanchez said. "Not a shot was fired," he added. Marines also seized $2 million and eight automatic rifles. Among other crimes, Mr. Sanchez said Mr. Trevi±o was believed to be responsible for ordering the kidnapping and killing of 265 immigrants in two separate incidents. It wasn't immediately clear whether Mr. Trevi±o had legal representation.
  The capture of Mr. Trevi±o is the first arrest of a top cartel leader since Mr. Pe±a Nieto came to power in December. Mr. Trevi±o is on Mexico's most-wanted list with a reward of more than $2 million for his capture. The U.S. has a $5 million reward for his arrest. Mr. Trevi±o is 40 years old, according to Mexican intelligence documents. He was born in Nuevo Laredo, but grew up with his family in Dallas.
  Mr. Pe±a Nieto has promised to continue the fight against drug cartels that he inherited from his predecessor Felipe Calder"n. But Mr. Pe±a Nieto has also vowed to reduce violence by focusing on solving crimes such as kidnapping and extortion. In Mr. Pe±a Nieto's first six months in office, around 6,300 people died in killings seen as linked to organized crime, a decline of about 18% from the estimated 7,700 in the previous six months. Close to 70,000 have been killed in Mexico's drug war over the past six years.
  "This takedown will boost Pe±a Nieto several points in the polls, even as he has spurned talking about violence and the narco war," George Grayson, a Mexico expert at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., said in an email.
  It is also a triumph for the Mexican navy, which works closely with the U.S. Mr. Sanchez lauded the Navy's intelligence work, which he said had begun at the same time the new government took over.
  Mr. Trevino wasn't shown to the media in a "perp walk," as was the style in the Calder"n administration when the government captured a major drug trafficker. Officials in the Pe±a Nieto government have said that such displays of captured criminals tended to glorify them.
  The Zetas were originally a band of deserters from the Mexican military who became enforcers for the Gulf Cartel, which controlled drug trafficking along Mexico's Gulf Coast and northeastern border with the U.S. But in 2010, the Zetas broke with their employers, and started a bloody turf war with their former colleagues which turned the states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Le"n into killing fields.
  The group quickly developed a reputation for brutality. They are blamed by Mexican and U.S. officials for some of the worst atrocities of Mexico's drug violence, including the fire that killed 53 people in a casino in the city of Monterrey in 2011, as well as the massacre of 72 migrants who were kidnapped and killed while trying to reach the U.S. in 2010 in the city of San Fernando in the neighboring state of Tamaulipas.
  Their barbaric methods of execution'--such as beheading and dismembering victims'--were adopted by other Mexican cartels as they each strove to outdo the other in brutality to cow rivals as well as the government. Because of their brutality, the Zetas have been a principal target for Mexican authorities.
  The Zetas also engaged in extortion of all types of businesses throughout Mexico, officials and experts say, as well as well as in the smuggling of illegal immigrants to the U.S., gasoline theft, kidnapping, and the selling of counterfeit merchandise.
  Experts differed about the impact the capture of Mr. Trevi±o would have on the criminal organization. "If this is not the end of the Zetas, it is the beginning of the end of the Zetas as a recognizable group," said Alejandro Hope, a former Mexican intelligence official who now works for the nonprofit Mexican Institute of Competitiveness. "There will still be gangs that use the Zetas name and its modus operandi, but this is one of the last nails in the cartel's coffin."
  However, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, who studies border issues at the University of Texas at Brownsville, said Mr. Trevi±o's capture probably wouldn't have a big impact on the organization because of its horizontal leadership structure. "The organization won't be debilitated greatly because it operates with a cell structure," said Ms. Correa-Cabrera.
  Mr. Grayson said Mexico's most powerful drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, would likely be strengthened by the capture of Mr. Trevi±o. The two crime groups have been fighting for control of the important border crossing point of Nuevo Laredo.
  One of Mr. Trevi±o's brothers, Jos(C), was arrested last year and charged with operating a money-laundering ring for the Zetas through a multimillion-dollar quarter-horse breeding ranch in Oklahoma. He was found guilty of money laundering earlier this year.
  Mr. Grayson wrote that the Zetas, who he says are now led by Mr. Trevi±o's brother, Omar, known as Z42, "have become a franchise operation, not a vertical organization," he said.
  '--Laurence Iliffcontributed to this article.A version of this article appeared July 15, 2013, on page A9 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Mexico Captures Zetas Cartel Boss.
HAARP Facility Shuts Down
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 02:48
  07/15/2013The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) '-- a subject of fascination for many hams and the target of conspiracy theorists and anti-government activists '-- has closed down. HAARP's program manager, Dr James Keeney at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, told ARRL that the sprawling 35-acre ionospheric research facility in remote Gakona, Alaska, has been shuttered since early May.
  ''Currently the site is abandoned,'' he said. ''It comes down to money. We don't have any.'' Keeney said no one is on site, access roads are blocked, buildings are chained and the power turned off. HAARP's website through the University of Alaska no longer is available; Keeney said the program can't afford to pay for the service. ''Everything is in secure mode,'' he said, adding that it will stay that way at least for another 4 to 6 weeks. In the meantime a new prime contractor will be coming on board to run the government owned-contractor operated (GOCO) facility.
  HAARP put the world on notice two years ago that it would be shutting down and did not submit a budget request for FY 15, Keeney said, ''but no one paid any attention.'' Now, he says, they're complaining. ''People came unglued,'' Keeney said, noting that he's already had inquiries from Congress. Universities that depended upon HAARP research grants also are upset, he said.
  The only bright spot on HAARP's horizon right now is that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is expected on site as a client to finish up some research this fall and winter. DARPA has nearly $8.8 million in its FY 14 budget plan to research ''physical aspects of natural phenomena such as magnetospheric sub-storms, fire, lightning and geo-physical phenomena.''
  The proximate cause of HAARP's early May shutdown was less fiscal than environmental, Keeney said. As he explained it, the diesel generators on site no longer pass Clean Air Act muster. Repairing them to meet EPA standards will run $800,000. Beyond that, he said, it costs $300,000 a month just to keep the facility open and $500,000 to run it at full capacity for 10 days.
  Jointly funded by the US Air Force Research Laboratory and the US Naval Research Laboratory, HAARP is an ionospheric research facility. Its best-known apparatus is its 3.6 MW HF (approximately 3 to 10 MHz) ionospheric research instrument (IRI), feeding an extensive system of 180 gain antennas and used to ''excite'' sections of the ionosphere. Other onsite equipment is used to evaluate the effects.
  Larry Ledlow, N1TX, of Fairbanks, Alaska, said HAARP ionosonde and riometer data have been ''invaluable, especially being more or less local, to understand current conditions in the high latitudes.'' He said data from other sites ''simply do not accurately reflect the unique propagation we endure here.''
  To fill the gap, Ledlow said, several members of the Arctic Amateur Radio Club '-- including Eric Nichols, KL7AJ, author of Radio Science for the Radio Amateur and articles in QST '-- have discussed building their own instruments. ''It's all very preliminary,'' he said, ''but we really feel the pinch losing HAARP.'' Nichols, of North Pole, Alaska, has conducted experiments at HAARP. He called the shutdown ''a great loss to interior Alaska hams and many others.''
  The ultra-high power facility long has intrigued hams, even outside of Alaska. In 1997, HAARP transmitted test signals on HF (3.4 MHz and 6.99 MHz) and solicited reports from hams and short-wave listeners in the ''Lower 48'' to determine how well the HAARP transmissions could be heard to the south. In 2007 HAARP succeeded in bouncing a 40 meter signal off the moon. Earlier this year, HAARP scientists successfully produced a sustained high-density plasma cloud in Earth's upper atmosphere.
  As things stand, the Air Force has possession for now, but if no other agency steps forward to take over HAARP, the unique facility will be dismantled, Keeney said. He pointed out that it would cost less to bulldoze the antenna field than it would to replace the 180 antennas.
  Splashy web postings abound, blaming HAARP for controlling the weather '-- most recently in the case of Hurricane Sandy and the spate of tornados '-- and for causing other natural disasters. Quipped Keeney, ''If I actually could affect the weather, I'd keep it open.''
Hollywood mystery: Who is trying to kill Pacific Rim?
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 02:31
  You know those thrillers where you see a mysterious, black glove hand coming from behind a corner, putting ipecac or arsenic in people's drinks? And not until the end of the movie do we know who was wearing the glove? Someone'...or someTHING'....is doing that right now with PACIFIC RIM, Guillermo del Toro's giant robots vs giant monsters movie which opens on July 12th.
  It is the FIRST original tentpole of the year'--and yes, I know Transformers vs Godzilla isn't all that original but it is a film not based on any previous comic book, movie, soft drink theme park ride, breakfast cereal, or Twitter account.
  Someone'--Travis Beacham'-- made up the story all by himself and someone else'--Guillermo del Toro'--filmed it in living color.
  Guillermo del Toro, one of our most imaginative, active directors, the nerd king of nerd town.
  You'd think that everyone would want this movie to succeed on some level. I mean, it may be all about giant monsters hitting each other, but it's no worse than the 75 other cgi films about monsters hitting each other that have come out to fair to great success in the last few years. But the word is out: PACIFIC RIM is tracking to be a flop.
  The news started Monday in an article in Variety about how Legendary Pictures is poised to split from Warner Bros. (I'll explain what that means in a minute.) In the middle of the story, Variety's Marc Graser dropped this little bombshell.
  Timing is key for Legendary as it looks to broker a new pact. Tull's company has a lot riding on the success of Guillermo del Toro's ''Pacific Rim,'' a more than $200 million-budgeted tentpole, which is facing some hurdles in exciting moviegoers before its July 12 release despite getting a major promotional push since last summer's Comic-Con in San Diego.
  Early tracking for the film is so far disappointing with audiences showing more interest in Sony Pictures' sequel ''Grown Ups 2,'' which also opens that weekend. Some are comparing ''Pacific Rim'' to Saban's ''Power Rangers'' kids franchise or Japanese anime. As a result, expect a last-minute marketing blitz from distributor and 25% investor Warner Bros. to try to turn around those numbers. While the studio is advancing the film's P&A costs, it risks losing a lot of money if the movie does not perform.
  Grown Ups 2? You know the sequel to that most horrific movie where Adam Sandler, and co. all peed in the pool?
  Talk about the cruelest, cruelest blow. Whoever leaked that little bit of info knew that it would be as devastating as Godzilla's radioactive breath.
  But not content with that, Variety let all the dogs of war out two days later with a piece mildly titled Is 'Pacific Rim' Doomed to Be This Year's 'Battleship'?:
  With less than two weeks to go, but approximately 70% of the film's marketing budget yet to be spent, early tracking suggests ''Pacific Rim'' is more likely to become the latter '-- a troubling outcome given the film's $180 million budget, according to Warner. (Some industry insiders say the budget is closer to $200 million.) Regardless, Warner is responsible for only 25% of the film's production cost, with Legendary Pictures having funded the rest.
  Tracking for the film could pop as early as tomorrow and build through next week as Warner continues to spend more of its marketing budget. ''I think we were a bit off base, but I think we have a real shot at turning the ship around,'' said Warner domestic distribution prexy Dan Fellman.
  Just in case you didn't get the picture, there is a more neutral story about the film's marketing with the still rather negative title 'Pacific Rim': Legendary faces marketing challenge for Del Toro Film:
  For ''Pacific Rim'' to be the kind of phenomenon Legendary is banking on, the picture must draw on an audience beyond the core fanbase of Kaiju and Gundam aficionados. Jashni says ''Pacific Rim'' is aimed at ''all quadrants.''
  Warner's marketing strategy has been to rev up core fans first, then expand from there. Del Toro's appearances at last year's Comic-Con and this year's Wondercon, and the action-oriented trailers, have stoked the fanboys. Sue Kroll, Warner's president of worldwide marketing, told Variety, ''We have the benefit of strong reaction from the core, but we are also enjoying an outstanding reaction to the materials from general consumers.''
  With this level of tut tutting and fretting, no wonder it is impossible to launch anything new in Hollywood! I mean yeah, it IS incredibly risky to make something without ''pre-awareness'' in today's tight climate, but it's nearly impossible to avoid zombies, too and that doesn't stop Glenn from making a run to town for tampons or toilet paper or bullets every once in a while on The Walking Dead. Once in a while you gotta bust a movie and try to outrun those movie tracking zombies! It's called creativity, people.
  I tweeted something to this effect yesterday, and Bob Calhoun reminded me of something:
  @Comixace I remember an article 2 yrs ago about how Hollywood power brokers hated Inception because it wasn't licensed'....
  '-- bob calhoun (@bob_calhoun) June 27, 2013
  @Comixace '... Therefore Inception was outside their predictive modeling despite its star and director. They Haaaate that. (1/2)
  '-- bob calhoun (@bob_calhoun) June 27, 2013
  It's true''everyone though Inception would be a big flop, too. Warner didn't want to make it, but Christopher Nolan had one ''this is my movie'' he got to make after The Dark Knight and it happened to be brilliant and trailblazing and gave the movie going world a whole new sound for trailers.
  (WB also had the same deal for Zack Snyder and he made Sucker Punch, so it doesn't always work out.)
  Everyone also thought Avatar was going to flop and that James Cameron was nuts. Well, he is nuts, but he also set out to make the biggest movie of all time'...and succeeded. King of the world.
  What really amazes me about the bad tracking for Pacific Rim is that so many people I know are way psyched to see it! Far more than any other movie this summer, in fact. Granted, my tracking audience is a bit specialized, but this is pretty much across the board. So yeah, they reached the core audience of people who want to see giant robots hit giant monsters.
  So why? Who has the black glove? I'll note that the Pacific Grim stories only started coming out when the ''Legendary is leaving WB'' stories did. Oh yeah, I promised I'd explain that. Legendary Pictures was founded in 2000 by self-made man Thomas Tull, who got Wall Street equity firms to give him $500 million to invest in movies. Luckily those movies turned out to be things like 300 and The Dark Knight and The Hangover. In 2005, Legendary signed a 7-year, 40-picture deal with Warner Bros to co-produce and co-finance these movies and more. You could say it has been a profitable partnership, but the deal is up and Legendary'--according to the trades'--has many annoyances with WB. According to Deadline:
  Overall, Tull wants a much improved deal over his present one at Warner Bros. ''He feels he was paying too high a distribution fee at Warner Bros for Pacific Rim and Godzilla which Legendary is making,'' another source tells me. ''He's paying over 10% fees for those movies. That's high relative to what's usually given the people who put up the money. He wants to pay 8% for the 10 to 12 films Legendary will be fully financing.''
  I've also learned that ''Tull is looking to keep certain rights for the movies he finances, like his own Netflix deals''. And that Tull ''also wants a producer deal for himself so he gets compensated from the studios separate from paying a distribution deal to the studios''. For movies he's co-financing for the studio, he wants more involvement in the development process through shooting, post-production, marketing and distribution.
  Okay, so that part was boring, but now the kiddie pool where the pissing contest is taking place is beginning to emerge. People here peeved, people there annoyed.
  Meanwhile, Del Toro is working to counter the bad buzz:
  ''We just need to keep working. Our numbers are going up. Not in a minor way. Significant. We are on the right track,'' del Toro wrote on the forum of Deltorofilms.com, which bills itself as the official fan site of the filmmaker. The thread was under the topic ''Buzz and 'Word of Mouth''' and followed Wednesday's posting of a Variety article, the headline for which blared, ''Is Pacific Rim Doomed to be This Year's Battleship?''
  ''Whatever sequel opens will have, by definition, higher awareness and numbers across the board, but we are moving strongly in the right direction,'' he writes.
  Of course, Pacific Rim could stink. Maybe the people who want to see it are the same people who were counting the seconds until Scott Pilgrim opened. And I'm among those who have apocalypse fatigue. (Although after seeing Grown Ups, I wanted the world to end, quickly.) But I really liked the Hellboy movies, and Pan's Labyrinth was a disturbing, haunting masterpiece. So I'm going to give it a shot. Here are two recent trailers and a poster by Sergio Grisanti. Decide for yourself.
Clinton and Israel -- the Marc Rich story.
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 02:03
  I can't stay away from a piece of American political history: Bill Clinton being beholden to Israelis. I wonder what it portends for Hillary Clinton, should she run for the highest office in the this-land-is-your-land.
  Two weeks ago, Marc Rich died -- the international financier who loved Israel and was famously pardoned by Clinton in 2001, at the last minute of his presidency. The Times obit said that the Israelis played a big role in that pardon:
  "For years influential Israelis, including ex-Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the former chief of the Mossad spy agency, Shabtai Shavit, had been urging Clinton to pardon Rich, who over two decades had contributed up to $80 million to Israeli hospitals, museums, symphonies and to the absorption of immigrants."
  In 2009, Joe Conason reported that the Israelis really wanted the pardon because Rich was a major financial and intelligence asset to them:
  "Winning the pardon was a top priority for Israeli officials because Rich had long been a financial and intelligence asset of the Jewish state, carrying out missions in many hostile countries where he did business."
  Conason said that Clinton bent over backwards for the Israelis to try and get them on board for their giant concessions at the Camp David peace process -- that of course produced nothing:
  "Following weeks of preparation by Clinton, the last round of serious peace talks opened in Taba, Egypt, on Jan. 21, 2001, the day after he signed the Rich pardon....
  "[T]he pardon power exists so that presidents will be free to make such hard choices for reasons of state. As a lame duck, Clinton had no other means to induce his Israeli partner to take any risk for peace."
  Myself, I don't believe that the Israelis really took any risk for peace; my interpretation of these events is that Clinton's real interest here was backing for his wife from the lobby. As the Times relates:
  "Moreover, Federal Election Commission records showed that Rich's ex-wife, songwriter Denise Rich, had donated $201,000 to the Democratic Party in 2000."
  Bill Clinton was beloved of the lobby, which helped get him the presidency in the first place. The lobby didn't like President George H.W. Bush.
  "Between 1990 and 1992, George H.W. Bush's administration had not only conditioned loan guarantees on a settlement freeze, it had backed six U.N. Security Council resolutions criticizing the policies of the Jewish state." --Peter Beinart, The Crisis of Zionism.
  Last month NYT columnist Tom Friedman hit the same theme to an Oxford audience, saying that Bush's fatal opposition to Israel was a great political lesson to all his would-be successors.
  "Let's go inside American politics for a second. What happened, and as you know, President Bush the first stood outside the White House one day and said I'm one lonely man standing up against the Israel lobby. What happened as a result of that ... is that Republicans post Bush I, and manifested most in his son Bush 2, took a strategic decision, they will never be out pro-Israel'd again. That they believe cost them electorally a lot."
  Bush famously stood outside the White House complaining of Israel lobbyists in 1991. AIPAC was ticked off. Here's an excerpt of a secretly-recorded phone call with AIPAC's then president David Steiner, just before the 1992 election:
  "DAVID STEINER AIPAC: Do you think I could ever forgive Bush for what he did September 12th a year ago [1991]? What he said about the Jews for lobbying in Washington?"
  In that telephone call -- which cost Steiner his job when it was released -- he repeatedly praised Bill Clinton as a friend of the Jews and the settlements. The references to loan guarantees below are references to settlements. Bush had tried to make those loan guarantees dependent on Israel stopping settlement activity:
Greece privatisation: Myth or reality?
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: BBC News - Europe
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:58
  15 July 2013Last updated at19:17 ETBy Nigel CassidyBusiness correspondent, BBC News, AthensVisit any one of the Greek state's Opap betting shops and it's pretty hard to fathom quite what is going on.
  Groups of mainly men who can probably ill afford the price of a lottery ticket sit around staring at electronic screens showing grids of random figures, all hoping against hope that their numbers will come up.
  It's a fine metaphor for Greece's wider - and so far wildly unsuccessful - drive to raise billions of euros to help offset the country's punishing debt repayments.
  The 700m-euro (£605m; $913m) sale of a third of the Opap business to a Greek-Czech investment fund is the first of a string of privatisation deals required under the international bailout.
  But the sale remains mired in a row over future contract obligations for Opap to use specified Greek technology suppliers.
  You can't bet on the outcome of the sale in any of Opap's stores. But the odds on it all being completed on the current terms are lengthening by the day.
  Not for the first time in Greece, a transaction that looked done and dusted is anything but.
  It also comes after the recent failure to dispose of Depa, the national gas utility. Mooted buyer Gazprom pulled out amid a wider geopolitical tussle over Russia's domination of energy supply in Europe.
  Looking for a billion eurosContinue reading the main story''Start QuoteNobody's dream is to be working in the public sector. It was the case for 40 years, but it's now the nightmare of today''
  End QuoteStelios StavridesHellenic Republic Asset Development FundSo where does this all leave the sell-off programme now? Estimates are that it will be at least a billion euros short of the 2.6bn-euro target this year. It's all slipped a long way from the initial talk of netting 50bn euros from sales.
  The man in charge of the privatisations who has to take the rap for the latest setbacks is Stelios Stavrides, an architect of the successful transformation of the Athens Water Board and now chief of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund.
  He's only been in the job for three months. But he's already under intense pressure after the seeming failure to anticipate and resolve the setbacks with Depa and Opap. He cheerfully admits the state or the troika of international lenders may demand his scalp.
  Yet in the face of all the obstacles from angry unions and interfering politicians, he exudes an almost missionary-like zeal for such a thankless task.
  Brandishing a new and long list of sell-offs to come, he insists his organisation has learnt a lot and will be back on course soon - netting its target 4.5bn euros by 2014.
  "We can catch up and bring in the 4.5bn-euro target for the two years if we don't have political crises, if people act responsibly and deliver," he says.
  Fleeing the public sectorMr Stavrides and his team have just moved into offices once occupied by a news agency. Something of the atmosphere of the place must have rubbed off because after years of resistance in Greece, the agency is keen to be open about detailed progress in freeing Greek utilities, land and resources from the dead hand of the state.
  Mr Stavrides believes the benefits of private investment and ownership are simply not understood by many politicians or unions who have grown up under an entirely different model.
  He says sell-offs are simply the only option if Greece is ever to see some growth. What he implies, but can't quite bring himself to say, is that there is no escaping the immediate pain while you wait for new and more productive jobs to be created further down the line.
  "The public sector has shrunk dramatically in the past four years, and in addition the income of the people has fallen dramatically. So nobody's dream is to be working in the public sector. It was the case for 40 years, but it's now the nightmare of today," says Mr Stavrides.
  But the trouble is that as long as Greece remains on the financial edge, with so many unanswerable questions about its economic future, some of the best potential investors are walking away.
  Continue reading the main storyGreek assets for saleDepa - gas utilityOpap - state betting chainAthens International Airport and regional airportsHellinikon Metropolitan Park - coastal site of former Athens airportEyath - Thessaloniki water and sewageA2 east to west motorwayHellenic PetroleumPorts and marinasHellenic PostSource: Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund
  Time after time, the list of interested parties in any given state asset is down to one or two by the end of the process. This is one reason why the sale prices achieved to date are low.
  These are effectively fire sales of assets that Greeks see as their collective birthright.
  Riches at the waterfrontA former deputy mayor of Athens and MEP, Theodoros Skylakakis, tells me that the unholy rush to sell in today's market is inexplicable because it's the troika who will take the proceeds - and they need to maximise every cent of the proceeds.
  "The process has been a disaster from the beginning, when the troika said we could get 50bn euros," Mr Skylakakis says. "Now its 20bn [euros] in seven years. Everybody knows the seller is under distress, so there just aren't enough buyers.
  "All the assets are natural or legal monopolies so the investment will be small and the buyer will be in a position to milk these assets," he says.
  "So we need the state to take stronger control of these sectors, and ensure there are more buyers than one bidder for each."
  One landmark asset slated for sale in October this year is the Hellinikon Metropolitan Park. This is the vast former Olympic site on the coast.
  Before that, part of the area was the old Athens airport. In total it is three times the size of Monte Carlo. But it's all been derelict for well over a decade.
  Numerous airport buses still sit outside the forlorn terminal buildings, and a trio of unwanted Olympic Airways jets are parked at the end of the runway.
  Only a fraction of the Hellinikon area will be built on initially, but four named major investors are known to be interested.
  The transformation of the Barcelona waterfront after the Olympics is sometimes held up as a model of just what could be achieved here.
  Today, the abandoned airport stands as a contemporary monument to Greece's seeming inability to make use of its best assets.
  A new-look Athens waterfront could be a turning point.
VIDEO-"LAPD visited Michael Hastings' house prior to his death, were seen looking under his car" - Starting to make sense now people??? | XRepublic
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:43
  Description:
  Abby Martin takes a closer look at the death of award winning journalist Michael Hastings, featuring interviews with Michael's close friend, Joe Biggs, who suspects his death was not an accident, and Kimberly Dvorak, an investigative journalist who has been conducting an investigation into the anomalies despite stonewalling from the LAPD.
Kimberly Dvorak - National Homeland Security Examiner - Policy & Issues | Examiner.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:41
  Details uncovered by this reporter shed new light into the June 18 death of journalist Michael Hastings.Hastings' friend and confidant SSgt. Joe Biggs disclosed a macabre twist in the award-winning journalist's death in a suspicious...
Rebel infighting in Syria undermining revolt
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:24
  BEIRUT (AP) '-- On Syria's front lines, al-Qaida fighters and more mainstream Syrian rebels have turned against each other in a power struggle that has undermined the effort to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.
  After violent clashes and the assassination of two rival commanders, one of whom was beheaded, more moderate factions are publicly accusing the extremists of trying to seize control of the rebellion.
  The rivalries '-- along with the efforts by extremist foreign fighters to impose their strict interpretation of Islam in areas they control '-- are chipping away at the movement's popularity in Syria at a time when the regime is making significant advances on the ground.
  "The rebels' focus has shifted from toppling the regime to governing and power struggles," said a 29-year-old woman from the contested city of Homs. "I feel that the lack of true leadership is and has always been their biggest problem." She spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retaliation from the fighters and the regime.
  The infighting, which exploded into the open in the country's rebel-held north in recent days, is contributing to a sense across many parts of Syria that the revolution has faltered. It threatens to fracture an opposition movement that has been plagued by divisions from the start.
  The moderates once valued the expertise and resources that their uneasy allies brought to the battlefield, but now question whether such military assets are worth the trouble '-- not to mention the added difficulty in persuading the West to arm them.
  "We don't want foreign fighters. We have enough men and we want them out of Syria," said Brig. Gen. Salim Idris, head of the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army, an umbrella group for dozens of brigades.
  In strikingly blunt comments in an interview with Al-Arabiya on Monday, Idris, a secular-minded army defector who has the backing of foreign powers, accused members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant of being regime agents and "criminals."
  That group, formed in April and made up of al-Qaida's branches in Iraq and Syria, has taken on an increasingly dominant role in the Syrian civil war. Many of its fighters are north Africans, Iraqis, Afghans and Europeans who have flocked to Syria to join the overwhelmingly Sunni uprising against Assad.
  Gunmen from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant were behind the killings of the two rebel commanders, the highest-profile casualties of the growing tensions between jihadi fighters and Western-supported rebels.
  Kamal Hamami, known as Abu Basir, served in the Supreme Military Council. Activists say he was shot late Thursday in a clash that erupted after militants tried to remove a checkpoint he set up on the Jabal al-Turkoman mountain in the coastal province of Latakia. Two of his men were seriously wounded in the shooting.
  Also last week, members of the extremist group killed Fadi al-Qish, the local commander of a group affiliated with the mainstream Free Syrian Army, or FSA. The fatal attack took place in the village of Dana in the northern province of Idlib near the Turkish border. Activists say the militants decapitated al-Qish and another fighter and left their severed heads on the ground as a lesson to other rebels who challenge their rule in the area.
  The executions have enraged FSA commanders, who are demanding that the killers be handed over to stand trial.
  Activists also say extremists have recently been sweeping into villages previously controlled by the FSA, taking over crucial resources such as bakeries, oil wells and water pumps to secure people's loyalties. In several cases, the militants were said to seize weapons from army bases and keep them from other rebels.
  But what alienates the general population is the brutality. The extremists have carried out summary executions, public floggings and mass arrests, fueling the backlash against them.
  In one prominent case in Aleppo last month, al-Qaida-linked militants executed a 15-year-old boy, Mohammad Qattaa, accusing him of being an "infidel" for mentioning Islam's Prophet Muhammad in vain. Gunmen shot the boy dead in front of his parents near a stand where he sold coffee in a killing that sparked rare local protests against them.
  In many parts of Aleppo and Idlib and Homs, where a suffocating stalemate has been in place since last year, residents say their support and patience for the rebels is fraying.
  In Aleppo last week, residents staged a protest at a checkpoint against a blockade imposed by the militants on government-held districts, because the blockade created food shortages at the onset of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. The protest led to a physical quarrel between supporters and opponents of the siege and ended with gunshots fired in the air to disperse protesters.
  Syria's uprising started in March 2011 as an Arab Spring-inspired revolt against the decades-long Assad family rule. It eventually transformed into an insurgency and civil war in response to a brutal government crackdown against the protests. More than 93,000 have been killed and millions uprooted from their homes.
  The rebels are a disparate mix of ordinary citizens who took up weapons, army defectors, moderates and hard-liners, and increasingly, jihadists who have trekked to Syria from all over the world. A shortage of weapons and the inability of external players to interfere in the conflict to tip the balance in favor of one side or another has worked against the rebels.
  Some FSA commanders are trying to tamp down the dispute with the al-Qaida militants, mindful of the damage the infighting has done to their cause.
  "Their actions are despicable, but we will not be drawn into a fight with them," said one commander, who declined to be named so as not to aggravate the situation.
  FSA spokesman Loay al-Mikdad was less delicate.
  "I think they should come out in public and tell the Syrian people why they are in Syria. Is it to fight Bashar Assad or to impose a specific agenda on the Syrian people?" he asked.
  "We never see them on the battlefield anymore," he said of the al-Qaida militants. "We only see them in liberated areas either next to oil wells or trying to impose specific agendas on territories."
  The dispute is not restricted to Islamic militants versus moderates. In the north, there has also been deadly infighting between Kurdish and Arab groups over control of captured territory along the border with Turkey.
  "This infighting is very dangerous and is undermining our revolution," said Mohammed Kanaan, an activist based in the northern province of Idlib. "People are fed up and tired. ... They are starting to hate both sides," he said via Skype.
  Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the al-Qaida militants are working to entrench themselves and secure a place in a post-Assad Syria.
  "They are trying to control everything, they have a lot of money," most of it from private donations, he said.
  Still, al-Mikdad ruled out a scenario similar to the Iraqi one, when U.S.-allied groups of Sunni fighters battled al-Qaida.
  "Until now, the FSA does not consider itself in confrontation with these groups. Our weapons are directly only against Bashar Assad's troops," he said in a TV interview.
  "But if a fight is imposed on us, we will defend ourselves," he said.
  ___
  AP correspondent Yasmine Sakr contributed to this report.
#Trayvon Martin Was A Thug; George #Zimmerman Is A Slug; Big Media Is A Drudge; Barack Obama Is A Creep
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  Archived Version
  Source: Hillary Is 44
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:23
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  The FunniesSee Our Funnies Archive.
  February 17, 2009 - David Letterman - Top Ten Things Hillary Clinton Wants To Accomplish On Her Trip Overseas
  10 Exchange U.S. dollars for currency that's worth something
  9 Win respect defeating Japan's top-ranked sumo wrestler
  8 Shift world's perception of America from "hated" to "extremely disliked"
  7 Personally thank all of her illegal campaign donors
  6 Three words: stylish Indonesian pantsuits
  5 Visit burial site of revered Chinese military leader, General Tso
  4 Get drunk with that Japanese finance minister guy
  3 Convince China to switch from lead-tainted products to mercury-tainted products
  2 Catch Chinese screening of Benjamin Button entitled "The Strange Adventures of Freaky Grandpa Baby"
  1 Pick up carton of duty-free smokes for Obama
  February 16, 2009 - David Letterman - Top Ten Things Abraham lincoln Would Say If He Were Alive Today
  10 "Sup?"
  9 "I see Madonna's still a slut"
  8 "Who's that handsome sumbitch on the five?"
  7 "Is that free Grand Slam deal still going on at Denny's?"
  6 "I just changed my Facebook status update to, Tthe 'ol rail splitter is chillaxing'"
  5 "How do I get on 'Dancing with the Stars'?"
  4 "Okay, Obama, you're from Illinois, too. We get it!"
  3 "Hey Phelps, don't Bogart the weed!"
  2 "What's the deal with Joaquin Phoenix?"
  1 "A Broadway play? Uhhh, no thanks. I'm good."
  January 28, 2009 - David Letterman - Top Ten Things Overheard at the Meeting Between Barack Obama and the Republicans
  10 "I miss the Clinton administration when we'd meet at Hooters"
  9 "Can we wrap this up? I've got tickets to the 4:30 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop"
  8 "Smoke break!"
  7 "You fellas really need to take it easy on the Old Spice"
  6 "Mr. President: don't misunderestimate the Republicans"
  5 "Another smoke break!"
  4 "What was the deal with Aretha Franklin's hat?"
  3 "About that tax the rich stuff -- you were joking, right?"
  2 "Sir, it's refreshing to have a Chief Executive who speaks in complete sentences"
  1 "Senator Craig's offering his stimulus package in the men's room"
  January 27, 2009 - David Letterman - Top Ten Ways Rod Blagojevich Can Improve His Image
  10 Star in new television series, "America's Funniest Haircuts"
  9 Quit politics and become a fat, lovable mall cop
  8 Start pronouncing last name with Jerry Lewis-like "BLAGOOOYYYJEVICH"
  7 Offer a senate seat with no money down, zero percent interest
  6 Team up with John Malkovich and Erin Brockovich for hot Malkovich-Brockovich-Blagojevich sex tape
  5 Change his name to Barod Obamavich
  4 Safely land an Airbus on the Hudson River
  3 I don't know...how about showing up for his impeachment trial?
  2 Wear sexy dresses, high heels and say, "You Betcha!"
  1 Uhhh...resign?
  January 16, 2000 - David Letterman - Top Ten Signs Obama's Getting Nervious
  10 New slogan: "Yes we can... or maybe not, it's hard to say"
  9 In moment of confusion, requested a $300 billion bailout from the bailout industry
  8 He's up to not smoking three packs a day
  7 Friends say he's looking frail, shaky and...no, that's McCain
  6 He's so stressed, doctors say he's developing a Sanjay in his Gupta
  5 Been walking around muttering, "What the hell have I gotten myself into?"
  4 Offered Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, $100,000 to buy his old Senate seat back
  3 Standing on White House roof screaming, "Save us, Superman!"
  2 Sweating like Bill Clinton when Hillary comes home early
  1 He demanded a recount
  January 8, 2000 - David Letterman - Top Ten Barack Obama Plans To Fix The Economy
  10 Encourage tourists to throw spare change in the Grand Canyon
  9 End our dependence on foreign owls
  8 Sell New Mexico to Mexico
  7 Put a little of that bailout money on the Ravens plus 3 at Tennessee. Come on! It's a mortal lock!
  6 Rent out the moon for weddings and Bar Mitzvahs
  5 Lotto our way out of this son-of-a-bitch
  4 Appear on "Deal or No Deal" and hope to choose the right briefcase
  3 Bail out the adult film industry -- not sure how it helps, but it can't hurt
  2 Release O.J. from prison, have him steal America's money from China
  1 Stop talkin' and start Obama-natin'!
  January 7, 2000 - David Letterman - Top Ten Things Overheard At The Presidents' Lunch
  10 "Sorry, you're not on the list, Mr. Gore"
  9 "If Hillary calls, I've been here since Monday"
  8 "Laura! More Mountain Dew!"
  7 "You guys wanna see, 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop'?"
  6 "Call the nurse -- George swallowed a napkin ring!"
  5 "Hey Barack, wanna go with us to Cabo in March? Oh that's right, you have to work!"
  4 "Kissey kissey"
  3 "Obama? I think he's downstairs smoking a butt"
  2 "Did you ever see a monkey sneezing?"
  1 "I hope Clinton's unbuckling his belt because he's full"
Private sector counters cyber attacks with insurance.
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:16
  People have been talking about cyber security since Edward Snowden revealed how far-reaching NSA surveillance has become. A German insurer offering a "Cyber Protect" product is happy about the free advertising.
  Talk about perfect timing. "It was pure coincidence," Hartmut Mai said about his company's good fortune. Shortly after whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked top secret US intelligence information to the press, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) released an insurance package that covers cyber attacks. In his leaks, Snowden alleged that the US had been hacking Chinese cellular companies.
  For AGCS board member Mai, the public discussion came at just the right time. "We couldn't have planned for it, but it was a good opportunity for us," Mai told to DW.
  The Allianz group's package for companies consists of a multi-tier insurance that covers various risks according to need. What happens when a cyber attack leads to a production standstill for days on end? And what happens, when the company's reputation suffers as a result? The insurance promises to take care of such cases and other problems.
  A market with lots of potential
  The idea isn't entirely new. For companies in the US, it's common to purchase cyber insurance. They pay roughly one billion euros ($1.3 billion) a year for it. But in Europe and Germany, the market is "highly underdeveloped," according to Martin Eling from the Institute for Insurance Economics in St. Gallen, Switzerland. But Eling estimates that there's a billion-euro demand in Europe, since "there are many high-profile examples of cyber risks."
  Edward Snowden's revelations aren't the only sign that many computer systems have patchy security. Sony, for example, struggled with a large security leak concerning their Playstation 3 videogame console, which is connected to the Internet. In 2011, hackers got into the online portal and gained access to a huge amount of personal data, including credit card information. The case caused a large stir and significantly damaged Sony's reputation.
  It's hard to put a number on such damage, and yet harder to cover it, Hartmut Mai said. Allianz's "Cyber Protect" insurance has a coverage limit of 50 million euros, which can quickly be surpassed. That's why his company doesn't cover reputation damage directly. But the coverage does include PR-specialists assigned to conduct damage control in the media - "communication counter-measures," as Mai calls it.
  Wide range of possible damage
  IT failure isn't always as spectacular as the Sony case. The new Allianz insurance also covers human error, "when a poorly trained employee causes a system error, for example," Mai told DW. When a company's production is halted for days or weeks as a result, the loss is covered by the insurance.
  Another example: A business has saved important data on the Cloud, i.e., on the computers of an outside provider. When this Cloud-provider cannot offer access to the data anymore, possibly because of a hacker attack, the Allianz Group helps to hold the provider accountable.
  The insurance also covers cases of accidental breach of copyright or patent law abroad. "The Internet is a global space, and thus you're acting in a global accountability realm as well," Mai explained. Allianz's "Cyber Protect" also covers the high cost that can result from internal reviews, which authorities might request after a data leak.
  For big players only
  How much companies have to pay for these insurances varies widely. "The insurance premium depends on the field, the size of the business and on how well the systems are protected," insurance expert Martin Eling said.
  Despite the experience gathered from the US and some predecessors to Allianz's "Cyber Protect" and others, the field is relatively new. "There's hardly any information on market experience, unfortunately," Eling said. At this point, there are few products and hardly any standards.
  The AGCS only targets an exclusive circle of companies. They must have a turnover of at least 500 million euros to even be considered as clients. The Allianz Group plans to offer its insurance in other European countries soon, and expand to Australia, New Zealand and Asia later.
  Individuals cannot purchase the "Cyber Protect" service. Such personal insurances are rare, Eling said, but sometimes similar offers are included in household inventory insurances. The expert explained that in such cases, the costs of restoring data on a computer after virus attacks could be covered.
The 2013 Aspen Security Forum | Aspen Security Forum
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:15
  In the opening session of the 2012 Aspen Security Forum, CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviews Admiral William McRaven, the Commander of the United States Special Operations Forces. The conversation was called "At the Point of the Spear: The Role of Special Operations Forces in America's Post-9/11, Post-Iraq/Afghanistan Defense Strategy." Watch more video from the 2012 Forum in our video library.
  Please click here for ASF 2012 coverage on The Aspen Idea magazine (Winter 2012/2013), inclduing the interview between Wolf Blitzer and Admiral William McRaven, on pages 72-75 and 80-82.
  Register for the 2013 Aspen Security Forum
  To answer critical questions about homeland security and counterterrorism, the Aspen Institute's Homeland Security Program, in partnership with The New York Times and CNN's Security Clearance website, presents the fourth annual Aspen Security Forum, July 17-20, 2013.
  The Forum is an annual summer gathering at our signature "Aspen Meadows" campus in Colorado of top-level present and former government officials from all relevant homeland security agencies (the White House; Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, Justice, and Treasury; the intelligence community; and Congress); industry leaders (large and small homeland security and counterterrorism-related companies, as well as private equity investors, merchant and investment bankers, venture capitalists, and other financiers); leading thinkers (in other think tanks and academe); nationally noted print and broadcast journalists; and concerned citizens. During three days of in-depth conversation, participants explore various aspects of aviation security; maritime security; border security; mass transit security; critical infrastructure protection; "soft targets" security; cyber-security; intelligence; counterterrorism strategy; terrorism finance; and more.
The Aspen Institute Announces 2013 Aspen Security Forum - Yahoo! News
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  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:14
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Marathon bomb suspect asks judge for addition to death-penalty team
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  Source: The Top Information Post
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:04
  Accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wants to add another taxpayer-financed death-penalty specialist to his legal team '-- this time, a veteran attorney who helped spare a plane hijacker and a former member of al-Qaeda from execution.
  In court papers filed today, Tsarnaev, through his lawyers, repeats an earlier request to appoint David Bruck, a Virginia lawyer whose past clients include Zayd Safarini, serving life for his role in the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan; and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-Owhali, one of four men serving life for the 1998 bombing of the United States embassy in Nairobi.
  Tsarnaev's legal team already includes Judy Clarke, who helped negotiate life sentences for Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph.
  ''If this case did not present 'exceptional circumstances' justifying appointment of an additioanl lawyer learned in the law applicable to capital cases '... no case would,'' Clarke wrote in her motion. ''Media reports have described the global scope of the investigation, involving hundreds of agents and witness interviews. Counsel expect that the amount of discovery that this investigation will produce will be truly massive. Thus even were this not a potentially capital case, the magnitude of the task confronting Mr. Tsarnaev's attorneys would be daunting.''
  Tsarnaev, 19, pleaded not guilty in federal court last week to 30 charges, 17 of which carry the death penalty. His legal team tried to add Bruck to its ranks back in April. At that time, a judge denied the request but promised to review it after his indictment.
  Prosecutors have not said whether they intend to pursue Tsarnaev's execution. The Herald reported last week that U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz's office last week sent victims a questionnaire asking them, among other matters, about their thoughts on the death penalty.
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UK: Evidence of cocaine use has been found inside toilets at the Houses of Parliament, including some just yards from MPs' offices
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  Source: The Top Information Post
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:03
  Evidence of cocaine use has been found inside toilets at the Houses of Parliament, including some just yards from MPs' offices.
  Traces of the class A drug were found in nine toilets throughout the Palace Of Westminster, the meeting place of the UK's political elite.
  The powder was detected in toilets used by guests at Parliament's bars, as well as cubicles a few yards away from MPs' offices '' areas where members of the public are restricted from going.
  Not to be sniffed at: Evidence of cocaine use has been uncovered at the Houses of Parliament
  Charlie: Possession of cocaine can get you up to seven years in jail. File picture
  The drug use was uncovered using cocaine indicator swabs, which come up with blue blotches when rubbed on surfaces where the drug has been laid out in lines, such as toilet seats and hairdryers. The swabs are used by the police and customs officers.
  As Parliament's toilets are cleaned regularly, the white powder must have been snorted in the past few hours, according to reporters from The Sun, who did the testing.
  Users would have to smuggle the drug past extensive security checks and 500 police officers and guards.
  The reporters, acting on a tip-off from a House of Commons insider, claim to have found evidence of the drug in the cubicles of the toilets outside Strangers' Bar and in private areas close to MPs' offices.
  High office: The cocaine use was uncovered using test kits, similar to the one pictured
  Tory MP Douglas Carswell was scathing about the find.
  He said: 'With decadence comes something rotten. It suggests there is something rotten about the institution itself.'
  On two occasions cannabis has been confiscated at Westminster's entry checkpoints since the start of 2008, according to a Freedom of Information request.
  A Parliamentary spokesman said: 'Parliament is a public place and we welcome over a million visitors a year who have either direct access to these facilities or access when accompanied.
  'Clearly, it is inappropriate to monitor what happens in toilet facilities. In addition, we have issued over 14,000 passes, held by contractors and other third parties, as well as staff of both Houses, Members and their staff.
  'Consequently, it is impossible to know who may be involved. Our security searches are focussed on preventing harm to others and the building, not the detection of small amounts of drugs.
  'Parliament takes the issue of substance misuse very seriously and offers a range of welfare and health support services for those who need them.'
  A few days ago a Parliamentary watchdog said MPs should have an 11 per cent pay rise to £74,000 a year.
  In 2005 a German television station found traces of cocaine in 41 of 46 lavatories tested at the European Parliament in Brussels.
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GitHub adds licensing tool, mobile web views
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  Source: GitHub adds licensing tool, mobile web views
  Tue, 16 Jul 2013 00:01
  GitHub is shipping 'em like crazy this Monday morning with new tools for easy software licensing and smartphone coding.
  The open source licensing site can be found at ChooseALicense.com. You can get the skinny in simple language and choose between GPL, Apache, and MIT licenses. Or no licenses at all.
  And of course, the site itself is open source.
  I feel compelled to share Richard Stallman's Free Software Song right now:
  Alrighty! } //end method headbang And Stallman would point out that free software and open source are two different things, but that's another topic for another day.
  The mobile web view news includes a slew of improvements for checking out your repos, pull requests, issues, and more. The pages have small file sizes to make for faster working.
  We're sure they can hear all y'all boo-hooing over the ''mobile web'' part. Here's what GitHubber Ben Bleikamp has to say about that:
  We find ourselves using GitHub from our phones more every day. Instead of opening a native app, we are clicking through from other apps like Twitter, Facebook, or our email client. These are perfect situations to build a site optimized for mobile devices.
  Well done, GitHub. Well done.
Cybersecurity Exercise: Quantum Dawn 2 | BCP | Services
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:57
  Exercise DateJuly 18, 2013
  Overview The financial industry takes the issue of cyber security very seriously and is proactively working to mitigate this threat. SIFMA is holding the Quantum Dawn 2 exercise to enable both individual firms and the sector as a whole to test their response plans in order to maintain effective and orderly markets and protect clients.
  Broad participation is essential to maximizing the potential of the Quantum Dawn 2 program to inform best practices moving forward. Confirmed participants include financial firms of all sizes, as well as exchanges, the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security. The number of participants to date is already more than double that of the Quantum Dawn 1 exercise that was held in 2011.
  BackgroundAs many of our members are aware, in November of 2011 the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC) hosted a market-wide cyber disruption exercise called Quantum Dawn. That event exercised risk practices across equities clearing and trading processes in response to infrastructure disruption, allowing firms to exercise their internal incident response plans in conjunction with each other, with the FSSCC, and with the FBIIC. The value of this type of exercise was clear to participants, and has since been reinforced by operational disruptions and incidents involving firms in markets both in the U.S. and overseas.
  Building on the success of this exercise and the increasing threat posed to the sector by a coordinated, large scale cyber attack we have decided to organize and coordinate a second generation cyber disruption exercise called Quantum Dawn 2. This exercise will build on the lessons learned from the previous exercise as well as a second generation version of the exercise tool called the Distributed Environment for Critical Infrastructure Decision-making Exercises '' Finance Sector (DECIDE-FS'). We expect this exercise to improve the readiness of sector as a whole to respond to a street-wide cyber attack and allow each participating firm to test their internal coordination mechanisms and processes to maintain business resiliency.
  ContactParticipation Inquiries: Karl Schimmeck, 212.313.1183 Media Inquiries: Liz Pierce, 212.313.1173
FBI used Photoshop in Boston bombings evidence
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  Archived Version
  Source: The Top Information Post
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:45
  An investigative reporter has revealed that the image released by the FBI as evidence on one of the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombings was doctored with a computer software such as Photoshop.
  The FBI image was put forth as evidence that 19-year old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who the police took into custody on April 19 after a day of intense searching that shut down major parts of Boston, arrived at the scene of the bombing with a backpack but left without it.
  Comparing pictures he took of the scene with the photo released by the FBI, reporter Ralph Lopez of The Digital Journal suggests the FBI photo shows clear evidence of being made with Photoshop.
  In the April 15 Boston bombings, three people were killed and more than 260 were wounded. Initial investigations into the bombings showed that the explosive devices used in the bombings were pressure cookers filled with nails, pellets and gunpowder left in a backpack.
  In a shootout on April 19, police killed Dzhokhar's elder brother, Tamerlan, and later that day arrested Dzhokhar who was hidden on a boat in Watertown. There have been conflicting statements by American officials as to what happened during and after the bombings.
  Initially, authorities claimed they had exchanged gunfire with Dzhokhar during his arrest and that he had shot himself in the throat in a bungled suicide attempt. However, later authorities admitted that Dzhokhar was not armed when police took him into custody. In the image below, Lopez has shown where one brickwork ends and the other begins in a close-up of the scene enlarged by the FBI:
  Here, Lopez has highlighted some irregular brick patterns:
  Using a pattern of two darker bricks spaced two rows apart, Lopez has compared a photo of the scene taken last week with the FBI's initial photo:
  Differences between brick texture and irregularities in brick patterns suggest that the whole head and face area may have been pasted in.
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Germany: Three Nights of rioting in Hamburg Altona
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  Source: WT news feed
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:43
  Van:
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VIDEO-Marcia Fudge On George Zimmerman Verdict: 'They Put A Young Black Boy On Trial'
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:23
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseFeb. 19, 2012 -- Trayvon Martin, 17, and Tracy, his father, travel from Miami Gardens to Sanford, Fla., to visit the elder Martin's fiancee in her townhome at The Retreat at Twin Lakes. Photo courtesy of globalgrind.com
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseFeb. 26, 2012 -- Trayvon Martin is walking to the home of his father's fiancee after purchasing items from a 7-Eleven store in Sanford. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, spots Martin at approximately 7 p.m. and calls police. "We've had some break-ins in my neighborhood, and there's a real suspicious guy," Zimmerman tells police.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseFeb. 26, 2012 -- Roughly seven minutes after Zimmerman's call to police, authorities receive a 911 call from an individual reporting a fight. During the call, the dispatcher hears a gunshot in the background and sends police units to the location. Responding officers discover that Martin has been shot in the chest. The teen is unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. Police find no identification on Martin and label him a John Doe.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseFeb. 26, 2012 -- Questioned by police, Zimmerman informs them that Martin attacked him and he fired his gun in self-defense. Authorities confiscate Zimmerman's 9 mm semi-automatic pistol and take him to the Sanford Police Department for further questioning.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseFeb. 27, 2012 -- Following a lengthy interview, George Zimmerman is released from the police station at approximately 1 a.m. Hours later, Tracy Martin contacts police to report his son missing. Investigators soon connect the dots and inform the elder Martin of his son's death. After receiving treatment from a family doctor, Zimmerman meets with investigators and reenacts the events of the shooting at the crime scene.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 8, 2012 -- Tracy Martin holds a press conference, during which he criticizes the investigation into his son's slaying. "We feel justice hasn't been served," Martin tells reporters.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 9, 2012 -- Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump tells the Miami Herald he is filing a lawsuit for the release of public records in the case.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 10, 2012 -- Members of the New Black Panther Party, contending there has been a "miscarriage of justice," rally outside the Sanford Police Department.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 12, 2012 -- Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee holds a press conference, at which he claims that investigators were unable to arrest Zimmerman because he was protected by Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows residents to shoot someone if they reasonably believe they are being threatened. "There is no evidence to dispute Zimmerman's assertion that he shot Martin out of self-defense," Lee says. In response, Martin's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, post a petition on the Change.org website calling for State Attorney Angela Corey to prosecute Zimmerman. The petition quickly garners support from multiple celebrities and receives nearly 900,000 signatures the first week.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 13, 2012 -- In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the NAACP expresses doubt in the Sanford Police Department's ability to appropriately handle the investigation, asking the Department of Justice to review the case. "The NAACP has no confidence that, absent federal oversight, the Sanford Police Department will devote the necessary degree of care to its investigation," the letter says. Sanford police announce the completion of their investigation and turn the case over to the State Attorney's Office for Brevard and Seminole Counties. "Trayvon Martin and his family, interested persons, and the public-at-large are entitled to no less than a thorough, deliberate and just review of the information provided, along with any other evidence that may or may not be developed in the course of the review process," State Attorney Norm Wolfinger's office says in a statement.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 14, 2012 -- Mary Cutcher, a woman listed in police reports as a witness who heard Martin's shooting, tells WFTV.com that police took only a short statement from her following the shooting. "[The police] blew us off, and I called back again and I said, 'I know this was not self-defense. There was no punching, no hitting going on at the time, no wrestling,'" says Cutcher.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 15, 2012 -- Sanford police issue a statement calling Mary Cutcher's TV interviews "inconsistent" with her sworn testimony. Meanwhile, Zimmerman's father, Robert, tells the Orlando Sentinel that his son has been unfairly portrayed as a racist.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 16, 2012 -- Sanford police release eight 911 recordings in the case. One of the recordings includes a voice in the background screaming, "Help, help!" The screams are followed by the sound of a gunshot.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 19, 2012 -- The Justice Department and the FBI announce they have opened an investigation into the shooting.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 20, 2012 -- State Attorney Norm Wolfinger announces that a Seminole County, Fla., grand jury will review the circumstances of Martin's death.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 21, 2012 -- The Sanford City Commission votes "no confidence" in Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee and calls for his resignation.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 22, 2012 -- Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee holds a press conference and announces he is temporarily stepping down as police chief because his presence is a "distraction." State Attorney Norm Wolfinger recuses himself from the case and Florida Gov. Rick Scott announces that another state attorney, Jacksonville-based Angela Corey, will be replacing Wolfinger as special prosecutor in the investigation. Meanwhile, Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III and other civil rights leaders and politicians hold a justice rally at Sanford's Fort Mellon Park. They demand an arrest in Martin's shooting. An estimated 10,000 people attend the event.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 23, 2012 -- President Barack Obama tells reporters that the nation needs to do some "soul-searching to figure out how something like this happens." He adds, "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 24, 2012 -- Members of the New Black Panther Party offer a $10,000 reward for the "capture" of Zimmerman.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 25, 2012 -- Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks in Eatonville and encourages revisions to Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. "If it's a moment, we go home. If it's a movement, we go to war," says Jackson.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 26, 2012 -- Police release new details of the investigation, saying Zimmerman told them Martin punched him and slammed his head into the sidewalk several times. Acting Police Chief Darren Scott takes over as chief of the Sanford Police Department. Thousands of people gather in Sanford to mark one month since Martin was killed.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 29, 2012 -- Zimmerman's brother, Robert Zimmerman Jr., tells CNN that medical records will prove his brother was attacked and his nose was broken.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseApril 3, 2012 -- Florida State Sen. Chris Smith (D-Fort Lauderdale) announces the formation of a task force to review the state's "Stand Your Ground" law.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseApril 8, 2012 -- George Zimmerman launches the website "The Real George Zimmerman" to raise money for his defense.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseApril 9, 2012 -- State Attorney Angela Corey announces her decision not to use a grand jury in the Martin investigation. The move eliminates the possibility of a first-degree murder charge.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseApril 10, 2012 -- Zimmerman's attorneys, Hal Uhrig (right) and Craig Sonner, announce that they will no longer be representing him.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseApril 11, 2012 - State Attorney Angela Corey announces the charging of George Zimmerman with second-degree murder. Zimmerman turns himself in to police and is booked into the Seminole County Jail. Mark O'Mara announces his role as Zimmerman's new attorney.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseApril 23, 2012 -- George Zimmerman's new lawyer, Mark O'Mara, enters a not-guilty plea on his client's behalf. Zimmerman is released from jail on a $150,000 bond. Per the conditions of his release, Zimmerman is required to wear a GPS monitoring device.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseApril 24, 2012 -- George Zimmerman shuts down his website. According to his attorney, the site raised $200,000.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseApril 27, 2012 -- Mark O'Mara launches the website GZLegalCase.com as the official site for Zimmerman's legal case.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMay 8, 2012 -- At Zimmerman's arraignment, Seminole County Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. accepts his not-guilty plea.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMay 17, 2012 -- Prosecutors release police reports, witness statements, surveillance videos and other evidence in the case.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseJune 1, 2012 -- Judge Lester revokes Zimmerman's bond, stating that his ruling is based on concerns that Zimmerman and his wife did not fully disclose their finances at the bond hearing.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseJune 3, 2012 -- Zimmerman is returned to jail.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseJune 12, 2012 -- George Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, is arrested on one count of perjury.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseJune 20, 2012 -- The Sanford city manager fires Bill Lee from the police force.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseJune 21, 2012 -- George Zimmerman's legal team releases discovery evidence on their client's website.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseJune 29, 2012 -- Zimmerman's second bond hearing is held. The judge does not immediately issue a ruling.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseJuly 5, 2012 -- Judge Lester grants Zimmerman a higher bond of $1 million.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseJuly 6, 2012 -- Zimmerman is again released from jail.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseJuly 19, 2012 -- George Zimmerman relaunches his personal website.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseJuly 27, 2012 -- George Zimmerman's wife pleads not guilty to perjury.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseAug. 29, 2012 -- An appeals court grants a request by George Zimmerman's defense team to dismiss Judge Lester from the case.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseAug. 30, 2012 -- Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson is assigned the case.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseOct. 19, 2012 -- Judge Nelson grants a defense motion requesting access to Trayvon Martin's school records and social media posts. The state is also granted access to Zimmerman's medical records.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseNov. 14, 2012 -- Gov. Scott's "Stand Your Ground" task force concludes its final meeting and recommends no sweeping changes to the law.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseNov. 20, 2012 -- Former Casey Anthony attorney Jose Baez announces that he is representing Sanford police Detective Chris Serino, the lead investigator in the shooting.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseDec. 3, 2012 -- A new photo is released showing George Zimmerman with a bloody, broken nose on the night of the shooting.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseFeb. 5, 2013 -- On this day, Trayvon Martin would have turned 18.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseFeb. 26, 2013 -- Martin's parents hold a rally in his memory to mark the one-year anniversary of his death.
  Key Dates In The Trayvon Martin CaseMarch 26, 2013 -- Zimmerman's defense team releases its witness list of 134 people, including Sanford police officers and 56 unnamed witnesses.
FACT SHEET: Accelerating Improvements in HIV Prevention and Care in the United States through the HIV Care Continuum Initiative
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:15
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  July 15, 2013
  "We've got to keep pushing. We've got to make access to health care more available and affordable for folks living with HIV."
  '-- President Obama, June 13, 2013
  In July 2010, President Obama released the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The HIV Care Continuum Initiative calls for coordinated action in response to data that has been released since the Strategy three years ago, showing only a quarter of people living with HIV in the United States have achieved the treatment goal of controlling the HIV virus. In fact, along the entire HIV care continuum '' the sequential stages of care from being diagnosed to suppressing the virus'--there are significant gaps. To address this need, the HIV Care Continuum Initiative will mobilize Federal efforts in line with the recent advances in our understanding of how best to prevent and treat HIV infection. It will support further integration of HIV prevention and care efforts; promote expansion of successful HIV testing and service delivery models; encourage innovative approaches to addressing barriers to accessing testing and treatment; and ensure that Federal resources are appropriately focused on implementing evidence-based interventions along the HIV care continuum in relation to other scientifically proven approaches to combatting HIV.
  Scientific advances in the three years since the Strategy's release highlight the importance of accelerating efforts to increase HIV testing, services, and treatment along the continuum:
  Federal guidelines now recommend antiretroviral treatment for all adults and adolescents living with HIV in the United States. Instead of waiting for the immune system to show signs of decline, experts now recommend starting treatment right away. Evidence indicates that treating HIV as soon as possible reduces HIV-related complications.
  Treatment reduces the risk of HIV transmission. Along with other proven prevention methods, such as condom use, abstinence, and comprehensive drug treatment, effective treatment reduces the risk of HIV transmission. An NIH-sponsored study showed that among heterosexual couples, starting treatment early reduced transmission risk by 96%.
  Screening for HIV is now recommended for all persons 15-65 in the United States. About half of Americans have never been tested for HIV, and nearly 200,000 people living with HIV in this country are unaware that they are infected. Screening all persons between 15 and 65 years of age is now a grade "A" recommendation of the independent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
  Towards an AIDS-Free Generation
  The HIV Care Continuum Initiative will be overseen by the Office of National AIDS Policy. A workgroup including key Federal agencies is charged with implementing the Initiative. Today, as part of the Initiative launch, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kathleen Sebelius, announced that HHS plans to launch "Integrating HIV Prevention and Care Services to Improve HIV Outcomes in Areas of High Unmet Need," a new demonstration project to expand the capacity of community health centers, local health departments, and their grantees to provide integrated HIV prevention and treatment services across the HIV care continuum. Estimated annual funding: $8.5 to $10 million.
  Other upcoming projects relevant to the Initiative include:
  o In October 2013, HRSA plans to release a new funding opportunity announcement from its Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) initiative, "System-level Workforce Capacity Building for Integrating HIV Primary Care in Community Healthcare Settings." This initiative will identify factors that increase the potential for successful integration of HIV care into primary care and community healthcare settings; enhance the capacity and readiness of funded organizations to adapt and realign their systems to identify and provide care to people living with HIV along the care continuum; and identify models and best practices to increase the HIV workforce's capacity to identify, link, retain and achieve viral load suppression. Estimated annual funding: $4.7 million.
  o CDC will release its "National Capacity Building Assistance for High Impact Prevention" funding opportunity announcement to address gaps in each step of the HIV care continuum by providing quality training and technical assistance to optimize workforce performance within health departments, community-based organizations, and healthcare organizations. Estimated annual funding: $26 million.
  o The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will invest $300,000 in a year-long technical assistance initiative as part of the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program. This initiative will build grantee capacity to integrate health care planning and care outcome measures into HIV housing programs.
  In addition to today's announcements, the Administration is implementing policies and programs the work group will focus on in identifying steps to improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum:
  Increasing healthcare coverage:
  o The Affordable Care Act will expand health insurance coverage to millions of Americans, including thousands living with HIV. Under the Affordable Care Act, new health insurance plans will be required to cover HIV testing without additional out-of-pocket costs. Starting in 2014, insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, including HIV.
  Maintaining strong support for the Ryan White Program:
  o The Ryan White Program is the largest Federal program solely dedicated to providing HIV care and treatment. The Ryan White Program will continue to play a vital role in completing coverage and ensuring people living with HIV continue to receive treatment without service gaps.
  Supporting innovation to link and engage persons living with HIV into care:
  o Funded through the Secretary's Minority AIDS Initiative Fund, the Care and Prevention of HIV in the United States demonstration project is underway in eight states and is designed to reduce HIV-related morbidity, mortality, and related health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities.
  Focusing on prevention interventions that work:
  o CDC and its partners are pursuing a High-Impact Prevention approach to reducing new HIV infections. This approach is using combinations of scientifically proven, cost-effective, and scalable interventions targeted to the right populations in the right geographic areas to increase the impact of HIV prevention efforts.
  Standardizing HIV data to improve health outcomes along the care continuum:
  o In June 2013, the Secretary approved plans submitted by nine HHS operating divisions to adopt and deploy seven HIV common core indicators and streamline data collection for HIV services grantees. HHS offices are working to include these indicators as clinical quality measures in electronic health record (EHR) systems beginning in 2016.
  Supporting research to improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum:
  o The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has expanded its investment in research to address gaps and opportunities in the HIV care continuum. Highlights include investigations of the effectiveness of methods to identify HIV-infected people earlier and to link them to care; community-level interventions to expand HIV testing and treatment; interventions to improve HIV outcomes among substance users; and evaluation of innovative network approaches for HIV testing and referral for uninfected persons in the correctional system.
  Supporting HIV prevention , care and treatment for veterans living with HIV/AIDS:
  o The Veterans Administration (VA) is focusing on increasing HIV testing rates and the number of veterans who are aware of their HIV status. The HIV program office will support HIV testing quality improvement efforts in all medical settings, provide educational opportunities, develop best practices, and monitor HIV rates annually. The HIV program office will work to ensure that all Veterans diagnosed with HIV in VA are linked to a provider within 90 days of that diagnosis and have equal access to medication, care, and supportive services.
  Addressing HIV-related stigma and discrimination:
  o Stigma and discrimination keep people from getting tested, care and treatment. The Department of Justice (DOJ) will continue its aggressive HIV non-discrimination enforcement efforts, specifically targeting enforcement and outreach to the geographic areas with the highest prevalence of HIV, and continue its efforts to address HIV criminalization laws. DOJ will also increase its work under the Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, which focuses on removing barriers to health care for people with HIV. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will continue its efforts to maximize optimal HIV treatment for inmates and improve clinical linkages upon their release.
  Increasing employment opportunities and economic advancement for people living with HIV/AIDS:
  o Unemployment, low income status, and social marginalization are linked to poor health outcomes. The Department of Labor (DOL), in collaboration with the HUD, will develop an online, multimedia training to increase the capacity of service providers to create employment opportunities and economic advancement for people living with HIV/AIDS and those at risk of HIV/AIDS.
  Supporting robust funding for domestic HIV/AIDS programs:
  o The President's proposed 2014 domestic HIV budget is over $23.2 billion, and includes increases in discretionary funding for HIV prevention, care, and treatment. For more details on how the President's budget supports the fight against the domestic HIV epidemic go to:
  http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/factsheet/strengthening-the-economy-hiv-aids
The Watergate of Whistleblowers that could bring down Hillary Rodham Clinton
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Northeast Intelligence Network
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:14
  Please comment on this article at Canada Free Press
  By Douglas J. Hagmann
  15 July 2013: Being a whistleblower under the tyrannical rule of Barack Hussein Obama seems to be getting a bit ''dicey'' these days. So too is being a law firm representing such whistleblowers. If you're not subjected to extravagant 21st century NSA surveillance technology, you just might end up being the victim of a less-glitzy, low-tech 1970'²s Watergate era style burglary. According to the mainstream media under Obama, of course, these things simply don't happen. Oh, except that they do, but you're just not supposed to know about them.
  Behind the Watergate whistleblower curtain
  While Americans were mesmerized by the Zimmerman trial, a law office in Dallas, Texas was burglarized '' twice in two days over the June 29-30th weekend. It was no ordinary burglary, either. And, it was no ordinary law office. The law office of Schulman & Mathias, one of many offices situated in a large office building within a business park in Dallas represents a high-level whistleblower by the name of Aurelia Fedenisn, a long-time investigator for the State Department's Inspector General's (IG) office. Ms. Fedenisn's duties included investigating fraud, corruption and mismanagement possibly constituting either criminal wrongdoing or internal violations of State Department regulations involving some 260 embassies and diplomatic outposts across the globe.
  She did her job well '' perhaps too well, and found a number of instances of alleged wrongdoing and reported them, except the allegations were covered up at the highest levels of the U.S. Department of State. Among the criminality includes but is not limited to prostitution and sex crimes involving diplomats and minors children, and also included numerous instances of one U.S. ambassador who allegedly visited prostitutes as a matter of routine after bypassing a perimeter of security.
  When nothing was done by the Department of State and the alleged criminality was covered-up, she reported her findings to Senator Cruz of Texas. After that, not only was Ms. Fedenisn herself harassed, but so were her children. Such harassment included agents of the U.S. Department of State IG's office approaching her children and asking them about her mother, her current workplace, and her cell phone number. They never once identified them as government officials and engaged in this behavior to harass or intimidate, according to some reports.
  The situation becomes even more convoluted, however, when concurrent with the claims of Aurelia Fedenisn, Fox News reporter James Rosen reported that two top officials of the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service (DS), the federal law enforcement agency that protects American diplomats and investigates allegations of criminal misconduct by State Department employees, provided sworn testimony that could possibly lead to perjury charges against them.
  At the epicenter of this case is DS agent Richard Higbie, a 15-year veteran of the force presently detailed to the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas. Mr. Higbie is suing Hillary Rodham Clinton in her official capacity as former U.S. Secretary of State, alleging that DS sought to demote Higbie after he declined an overseas position due to a chronic and terminal illness of his daughter. The most curious aspect of this is that Richard Higbie, like Aurelia Fedenisn, is represented by the law firm of Schulman & Mathias '' the firm that experienced a most unusual burglary, or series of burglaries.
  The unusual burglary of Schulman & Mathias
  It was 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, June 29, 2013 when two burglars '' an unidentified man and a woman, entered the office building where the law offices of Schulman and Mathias are located. Security cameras caught footage of the pair entering and leaving the office building.
  After gaining entry, the pair then made their way to an upper floor where they reportedly entered the law office through an adjacent empty office by cutting or punching a hole through the wallboard. Once inside, they stole three computers and files from a locked file cabinet they broke into using some type of crowbar-like device, never touching valuable silver bars and other items of significant, if not untraceable monetary value.
  Hours later, at approximately 3:30 on the morning of June 30, the man returned to the law office was observed leaving with a large box, although the contents of that box were not disclosed. The story does not end there and becomes even more puzzling.
  Although the burglars left many other valuables untouched and focused only on the computers and files, one of four credit cards was also reportedly stolen from one of the adjacent desks. But here's a real head-scratcher'... that credit card was reportedly used for several retail purchases at Dallas' Valley View Center mall around 4:45 p.m. on June 29'... some four hours before the security cameras caught the burglars entering the office building.
  According to Dallas police, the crimes remain unsolved, but detectives are seeking to acquire store surveillance footage in an effort to determine the identity of the individual who went on the shopping spree. Due to the potential political ramifications of the burglary, the FBI has also been called in to investigate.
  Second rate burglary?
  This was no second rate burglary, stated one investigative source close to this writer with knowledge about the case. ''While you have two people who look very ordinary and unprofessional, it was likely set up to look that way. This was a very precise burglary '' the perpetrators knew exactly what to look for and take , and were likely told what to take,'' stated this source. Also, there was an unlocked office full of valuable items right across the hall of the law office. They could have hit a burglar's lottery, but they chose not to. In fact, they were quite obvious as to what they were after, and the connection here is to the State Department whistleblower records,'' added this source.
  ''It's surreal to think that it was that brazen.''
  Additional information will be forthcoming. Please follow this investigative reporter's further reports of this matter via Canada Free Press & The Hagmann & Hagmann Report.
  Notations/Related:
  Richard Higbie v. Hillary Rodham Clinton (acting in her official capacity as Secretary of State) [Civil Action No. 3-11-CV-2636-L].
  Statements of U.S. State Department's Diplomatic Security Service made by:
  1. Scott Bultrowicz, former Director of Diplomatic Security Service (through February 1, 2013)
  2. Tracy H. Mahaffey, Executive Director of DS.
  3. Images courtesy of Fox 4 '' Dallas, Texas
  Click here to save this article in PDF format
Presidential Memorandum -- Expanding National Service
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:12
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  July 15, 2013
  MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
  SUBJECT: Expanding National Service Through Partnerships to Advance Government Priorities
  Service has always been integral to the American identity. Our country was built on the belief that all of us, working together, can make this country a better place for all. That spirit remains as strong and integral to our identity today as at our country's founding.
  Since its creation 20 years ago, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has been the Federal agency charged with leading and expanding national service. The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009 (SAA) expanded CNCS's authority to create opportunities for more Americans to serve. This landmark, bipartisan legislation focuses national service on six areas: emergency and disaster services; economic opportunity; education; environmental stewardship; healthy futures; and veterans and military families. The SAA provides greater opportunities for CNCS to partner with other executive departments and agencies (agencies) and with the private sector to utilize national service to address these critical areas.
  National service and volunteering can be effective solutions to national challenges and can have positive and lasting impacts that reach beyond the immediate service experience. Americans engaged in national service make an intensive commitment to tackle unmet national and local needs by working through non-profit, faith-based, and community organizations. Service can help Americans gain valuable skills, pursue higher education, and jumpstart their careers, which can provide immediate and long-term benefits to those individuals, as well as the communities in which they serve.
  Americans are ready and willing to serve. Applications from Americans seeking to engage in national service programs far exceed the number of available positions. By creating new partnerships between agencies and CNCS that expand national service opportunities in areas aligned with agency missions, we can utilize the American spirit of service to improve lives and communities, expand economic and educational opportunities, enhance agencies' capacity to achieve their missions, efficiently use tax dollars, help individuals develop skills that will enable them to prepare for long-term careers, and build a pipeline to employment inside and outside the Federal Government.
  Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to expand the positive impact of national service, I hereby direct the following:
  Section 1. Establishing a Task Force on Expanding National Service. There is established a Task Force on Expanding National Service, to be co-chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of CNCS and the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, which shall include representatives from agencies and offices that administer programs and develop policies in areas that include the six focus areas set forth in the SAA. The Task Force shall include representatives from:
  (a) the Department of Defense;
  (b) the Department of Justice;
  (c) the Department of the Interior;
  (d) the Department of Agriculture;
  (e) the Department of Commerce;
  (f) the Department of Labor;
  (g) the Department of Health and Human Services;
  (h) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
  (i) the Department of Transportation;
  (j) the Department of Energy;
  (k) the Department of Education;
  (l) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
  (m) the Department of Homeland Security;
  (n) the Peace Corps;
  (o) the National Science Foundation;
  (p) the Office of Personnel Management;
  (q) the Environmental Protection Agency;
  (r) the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs; and
  (s) such other agencies and offices as the co-chairs may designate.
  Sec. 2. Mission and Function of the Task Force. (a) The Task Force shall:
  (i) identify existing, and, if appropriate, recommend new, policies or practices that support the expansion of national service and volunteer opportunities that align with the SAA and agency priorities;
  (ii) make recommendations on the most effective way to coordinate national service and volunteering programs across the Federal Government;
  (iii) identify and develop opportunities for interagency agreements between CNCS and other agencies to support the expansion of national service and volunteering;
  (iv) identify and develop public-private partnerships to support the expansion of national service and volunteering;
  (v) identify and develop strategies to use innovation and technology to facilitate the ability of the public to participate in national service and volunteering activities; and
  (vi) develop a mechanism to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of national service and volunteering interventions in achieving agency priorities, and aggregate and disseminate the results of that evaluation.
  (b) Within 18 months of the date of this memorandum, the Task Force shall provide the President with a report on the progress made with respect to the functions set forth in subsection (a) of this section.
  Sec. 3. Facilitating National Service and Volunteering Partnerships. (a) Each agency on the Task Force shall:
  (i) within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, consult with CNCS about how existing authorities and CNCS programs can be used to enter into interagency and public-private partnerships that allow for meaningful national service and volunteering opportunities, including participating in AmeriCorps, and help the agency achieve its mission;
  (ii) work with CNCS to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of such partnerships; and
  (iii) work with CNCS to identify ways in which the agency's national service participants and volunteers can develop transferable skills, and also how national service can serve as a pipeline to employment inside and outside the Federal Government.
  (b) Where practicable, agencies may consider entering into interagency agreements with CNCS to share program development and funding responsibilities, as authorized under 42 U.S.C. 12571(b)(1).
  Sec. 4. Recruitment of National Service Participants in the Civilian Career Services. In order to provide national service participants a means to pursue additional opportunities to continue their public service through career civilian service, the Office of Personnel Management shall, within 120 days of the date of this memorandum, issue guidance to agencies on developing and improving Federal recruitment strategies for participants in national service.
  Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
  (i) the authority granted by law or Executive Order to an agency, or the head thereof; or
  (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
  (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
  (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
  (d) The Chief Executive Officer of CNCS is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
  BARACK OBAMA
Executive Order -- HIV Care Continuum Initiative
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:09
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  July 15, 2013
  EXECUTIVE ORDER
  - - - - - - -
  ACCELERATING IMPROVEMENTS IN HIV PREVENTION AND CARE IN THE UNITED STATES THROUGH THE HIV CARE CONTINUUM INITIATIVE
  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to further strengthen the capacity of the Federal Government to effectively respond to the ongoing domestic HIV epidemic, it is hereby ordered as follows:
  Section 1. Policy. Addressing the domestic HIV epidemic is a priority of my Administration. In 2010, the White House released the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy (Strategy), setting quantitative goals for reducing new HIV infections, improving health outcomes for people living with HIV, and reducing HIV-related health disparities. The Strategy will continue to serve as the blueprint for our national response to the domestic epidemic. It has increased coordination, collaboration, and accountability across executive departments and agencies (agencies) with regard to addressing the epidemic. It has also focused our Nation's collective efforts on increasing the use of evidence-based approaches to prevention and care among populations and in regions where HIV is most concentrated.
  Since the release of the Strategy, additional scientific discoveries have greatly enhanced our understanding of how to prevent and treat HIV. Accordingly, further Federal action is appropriate in response to these new developments. For example, a breakthrough research trial supported by the National Institutes of Health showed that initiating HIV treatment when the immune system was relatively healthy reduced HIV transmission by 96 percent. In addition, evidence suggests that early treatment may reduce HIV-related complications. These findings highlight the importance of prompt HIV diagnosis, and because of recent advances in HIV testing technology, HIV can be detected sooner and more rapidly than ever before.
  Based on these and other data, recommendations for HIV testing and treatment have changed. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends that clinicians screen all individuals ages 15 to 65 years for HIV, and the Department of Health and Human Services Guidelines for Use of Antiretroviral Agents now recommends offering treatment to all adolescents and adults diagnosed with HIV.
  Furthermore, ongoing implementation of the Affordable Care Act provides a historic opportunity for Americans to access affordable, quality health care. The Act is expanding access to recommended preventive services with no out-of-pocket costs, including HIV testing, and, beginning in 2014, insurance
  companies will not be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, including HIV. Starting October 1, 2013, Americans can select the coverage that best suits them through the new Health Insurance Marketplace, and coverage will begin January 1, 2014.
  Despite progress in combating HIV, important work remains. Since the publication of the Strategy, data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that there are significant gaps along the HIV care continuum -- the sequential stages of care from being diagnosed to receiving optimal treatment. Nearly one-fifth of the estimated 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States are undiagnosed; one-third are not linked to medical care; nearly two-thirds are not engaged in ongoing care; and only one-quarter have the virus effectively controlled, which is necessary to maintain long-term health and reduce risk of transmission to others.
  In light of these data, we must further clarify and focus our national efforts to prevent and treat HIV infection. It is the policy of my Administration that agencies implementing the Strategy prioritize addressing the continuum of HIV care, including by accelerating efforts to increase HIV testing, services, and treatment along the continuum. This acceleration will enable us to meet the goals of the Strategy and move closer to an AIDS-free generation.
  Sec. 2. Establishment of the HIV Care Continuum Initiative. There is established the HIV Care Continuum Initiative (Initiative), to be overseen by the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy. The Initiative will mobilize and coordinate Federal efforts in response to recent advances regarding how to prevent and treat HIV infection. The Initiative will support further integration of HIV prevention and care efforts; promote expansion of successful HIV testing and service delivery models; encourage innovative approaches to addressing barriers to accessing testing and treatment; and ensure that Federal resources are appropriately focused on implementing evidence-based interventions that improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum.
  Sec. 3. Establishment of the HIV Care Continuum Working Group. There is established the HIV Care Continuum Working Group (Working Group) to support the Initiative. The Working Group shall coordinate Federal efforts to improve outcomes nationally across the HIV care continuum.
  (a) Membership. The Working Group shall be co-chaired by the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy and the Secretary of Health and Human Services or designee (Co-Chairs). In addition to the Co-Chairs, the Working Group shall consist of representatives from:
  (i) the Department of Justice;
  (ii) the Department of Labor;
  (iii) the Department of Health and Human Services;
  (iv) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
  (v) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
  (vi) the Office of Management and Budget; and
  (vii) other agencies and offices, as designated by the Co-Chairs.
  (b) Consultation. The Working Group shall consult with the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, as appropriate.
  (c) Functions. As part of the Initiative, the Working Group shall:
  (i) request and review information from agencies describing efforts to improve testing, care, and treatment outcomes, and determine if there is appropriate emphasis on addressing the HIV care continuum in relation to other work concerning the domestic epidemic;
  (ii) review research on improving outcomes along the HIV care continuum;
  (iii) obtain input from Federal grantees, affected communities, and other stakeholders to inform strategies to improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum;
  (iv) identify potential impediments to improving outcomes along the HIV care continuum, including for populations at greatest risk for HIV infection, based on the efforts undertaken pursuant to paragraphs (i), (ii), and (iii) of this subsection;
  (v) identify opportunities to address issues identified pursuant to paragraph (iv) of this subsection, and thereby improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum;
  (vi) recommend ways to integrate efforts to improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum with other evidence-based strategies to combat HIV; and
  (vii) specify how to better align and coordinate Federal efforts, both within and across agencies, to improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum.
  (d) Reporting.
  (i) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Working Group shall provide recommendations to the President on actions that agencies can take to improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum.
  (ii) Thereafter, the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy shall include, as part of the annual report to the President pursuant to section 1(b) of my memorandum of July 13, 2010 (Implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy), a report prepared by the Working Group on
  Government-wide progress in implementing this order. This report shall include a quantification of progress made in improving outcomes along the HIV care continuum.
  Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
  (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or
  (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
  (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
  (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
  BARACK OBAMA
White House Backs Pirate-Starving Program by Google and Others | Variety
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 22:38
  The Obama Administration came out in support of an anti-piracy plan put forward by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and other Internet companies that's designed to cut off advertising revenue to rogue sites engaged in piracy and counterfeiting.
  The White House last month issued a call to Internet companies to develop voluntary agreements with Hollywood and other industries to stem the tide of online piracy.
  ''The Administration strongly supports voluntary efforts by the private sector to reduce infringement and we welcome the initiative brought forward by the companies to establish industry-wide standards to combat online piracy and counterfeiting by reducing financial incentives associated with infringement,'' Victoria Espinel, the U.S. intellectual property enforcement coordinator in the Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement Monday.
  She added, ''We believe that this is a positive step and that such efforts can have a significant impact on reducing online piracy and counterfeiting.''
  SEE ALSO: In Piracy War, Google Seen as Unwilling Ally
  But some rights owners argued the Internet companies' plan doesn't go far enough. MPAA chairman Chris Dodd said it ''places a disproportionate amount of the burden on rights holders'' and is ''not sufficient.''
  Under the ''best practices'' guidelines, online ad networks will respond to complaints from copyright holders about specific sites. After investigating a notice, an ad network may request that a website no longer sell counterfeit goods or engage in copyright infringement or it can refuse to place ads on the site.
  Companies adopting the voluntary set of best practices are 24/7 Media, Adtegrity, AOL, Cond(C) Nast, Google, Microsoft, SpotXchange and Yahoo, with the support of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
  SEE ALSO: MPAA Scoffs at New Anti-Piracy Plan
  Google in particular has been targeted by allegations that it profits from rogue sites that advertise illegal drugs and engage in piracy. The Internet giant says it already has stringent advertising policies and works to remove those from its advertising network.
White House Pushes New Online Piracy Efforts | Variety
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 22:38
  The White House will encourage search engines, cyberlockers and domain name registrars to come up with voluntary agreements with Hollywood and other industries to curb online piracy of movies, TV shows and music, as the prospects for future significant anti-infringement legislation on Capitol Hill have stalled.
  The efforts by the administration to reduce infringement were outlined on Thursday in a strategic plan released by Victoria Espinel, the White House's Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, who has been dubbed the ''copyright czar.''
  Espinel's report indicated that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office would study the effectiveness of voluntary agreements that are now in place. This includes a recently launched ''copyright alert'' system that the movie and record industries launched along with major Internet providers earlier this year, in which consumers who repeatedly download pirated content are sent warnings, with the possibility of having their service slowed after the 5th or 6th such notice. The system has been dubbed ''six strikes,'' although users do not face having their service shut down altogether if they continue to access pirated content.
  Nevertheless, even as agreements have also been reached with credit card companies and ad firms, as a way of choking off the flow of money to pirate sites, reaching a deal with search engines is a high hurdle. There is still considerable friction between the MPAA and the Recording Industry Assn. of America and search giant Google, and any agreement would probably be a long time coming.
  To that end, Espinel's report makes a point of asking content creators, like studios and record labels, to establish their own set of ''best practices,'' or voluntary standards that the industry should follow in pursuing infringement claims. In a conference call with reporters, Espinel said that the administration has been asking the tech sector to establish such guidelines over the past few years, but ''we think it is important for rights holders to enter in to best practices as well.'' She suggested that such a move would help in negotiations. ''We think it is important that everyone be at the table working together,'' she said.
  Tech firms have complained that some content creators have engaged in copyright abuse, such as the filing of frivolous claims or of seeking takedowns of content for which they do not own the rights. Others have complained that obtaining the rights to certain types of music and other content is cumbersome given the instant demands of the digital age.
  Showbiz trade associations have been pursuing voluntary agreements after the experience with the Stop Online Piracy Act, a major piece of legislation to combat foreign piracy sites that was sidelined in Congress last year after a storm of protest from Internet users.
  Cary Sherman, CEO of the RIAA, said in a statement that ''just as we are asking others to redouble their efforts to build a better online marketplace for users and creators alike, we recognize that we have an obligation to be constructive and examine steps we can undertake to help achieve that end.'' He cited an agreement that labels and music publishers reached last week to free up more music for licensing, via a system of ''micro-licensing'' for ancillary uses, like corporate retreats or wedding videos.
  But he noted that so-called ''rogue'' websites continue to be displayed in the first page of search results, ''and this new White House report is a reminder that policymakers care about this issue and expect meaningful progress.''
  Jean Prewitt, president and CEO of the Independent Film & Television Alliance, said that, when it comes to establishing ''best practices,'' ''it makes sense to begin the conversation among the sector itself.'' For instance, there are divergent ways that studios and production companies identify infringing content.
  While much of the strategic plan focused on enforcement, including coordination activities among federal agencies, the plan also notes that the U.S. Copyright Office is studying the feasibility of small claims courts for copyright disputes, given the expense involved for such professionals as photographers and illustrators to pursue claims for infringement of their works. The Copyright Office expects to unveil a plan in the fall of 2013.
  Prewitt said that an issue for independent filmmakers is the cost of pursuing claims, as well as enforcing copyright when a project is still in release.
  Yet ''you don't want the process to short circuit the legal protections that creators have and the legal protections the public has,'' she said.
  Another area cited in the report has to do with ''fair use,'' the term for when copyrighted content can be used legally without an owner's permission. It's been the subject of a great deal of litigation in recent years, along with plenty of misperception. The plan calls for the Copyright Office to summarize current law and provide more guidance to artists ''seeking to apply the law to their own situations.''
  The plan also calls for the federal government and the FBI to work with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, to make sure that new ''top-level'' domain names do not become ''new venues'' for infringement.
  The plan also calls for increasing transparency as new policy is created to fight infringement. The negotiation of international trade agreements has come under criticism from public interest groups for being too opaque a process.
  Espinel also indicated that the administration would seek increased efforts to engage law enforcement agencies in other countries to pursue action on piracy and counterfeiting. The plan also calls for calls for an annual study of the economic impact of ''intellectual property-intensive industries'' on the economy.
  Chris Dodd, the chairman and CEO of the MPAA, said in a statement that ''as the administration points out repeatedly throughout the report, all involved parties '-- from ISPs to payment processors to ad networks to search engines '-- share responsibility to ensure protection of creative work.''
  The Center for Copyright Information, which oversees the copyright alert system, has yet to release exact figures on how many e-mails have been sent to users warning them that they are accessing infringing content. But according to Prewitt, the ''overall stats are that very. very few users have gone past three notices,'' and there has been no litigation to date.
  Update: According to CCI, reports of notices are still unconfirmed.
VIDEO-San Diego 6 - Michael Hastings' Ashes Sent Home for Burial
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 22:29
  By Kimberly Dvorak
  Created: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 11:41:00 PST
  Updated: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 12:17:15 PST
  Details uncovered by this reporter shed new light into the June 18 death of journalist Michael Hastings.
  Hastings' friend and confidant SSgt. Joe Biggs disclosed a macabre twist in the award-winning journalist's death in a suspicious single-car accident. According to SSgt. Biggs, ''Michael Hastings' body was returned to Vermont in an urn.'' He further alleged, ''Family members did not want Michael's body cremated.''
  This revelation provides another wrinkle in the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) handling of a case they labeled ''no foul play'' only hours after the writer's death.
  Nevertheless LA County assistant corner, Ed Winter, said it took two days to identify the burned-beyond recognition body of Hastings. Officials also confirmed that an autopsy has been performed, but the cause of death is still pending. Unfortunately the family will have to wait for cause of death answers as LAPD media spokesperson Lieutenant Andrew Neiman indicated, ''It will take several weeks to get the toxicology results.''
  SSgt. Biggs also emphatically stated that liquor was not a factor in the accident, as Hastings hadn't consumed alcoholic beverages in five years.
  So why is the LAPD delaying the reports?
  It was SSgt. Biggs who released the following chilling email to members of the media; ''Subject: FBI Investigation, re: NSA -Hey (redacted names) '-- the Feds are interviewing my ''close friends and associates.'' Perhaps if the authorities arrive ''BuzzFeed GQ,'' er HQ, may be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about our news gathering practices or related journalism issues. Also: I'm onto a big story, and need to go off the rada[r] for a bit. All the best, and hope to see you all soon. Michael''
  The receipt of this email from Hastings tipped the scales for SSgt. Biggs. ''This wasn't an accident and I will continue to investigate his death.''
  As an investigative journalist, Hastings saw his fair share of threats. One particular passage in Hastings book, ''The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan,'' revealed that a former McChrystal staff member made a death threat. ''We'll hunt you down and kill you if we don't like what you write,'' the unnamed staffer said. Hastings coolly retorted: ''Well, I get death threats like that about once a year, so no worries.''
  Despite the LAPD's categorization of the Hasting fatal accident as a "no (evidence of) foul play,'' LAPD continues to ignore FOIA (CPRA in Calif.) requests made by San Diego 6 News for the police report, 9/11 call, autopsy, bomb squad and toxicology reports, or make the Mercedes available for inspection which only fuels conjecture.
  Link to previous story:http://www.sandiego6.com/story/details-of-reporter-hastings-death-remain-elusive-20130708 - storyComments
  (C) Copyright 2013 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.
U.S. probes C-Class Mercedes for lighting problems - CBS News
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 22:25
  DETROIT U.S. safety regulators are investigating about 218,000 Mercedes C-Class luxury cars because the rear lights can fail and even catch fire.
  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the probe affects cars from the 2008 and 2009 model years.
  The agency says it has 21 reports of the brake lights or turn signals lights dimming or failing to light. In many cases the drivers reported a burning smell or melting of electrical parts. Some also reported smelling smoke or seeing burn marks in the trunks, and one reported small flames coming from the rear lamp connector when the trunk was opened.
  The problem hasn't caused any injuries. It normally happens in either the left or right brake or tail lights, but in some cases both sides have failed to work, NHTSA said in documents posted Monday on its website. The agency said it opened the investigation on July 11.
  Investigators will look into whether the problem is widespread enough to warrant a recall.
  A Mercedes spokesman said Monday that he was checking into the matter.
  In one complaint filed with NHTSA from February of this year, an owner said that while driving at night, the dashboard warning lights came on indicating tail light failures on both sides of the car. The driver pulled over and opened the trunk to find it full of smoke with the smell of burning plastic. The owner told NHTSA that both bulb-holding assemblies and the electrical connections had been heavily damaged by fire and heat and said the cars should be recalled.
  In another case, from June of 2012, a C-Class owner told NHTSA that the right rear tail light wiring harness caught fire and melted. The owner wrote that a dealer in Springfield, Mo., was contacted, and the owner was told that Mercedes would not fix the problem under recall. "This is a tremendous safety issue and I respectfully request that your agency address this matter with Mercedes," the owner wrote.
  People who file complaints are not identified by NHTSA.
Zimmerman Verdict Drew Millions to Cable TV - NYTimes.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:33
  Despite breaking late on a weekend evening, the verdict in the murder trial of George Zimmerman attracted an audience of more than 10 million viewers to cable news networks, a huge total for a Saturday night.
  Preliminary ratings showed that for the hour from 10 to 11 p.m. when the verdict came in, Fox News and CNN both attracted well over 3 million viewers, while MSNBC trailed badly with only about 1.3 million.
  Fox had the highest number, 3.68 million viewers, just ahead of CNN with 3.4 million. But CNN outpaced Fox News among the viewers that television advertisers pay most to reach, those between the ages of 25 and 54. In that category, CNN had 1.72 million viewers to 1.11 million for Fox News. MSNBC had only 510,000.
  MSNBC actually finished in fourth place over all, also coming in behind CNN's sister network HLN, which is known for covering criminal trials. HLN had 2.2 million total viewers for third in that category and 980,000 in the 25-54 group, which also placed it third.
VIDEO-Melissa Harris-Perry: How Does It Feel to Be a Problem, Black America? | Video Cafe
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:27
  Melissa Harris-Perry's "footnote" in response to this tragic George Zimmerman not guilty verdict: How does it feel to be a problem, black America?:
  In his turn of the century treatise, The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote,
  ''Between me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it. How does it feel to be a problem?''
  Everyone has problems. It is the human condition. No amount of wealth. No racial privilege. No righteousness of purpose and action leads to a life without problems. Everyone has them.
  But Du Bois was pointing to something different. Not just having problems, but being a problem. How does it feel to be a problem? To have your very body and the bodies of your children to be assume to be criminal, violent, malignant.
  How does it feel to be trapped on the roof of your home as the flood waters rise and be called a refugee?
  How does it feel to wear the symbol of your faith and be assumed to be a terrorist threat to your own nation?
  How does it feel to have the president who looks like you demanded to produce proof of his citizenship?
  How does it feel to know that when you speak the language of your parents, you will be assumed to be illegal?
  How does it feel to know that if you marry the person you love, some will say you are destroying the very fabric of the nation?
  How does it feel to fear sending your son to the 7-Eleven for a bag of Skittles on a rainy night?
  Du Bois wrote of black men,
  ''He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face. This, then, is the end of his striving: to be a co-worker in the kingdom of culture, to escape both death and isolation, to husband and use his best powers and his latent genius.''
  This is the dream that will guide us as we continue the struggle.
Asiana Airline Sues San Francisco TV Station Over 'Racially Discriminatory' Prank Call Report | Radar Online
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  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:03
  Following the racist prank phone call that went viral over the weekend, Asiana airlines is suing the KTVU-TV '-- the Bay Area station that broadcast the false report Friday of the victim's names '-- claiming it has hurt the company's reputation.
  Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyomin said the airline is filing the suit against the station to ''strongly respond to its racially discriminatory report'' regarding Asiana Airlines Flight 214, the plane that crash-landed July 6 at San Francisco International Airport, leaving three people dead.
  PHOTOS: Jumbo Jet Crashes In San Francisco
  Hyomin said the suit would likely be filed in the U.S., and that they will not sue the National Transportation Safety Board, despite the organization admitting a summer intern mistakenly confirmed the news to the television station.
  ''In response to an inquiry from a media outlet, a summer intern acted outside the scope of his authority when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the aircraft,'' the NTSB said in a statement.
  Watch the video on RadarOnline.com
  PHOTOS: Remembering The World's Great Talents That Were Killed In Plane Crashes
  Four pilots connected to the flight have gone back to their native South Korea after speaking with an investigation board put together by U.S. and South Korean authorities.
  Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Beautiful Crop Circle Hoden, Near Evesham, Worcestershire, UK July 13, 2013 | Conscious Life News
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  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:02
  Posted by clnews_Featured_, Crop Circles, VideosMonday, July 15th, 2013A very beautiful crop circle was reported on July 13, 2013. It is located in Hoden, near Evesham, Worcestershire, UK. For more details on this crop circle, visit cropcircleconnector.com.
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Glenn Greenwald: Snowden 'chose not to release' most damaging data | The Raw Story
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 16:59
  By Agence France-PresseSunday, July 14, 2013 10:16 EDT
  Edward Snowden possesses data that could prove far more ''damaging'' to the US government but the fugitive leaker has chosen not to release them, said a journalist who first broke the story.
  Glenn Greenwald told Argentina's La Nacion paper that Snowden, who is currently stranded in Moscow, had only sought to alert people that information they thought was private was being exploited by US intelligence agencies.
  ''Snowden has enough information to cause more damage to the US government in a minute alone than anyone else has ever had in the history of the United States,'' he told the paper in an interview published on Saturday.
  ''But that's not his goal,'' said Greenwald, who published a series of stories in Britain's Guardian newspaper based on top-secret documents about sweeping US surveillance programmes that were leaked by Snowden.
  His comments came as Russia waited Sunday for a promised request for asylum from Snowden.
  The United States wants the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor returned to them to face trial over the leaks. Moscow has so far rejected that demand.
  Snowden, 30, has been stranded in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, after the US withdrew his passport on his arrival from Hong Kong three weeks ago.
  Snowden on Friday dramatically summoned Russian activists to his temporary base, to say he wanted to claim asylum in Russia until he could safely travel to Latin America for a permanent sanctuary.
  He withdrew an initial request earlier this month after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would have to stop releasing information embarrassing to Washington if he wanted to stay.
  After Snowden made his statement Amnesty International reiterated its support for him and denounced what it described as US government persecution of him.
  Human Rights Watch accused Washington of trying to block Snowden's attempts to claim asylum and said that was in violation of his rights under international law.
  Representatives from both organisations attended Snowden's presentation.
  But on Saturday, officials in Moscow said they were still waiting for Snowden's request.
  Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Snowden would have to submit his application to the Federal Migration Service (FMS), Russian news agencies reported.
  The head of Russia's Federal Migration Service (FMS) Konstantin Romodanovsky said Saturday they had received nothing. If they did, he added, it would examined according to the usual procedures.
  Washington has reacted sharply to the possibility that Moscow might offer Snowden a safe harbour.
  ''We would urge the Russian government to afford human rights organisations the ability to do their work in Russia throughout Russia, not just at the Moscow transit lounge,'' White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
  ''Providing a propaganda platform for Mr Snowden runs counter to the Russian government's previous declarations of Russia's neutrality,'' he added.
  US President Barack Obama spoke to Putin by telephone Friday on issues including the Snowden affair, the Kremlin and White House both said, but no further details were forthcoming.
  The United States has already rebuked China for allowing Snowden to leave for Russia from Hong Kong.
  At his meeting with activists, Snowden vowed he did not want to harm the United States.
  It was not clear however if this meant he was prepared to stop leaking intelligence in order to stay in Russia.
  The leftist governments in Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have all offered Snowden asylum, but Snowden said that Western governments would prevent him from travelling to the region.
  A summit of the Latin American Mercosur trade bloc issued a statement Friday reaffirming the right to asylum and rejecting ''any attempt at pressure, harassment or criminalization by a state or third parties''.
  The bloc, meeting in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo, denounced four European countries who denied airspace to a plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales back from Moscow earlier this month.
  They apparently suspected that Snowden was on board.
  Mercosur leaders said they would recall their ambassadors from Spain, France, Italy and Portugal for consultations in protest at the incident.
  In a statement, they rejected ''any attempt at pressure, harassment or criminalisation by a state or third parties'' in response to a decision to grant asylum.
  Like Raw Story on Facebook
VIDEO-Glenn Greenwald: Snowden has 'blueprints' of NSA surveillance - Washington Times
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 16:51
  The Guardian columnist who first published leaked documents taken from the National Security Agency by former contract employee Edward J. Snowden said the 30 year-old fugitive had ''a huge number of documents that would be very harmful to the U.S. government if they were made public.''
  Glenn Greenwald told the Associated Press that the ''literally thousands'' of documents Snowden took constitute ''basically the instruction manual'' for how the NSA and its surveillance systems are built and how they run.
  Publication of those documents would ''allow somebody who read them to know exactly how the NSA does what it does, which would in turn allow them to evade that surveillance or replicate it,'' Mr. Greenwald said.
  As a result, he said, Mr. Snowden has insisted they not be made public.
  ''I think it would be harmful to the U.S. government, as they perceive their own interests, if the details of those programs were revealed,'' said Mr. Greenwald. He previously insisted the documents have been encrypted to help ensure their safekeeping.
  Snowden fled the U.S. and remains in a Russian airport as he seeks asylum.
  (C) Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
VIDEO-Al Sharpton plans George Zimmerman protests - Tal Kopan - POLITICO.com
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  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 16:48
  He says he's confident continued pressure will result in a federal civil rights case. | AP Photo
  CloseThe Rev. Al Sharpton is calling for a ''Justice for Trayvon National Day of Action'' on Saturday and say demonstrations are planned in more than 100 cities nationwide.
  Saying there would not have been a trial in Florida without pressure from activists, Sharpton was confident that continued pressure would result in a federal civil rights case.
  Continue ReadingNAACP president on Zimmerman
  ''When they're telling you today, 'I don't know if they're going to get a civil rights trial:' We will. And we will get a civil trial,'' Sharpton said on the ''Tom Joyner Morning Show'' on Monday morning. ''What we've watched the last several weeks was not the system correcting itself, it was the people correcting the system. Now we've got to finish the job.''
  National Action Network is organizing the protests at federal court buildings to press the Justice Department to bring a civil rights case against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the death of teenager Trayvon Martin by a Florida jury on Saturday.
  Sharpton said his National Action Network intends to keep the pressure on until a civil rights case is brought, insisting the protests will show the national anger over the verdict is not a ''two- or three-day'' thing.
  ''It's not over. And we are going to make sure it's not over, that's why we're calling people to '... organize in your city. I don't care if it's 20 people, we want to show the nation that over 100 cities a week later is still demanding justice. We're not having a fit, we're having a movement,'' Sharpton said.
  The event will also help begin a four-week countdown to the 50th anniversary event for the March on Washington on August 24, which will include Martin Luther King III, and which Sharpton said will be centered on Trayvon Martin and the Voting Rights Act.
VIDEO-White activist's bright idea: Reparations for Trayvon! | Video | TheBlaze.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 16:46
  Via the WashingtonTimes:
  At a rally in Portland, Ore., on Sunday, one speaker captured on YouTube said to her fellow white Americans: ''Hi, I'm Tammy, and I want to say something to you white people. It is not enough to feel bad. It is not enough to not be a bigot. Because if you're not actively dismantling white supremacy, and checking your privilege every single day, and thinking about racism the way that our young black men in our community have to think about it, you're not doing it right, okay?''
  She said that whites in America have responsibility to donate to ''anti-racism'' efforts, Breitbart reported.
  ''We have to support anti-racist, youth-led movements with money. Because people, politicians, people that are leading the system, they receive millions and millions of dollars from corporations to censor us,'' she said, as YouTube reported. ''So I want you to go home and give money to the Dream Defenders, to the Urban League, to the Southern Poverty Law Center '... because racism is a natural disaster just like hurricanes and bombings and shootings are.''
  ''Check your privilege'' and open your wallets, white people! If you don't, you're clearly a racist, or something.
  I also like how these protesters march and chant about wanting''Justice For Trayvon,'' but will apparently accept cash or money orders in lieu of such ''justice.''
  Video after the jump'...
New Indiana Law Allows Citizens to Shoot Police Officers
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  Archived Version
  Source: The Top Information Post
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 16:44
  In Indiana, police officers are upset over a new law allowing residents to use deadly force against public servants, including law enforcement officers, who unlawfully enter their homes.
  The law was signed by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels in March, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
  The law was adopted after the Indiana State Supreme Court ruled that there was ''no right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers,'' after a man assaulted an officer during a domestic violence call.
  The law's author, Republican state Sen. Michael Young, said there haven't been any cases [yet] in which people have used the law to justify shooting police.
  The National Rifle Association lobbied for the new law, claiming that the Indiana State Supreme Court decision had legalized police to commit unjustified entries.
  Tim Downs, President of the Indiana State Fraternal Order of Police, told Bloomberg News that the law could open the way for people who are under the influence or emotionally distressed to attack officers in their homes: ''It's just a recipe for disaster. It just puts a bounty on our heads.''
  Indiana is the first U.S. state to specifically allow force against officers, according to the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys in Washington, which represents prosecutors.
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VIDEO-BBC News - Climate change: Ed Davey on science and energy policies
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:21
  The "vast majority" of climate change scientists believe climate change was happening, and man-made activity was causing it, said the energy secretary.
  Ed Davey said "we should always challenge the science", but only a "tiny number" thought it was not happening.
  He called for more balance in the debate, as he spoke to Andrew Neil about government policies over climate change, global warming claims and renewable energy.
  And the Liberal Democrat rejected figures that an annual £112 increase on UK fuel bills was down to climate change policies, saying the bulk of that was down to tackling fuel poverty and making homes warmer.
  More clips on our BBC website; 'like' us on Facebook page; follow us on Twitter or watch full programmes from the last seven days via BBC iPlayer
FluBlok About Us
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:16
  About Us
  Protein Sciences was founded in 1983 and has 30 years of experience in developing vaccines and biopharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases. We use our proprietary BEVS protein expression technology to produce high quality recombinant proteins quickly, reliably and at low cost. We have developed three main business lines that employ this technology:
  1. Proprietary vaccines - we develop and produce the next generation of safer and more effective vaccines
  2. GeneXpress product development and manufacturing services - we partner with others to develop and manufacture modern vaccines, therapeutics and gene therapies
  3. Research antigens - we offer a variety of high quality purified antigens and antibodies to the scientific community for disease research
  Our Mission
  To save lives and improve health by effectively responding to the changing world through the creation of innovative vaccines and biopharmaceuticals.
  Our Values
  Our values are core to our culture and guide our every action.
  ExcellencePassionIntegrityIngenuityTeamworkRespectTop
  Leadership Team
  Manon M. J. Cox President and Chief Executive Officer
  Dr. Cox joined Protein Sciences in 1998 as Director of Business Development, became Chief Operating Officer in 2000 and became CEO in 2010. Previously, she was with Gist-brocades, a Dutch company specializing in fermentation. She held various management positions at Gist-brocades, including in Research and Development, Manufacturing and Business Development. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Pall BioPharmaceuticals and iCubed, the Board of Directors of United Way, Meriden & Wallingford, and the Education Committtee of the Netherlands-America Foundation. Dr. Cox holds a Doctorate from the University of Wageningen, received her MBA with distinction from the University of Nijenrode and the University of Rochester, NY and holds a Doctorandus degree in Molecular Biology, Genetics and Biochemistry from the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
  TopDaniel D. Adams Executive Chairman and Global Head of Business Development Mr. Adams joined Protein Sciences as CEO in 1996. Prior to that time, he founded and managed biopharmaceutical companies that have a combined market value of over $60 billion. Mr. Adams co-founded Biogen (OTC:BGEN) in 1976 and served as its first President and CEO. He also was Founder and CEO of Advanced Genetic Sciences Inc. (OTC:AGSI) in 1980, was Co-founder and Managing Director of Plant Genetic Systems in 1982, and was Founder and CEO of AlleRx in 1989. Mr. Adams is currently a Director of Medivation Inc. and several private companies and medical schools. He received a B.A. from Cornell University (Chemistry and Physics) and earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from New York University School of Law.
  TopBarry C. BucklandHead, BioProcess Development Dr. Buckland joined Protein Sciences in 2011 after a 29-year career at Merck Research Laboratories, including 16 years as Vice President of Bioprocess R&D, during which time vaccines were licensed against chicken pox, shingles, HPV, hepatitis A and rotavirus. In 2009, he became CEO of BiologicB, through which he provides consultancy to companies and non-profit institutions worldwide in all areas of biologics, including vaccines and therapeutic proteins. Dr. Buckland currently serves on the Board of Directors of Ancora Pharmaceuticals and Mucosis BV and is Chair of the Board of Engineering Conferences International. He is also a visiting professor at University College London. He has a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester, UK and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from the University College London, UK.
  TopLisa M. Dunkle Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dunkle joined Protein Sciences as Chief Medical Officer in 2011 after a 20+ year career in the pharmaceutical industry. As Executive Director of Clinical Research, she previously headed teams at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Schering-Plough and Merck that developed and brought to market several cutting-edge antiviral agents for HIV and HBV. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Dunkle was Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology and Chief of Infectious Diseases at St. Louis University School of Medicine. She has a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Wellesley College and an M.D. from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed post-doctoral work in Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at Washington University School of Medicine.
  TopTimothy J. Fields Vice President, Quality Mr. Fields joined Protein Sciences in 2010 as Director of Compliance and Training, and subsequently served as Senior Director of Quality Operations before becoming VP of Quality and Validation in 2011. He has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including more than 13 years at Pfizer and 16 years as a GMP compliance consultant. Mr. Fields has experience in a variety of compliance areas, including quality systems, validation, aseptic processing, computerized system validation, GMP training, 21CFR Part 11, document management and auditing. He is a member of PDA and ISPE and is on the editorial review board for the Journal of Validation and Journal of GXP Compliance. Previously, he was a member of DIA, RAPS and ASQC and was an adjunct instructor at the Community College of Rhode Island. He has a B.A. in Biology from Indiana University and an M.A. in Life Sciences from Indiana State University.
  TopMireli W. Fino Vice President, Manufacturing Operations Ms. Fino joined Protein Sciences in 2012 as VP, Manufacturing Operations. She comes from Wyeth (now Pfizer) where she spent the past 20 years in various roles in vaccine development and commercial manufacturing, most recently as Director Manufacturing Sciences and Technology - Drug Substance. She played a key role in the successful development and launch of Prevnar13® pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine, considered one of the most complex biologics licensed to date. In addition, Ms. Fino led global initiatives implementing process and yield improvements based on the successful applications of risk management and Quality by Design (QbD) and Process Analytical Technology (PAT) concepts. She has a B.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Aguascalientes in Mexico.
  Top
  Wayne E. Hachey Head, Government and Clinical Affairs Wayne Hachey, DO (Colonel, U.S. Army, ret.) is a physician who has dedicated 28 years of service to the military healthcare system, including six years as a subject matter expert advising senior Department of Defense (DoD) leadership regarding the DoD's vaccine policy. He was also responsible for developing the overarching DoD mitigation response to pandemic influenza and directed the implementation of that policy during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Most recently, Dr. Hachey served as the Chief of Public Health for the 1st Medical Brigade in Afghanistan, where he provided public health leadership to protect more than 98,000 U.S. troops. Dr. Hachey has a B.A. in Biology from Fitchburg State College, a B.S.N. in Nursing from Boston College, an M.S. in Pediatric Nursing from University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.P.H. from Uniformed University of the Health Sciences, and a D.O. from Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is board certified in Public Health, Pediatrics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and has won numerous awards, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, NATO (Afghanistan) and Afghanistan Campaign Medal and Unit Combat Patch.
  Top
  Steven R. Haggerty Controller Mr. Haggerty joined Protein Sciences in 2012 as Controller. He brings extensive public accounting experience and has a proven track record in various financial roles. Prior to joining Protein Sciences, Mr. Haggerty was the Vice President of Finance at ADNET Technologies. He also co-founded Tactical Marketing Solutions, a 100+ employee organization, in 2003 and served as its first President and CEO for seven years. From 2001 to 2002, Mr. Haggerty enjoyed the roles of CFO and COO at NGC Worldwide, a direct marketing and manufacturing firm, and from 1994 to 2001, gained extensive public accounting experience at Arthur Andersen. Mr. Haggerty holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Connecticut in Storrs and passed the CPA exam in 1998.
  Top
  Clifton E. McPherson Vice President, Product Development Dr. McPherson joined Protein Sciences in 2005 as Scientist and Project Manager in Process Development, where he was manager of an NIH funded SARS vaccine project. Dr. McPherson became Director of Quality Control in 2007, Senior Director of Quality Control in 2010, and Senior Director of Formulation and Process Analytics in 2011. He has a strong background in molecular biology and analytical development and has been involved in vaccine development, testing and stability, project management, and regulatory filings at Protein Sciences. Prior to joining Protein Sciences, Dr. McPherson was an instructor at the University of Connecticut Health Center following postdoctoral fellowships at Brown University and the University of Connecticut Health Center. He has a B.A. in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic, ME and a PhD in Molecular Biology from Vanderbilt University, TN.
  Top
  Penny L. Post Vice President, Regulatory Dr. Post joined Protein Sciences Corporation in 2000 and has served in various management roles in Process Development, Quality and Manufacturing, becoming Vice President of Regulatory and Quality in 2007 and Vice President of Regulatory in 2011. She has a strong background in biochemistry and protein purification and has been involved in the development, manufacturing, product release and regulatory filing for recombinant proteins involved in various diseases, such as influenza and AIDS. Prior to joining Protein Sciences Corporation, Dr. Post was a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate Research Scientist at Yale University. She has a B.A. in Biology from Middlebury College, VT and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Biochemistry from Carnegie Mellon University.
  TopIndresh K. Srivastava Vice President, Product Realization Dr. Srivastava joined Protein Sciences in 2012 as Vice President, Product Realization. He has a strong background in vaccine development, particularly in immunogen design, purification, analytical and formulation development, and has published extensively in these areas. Dr. Srivastava served on the NIH special emphasis study section focused on vaccine development for ten years, and in 2011 he co-edited the book, "Development of Vaccines: From Discovery to Clinical Testing." Previously, Dr. Srivastava spent more than twelve years at Chiron Corporation/Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc. in various capacities, including Head (AI), Protein Biochemistry; Head, Vaccine Manufacturing; and Head, Protein Expression and Analytics. He also spent about two years at the Vaccine Research Center, a division of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he led the purification, analytical and formulation development of vaccine candidates for clinical evaluation. Prior to joining the biotechnology industry, Dr. Srivastava was an Assistant Professor of Research in Microbiology and Immunology at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. from the Kanpur University, India and completed his post-doctoral training with Prof. Luc Perrin at the Hospital Cantonal, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
  Top
  Bradley J. Thompson Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Thompson joined Protein Sciences in 2013 after 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry with Pfizer, Wyeth, American Cyanamid, and Schering Plough, where he held positions of increasing responsibility in Sales, Sales Management, US Marketing, Global Marketing and New Products Marketing. Mr. Thompson has spent over 16 years in the Vaccines market and played a key role in the global launch of a Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine for pediatric use, and most recently in the US launch of a Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine for adult use. He has also worked on the commercialization of a number of other vaccines, including Rotavirus Vaccine, Influenza Vaccine, DTaP Vaccine and Hib Vaccine. Mr. Thompson has a B.A. in Business Economics from the University of Pittsburgh and a M.B.A. in Pharmaceutical Management from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
  Top
  Advisory Board
  Donna Chandler, PhD Regulatory Advisor
  Dr. Chandler is currently an independent consultant for vaccine and biologics development, after more than 28 years of service with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Public Health Service. From 1997 until her retirement in November 2006, she was Deputy Director, Division of Vaccines and Related Products Applications, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, CBER, FDA. Dr. Chandler joined the FDA in 1978, at which time she investigated Mycoplasma pneumoniae pathogenicity and animal models of disease and protection. In 1989, Dr. Chandler moved to the FDA's Division of Biologic INDs, where she was a senior regulatory reviewer of bacterial and viral vaccines, allergenic products and immune globulins.
  Cheryl Cohen Senior Strategic Advisor to the Board
  Ms. Cohen was appointed Chief Commercial Officer of Medivation Inc. in September 2011. From 2008 to 2011, Ms. Cohen was president of CLC Consulting, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology consulting firm specializing in new product start-up and commercialization, where she was responsible for building strategic and tactical plans to ensure successful launches. From 2001 to 2008 she served as the vice president, strategic commerical group, of Health Care Systems, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company accountable for managed markets, contracting and supply chain, where she was directly responsible for access of Johsnon & Johnson products wihtin one of the largest health plans in the country. Previously, she worked at Centocor, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, in a variety of senior sales roles including vice president, rheumatology franchise, with direct responsibility for the $1+ billion per year Remicade® U.S. rheumatoid arthritis business and its 170-person sales and marketing team.
  Thomas Kowalski, Esq. Patent Counselor
  Mr. Kowalski is a shareholder in Vedder Price PC, a full service law firm, with offices in Chicago, NYC, Washington DC and London. Vedder Price is a general practice firm with a number of significant boutique practices whose reputations are national and international, including its intellectual property practice which handles all aspects of intellectual property law, including patent, trademark, and copyright prosecution, counseling, and litigation, and related matters, including regulatory matters. Mr. Kowalski's practice includes biotech, chemical and medical apparatus litigation, patent prosecution, licensing and counseling. In fulfilling the requirements for American Chemistry Society certification, Mr. Kowalski has extensively studied graduate biochemistry, graduate inorganic chemistry, genetics, computer science and laboratory research.
  Deborah Lu, PhD, Esq. Patent Counselor
  Dr. Lu is a shareholder at Vedder Price PC. Dr. Lu received her B.S. in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Biochemistry from Cornell University, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the University of Michigan. Dr. Lu was a post-doctoral fellow in Microbiology at Harvard Medical School and in Structural Biology at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at the New York University Medical Center and received her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.
  Peter Patriarca, MD Vaccine Development and Regulatory Consultant
  Dr. Patriarca is a senior consultant with the Biologics Consulting Group, Inc. (Alexandria, Virginia, USA), a full-service consulting firm that provides guidance to industry for all phases of vaccine development. Prior to his current position, Dr. Patriarca was Corporate Head and Vice President, Worldwide Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacovigilance at MedImmune, Inc. from 2001 to 2005. He served as Medical Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 1980 to 1992, and at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 1993 to 2001. Among other positions, Dr. Patriarca served at the FDA as Director of the Division of Viral Products in the Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR), CBER. In that capacity, he worked on the quality and consistency of chemistry, manufacturing and controls and clinical aspects of numerous vaccines and adjuvants, and was intimately involved with regulatory decisions and policy affecting vaccine development and licensure. At the CDC, Dr. Patriarca was assigned to the National Immunization Program, where, in addition to holding other positions, he served as the first head of the CDC's program in support of the global poliomyelitis eradication initiative. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications.
  Janet Rea, MSPH, RAC Advisor, Quality and Compliance MattersMs. Rea served as Protein Sciences' Chief Compliance Officer from 2011-2012. Previously, she held the position of Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality at Poniard Pharmaceuticals (previously NeoRx) from 2008 to 2010 and AVI BioPharma from 2003 to 2008, and was a corporate officer for both organizations. Trained as a public health microbiologist at the University of Washington (UW), Ms. Rea started her career with American Dade Division, American Hospital Supply Corporation in Miami, Florida in the microbiology quality assurance group, applying microbiological techniques to improve aseptic processing and reducing product failure. Thereafter, she returned to Seattle, working for Genetic Systems, Immunex (now Amgen), where she played a key role in the approval of the company's first product, LEUKINE; MDS Panlabs, and Targeted Genetics. Her diverse experience transcends the product development continuum in a variety of therapeutic areas, especially oncology, infectious and rare genetic diseases. She is a member of two editorial advisory boards, and has lectured extensively as well as published. She received a Bachelors of Science in Microbiology and was conferred a Masters of Science of Public Health (MSPH) from UW, Seattle, Washington. Ms. Rea is and remains a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy at UW, where she has been a frequent lecturer since 1999.
  John Treanor, MD Medical Advisor/ Principal Investigator of Clinical Trials
  Dr. Treanor is a Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is a current or former member of the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research Advisory Committee (MIDRAC), Veteran's Administration Merit Review Board for Infectious Disease, and the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP). Dr. Treanor's research interests are related to the clinical evaluation of vaccines and other control measures for human infectious diseases, including studies of novel vaccines for seasonal and pandemic influenza, evaluation of antiviral agents for influenza, and studies of the human immune response to influenza infection and vaccination.
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  Board of Directors
  Daniel D. Adams, JDMr. Adams has been Executive Chairman of Protein Sciences Corporation since April 2010, having earlier served as President since December 1998 and Chief Executive Officer since May 1996. He was previously a founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of BCCORP LLC, a company involved in taking control of and managing failing biotechnology companies. Mr. Adams also founded and was Chairman of AlleRx Inc. from 1989 to 1993, and was Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Genetic Sciences, Inc. (AGSI) from 1979 to 1986, when it merged with DNA Plant Technologies. He co-founded and was Managing Director of Plant Genetic Systems, N.V. from 1982 to 1989, and co-founded and was President and Chief Executive Officer of Biogen, Inc. (BGEN) from 1976 to 1980.
  Dr. Manon M.J. Cox, MBADr. Cox has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Protein Sciences Corporation since April 2010. She joined the company in 1998 as Director of Business Development and became Chief Operating Officer in 2003. Since 2006, she has also served on the Scientific Advisory Board of Pall BioPharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Protein Sciences Corporation, she was employed with Gist-brocades, N.V., a large Dutch company specializing in fermentation. She held various management positions at Gist-brocades, including New Business Development, Production, and Research and Development. She previously worked as a molecular biologist on the development of a PCR screening test for cervical cancer at the University of Amsterdam.
  Cees de Jong, MD, MBADr. de Jong will become the Chief Executive Officer of Chr. Hansen, a global supplier of bioscience-based ingredients to the food, health and animal feed industries, on April 1, 2013. Dr. de Jong was Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Management Board at Crucell N.V, a publicly traded Netherlands company, from 2007 until its sale in 2011. Crucell's business involved developing and manufacturing vaccines and other products based on PER.C6, a human cell line. Crucell was sold to Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, in 2011 with a value of approximately $3 billion. From 2003 to 2007, Dr. De Jong was Group Vice President and member of the Board at Quest International, ICI, and Business Group Director at Campina and Gist-brocades, N.V. from 2000-2002 and from 1989 to 2000, respectively.
  R. Gordon Douglas, MDDr. Douglas retired in April 1999 from Merck & Co., where he had been President of the Merck Vaccine Division since 1991 and a member of the Merck Management Committee. Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Douglas was Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. He held earlier teaching, research and administrative posts at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Douglas received his medical staff training at The New York Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital, and is board certified in Internal Medicine.
  Donna R. Galluzzo, PhD, RDSince 2003, Dr. Galluzzo has been President and CEO of HMS Healthcare Management Solutions, Inc., a financial support services and consulting organization to healthcare providers such as hospitals, physicians, home care and hospice. Primary services include outsourced billing and collections, revenue cycle management, operational and strategic services, regulatory compliance, education and secure web-based solutions. She was previously President and COO of Connecticut VNA, Inc., one of the largest not-for-profit home health and hospice organizations in the United States. Since 1990, Dr. Galluzzo has owned or been CEO/COO of several healthcare companies that have received multiple awards for excellence and innovation. In addition, she has received numerous awards for her leadership in civic and community boards and activities.
  Robert B. Goergen, MBAMr. Goergen is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blyth, Inc., a publicly traded firm, and is Managing Partner of The Ropart Group, a private equity firm. Mr. Goergen also is a member and former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Rochester and a Trustee of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He was previously Managing Partner of The Sprout Capital Group at DLJ, Inc.
  Howard E. Levine, PhDDr. Levine is President and Principal Consultant for BioProcess Technology Consults. Dr. Levine has more than 30 years of experience in successful product companies and as founder of BioProcess Technology Consultants, Inc. Prior to founding BioProcess Technology Consultants, he was Vice President of Manufacturing Operations at Repligen Corporation, where he was responsible for all process development and manufacturing activities, including production of therapeutic proteins, monoclonal antibodies and recombinant Protein A. Dr. Levine was previously Director, Pilot Plant Operations at Xoma Corporation, where he was responsible for the development and manufacture of monoclonal antibody products for clinical trial. He has also held positions in process development and manufacturing at Genentech and Amgen. During the course of his career, he has assisted in the development of more than 25 different biological products and the successful commercialization of three of these products.
  Albertus D.M.E. Osterhaus, DVMDr. Osterhaus, known as Ab Osterhaus, is an advisor to Artemis Foundation for Wildlife Health Research. He has a long standing track record as scientific researcher and is an international authority in the field of "Viroscience." Over the years he has been responsible for the identification of more than 20 novel human and animal viruses, vaccine development and anti-viral drug development against several viruses including influenza viruses. He has served as member and chairman of many international scientific committess, most notably three WHO reference centers, the Dutch Influenza Centre, the Dutch Health Council and the European Scientific Working group on Influenza (ESWI). He is a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Multiple awards, prizes, guest lecture invitations, organizer of international meetings and editorships of scientific journals highlight his international recognition.
  Cheryl Cohen Senior Strategic Advisor to the Board
  Ms. Cohen was appointed Chief Commercial Officer of Medivation Inc. in September 2011. From 2008 to 2011, Ms. Cohen was president of CLC Consulting, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology consulting firm specializing in new product start-up and commercialization, where she was responsible for building strategic and tactical plans to ensure successful launches. From 2001 to 2008 she served as the vice president, strategic commerical group, of Health Care Systems, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company accountable for managed markets, contracting and supply chain, where she was directly responsible for access of Johsnon & Johnson products wihtin one of the largest health plans in the country. Previously, she worked at Centocor, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, in a variety of senior sales roles including vice president, rheumatology franchise, with direct responsibility for the $1+ billion per year Remicade® U.S. rheumatoid arthritis business and its 170-person sales and marketing team.
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Flublok vaccine podcast - YouTube
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  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:15
VIDEO-Learn More About Flublok - v1.2 - YouTube
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  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:13
Center for an Informed America
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  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:04
  #1 May 18, 2002
  #2 May 26, 2002
  #3 June 2, 2002
  #4 June 9, 2002
  #5 June 16, 2002
  #6 June 26, 2002
  #7 June 30, 2002
  Special Edition: The Pentagon Attack
  #8 July 7, 2002
  #9 July 14, 2002
  #10 July 22, 2002
  #11 July 29, 2002
  What's It Really All About?, Part I
  #12 August 8, 2002
  What's It Really All About?, Part II
  #13 August 13, 2002
  Radioactive Edition
  #14 August 22, 2002
  #15 September 6, 2002
  #16 September 16, 2002
  What's It Really All About?, PartIII
  #17 September 29, 2002
  #18 October 2, 2002
  #19 October 21, 2002
  #20 October 31, 2002Special Bulletin: The DC Snipers
  #21 November 5, 2002Was Wellstone Whacked?
  #22 November 13, 2002Special Election 2002 Edition
  #23 November 21, 2002
  #24 December 4, 2002
  #25 December 15, 2002
  #26 December 26, 2002Dave Speaks!
  #27 January 12, 2003Special 'Conspiracy Theory' Edition
  #28 January 23, 2003'Conspiracy Theory' Edition, Pt. II
  #29 February 2, 2003'Conspiracy Theory' Edition, Pt.III
  #30 February 26, 2003
  #31 March 17, 2003
  #32 March 20, 2003Special Bulletin: Fox News Goes to War
  #33 March 25, 2003The Myth of Omnipotence
  #34 April 3, 2003The Indecency Of It All
  #35 April 9, 2003Special Bulletin
  #36 April 14, 2003War Briefs
  #37 May 13, 2003Dave Goes Polynesian
  #38 June 4, 2003Of Myths and Monsters
  #39 June 12, 2003Wild, Wild West Edition
  #40 July 29, 2003
  #41 August 12, 2003
  #42 August 25, 2003
  #43 September 28, 2003
  The Collapsing Towers
  #44 October 21, 2003
  Hasta LaVista,California
  #45 November 18, 2003
  The DC Sniper Trial, Part I
  #46 December 2, 2003
  The DC Sniper Trial, Part II
  #47 December 8, 2003
  The DC Sniper Trial, PartIII
  #48 December 31, 2003
  The DC Sniper Trial, Part IV
  #49 January 30, 2004Chimp Gone Wild Edition!
  #50 February 16, 2004Janet Jackson's Breast Edition
  #51 March 1, 2004Gay Marriage Edition
  #52 March 13, 2004Cop vCIA
  #53 March 16, 2004More Cop vCIA
  #54 March 18, 2004More Cop vCIA: Ruppert Responds
  #55 March 19, 2004Who Is Behind the Peak Oil Scare?
  #56 March 24, 2004The Debate Continues (by proxy)
  #57 April 5, 2004
  #58 April 9, 2004And Now For Something Completely ...
  #59 April 13, 2004Oil News Briefs
  #60 June 9, 2004
  #61 July 28, 2004Girlie Men Edition
  #62 August 2, 2004Girlie Men Edition, Part II
  #63 August 9, 2004
  #64 August 17, 2004Whoa, Dude! Are We Peaking Yet?
  #65 August 25, 2004
  #66 September 2, 2004Peak Oil Meets TheWest NileVirus
  #67 September 15, 20049-11 Revisited, Act I
  #68 October 2, 20049-11 Revisited, Act II
  #69 October 27, 20049-11 Revisited, ActIII
  #70 October 12, 2004Beware the 'Peak Oil' Agenda
  #71 November 24, 2004
  #72 March 2, 2005He Coulda' Been a Contender!
  #73 October 23, 2005Katrina, Eugenics and 'Peak Oil,' Pt. 1
  #74 October 23, 2005Katrina, Eugenics and 'Peak Oil,' Pt. 2
  #75 November 2, 2005
  #76 December , 2005
  Year End Clearance Edition, Part 1
  #77 January 8 , 2006
  Year End Clearance Edition, Part 2
  #78 February 25, 2006
  Cheney's Got a Gun, Part 1
  #79 March 10, 2006
  Cheney's Got a Gun, Part 2#80 March 10, 2006
  Cheney's Got a Gun, Part 3#81 April 7, 2006
  "It Can't Happen Here" Edition#82 July 25, 2006
  Assorted Weirdness#83 August 11, 2006
  Oh Mikey ...#84 August 27, 2006
  Mike Ruppert's Harrowing, etc.#85 August 29, 2006
  Alien Nation Edition#86 November 4, 2006
  September 11 Revisited, Act IV, Part 1#87 November 4, 2006
  September 11 Revisited, Act IV, Part 2#88 November 10, 2006
  September 11 Revisited, Act IV, Part 3#89 November 21, 2006
  September 11 Revisited, Act IV, Part 4#90 December 20, 2006
  September 11 Revisited, Act IV, Part 5#91 July 4, 2007
  September 11 Revisited, Act IV, Part 6#92 February 15, 2008
Hedge Funds Are for Suckers - Businessweek
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  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 14:49
  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-11/why-hedge-funds-glory-days-may-be-gone-for-good
  At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, a group of famous hedge fund managers was made to stand before Congress like thieves in a stockade and defend their existence to an angry public. The gilded five included George Soros, co-founder of the Quantum Fund; James Simons of Renaissance Technologies; John Paulson of Paulson & Co.; Philip Falcone of Harbinger Capital; and Kenneth Griffin of Citadel. Each man had made hundreds of millions, or billions, of dollars in the preceding years through his own form of glorified gambling, and in some cases, the investors who had poured money into their hedge funds had done OK, too. They were brought to Washington to stand up for their industry and their paychecks, and to address the question of whether their business should be more tightly regulated. They all refused to apologize for their success. They appeared untouchable.
  What's happened since then is instructive. Soros, considered by some to be one of the greatest investors in history, announced in 2011 that he was returning most of his investors' money and converting his fund into a family office. Simons, a former mathematician and code cracker for the National Security Agency, retired from managing his funds in 2010. After several spectacular years, Paulson saw performance at his largest funds plummet, while Falcone reached a tentative settlement in May with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over claims that he'd borrowed money from his fund to pay his taxes, barring him from the industry for two years. Griffin recently scaled back his ambition of turning his firm into the next Goldman Sachs (GS) after his funds struggled to recover from huge losses in 2008.
  As a symbol of the state of the hedge fund industry, the humbling of these financial gods couldn't be more apt. Hedge funds may have gotten too big for their yachts, for their market, and for their own possibilities for success. After a decade as rock stars, hedge fund managers seem to be fading just as quickly as musicians do. Each day brings disappointing headlines about the returns generated by formerly highflying funds, from Paulson, whose Advantage Plus fund is up 3.4 percent this year, after losing 19 percent in 2012 and 51 percent in 2011, to Bridgewater Associates, the largest in the world.
  This reversal of fortunes comes at a time when one of the most successful traders of his time, Steven Cohen, founder of the $15 billion hedge fund firm SAC Capital Advisors, is at the center of a government investigation into insider trading. Two SAC portfolio managers, one current and one former, face criminal trials in November, and further charges from the Department of Justice and the SEC could come at any moment. The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to probe the company, and the government is weighing criminal and civil actions against SAC and Cohen. Cohen has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing, but the industry is on high alert for the possible downfall of one of its towering figures.
  Despite all the speculation and the loss of billions in investor capital, Cohen's flagship hedge fund managed to be the most profitable in the world in 2012, making $789.5 million in the first 10 months of the year, according to Bloomberg Markets. His competitors haven't fared as well. One thing hedge funds are supposed to do'--generate ''alpha,'' a macho term for risk-adjusted returns that surpass the overall market because of the skill of the investor'--is slipping further out of reach.According to a report by Goldman Sachs released in May, hedge fund performance lagged the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index by approximately 10 percentage points this year, although most fund managers still charged enormous fees in exchange for access to their brilliance. As of the end of June, hedge funds had gained just 1.4 percent for 2013 and have fallen behind the MSCI All Country World Index for five of the past seven years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This comes as the SEC passed a rule that will allow hedge funds to advertise to the public for the first time in 80 years, prompting a flurry of joke marketing slogans to appear on Twitter, such as ''Creating alpha since, well, mostly never'' (Barry Ritholtz) and ''Leave The Frontrunning To Us!'' (@IvanTheK).
  Hedge funds are built on the idea that a smarter guy (and they are almost all guys; only 16.8 percent of managers are women) with a better computer can make miracles possible by uncovering inefficiencies in the market or predicting the future. In pure dollar terms, there are more resources, advanced degrees, and computing firepower devoted to chasing this elusive goal than almost any other endeavor, and that may include fighting wars. Yet traders face the immutable fact that every second, each megabyte of information, blog post, one-line rumor, revenue estimate, or new product order from China has already been taken into account by the efficient market and reflected in a security's price. This means that trying to gain what traders call an ''edge,'' at least legitimately, is almost impossible. As the financial incentives on Wall Street have become enormous, so have the competition and pressure to gain an advantage at any cost.
  Few people will shed tears for an industry that has produced more than its fair share of billionaires'--some of whom, like Cohen, are notorious for their displays of wealth. Nevertheless, the decline of hedge funds has implications beyond Wall Street. The financial kingpins who profited most from hedge funds' golden age gained the ability to make influential political donations and to bend big banks to their will. In the U.S., hedge funds manage a significant portion of pension funds and university endowments. For investors who chased the colossal returns once promised, the downturn may well bring painful losses. But it could also be the beginning of a virtuous cycle. If it's going to survive, the industry may need to get smaller and a lot more modest.
  Hedge funds began as a small, almost sideline, service. They were the alternative investments for the wealthy, intended to perform differently than the overall market. ''Any idiot can make a big return by taking a big risk. You just buy the S&P, you lever up'--there's nothing clever about that,'' says Sebastian Mallaby, the author of More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite. ''What's clever is to have a return that's risk-adjusted.''
  This is what Alfred Winslow Jones, an Australian-born onetime financial journalist, had in mind in 1949 when he created a private investment partnership that was designed to be ''hedged'' against gyrations in the market. Jones borrowed shares, sold them short, and hoped to earn an offsetting profit on them if the market dropped and his long positions lost value.
  It didn't come without risks: Shorting exposes an investor to potentially limitless losses if a stock keeps rising, so regulators decided that only the most sophisticated investors should be doing it. Hedge funds would be allowed to try to make money almost any way they wanted, and charge whatever fees they liked, as long as they limited their investors to rich people who, in theory, could afford to lose whatever money they put in. It was a side bet.
  For a while, the funds were expected to produce steady, modest returns, in contrast to the wider swings of the market. In a 2011 paper that he updated this year, Roger Ibbotson, a finance professor at the Yale School of Management who runs a hedge fund called Zebra Capital Management, analyzed the performance of 8,400 hedge funds from 1995 to 2012; he concluded that on average they generated 2.5 percent of precious alpha. ''They have done a good job, historically,'' Ibbotson says. ''Now, I think it's overcapacity. I doubt that the alphas are completely gone, but alphas are going to be harder to get in the future than they have been in the past.''
  With each millionaire-minting stock market boom, the number of hedge funds has increased as the rich scour the market for new ways to get even richer. It's no coincidence that the first decade of the 21st century, when the wealthiest 0.1 percent became exponentially wealthier, marked the high-water mark for hedge funds. Now there are about 10,000 hedge funds managing $2.3 trillion. The pioneers, such as Cohen and Paulson, had learned that working at investment banks with their brutal hours and byzantine corporate cultures'--not to mention the fighting over bonuses every January'--was for suckers. Hedge funds offered would-be financial hotshots a faster and more glamorous path to obscene wealth.
  One of the most alluring aspects of the business vs. other sectors of Wall Street is what people in the tech world call ''scalability.'' Hedge fund managers could easily expand their annual bonuses from millions a year to tens of millions or more just by bringing in more investor money and making the fund larger, often with little extra work. Most hedge funds charge a management fee of 2 percent of assets, which is intended to cover expenses and salaries, as well as 20 percent of the profit generated by the fund at the end of the year. A fund managing $300 million would take $6 million in fees, plus its 20 percent cut; if the fund grew to $3 billion in assets, the management fee would jump to $60 million. If a fund of that size returned only 6 percent that year, it would generate $180 million in profit, $36 million of which the managers could keep. It quickly starts to look like a smart use of a Harvard degree.
  Yet this once hugely lucrative model has proven unsustainable. One chief investment officer at a $5 billion institution breaks down the typical hedge fund life cycle into four evolutionary stages. During the early period, when a fund is starting out, its managers are hungry, motivated, and often humble enough to know what they don't know. This tends to be the best time to put money in, but also the hardest, as the funds tend to be very small. Stage two occurs once the fund has achieved some success, when those making the decisions have gained some confidence but they aren't yet so well-known that the fund is too big or impossible to get into.
  Then comes stage three'--the sort of plateau before the fall'--when the fund gets ''hot'' and suddenly has to beat back investors, who tend to be drawn to flashy success stories like lightning bugs to an electric fence. Stage four occurs when the fund manager's name is spotted as a bidder for baseball teams or buyer of zillion-dollar Hamptons mansions. Most funds stop generating the returns they once did by this stage, as the manager becomes overconfident in his abilities and the fund too large to make anything that could be described as a nimble investing move. ''The bigger a fund gets, the more difficult it gets to maintain strong performance,'' says Jim Kyung-Soo Liew, assistant professor in finance at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. ''That's just because the number of opportunities is limited in terms of putting that much money to work.''
  Hedge funds have also been hurt by their success. Most of the advantages their investors once had'--from better information to far fewer people trying to do what they do'--have evaporated. In the easy, early days, there was less than $500 billion parked in a couple thousand private investment pools chasing the same inefficiencies in the market. That's when equities were traded in fractions rather than decimals and before the SEC adopted Regulation FD, which in 2000 tightened the spigot of information flowing between company executives and hungry traders.
  After 2000, the supposed ''smart'' money began paying expert network consultants'--company insiders who work as part-time advisers to Wall Street investors'--to give them the information they craved. The government has since cracked down on that practice, which in some cases led to illegal insider trading. The rise of supercharged computer trading means speed is one of the few ways left to gain an advantage.As their returns have fallen, the biggest hedge funds have started to seem more like glorified mutual funds for the wealthy, and those rich folks might start to take a harder look at whether they're getting their money's worth. This could be an encouraging development for the world economy, considering that hedge funds provided huge demand for the toxic mortgage derivatives that helped lead to the financial collapse of 2008. At the same time, the tens of billions that pension funds have plowed into funds such as Bridgewater's All Weather Fund'--down 8 percent for the year as of late June, according to Reuters, compared with a 10.3 percent rise in the S&P 500'--mean that the financial security of untold numbers of retirees could be threatened by a full-scale hedge fund meltdown.
  For the moment, that possibility seems remote. The age of the multibillionaire celebrity hedge fund manager may be drawing to a close, but the funds themselves can still serve a useful purpose for prudent investors looking to manage risk. Let the industry's recent underperformance serve as a reality check: No matter how many $100 million Picasso paintings they purchase, hedge fund moguls are not magicians. The sooner investors realize that, the better off they will be.
Chinese Woman Reportedly Electrocuted to Death by Apple's iPhone 5
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  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 14:35
  A 23-year-old Chinese woman has allegedly died from an electric shock when using Apple's iPhone 5 while it was being charged, her family members claim, according to media reports.
  The older sister of alleged victim Ma Ailun took to Sina Weibo, China's popular Twitter-like social network, over the weekend to demand an explanation from Apple and urged people not to use their phones while charging them.
  A Sina Tech report said that Apple has issued a statement expressing condolences to Ma's family over the unfortunate incident, and vowed to investigate the incident thoroughly. The company also said it would cooperate with authorities over the matter.
  Another report, this time from China Daily, said that local police confirmed Ma had died of electrocution, but have not concluded whether her phone played a part in causing the incident.
  Experts have noted that there is a risk in using any electrical device while it is being charged, according to a South China Morning Post report '-- be it a shaver or a phone. An expert in the report also cautioned that the exact circumstances of the incident are not clear, and it would not be suitable to jump to any conclusions at this stage.
  China is known for selling Apple products on the grey market, with the iPhone 5 landing in the country less than a week after Apple began selling it last year, and counterfeit iPhone 5 models had arrived by then too.
  Ma's sister mentioned on Weibo that the phone was bought last December and still under warranty, and the family has handed the phone over to authorities for investigation.
  Reports have said that Ma, a resident in the northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang, had been a flight attendant at China Southern Airlines, though she recently quit her job. Ma's sister on Weibo mentioned that she had been due to get married on August 18.
  We have reached out to Apple for comment and will update with any further details provided.
  Image Credit: Jean-Sebastien Evrard via AFP/Getty Images
Smith''Mundt Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 14:20
  The US Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (Public Law 80-402), popularly referred to as the Smith''Mundt Act, specifies the terms in which the United States government can engage global audiences, also known as public diplomacy.
  The act was first introduced as the Bloom Bill in December 1945 in the 79th Congress and subsequently passed by the 80th Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on January 27, 1948.
  History[edit]The legislation authorizes the U.S. State Department to communicate to audiences outside of the borders of the United States through broadcasting, face-to-face contacts, exchanges (including educational, cultural, and technical), online activities, the publishing of books, magazines, and other media of communication and engagement. Funding for these activities comes from other legislation passed by the U.S. Congress called appropriations.
  The legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs in October 1945 at the request of the State Department. It passed the committee onto the floor of the House of Representatives and became known as the Bloom Bill after the committee's chairman, Rep. Sol Bloom (D-NY). The purpose was to make permanent various information and exchange activities that began as early as a decade before, including the Voice of America radio broadcasts that began in 1942. The bill was to make permanent global engagement. On the cultural side, the so-called "slow" communications, it reintroduced cultural programming Bloom had attempted to pass the year before. On the "fast" side of communications, it would provide legislative approval for a new peacetime instrument of foreign policy.
  The shift from wartime to peacetime "propaganda" operations was not taken lightly by Congress, especially with fresh memories of President Woodrow Wilson's Committee for Public Information (CPI), President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Office of War Information (OWI), and the Nazi propaganda machine. But there were other, deeper concerns the Congress focused on.[according to whom?]
  Congress harbored significant reservations about empowering the State Department. The key issue was not whether US Government information activities should be known to the American public, but whether the State Department could be trusted to create, manage and disseminate these products. When the Bloom Bill (HR 4982) went to the House of Representatives Rules Committee in February 1946, committee Chairman Eugene Cox (D-GA) informed Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs William J. Benton that ten of the twelve committee members were against anything the State Department favored because of its "Communist infiltration and pro-Russian policy." That the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously reported the bill out was meaningless. Cox told Benton that the Foreign Affairs Committee was "a worthless committee consisting of worthless impotent Congressmen; it was a kind of ghetto of the House of Representatives."[1]
  Cox publicly characterized the State Department as "chock full of Reds" and "the lousiest outfit in town". The information component of the Bloom Bill was seen as a revitalization of the Office of War Information, for which many in Congress held contempt as a New Deal "transgression". The cultural component was held in greater disdain, which caused Benton to change the name of his office from the Office of Cultural and Public Affairs a year after it was created to the Office of Public Affairs.[2]
  Other comments were similarly tough. The ranking minority member of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Rep. John Taber (D-NY), called for a "house-cleaning" of "some folks" in the State Department to "keep only those people whose first loyalty is to the United States."[3] The FBI was also concerned over the ability of State to monitor and control participants in the exchange programs.[4]
  In July 1946, the Bloom Bill passed the House, only to be blocked in the Senate by Senator Taft. Taft never gave a reason for his action.
  On March 21, 1947, pre-Pearl Harbor isolationist and former teacher Representative Karl Mundt (R-SD) introduced H.R. 3342 at the request of the State Department. The State Department's information and exchange activities were still ongoing, although without authorization from the Congress. The authority was derived from Congressional appropriations legislation. In other words, the activities continued because they received money from Congress, which carried implicit authority but actual authority was still lacking. Co-sponsoring the Mundt bill in the Senate was Senator H. Alexander Smith (R-NJ). The stated purpose of the reintroduced legislation was not to curtail the overall information activities of the United States, but to raise the quality and volume of the government's information programs. As the State Department admitted to lax oversight due to personnel and budget constraints, Congress voiced its frustration and slashed State's information budget. This time, Taber said if the "drones, the loafers, and the incompetents" were weeded out, he would allow a few million dollars for international broadcasting.[5]
  Several significant leaders went to the House to testify in support of the bill, including Secretary of State George Marshall, Chief of Staff General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Under Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Secretary of Commerce W. Averell Harriman (formerly the Ambassador to Russia), and Ambassador to Russia Walter Bedell Smith. They agreed that it was "folly" to spend millions for foreign aid and relief without explaining America's aims.[6]
  Congress, in recommending passage of the bill, declared that "truth can be a powerful weapon." Congress further declared six principles were required for the legislation to be successful in action: tell the truth; explain the motives of the United States; bolster morale and extend hope; give a true and convincing picture of American life, methods, and ideals; combat misrepresentation and distortion; and aggressively interpret and support American foreign policy. As a Cold War measure, it was intended to counter and inoculate against propaganda from the Soviet Union and Communist organizations primarily in Europe. The principal purpose of the legislation was to engage in a global struggle for minds and wills, a phrase used by Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
  It established the programming mandate that still serves as the foundation for U.S. overseas information and cultural programs at the Department of State.
  Since 1972, the act prohibits domestic access to information intended for foreign audiences. Prior to this, the State Department and then the USIA beginning in 1952, were prohibited from disseminating information intended for foreign audiences, with the express intent that Congress, the American media, or academia would be the distributors of such information.[7]
  The act expanded the Fulbright Program to include countries other than those Lend-Lease countries originally specified in the original 1946 amendment to the Surplus Property Act of 1944. It also facilitated the establishment of bi-national centers around the world to coordinate international exchanges between the countries.[8]
  Amendments to the Act in 1972 and 1985 reflected the Cold War's departure from the ''struggle for minds and wills'' (a phrase used by both President Truman and President Eisenhower) to a balance of power based on ''traditional diplomacy'' and counting missiles, bombers, and tanks. As a result, Senator J. William Fulbright argued America's international broadcasting should take its ''rightful place in the graveyard of Cold War relics''.[9] A decade later, Senator Edward Zorinsky (D-NE) successfully blocked taxpayer access to USIA materials, even through Freedom of Information Act requests, as he compared the USIA to an organ of Soviet propaganda.[10]
  Provisions[edit]There are three key restrictions on the U.S. State Department in the Smith''Mundt Act.
  The first and most well-known restriction was originally a prohibition on domestic dissemination of materials intended for foreign audiences by the State Department. The original intent was the Congress, the media and academia would be the filter to bring inside what the State Department said overseas. In 1967, the Advisory Commission on Information (later renamed the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy) recommended the de facto prohibition on domestic distribution be removed noting that there is "nothing in the statues specifically forbidding making USIA materials available to American audiences. Rather, what began as caution has hardened into policy."[5] This changed in 1972 when Senator J. William Fulbright (D-AR) argued that America's international broadcasting should take its "rightful place in the graveyard of Cold War relics" as he successfully amended the Act to read that any program material "shall not be disseminated" within the U.S. and that material shall be available "for examination only" to the media, academia, and Congress (P.L. 95-352 Sec. 204). In 1985, Senator Edward Zorinsky (D-NE) declared USIA would be no different than an organ of Soviet propaganda if its products were to be available domestically.[6] The Act was amended to read: "no program material prepared by the United States Information Agency shall be distributed within the United States" (P.L. 99-93). At least one court interpreted this language to mean USIA products were to be exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests. In response, the Act was amended again in 1990 to permit domestic distribution of program material "12 years after the initial dissemination" abroad (P.L. 101-246 Sec 202).
  The second and third provisions were of greater interest to the Congress as they answered critical concerns about a deep-pocket government engaging domestic audiences. Added to the Bloom Bill, the predecessor to the Smith-Mundt Bill in June 1946 by Representative John M. Vorys (R-OH) "to remove the stigma of propaganda" and address the principal objections to the information activities the Congress intended to authorize. These provisions remain unamended and were the real prophylactic to address concerns the U.S. Government would create Nazi-style propaganda or resurrect President Wilson's CPI-style activities. The amendment said the information activities should only be conducted if needed to supplement international information dissemination of private agencies; that the State Department was not to acquire a monopoly of broadcasting or any other information medium; and that private sector leaders should be invited to review and advise the State Department in this work.
  Section 1437 of the Act requires the State Department to maximize its use of "private agencies." Section 1462 requires "reducing Government information activities whenever corresponding private information dissemination is found to be adequate" and prohibits the State Department from having monopoly in any "medium of information" (a prescient phrase). Combined, these provide not only protection against government's domination of domestic discourse, but interestingly a "sunset clause" for governmental activities that Rep. Karl Mundt (R-SD) and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs William Benton stated clearly: as private media stood up, government media would stand down.
  Excerpt[edit]Section 501(a) of the Act (care of the Voice of America website) provides that
  "information produced by VOA for audiences outside the United States shall not be disseminated within the United States '... but, on request, shall be available in the English language at VOA, at all reasonable times following its release as information abroad, for examination only by representatives of United States press associations, newspapers, magazines, radio systems, and stations, and by research students and scholars, and, on request, shall be made available for examination only to Members of Congress."
  "This means that VOA is forbidden to broadcast within the United States." In reality, of course, any American with a shortwave receiver or an Internet connection can listen to VOA. That's incidental, however. VOA cannot direct or intend its programs to be "for" Americans. This distinction is often lost on experts who see the letter of the law but with no real understanding of the media. George W. Bush-era State Department official James K. Glassman has called for directing VOA at American audiences.
  Entities Covered by the Act[edit]The following are administered by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an agency of the US government.
  No other department or agency of the US government is covered by the Smith''Mundt Act. The United States Agency for International Development and Millennium Challenge Corporation have said they are not sure whether they are covered.[7].
  Recent Interpretations[edit]A 1998 U.S. Court of Appeals ruling indicated that this act exempts Voice of America from releasing transcripts in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
  The act does not prohibit the entirety of the Executive Branch from distributing information at home, just the State Department and Broadcasting Board of Governors. The result of the amendments to the Act means that most US taxpayers do not know how the VOA (and its successor agencies) operate or what their programming content was, as was noted in 1967 by the Stanton Commission report noted above. The act both insulates the American public from being targeted by the government-sponsored information and broadcasting which is directed at audiences beyond America's borders. Some "experts" claim that the U.S. is "the only industrialized democracy to do this, and creates mistrust of the same activities in these audiences who increasingly question why Americans cannot read or hear the same material" (previous Wikipedia entry on this topic).
  References[edit]Voice of America News's online press kit, retrieved March 22, 2005rcfp.org media update on the Court of Appeals ruling, Feb 23, 1998Kenneth Osgood, Total Cold War: Eisenhower's Secret Propaganda Battle at Home and Abroad, (University Press of Kansas, 2005) p. 37.^Ninkovich, Frank (1981). The diplomacy of ideas : U.S. foreign policy and cultural relations, 1938-1950. Cambridge University Press. p. 122. ISBN 0-521-23241-4. ^Ninkovich, Frank (1981). The diplomacy of ideas : U.S. foreign policy and cultural relations, 1938-1950. Cambridge University Press. p. 122. ISBN 0-521-23241-4. ^Morris, John (April 11, 1946). "Seek to Halt Fund for Federal News: Republicans Say Department of State Lacks Authority to Use $10,000,000 Would Kill $10,000,000 Fund Harriman Testimony Secret". The New York Times. ^Ninkovich, Frank (1981). The diplomacy of ideas : U.S. foreign policy and cultural relations, 1938-1950. Cambridge University Press. p. 147. ISBN 0-521-23241-4. ^"The American Twang". Time MagazineXLIX (21). May 26, 1947. ^"The American Twang". Time MagazineXLIX (21). May 26, 1947. ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]External links[edit]
U.S. 'info ops' programs in Afghanistan, Iraq are dubious and costly '' USATODAY.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 14:20
  WASHINGTON '' As the Pentagon has sought to sell wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to often-hostile populations there, it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on poorly tracked marketing and propaganda campaigns that military leaders like to call "information operations," the modern equivalent of psychological warfare.
  By Sgt. Joshua T. Greenfield, Marine Corps
  Marine Corps Cpl. William Aider releases a batch of leaflets April 3 while aboard an aircraft flying over Afghanistan.
  By Sgt. Joshua T. Greenfield, Marine Corps
  Marine Corps Cpl. William Aider releases a batch of leaflets April 3 while aboard an aircraft flying over Afghanistan.
  From 2005 to 2009, such spending rose from $9 million to $580 million a year mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon and congressional records show. Last year, spending dropped to $202 million as the Iraq War wrapped up. A USA TODAY investigation, based on dozens of interviews and a series of internal military reports, shows that Pentagon officials have little proof the programs work and they won't make public where the money goes. In Iraq alone, more than $173 million was paid to what were identified only as "miscellaneous foreign contractors."
  "What we do as I.O. is almost gimmicky," says Army Col. Paul Yingling, who served three tours in Iraq between 2003 and 2009, including as an information operations specialist. "Doing posters, fliers or radio ads. These things are unserious."
  Indeed, information operations are no panacea in crises such as the current showdown in Afghanistan after revelations that U.S. forces burned copies of the Quran, the Islamic holy book. NATO and Afghan forces have had little success in calming the country after a week of riots, attacks on U.S. and NATO forces and even a suicide car bombing.
  The Pentagon's counterinsurgency manual '-- the guide to U.S. military policy in Afghanistan '-- urges commanders to "aggressively use" information operations to win over local populations and to "admit mistakes (or actions perceived as mistakes) quickly."
  President Obama has apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called the Quran burning a mistake. While the riots have subsided, it's unclear whether even the best information operations program could have stopped the growing rage over this incident.
  As to whether the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in Afghanistan and Iraq have been worth the U.S. investment, the USA TODAY investigation found:
  ISAF
  Leaflets use imagery and reinforcement messages to shape attitudes in Afghanistan.
  'The Pentagon's top information operations contractor in Afghanistan, California-based Leonie Industries, was started in 2004 by a brother-and-sister pair with no apparent experience working with the military. Camille Chidiac and Rema Dupont have more than $4 million in liens on their homes and property for failure to pay federal income taxes. Leonie Industries has Army contracts that could surpass $130 million; the Army has already paid them more than $90 million.
  'Contractors like Leonie plant unattributed broadcasts, plaster the countryside in war zones with billboards, stage concerts and drop leaflets with the intent of bending the will of civilians and combatants to U.S. aims. Contracts show that the companies often measure the effects of the propaganda they produce, essentially grading their own work, although the military reviews the metrics.
  'In Afghanistan, the Pentagon continues to create at least 11 hours a day of what it calls "unattributed" radio and television programming. Information operators seek to tell Afghans who their real enemies are, why Taliban propaganda was wrong, what the Afghan government is accomplishing, how non-governmental organizations are helping them, and why they should serve in the security forces. Whether that's all worthwhile is open to debate.
  Karl Eikenberry, the former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and a retired Army three-star general who led forces there, wrote the State Department in July 2009 to say that information operations campaigns that "focus predominantly on negative enemy operations may be counterproductive" because they emphasize the Taliban's success, scare the Afghan people and show that the Afghan government can't protect them.
  In response to questions from USA TODAY, a senior Pentagon official acknowledged there have been abuses involving the program. "There has been such a desperate need to address communications vacuums that sometimes there has not been the proper coordination between thinking ahead what the mission is and the money that you apply to it," said the official familiar with the program who insisted on remaining anonymous to speak candidly.
  Information operations have borne fruit in the months prior to the Quran incident, says Rear Adm. Hal Pittman who recently completed a tour in Afghanistan overseeing them. He pointed to surveys showing 90% of Afghans view their Army positively and 80% approve of national police.
  "That's kind of the best measure of the effectiveness of whether or not these communication programs that we have in place are able to move the needle, so to speak," Pittman says.
  There is little way for anyone without a secret or top secret security clearance to know how well the programs are working in places such as Afghanistan. A Pentagon inspector general report on information operations produced last March is classified.
  Leonie Industries
  From the beginning of the Pentagon's information operations programs, military leaders have called for a dedicated career force specializing in that work. That need was detailed in a November 2005 Pentagon directive. By January 2011, little had happened, and then-Defense secretary Robert Gates repeated that desire in another military-wide memorandum.
  "In their communications with me, Combatant Commanders continue to stress the lack of adequately trained I.O. personnel," Gates wrote. "It is imperative to recruit, train, educate and properly track these individuals in order to provide the best possible resources to the war-fighter."
  Untested was a fair description of Camille Chidiac, who's now 37, and Rema Dupont, now 46, when they started Leonie Industries in August 2004. Chidiac worked as an assistant director on a series of low-budget, direct-to-video movies, while his sister Dupont had been in the advertising business. Chidiac and Dupont declined requests for interviews, instead delegating a lawyer and spokesmen to answer questions from USA TODAY.
  Dupont and Chidiac's first known military work came as part of a team of subcontractors working for SYColeman, a Virginia-based company running the Iraqi adviser task force (IQATF), which recruited local Iraqis and exiles to help spread pro-U.S. and coalition messages among the Iraqi public and share information with the military, according to Dupont and documents filed in two federal lawsuits.
  By 2006, Chidiac and Dupont had each bought homes worth more than $2 million on the west side of Los Angeles. They also fell behind on their federal income taxes, according to IRS and California real estate records. By early 2011, liens for more than $4 million in unpaid federal taxes had been placed on both of their homes.
  Both Chidiac and Dupont, through spokesmen, said they were in the process of repaying their back taxes and that their failure to pay their federal taxes for 2004, 2005 and 2006 stemmed from the difficulties surrounding the startup of a new business and payment problems involving their business partners.
  Their failure to pay taxes shows the lack of accountability in Pentagon contracting, said Rep. John Tierney of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the National Security oversight subcommittee, on Tuesday. "This must be fully investigated," he said, adding that "families and businesses are too pressed at home to '... have contracts rewarded to tax dodgers."
  The Army, which has granted Leonie at least $120 million in contracts in recent years, has both chided and praised the company for its work. Its employees have received commendations from the Army, and an Army contracting officer has given the company overall good grades, according to documents.
  However, the Army also has had problems with Leonie Industries in Afghanistan. The company did not pay for heat for its Afghan employees or provide for their medical care in the cold and increasingly dangerous war zone. Army records obtained through the federal Freedom of Information Act reveal that the Army threatened to drop Leonie's contract unless it fixed the problems, which the company eventually did.
  "This failure to pay local Afghan vendors puts the mission and your employees at risk," Barbara Voss, an Army contracting officer wrote Leonie officials on Nov. 25, 2009.
  Leonie responded, and the government was satisfied. Since then, Voss has filed reports saying Leonie Industries' "performance and product is (sic) highly valued by the customer," according a July 2011 assessment.
  More money, more scrutiny
  The Army defines information operations to include psychological operations, deception, protecting vital data, electronic warfare, and computer network defense and attack. Over the past four years, the military has spent an average of $96 million annually for information operations in Afghanistan. Overall, spending peaked in 2009 at $580 million, dropped to $355 million in 2011 and $202 million in 2012, Pentagon data show.
  Psychological operations, rebranded Military Information Support Operations in 2010, have accounted for the bulk of the spending increases since 2005, according to the Pentagon. It has also attracted congressional scrutiny.
  In the federal spending bill for 2012 passed in December, Congress told the Pentagon it needed to detail the various information operations program it had and how much money it wanted to spend on them. That's been a problem for the Pentagon from the beginning.
  "The Department can not currently identify what is spent on I.O. or even on specific core capabilities," said the Pentagon's October 2003 Information Operations Roadmap.
  Authorized by then-Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the plan was meant to guide the military's far-flung set of information operations programs across the globe. But an analysis of Pentagon spending shows that hasn't happened.
  Money for the programs comes from a series of difficult-to-track accounts and goes to contractors whose identities are shielded from the U.S. public and who are known to only a small group of Pentagon insiders.
  For example, the Pentagon used 172 different "contract vehicles" to provide information operations in Iraq between 2006 and 2008, according to a report by the Defense Department's inspector general in September 2009. The total spent was $270 million. One payment of $34.5 million in September 2008 was for a strategic media campaign. No documents could be found to show where the money was spent, who spent it and whether it accomplished the military's objectives.
  Military officials acknowledge that spending has grown '-- "exponentially" for some information operations '-- at times without adequate oversight, though they maintain that has changed.
  "The reason there has been growth is because the commanders in the field have realized, 'Holy cow, we've got to operate in this space,' " said a second senior Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "How do we do translations? How do we do assessments? How do we do polling and focus groups? How do we gauge whether we're being effective or not, and how do we evaluate that? And then use that data to calibrate our continued engagement."
  Selling virtues instead of products
  Information operations work like most giant marketing campaigns, as they use a combination of radio and TV broadcasts, leaflets, newspapers and entertainment to drive home their message. Instead of selling soap or cereal, information operators are selling Iraqi or Afghan citizens on the virtues of their governments, the need to report roadside bombs or how to switch sides from the insurgency to the government.
  U.S. military and government reports obtained by WikiLeaks show that information operations campaigns often work in coordination with intelligence operations. After improvised explosive device (IED) explosions or sniper attacks, reports show, information operators would flood an area with anti-insurgent messages while intelligence operatives would fan into neighborhoods to gather information.
  After an attack on a military convoy in Iraq in April 2009, Iraqis were told by information operators that "the true enemies of your nation are the criminals that continue to attack the brave security forces and soldiers protecting you and your families," a military report obtained via WikiLeaks shows. The message also asked citizens to call a tip line to report "any information that can lead to the arrest and conviction of these criminals."
  In Afghanistan, information operations campaigns are often used to bolster local officials, who are viewed with suspicion by many Afghans because of their ties to corruption. A Feb. 10, 2010, cable from then-ambassador Eikenberry recounted a meeting between State Department and military officials with Abdul Raziq, an Afghan border police official.
  Raziq, Eikenberry wrote, said he wanted to improve conditions on the Afghan-Pakistani border in Kandahar province and fight corruption. Coalition officials proposed a campaign including local radio spots, billboards and "if credible, the longer-term encouragement of stories in the international media on the 'reform' of Raziq, the so-called 'Master of Spin.' "
  Retired rear admiral Greg Smith, who oversaw all communications programs in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2011 and prior to that in Iraq, says commanders have the resources they need to "put out product, real time," either on their own or through a contractor. They then pay Afghan media outlets to deliver the message, he says.
  In 2011, Pittman succeeded Smith and acknowledged that linking changes in behavior to a specific radio, TV or leaflet campaign has been difficult. But it has improved in the past seven months, he says. Contractors poll 13,000 Afghans from across the country every three months, and military officials analyze the results, he says.
  "It's still difficult because communications is not cause and effect," Pittman says. "Considering that a tremendous amount of developmental work has been done to create measures of effectiveness that actually measure the efforts and can show an impact through polling."
  Contract documents for at least a dozen information operations programs reviewed by USA TODAY show that the successful performance of a contract is measured more by output than effectiveness.
  "How many messages were produced, how many leaflets were distributed?" Yingling says. "Those are variables that we can turn up and down with money. But that doesn't measure anything in the host-nation culture."
  If the government does try to see whether a campaign actually works, military contract records show, it usually relies on the contractor to review itself, which is an inherent conflict of interest.
  Yingling learned as a battalion commander in Iraq that the most effective information operations is identifying key community leaders and convincing them that they and the United States have shared interests. He cites Col. H.R. McMaster's work in 2005 taming Tal Afar, the northern Iraqi city that served as an early example of an effective counterinsurgency strategy.
  "We're paying a lot of money to contractors to plant or get stories into the news, or influence local broadcasts," Yingling says. "Is that how critical decision makers (among the Iraqi or Afghan populations) are making their decisions? No."
  Hiding the messenger
  Although hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars have been spent on information operations, the hand of the United States is rarely apparent. And that's how the Pentagon wants it.
  In Afghanistan, the military is "cranking out over 1,000 hours of TV and radio programming each quarter in both attributed and unattributed fashion," according to an April newsletter published by the command in Kabul. "Unattributed '-- meaning that some of our message can't be traced to the coalition, hence no preconceived prejudices resonate with the populace."
  J.P. Morgan, the senior information operations adviser, wrote that the military also sponsored "many billboards across Afghanistan as well as posters" and "The Psyop Radio Network."
  "The honest truth is that because we are outsiders and not Muslim, we have a lower believability and credibility rating than people within the Afghan government or Afghans," Pittman says. If possible, he says, the military prefers to send messages through Afghans or non-governmental organizations that work in Afghanistan.
  Beyond leaflets and radio and TV shows, the military also pays for concerts to welcome home Afghan security forces from deployments, says Mike Holmes, a former Army information operations officer who helped plan the performances. The military picked performers who would sing nationalist themes to help build morale.
  "We didn't lie," Holmes says. "We didn't say it was an Afghan production. But we didn't play it up as the brainchild of a couple of Americans sitting in an office somewhere."
  Smith says the military generally produces the scripts for messages and manages the operation, but contractors produce the finished radio or television spots.
  He estimates that 70% of the spots are broadcast on radio, 25% on television and the rest in print. While the messages come from the U.S. military, the voices that deliver them do not, Smith says.
  "All of the voices, if you will, are local voices," he says. "There was never, as I recall, anything other than a local voice, somebody who people knew. They're hearing somebody they know and trust."
Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 14:18
  An amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill, BuzzFeed has learned.
  The amendment would ''strike the current ban on domestic dissemination'' of propaganda material produced by the State Department and the independent Broadcasting Board of Governors, according to the summary of the law at the House Rules Committee's official website.
  The tweak to the bill would essentially neutralize two previous acts'--the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act in 1987'--that had been passed to protect U.S. audiences from our own government's misinformation campaigns.
  The bi-partisan amendment is sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry from Texas and Rep. Adam Smith from Washington State.
  In a little noticed press release earlier in the week '-- buried beneath the other high-profile issues in the $642 billion defense bill, including indefinite detention and a prohibition on gay marriage at military installations '-- Thornberry warned that in the Internet age, the current law ''ties the hands of America's diplomatic officials, military, and others by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible way.''
  The bill's supporters say the informational material used overseas to influence foreign audiences is too good to not use at home, and that new techniques are needed to help fight Al-Qaeda, a borderless enemy whose own propaganda reaches Americans online.
  Critics of the bill say there are ways to keep America safe without turning the massive information operations apparatus within the federal government against American citizens.
  ''Clearly there are ways to modernize for the information age without wiping out the distinction between domestic and foreign audiences,'' says Michael Shank, Vice President at the Institute for Economics and Peace in Washington D.C. ''That Reps Adam Smith and Mac Thornberry want to roll back protections put in place by previously-serving Senators '' who, in their wisdom, ensured limits to taxpayer''funded propaganda promulgated by the US government '' is disconcerting and dangerous.''
  ''I just don't want to see something this significant '' whatever the pros and cons '' go through without anyone noticing,'''' says one source on the Hill, who is disturbed by the law. According to this source, the law would allow ''U.S. propaganda intended to influence foreign audiences to be used on the domestic population.''
  The new law would give sweeping powers to the government to push television, radio, newspaper, and social media onto the U.S. public. ''It removes the protection for Americans,'' says a Pentagon official who is concerned about the law. ''It removes oversight from the people who want to put out this information. There are no checks and balances. No one knows if the information is accurate, partially accurate, or entirely false.''
  According to this official, ''senior public affairs'' officers within the Department of Defense want to ''get rid'' of Smith-Mundt and other restrictions because it prevents information activities designed to prop up unpopular policies'--like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Critics of the bill point out that there was rigorous debate when Smith Mundt passed, and the fact that this is so ''under the radar,'' as the Pentagon official puts it, is troubling.
  The Pentagon spends some $4 billion a year to sway public opinion already, and it was recently revealed by USA Today the DoD spent $202 million on information operations in Iraq and Afghanistan last year.
  In an apparent retaliation to the USA Today investigation, the two reporters working on the story appear to have been targeted by Pentagon contractors, who created fake Facebook pages and Twitter accounts in an attempt to discredit them.
  (In fact, a second amendment to the authorization bill '-- in reaction to the USA Today report '-- seeks cuts to the Pentagon's propaganda budget overseas, while this amendment will make it easier for the propaganda to spread at home.)
  The evaporation of Smith-Mundt and other provisions to safeguard U.S. citizens against government propaganda campaigns is part of a larger trend within the diplomatic and military establishment.
  In December, the Pentagon used software to monitor the Twitter debate over Bradley Manning's pre-trial hearing; another program being developed by the Pentagon would design software to create ''sock puppets'' on social media outlets; and, last year, General William Caldwell, deployed an information operations team under his command that had been trained in psychological operations to influence visiting American politicians to Kabul.
  A U.S. Army whistleblower, Lieutenant Col. Daniel Davis, noted recently in his scathing 84-page unclassified report on Afghanistan that there remains a strong desire within the defense establishment ''to enable Public Affairs officers to influence American public opinion when they deem it necessary to ''protect a key friendly center of gravity, to wit US national will,'' he wrote, quoting a well-regarded general.
  The defense bill passed the House Friday afternoon.
  CORRECTION: The amendment under consideration would not apply to the Department of Defense, though the it is attached to a defense authorization bill.
U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News To Americans | The Cable
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 14:17
  For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S.government's mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to Americanaudiences. But on July 2, that came silently to an end with the implementationof a new reform passed in January. The result: an unleashing of thousands of hoursper week of government-funded radio and TV programs for domestic U.S.consumption in a reform initially criticized as a green light for U.S. domesticpropaganda efforts. So what just happened?
  Until this month, a vast ocean of U.S. programming produced bythe Broadcasting Board of Governors such as Voice of America, Radio FreeEurope/Radio Liberty and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks could only beviewed or listened to at broadcast quality in foreign countries. Theprogramming varies in tone and quality, but its breadth is vast: It's viewed inmore than 100 countries in 61 languages. The topics covered include human rightsabuses in Iran; self-immolation in Tibet; human trafficking across Asia; andon-the-ground reporting in Egypt and Iraq.
  The restriction of these broadcasts was due to the Smith-MundtAct, a long standing piece of legislation that has been amended numerous timesover the years, perhaps most consequentially by Arkansas Senator J. WilliamFulbright. In the 70s, Fulbright was no friend of VOA and Radio Free Europe,and moved to restrict them from domestic distribution, saying they "should be given the opportunityto take their rightful place in the graveyard of Cold War relics." Fulbright'samendment to Smith-Mundt was bolstered in 1985 by Nebraska Senator Edward Zorinskywho argued that such "propaganda" should be kept out of America as to distinguish the U.S. "from the Soviet Unionwhere domestic propaganda is a principal government activity."
  Zorinsky and Fulbright sold their amendments on sensiblerhetoric: American taxpayers shouldn't be funding propaganda for Americanaudiences. So did Congress just tear down the American public's last defenseagainst domestic propaganda?
  BBG spokeswoman Lynne Weil insists BBG is not a propagandaoutlet, and its flagship services such as VOA "present fair and accurate news."
  "They don't shy away from stories that don't shed the bestlight on the United States," she told TheCable. She pointed to the charters of VOA and RFE: "Our journalistsprovide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible,discussion, and open debate."
  A former U.S. government source with knowledge of the BBG saysthe organization is no Pravda, but itdoes advance U.S. interests in more subtle ways. In Somalia, for instance, VOAserves as counterprogramming to outlets peddling anti-American or jihadistsentiment. "Somalis have three options for news," the source said, "word ofmouth, Al-Shabaab or VOA Somalia."
  This partially explains the push to allow BBG broadcasts onlocal radio stations in the United States. The agency wants to reach diasporacommunities, such as St. Paul Minnesota's significant Somali expat community. "Those people can getAl-Shabaab, they can get Russia Today, but they couldn't get access to theirtaxpayer-funded news sources like VOA Somalia," the source said. "It wassilly."
  Lynne added that the reform has a transparency benefit as well."Now Americans will be able to know more about what they are paying for withtheir tax dollars - greater transparency is a win-win for all involved," she said.And so with that we have the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, whichpassed as part of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, and went intoeffect this month.
  But if anyone needed a reminder of the dangers of domesticpropaganda efforts, the past 12 months provided ample reasons. Last year, two USA Today journalists were ensnared in a propaganda campaign afterreporting about millions of dollars in back taxes owed by the Pentagon's toppropaganda contractor in Afghanistan. Eventually, one of the co-owners of thefirm confessed to creating phony websites andTwitter accounts to smear the journalists anonymously. Additionally, just thismonth, The Washington Post exposed a counter propaganda program by the Pentagonthat recommended posting comments on a U.S. website run by a Somali expat withreaders opposing Al-Shabaab. "Today, the military is more focused onmanipulating news and commentary on the Internet, especially social media, byposting material and images without necessarily claiming ownership," reported The Post.
  But for BBG officials, the references to Pentagon propagandaefforts are nauseating, particularly because the Smith-Mundt Act never hadanything to do with regulating the Pentagon, a fact that was misunderstood inmedia reports in the run-up to the passage of new Smith-Mundt reforms inJanuary.
  One example included a report by the late Buzzfeed reporter MichaelHastings, who suggested that the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act would open thedoor to Pentagon propaganda of U.S. audiences. In fact, as amended in 1987, the act only covers portions of the State Departmentengaged in public diplomacy abroad (i.e. the public diplomacy section of the"R" bureau, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors.)
  But the news circulated regardless, much to the displeasure ofRep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), a sponsor of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of2012. "To me, it's a fascinating case study in how one blogger was prettysloppy, not understanding the issue and then it got picked up by Politico's Playbook, and you had onelevel of sloppiness on top of another," Thornberry toldThe Cable last May. "And once something sensational gets out there,it just spreads like wildfire."
  That of course doesn't leave the BBG off the hook if itscontent smacks of agitprop. But now that its materials are allowed to bebroadcast by local radio stations and TV networks, they won't be a completemystery to Americans. "Previously, the legislation had the effect of cloudingand hiding this stuff," the former U.S. official told The Cable. "Now we'll have a better sense: Gee some of this stuffis really good. Or gee some of this stuff is really bad. At least we'll know now."
Florida Accidentally Banned All Computers, Smart Phones In The State Through Internet Cafe Ban: Lawsuit
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 14:08
  When Florida lawmakers recently voted to ban all Internet cafes, they worded the bill so poorly that they effectively outlawed every computer in the state, according to a recent lawsuit.
  In April Florida Governor Rick Scott approved a ban on slot machines and Internet cafes after a charity tied to Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll was shut down on suspicion of being an Internet gambling front -- forcing Carroll, who had consulted with the charity, to resign.
  Florida's 1,000 Internet cafes were shut down immediately, including Miami-Dade's Incredible Investments, LLC, a caf(C) that provides online services to migrant workers, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
  The owner, Consuelo Zapata, is now suing the state after her legal team found that the ban was so hastily worded that it can be applied to any computer or device connected to the Internet, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Miami Herald.
  The ban defines illegal slot machines as any "system or network of devices" that may be used in a game of chance.
  And that broad wording can be applied to any number of devices, according to the Miami law firm of Kluger, Kaplan, Silverman, Katzen & Levine, who worked with constitutional law attorney and Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz.
  The suit maintains that the ban was essentially passed "in a frenzy fueled by distorted judgment in the wake of a scandal that included the Lieutenant Governor's resignation" and declares it unconstitutional.
  Read the full complaint here.
  Click below for other new Florida laws:
  Death Penalty Sped UpThe Timely Justice Act requires governors "to sign death warrants 30 days after the Florida Supreme Court certifies that an inmate has exhausted all legal appeals. Once a death warrant is signed, the new law requires the state to execute the defendant within six months." reports the Tampa Bay Times. Critics say it violates convicts' constitutional rights to due process and equal protection. It is now being challenged in the state Supreme Court.
  Bongs BannedFlorida head shop proprietors found selling pipes, bongs, and bowls, etc. will be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor; any subsequent violation will result in a third-degree felony charge, in which they lose the right to vote. But the key wording is "knowingly and willfully," meaning as long as everyone doesn't make illicit drug use reference, sales of pipes, bongs, and bowls can continue in shops that make at least 75 percent of their revenue from tobacco products.
  Police Use Of Drones RestrictedMiami-Dade Police, the only Florida agency to own unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are now restricted to using drones only with a search warrant or when they can prove ''imminent danger.''
  Cities And Counties Cannot Pass Mandatory Sick Leave LawsThere is now a state law that overrides any sick leave ordinance, guaranteeing employees earned paid days off for illness, passed on the local level.
  Slow Drivers FinedIt is now easier for law enforcement to fine slow drivers traveling in the left-hand lanes as a new law goes into effect ticketing those traveling more than 10 mph under the speed limit.
  Craft Distilleries May Now Sell Booze On-SiteThe state's craft distilleries now have the right to sell locally made vodka, rum, and whiskey to the public directly -- at a maximum of two bottle a year per customer. For a list of local craft distilleries, click here.
  Internet Cafes BannedUp to 1,000 strip-mall parlors where people can play slot-like computer games are now illegal as the state attempts to crack down on illegal gambling fronts. See Miami police destroy "maquinitas" -- or slot machines earlier this year in this post.
  Voluntary Mental Ill Patients Banned From Buying GunsIt is now illegal for anyone who has voluntarily committed him or herself for treatment for mental illness to buy a firearm in Florida.
  Dyeing Young Rabbits, Birds Now IllegalA new law prohibits turning any baby chicks into real life peeps by dyeing them artificial colors. The law also bans coloring rabbits under 12 weeks old.
The 5 Towns Jewish Times >> Counterterrorism Expert Advises EU Parliament to Name Hezbollah as Terrorists
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 13:50
  A US counter-terrorism and intelligence expert called for Hezbollah to be branded as an international terror organization, in an address to the EU parliament on Tuesday.
  The testimony referred to the Bulgarian investigation into the July 2012 bus bombing in Burgas and a Cypriot case involving a plan to blow up Israeli tour buses and whether or not to proscribe the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
  ''The two cases present the most compelling case for a European designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist group than ever before,'' Matthew Levitt, Director of The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence told EU parliamentarians.
  ''The Bulgarian investigation determined that the military wing of Hezbollah was behind the Burgas bombing that left six dead and described a sophisticated Hezbollah plot led by a cell that included Canadian and Australian citizens. Recently, some have questioned the strength of the evidence accumulated by investigators from Bulgaria, Europol, and beyond, but based on my own interviews in Washington and in several European capitals, including Sofia, such doubts are wildly misplaced,'' Levitt said.
  ''Moreover, under the EU's own threshold for such designations, laid out in Common Position 931 (CP 931), the statement of a 'competent authority' such as the Bulgarian Interior Minister on February 5, 2013, and the confirmation of that position by the Bulgarian Foreign Minister on June 12, 2013, are both perfectly suitable listing criteria,'' he continued.
  ''Far more evidence of Hezbollah's terrorist activities exists beyond the Burgas bombing. Even as officials around the world digested the findings of Bulgarian investigators, they were hit with yet an additional source of damning evidence exposing Hezbollah activities in Europe when the trial of another Hezbollah operative '-- a European citizen '-- concluded on March 21 in Cyprus. The Cypriot court convicted Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, a Swedish-Lebanese citizen arrested just days before the Burgas bombing, on charges of planning attacks against Israeli tourists. Taken together, the two cases present the most compelling case for a European designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist group than ever before,'' Levitt concluded.
  '...read moreSource: The Algemeiner
Huma Abedin Makes First Appearance on the Campaign Trail | Politicker
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 13:45
  Huma Abedin and her husband, Anthony Weiner, on the campaign trail Sunday. (Photo: Jill Colvin)
  Anthony Weiner's usually private wife, Huma Abedin, joined her husband on the campaign trail on Sunday, shaking hands, posing for photos and subjecting herself to reporters' questions for the first time since her husband jumped into the mayors race.
  A top aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ms. Abedin stood by her husband's side through his sexting scandal. She appeared relaxed and happy as she and Mr. Weiner made their way through a street fair on West 111th Street and then greeted diners and shoppers along Frederick Douglass Boulevard this afternoon in Harlem''often hand-in-hand.
  ''This is my wife, Huma,'' repeated Mr. Weiner, who proudly introduced his wife again and again. The striking Ms. Abedin was dressed glamorously in a red-and-white patterned dress''coincidentally made famous by First Lady Michelle Obama, who donned the same outfit when her own husband was on the campaign trail.
  As usual, the response to Mr. Weiner was enthusiastic as the two shook hands and posed for photos in the hot sun. ''You the man! You the man!'' one man shouted as he passed him. ''You've got my vote!'' women repeatedly said.
  And Ms. Abedin''no stranger to the campaign trail''appeared to be enjoying her husband's return to public life.
  ''I am having so much fun,'' she told reporters later in the day. ''It's just wonderful to see the response that people have to Anthony. And he's working hard. And it seems to really be '... people seem to be noticing.''
  The couple greeting voters at a Harlem street fair.
  ''They're just being nice to me because you're around!'' Mr. Weiner chimed in''as he would often through the day.
  Later, inside Lido, an Italian spot where the couple ordered a pair of Arnold Palmers at the counter and chatted with brunchers, Ms. Abedin admitted that being in the spotlight wasn't exactly in her comfort zone.
  ''I prefer to be a private person,'' she said. But, she added, ''I'm happy to support him. I think he'll be a great mayor. And I'm having fun doing it.''
  While Ms. Abedin hosted a fund-raiser for her husband and appeared in his campaign launch video, the day marked the first time she has actually appeared at public campaign events. But Mr. Weiner''who was repeatedly mistaken for fellow comeback candidate, Eliot Spitzer, during his stops''insisted that his wife's sudden appearance on the trail was not part of any effort to contrast himself with the disgraced former governor''whose wife has been conspicuously absent from his side.
  ''It's not intended to be that way,'' said Mr. Weiner, who explained the appearance was driven solely by logistics having to do with their 18-month-old son. ''My mother-in-law's visiting from out-of-town so we have childcare on the weekends. And she seemed eager to do it. And I, of course, was eager to have her,'' he said, adding, ''It's very nice and comforting having her around.''
  Asked whether she planned to spend more time on the trail, Ms. Abedin sounded genuinely torn.
  Huma Abedin greeting voters in Harlem.
  ''I'm a mom. I've got my own life and my own profession that I'm very committed to, that I love. And I have my husband who is doing something I want to be supportive of. And I'm very proud of what he's doing. And so yeah, I want to help him,'' she explained. ''But you know, it's like, I'm trying to figure out everything and I think that's a pretty normal thing that a lot of women find that they have to figure out. But I'm having a good time.''
  He, too, seemed to recognize the burden.
  ''It's a lot to ask of someone,'' he conceded. ''Walking down Fifth Avenue and 111th Street in the hot sun is not everyone's idea of a fun afternoon. I mean, I love it. But you've got to ask her,'' he said, gesturing to his wife. Still, he went off on a tangent, marveling at Ms. Abedin's ability to cope with the heat. ''She doesn't seem to notice the heat, though. It's very weird. She shows no outward signs.''
  A reporter was quick to point out that Ms. Abedin's boss, Ms. Clinton, is also known for her uncanny ability not to sweat even when it's sweltering.
  ''I don't know if it's the Huma Abedin diet she's been following of something, I don't know,'' he responded. ''She seems to keep her cool in more ways than one.''
  And despite their previous issues, the couple appeared at ease with one another, holding hands constantly and bantering back-and-forth.
  Mr. Weiner and Huma Abedin making friends at Harlem Tavern.
  During a stop at the Harlem Tavern, Mr. Weiner decided to invite the couple to sit down at a table of young women enjoying a late brunch on the outdoor patio. ''It's just a brunch with the girls!'' he joked, as he made himself comfortable. ''So what are we talking about?''
  The conversation quickly turned to scalding Mr. Weiner for failing to take his wife out to dinner the night before.
  ''This is kind of a date. Campaigning is kind of a date,'' Mr. Weiner offered, drawing condemnation from the young women. ''It's a joke. It's a joke!'' he quickly said in defense.
  Later, he decided to grant his wife the job of helping to keep his foot out of his mouth.
  ''Honey '.... your role is gonna be to say, 'He's joking' after everything I say,'' he said after kiddingly threatening to throw a handful of reporters out of a restaurant. ''You found your niche, honey: 'He's joking!'''
  Mr. Weiner later confessed to the women that campaigning with his wife, who worked on Ms. Clinton's 2008 presidential run, was also intimidating. ''It's kind of like taking batting practice when Ted Williams is watching,'' he said. ''She's done all this stuff so many times.''
  And her addition seemed to play especially well with voters who were already fans of her husband's candidacy.
  ''I love Anthony Weiner,'' said Angel Rodriguez, 37, who said he was thrilled to see the pair at the street fair. ''Everyone can make a mistake. If Bill Clinton did it, he can, too.''
  Letica Fox, 30, one of the women at the Harlem Tavern table, later raved about Mr. Weiner and his wife.
  ''He's totally cool,'' she said. ''I'm kind of all about the underdog kind of coming back in.''
  She was equally impressed with his wife: ''She's cute and young and vibrant. I think she's great for him.''
  Follow Jill Colvin on Twitter or via RSS. jcolvin@observer.com
is an arnold palmer a gay drink? - Google Search
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  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 13:45
  How does Palmer order his drink? | Yardbarker.comwww.yardbarker.com/...arnold_palmer...arnold_palmer_drink.../13360507- Cached9 Apr 2013 ... Four-time Masters winner Arnold Palmer ordered an Arnold Palmer at theAugusta National Golf Club. But how did he ... An Arnold Palmer is a drink that'smade by mixing iced tea and. ...Gay admits taking banned substance.Prison Planet.com >> Man Arrested for Drinking an Arnold Palmerwww.prisonplanet.com/man-arrested-for-drinking-an-arnold-palmer.html- Cached4 May 2013 ... Man Arrested for Drinking an Arnold Palmer... Verdict (316 comments) · HateCrime: Gays Brutally Beat Christians in America (280 comments) ...Arnold Palmer Finally Cashes in on his Drink | Terez Owenswww.terezowens.com/arnold-palmer-finally-cashes-in-on-his-drink/- Cached14 May 2010 ... Half lemonade, half iced tea drink combination is called an Arnold Palmer. ...Anywhere in the world, you can order an Arnold Palmer and they'll know that it's a...... Posted in Tim Duncan Gay Rumors Hit the Net by Once.AriZona Beverages & Arnold Palmer DRIVE Farther | Reuterswww.reuters.com/.../ny-arizona-new-drink-idUSnPnNY83038+160+ PRN20130325- Cached25 Mar 2013 ...Gay marriage opponents ask Supreme Court to reimpose California ban ... Thecan design pictures a younger Arnold Palmer posed flawlessly ...Remix - Food & Drink - Orlando Weeklyorlandoweekly.com/dining/remix-1.1353201- Cached2 Aug 2012 ... A fresh take on a classic American drink: the Arnold Palmer... spend time outside(before noon or after dusk), but even what we eat and drink.PT | Phish | People who drink 99 Arizona Iced Tea =phantasytour.com/bands/1/topics/3446323/posts?page=1- Cached31 May 2013 ... The Arnold Palmer, Grape, and Fruit Punch are pretty delicious. ... if i recallcorectly he was gay, or had the gay mannerisms at that young age.Masters champ Arnold Palmer orders eponymous drink as 'Mr ...www.upi.com/.../Arnold-Palmer...Palmer.../UPI-39811365710739/- Cached11 Apr 2013 ...Arnold Palmer orders a 'Mr. Palmer' at Augusta ... (UPI) -- A waitress at theAugusta National Golf Club in Georgia said Arnold Palmer ordered the drink thatshares his name as a "Mr. Palmer." .... SF's annual gay pride parade.So I go to buy a arnold palmer... - Newgrounds.comwww.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1165998- CachedAt 5/11/10 03:06 PM, Hershizzle wrote: its a mans drink. Paint zoom saysotherwise. Supergay. So I go to buy a arnold palmer.Cocktail Hour Drunk Palmer #CocktailRecipe - Clubplanetwww.clubplanet.com/Articles/9957/Cocktail-Hour-Drunken-Palmer- Cached4 Jan 2012 ... Like its virginal cousin, Arnold Palmer, the Drunken Palmer is a ... Skip thoseheavy brews and jean-busting girly drinks, at least for one night.Searches related to is an arnold palmer a gay drink?
NBC Los Angeles : Protesters Take to Streets in LA
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Jul 2013 13:18
  Hundreds of people protesting the "not guilty" verdict in the George Zimmerman trial marched onto the eastbound Interstate 10 near Arlington Avenue (map) on Sunday, shutting down the freeway for more than 30 minutes and clashing with police, authorities said.
  Los Angeles Police Department officers fired bean bags at protesters after some people threw objects at officers, LAPD Commander Andrew Smith told NBC4. Video shot by protesters showed police officers striking protesters with batons.
  More:Photo Gallery
  One person was arrested as of 11 p.m. and no LAPD officers were injured, NBC4's Tena Ezzeddine reported. LAPD confirmed that one person was arrested on suspicion of throwing bottles and rocks at officers at 21st Street and 10th Avenue.
  The protesters took to the streets to protest a day after Florida jurors found George Zimmerman not guilty in the killing of Trayvon Martin. LAPD had planned ahead and prepared for protests, officials told NBC4.
  Protests were also held in other major cities, including Chicago, New York, Full Story >>