What Adam Curry is reading

Environmentalism Is the New Racism - Climate Change Dispatch
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 14:56
  Written by Daniel Greenfield, FrontPage Magazine, November 27 2013.
  At the heart of all the left's political agendas is wealth redistribution. That is as true of the Global Warming eco-scam as it is of anything else.
  The left knows that idealism is a puny force compared to the power of profit. It may employ the slogans of idealism, recruiting college students to wave signs, dress up as polar bears and cry Armageddon; but it uses the appeal of cold hard cash to invest as many people as it can into its cause.
  Wealth redistribution gave the left a firm grip on power in America. No matter how many lies it tells or how many crimes it commits, it knows that when election time comes around those who profit from its wealth redistribution programs will flock to the polls; caring about nothing but their own bottom line.
  The Global Warming scheme began the same way with tiers of economic interest.
  The first tier came out of the expert elites; scientists who had grant money waved under their noses and environmentalists who went from waving signs outside corporate offices to working as consultants for those corporations. Publicizing the scam were the journalists and politicians who reinvented themselves as environmental crusaders pumping out books warning that the end of the world was near.
  Soon an entire expert class was profitably employed predicting doomsday and teaching corporations to Greenwash their products. These were the Green versions of the leftist sociologists who had predicted race wars if economic inequity went on and the radical Black activists like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton who had monetized their instant racism into sensitivity consulting firms and national organizations.
  The second tier came from the bankers and corporations looking to profit from the crony capitalist sphere known as the Carbon Economy by selling other companies the power to impose costs on their rivals and customers through environmental regulations.
  An entire fictional economy sprang up with artificial shortages and imaginary products and services sold. Artificial shortages were used to limit carbon emissions requiring the purchase of credits. Environmental regulations made carbon into a currency using the threat of catastrophe and the promise of profit.
  Once again, Green followed Black. J.P. Morgan had received hundreds of millions in state payments from its food stamp card empire. Herbert and Marion Sandler made billions from subprime mortgages and Google is cashing in on housing project tax credit funds managed by a financial services company heavily invested in by Warren Buffett.
  The dirty little secret of the welfare state is that most of the money doesn't go to the minorities on whose behalf it operates; but to the big banks and liberal billionaires who keep the wealth redistribution going, not for the sake of the poor or the planet, but for their own personal profit.
  While the public was dazzled with daily accounts of melting poles and polar bears fleeing the far north for London and New York as harbingers of the tidal waves of melting ice that would soon sweep across the coastal cities; their pockets were being picked by the gangs of eco-criminals.
  Substandard products were pawned off on customers by calling them Green. In the kitchen, lower quality paper could be used in paper towels while more dish detergent had to be used to wash the same amount of dishes so long as the environmentalists were paid to certify the inferior products as Green.
  And if the customers chose not to go along; the combined pressure of Green activists and corporations would eliminate any other option through regulatory mandates. Greenwashing compelled customers to pay more for less while the corporations and environmental consultancies pocketed the profits.
  Once there was an expert and financial constituency in place to press for further changes; the third tier of large scale wealth redistribution could be unleashed.
  The dreams of the Green criminals were modest. A worldwide carbon economy in which every human activity would be taxed, where everyone would need a permission slip to sneeze out some carbon in the spring and universal employment for environmental consultants with environmental impact reviews required for every single business down to the tykes with their neighborhood lemonade stand.
  At stake were trillions of dollars; a dizzying amount that made the biggest financial frauds of the century no more than clumsy pickpockets lifting wallets.
  To achieve these ends, the constituency had to be broadened with large scale wealth redistribution. Al Gore, James Hansen and a handful of bored college kids were never going to shake loose the insane sums of money that would make Green into the new Black and Environmentalism into the new Racism.
  Enter the Third World.
  Climate reparations bring poor countries on board by promising them billions for every island state that gets hit by a typhoon and every African warlord whose territory suffers from drought. If your weather is soggy or your wheat just won't grow; blame the white man with his terrible industrial machine.
  It's the grandest crime of a new century that will outshine the massive welfare state looting before it. Twentieth century wealth redistribution was imposed by fear of race riots. Twenty-first century wealth redistribution however is being driven by threats of planetary annihilation.
  The obscene trick of climate reparations is the seduction of Third World countries hit by natural disasters with promises of getting back on their feet with loads of cash stolen from the First World. Western taxpayers and consumers buy relief from the apocalypse and the Third Worlders become a wealth redistribution constituency demanding more free money in a system of blackmail and lies.
  It's the same scam that destroyed the Black community in America extended across the Third World. The welfare state did more damage to minorities than anything else. Now the Greens would like to repeat the process worldwide; pitting the First World against the Third World and profiting from the massive climate fraud that they have been slowly unrolling.
  Radical regimes like South Africa, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Bolivia had already climbed aboard the ''Bad Weather Reparations'' express; but the global walkout from climate negotiations in Poland shows that the greed for climate theft cash has spread throughout the Third World.
  The same crony capitalist dynamic that induces corporations to attack their rivals by supporting environmental regulations is playing out globally. China pushes for climate reparations by the First World while Western countries demand that China slow down the pace of its industrial production.
  The hypocrites who congregate at these summits don't believe the scams that they're selling, but are exploiting them to handicap each other's economies while their corrupt expert elites greedily predict absurd visions of doom that their own data no longer supports.
  Global Warming has become a micro-economy and a macro-cult; a massive financial scam for a world financial system running low on ways to escape its collapse and a pseudo-religion for a secular world. These believer-profiteers are turning environmentalism into the new racism using the dead from every typhoon and weather tragedy as poster children for their terrible eco-scam.
  Source
VIDEO-Ga. juror form lists 'slave' as occupation
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 14:12
  An online juror form from Dekalb County, Georgia lists 'slave' as an occupational option. Locals reacted with disbelief and confusion. The designer of the online software insists that all the survey info is inputted by the user.
  Rebecca Lindstrom, WXIA-TV, Atlanta11:45 a.m. EST November 26, 2013
  Free online classes, open to the public, are growing more popular and extensive. They are offered through many websites and universities, including Harvard, Yale and Duke.(Photo: Getty Images/Pixland)
  Story HighlightsA potential juror completing the form hit the letter "s" for sales and he says he got "slave" insteadCourt administrator says the list of occupations is 62 pages longThe word slave was removed from the form within an hour after county officials learned about itSHARE515CONNECTEMAILMOREDECATUR, Ga. '-- A potential juror filling out a new DeKalb County Court online questionnaire discovered an unusual option among the occupation choices: slave.
  A man completing the form hit the letter "s" for sales and he says he got "slave" instead.
  Court Administrator Cathy McCumber said the questionnaire went online a month ago, but is based off an internal list that's been used for 13 years.
  She says the list of occupations is 62 pages long, so she's not sure if the word slave has always been on it, or if it was added before the questionnaire went online to the public.
  At the courthouse Monday, residents responded with disbelief when shown the questionnaire with the offending job title.
  "That is not an occupation, slave is not an occupation," said Cheryl Glass.
  "So they're saying it's a mistake? asked Bridgette Mathis. "I don't think so. Why is that even an option? Wow."
  The company that designed the software says the drop-down menus in the survey are populated by the county.
  "Hopefully it's just a glitch and hopefully it will be worked out," said Anna Wyatt. "It doesn't make sense, but at the same time people make mistakes."
  McCumber said the word was removed from the online form within an hour after it was brought to county officials' attention. But figuring out how it got there, and when will take much longer.
  Until a month ago, jurors had to fill out the questionnaire by hand and mail it in to the courthouse. The online form is supposed to be easier and more efficient.
  SHARE515CONNECTEMAILMORE
US govt caught using pirated software for military, settles for $50 million
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  Source: RT - USA
  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 06:47
  Published time: November 28, 2013 02:28Edited time: November 28, 2013 05:03Reuters / Rick Wilking
  The Obama administration has agreed to pay Apptricity US$50 million for pirating the company's logistics software the US Army used beyond contracted parameters.
  While the Obama administration's has launched efforts against intellectual property theft - including the Joint Strategic Plan run by Vice President Joe Biden that aims to curb copyright infringement - the US Army was concurrently using pirated Apptricity enterprise software that manages troop and supply movements. The company sued the government, accusing the US military of willful copyright infringement.
  The Administration settled with the company, it was recently announced, agreeing to pay US$50 million, though Apptricity originally called for over four times that amount to cover unpaid licenses, TorrentFreak reported.
  In 2004, Apptricity agreed with the US Army to license the troop-movement software, allowing the government to use it on five servers and 150 standalone devices. Despite the deal, the Army has used the software worldwide.
  ''The Army has used Apptricity's integrated transportation logistics and asset management software across the Middle East and other theaters of operation. The Army has also used the software to coordinate emergency management initiatives, including efforts following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti,'' the company said.
  The improper installation of thousands of unlicensed copies of software was discovered incidentally, when the US Army Program Director said during Strategic Capabilities Planning 2009 that thousands of devices had Apptricity software.
  Ultimately, 93 servers and over 9,000 standalone devices of the Army had the unlicensed software. Apptricity figured it was owed US$224 million based on usual fees of US$1.35 million per server and US$5,000 per device.
  Apptricity filed a lawsuit at the US Court of Federal Claims, alleging the government of willful copyright infringement, all while concealing the illegality.
  ''The Government knew or should have known that it was required to obtain a license for copying Apptricity software onto each of the servers and devices,'' the company told the court, asking for at least US$224,543,420.80 in damages, equal to what it lost in licensing fees.
  The government went on to admit the illegal use and entered into lengthy negotiations with Apptricity to settle.
  ''After Alternative Dispute Resolution proceedings, the parties agreed to settle for $50 million. The figure represents a fraction of the software's negotiated contract value that provides a material quantity of server and device licenses for ongoing and future Department of Defense usage,'' Apptricity announced.
  Apptricity expects to continue doing business with the US military nevertheless.
  ''Now that this process is behind us, it is envisioned the Apptricity and Army relationship will continue to grow exponentially,'' says Tim McHale, an Apptricity senior adviser and retired major-general.
  The Administration has yet to comment on the settlement. But Biden's words upon announcing the federal anti-copyright-infringement plan ring clear.
  ''Piracy is theft, clean and simple.''
Iran, the U.S., and the Middle East Balance of Power | Stephen M. Walt | Stephen M. Walt
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 03:44
  The interim nuclear deal with Iranis an important step forward, and the various negotiating teams can be justlyproud of their achievement. Far be it from me to be a killjoy at this raremoment of progress, but let's not lose our heads amid all the high-fiving andback-patting. Why? Because Iran's nuclear program is not in fact the realissue. The more important issues are Iran's future relations with the outsideworld and whether the deal paves the way for reintegrating that country intothe world economy and the broader international community.
  There is something of a paradox inthe ways that opponents and supporters of a deal approach the whole subject ofIran's nuclear program and the country's broader relations with the UnitedStates and other major powers. Opponents of a deal tend to believe that 1) Iranis governed by irrational and highly aggressive Shiite fanatics; 2) it is hellbenton getting a nuclear weapons capability; and 3) if Iran does get the bomb, itwill have dramatic and overwhelmingly negative consequences for regionalstability and world politics more generally. Given those (unwarranted) beliefs,you'd think hawks would be thrilled with this deal, insofar as it freezesIran's current capabilities, will reduce the stockpile of 20 percent enricheduranium (i.e., the stuff that could be enriched to weapons grade fairlyquickly), and leaves all the truly significant sanctions in place. If thenuclear program is your big concern, then this is a great first step and a morefar-reaching comprehensive deal would be even better. (The alternatives -- anunconstrained Iranian program or another Middle East war -- are clearlyinferior.)
  By contrast, many who support thecurrent deal believe that 1) Iran's leaders are rational individuals seeking toadvance Iran's national interests; 2) Iran has not yet decided to seek anuclear weapon and probably prefers a condition of nuclear latency to afully developed nuclear arsenal; and 3) getting the bomb wouldn't transformIran into a major world power overnight and certainly wouldn't enable it tothreaten Israel or blackmail its neighbors. If this view is accurate, then afinal deal on Iran's nuclear program -- i.e., one that scales back thoseelements that shorten the breakout period but leaves Iran with some enrichmentcapacity -- isn't that significant by itself, because Iran wasn't really seeking a weapon anyway and its gettinga few bombs wouldn't have that big an impact on world politics.
  Thus, the paradox: Many supportersof a diplomatic deal don't believe the danger of a "nuclear Iran" isall that momentous, while opponents of the current deal think Iran's nuclearprogram poses a grave and imminent threat. One would think the former would bemore relaxed about recent progress, while the latter would be moreenthusiastic. But that isn't the case: Those with a moderate view of thenuclear danger are much happier with the deal than those who (logically) oughtto be more interested in anything that constrains what Iran is able to do.
  In fact, the real issue isn'twhether Iran gets close to a bomb; the real issue is the long-term balance ofpower in the Persian Gulf and Middle East. Iran has far more power potentialthan any of the other states in the region: a larger population, a fairly sophisticatedand well-educated middle class, some good universities, and abundant oil andgas to boost economic growth (if used wisely). If Iran ever escapes theshackles of international sanctions and puts some competent people in charge ofits economy, it's going to loom much larger in regional affairs over time. Thatprospect is what really lies behind the Israeli and Saudi concerns about thenuclear deal. Israel and Saudi Arabia don't think Iran is going to get up oneday and start lobbing warheads at its neighbors, and they probably don't evenbelieve that Iran would ever try the pointless act of nuclear blackmail. No, they'rejust worried that a powerful Iran would over time exert greater influence inthe region, in all the ways that major powers do. From the perspective of TelAviv and Riyadh, the goal is to try to keep Iran in a box for as long aspossible -- isolated, friendless, and artificially weakened.
  But from the U.S. perspective,that's neither a realistic nor a desirable long-term goal. As I laid out last week, America's main strategic interest inthe Greater Middle East is a balance of power in which no single statedominates. In such a situation, U.S. interests and leverage are best served byhaving good relations with as many states as possible and at least decentworking relations with all of them. America's long-term interests are bestserved by helping reintegrate Iran into the global community, which is likelyto strengthen the hand of moderate forces there and make Iran less disruptivein other contexts (e.g., Lebanon). Managing this process will requirereassuring existing allies, but this development would also force currentallies to listen to Washington a bit more attentively, which wouldn't be a badthing.
  Over the next six months, the finedetails of a long-term nuclear deal will receive enormous attention and debate.Given the attention that Iran's nuclear program has received over the pastdecade or more, that level of scrutiny is unavoidable. But in the end thenuclear issue doesn't matter that much; what matters is whether an agreement onthat issue will allow relations between Iran and the United States and the restof the P5+1 to normalize in the months and years ahead. And it is thatdevelopment that opponents of an agreement will be desperate to prevent.
VIDEO-Kerry: 'There is no Right to Enrich' in Iran Nuclear Deal | MRCTV
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 03:38
  MRC TV is an online platform for people to share and view videos, articles and opinions on topics that are important to them '-- from news to political issues and rip-roaring humor.
  MRC TV is brought to you by the Media Research Center, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit research and education organization. The MRC is located at: 1900 Campus Commons Drive, Reston, VA 20194. For information about the MRC, please visit www.MRC.org.
  Copyright (C) 2013, Media Research Center. All Rights Reserved.
VIDEO- John Kerry "None Of This Is Based On Trust!" - YouTube
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 03:24
VIDEO- Report On Sandy Hook School Shooting Missing Key Details Including Police Timeline - YouTube
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 03:17
VIDEO- "Is It Really All That Important That The Details Of What Occurred At The School Come Out?" - YouTube
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 03:07
VIDEO- Judge Orders Release Of Sandy Hook 911 Calls! "We Have To Be Willing To Infringe On People's Rights" - YouTube
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 03:01
City of Philadelphia - File #: 130584
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:53
  Title
  Amending Title 10 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Regulation of Individual Conduct and Activity,-- by adding a new Chapter 10-2000, prohibiting the use of a three-dimensional printer in order to manufacture a firearm, under certain terms and conditions.
  Body
  THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS:
  SECTION 1. Title 10 of The Philadelphia Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
  TITLE 10. REGULATION OF INDIVIDUAL CONDUCT AND ACTIVITY.
  * * *
  CHAPTER 10-2000. USE OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTER TO MANUFACTURE FIREARMS.
  § 10-2001. Definitions.
  (1) Firearm. Any device designed, made or adapted to expel a projectile through a barrel by using the energy generated by an explosive or burning substance or any device readily convertible to that use.
  (2) Three-dimensional printer. A computer-driven machine capable of producing a three-dimensional object from a digital model.
  § 10-2002. Restriction on Use.
  No person shall use a three-dimensional printer to create any firearm, or any piece or part thereof, unless such person possesses a license to manufacture firearms under Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 923(a).
  § 10-2003. Penalties.
  A violation of this Chapter shall be a Class III offense and subject to a fine as set forth in § 1-109 of this Code.
  ___________________________________
  Explanation:
  Italics indicate new matter added.
  End
DOE Manufacturing Institute
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:43
  The topic area of the Funding Opportunity Announcement for the DOE Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute is wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor power electronic devices. This foundational technology is broadly applicable to multiple industries and markets with potentially transformational technical and economic impact. By using less electricity, these highly efficient and reliable semiconductors can produce low-cost, better performing electronics that will meet the power needs of the future. Additional information can be found on the DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office website.
  Read about wide bandgap semiconductors for power electronic devices. and its FOA
  Go to the White House Press Release: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/09/obama-administration-launches-competition-three-new-manufacturing-innova
  Go to the DOD Manufacturing Institutes
  Read the FAQ about the three new Institutes and National Network for Manufacturing Innovation: NNMI_FAQ.pdf (Updated July 30, 2013 '' A new question has been added on page 3.)
VIDEO- Philadelphia To Become First City To Ban 3D-Printed Guns - YouTube
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:42
WAR ON PRINTERS-Pennsylvania to Play Major Role in 3D Printing Explosion
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:41
  Mark Meier | Thursday, October 04, 2012
  In August 2012, a consortium of 65 companies, universities, community colleges, and non-profit organizations won a three-year, $45-million grant from the federal government to establish and operate the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII). The institute hopes to facilitate collaboration to improve and expand additive manufacturing, colloquially known as 3D printing.In this process, instead of cutting away materials from a raw shape in order to produce a finished object, the object is built, layer by layer, by precisely depositing or fusing material with the help of a computer. Additive manufacturing thus saves material and energy and is increasingly important to Pennsylvania and industry. Although NAMII's headquarters are located in Youngstown, Ohio, Pennsylvania will play an outsized role in the new institute, which is expected in turn to benefit the commonwealth.
  Of the 14 universities and community colleges in NAMII, half are in Pennsylvania, ranging from research universities such as Penn State and Carnegie Mellon to community colleges such as Westmoreland Community College and Northampton Community College. The community colleges in particular will play an important role in connecting innovations in additive manufacturing to their deployment in industry: these colleges have experience teaching 3D printing from when it was used on a smaller scale for prototyping and modeling and they will train future workers for expanded additive manufacturing.
  Dr. Paul Pierpoint, Vice President of Community Education for Northampton Community College, explains the school got involved with NAMII in part becuase it already has a fabricating lab in South Bethlehem.
  ''The facility was put together to try to help inventors and people with ideas to create real physical objects,'' he says. ''One of the tools we got was a 3D printer; it was one of the first in the region."
  Hence, as innovations emerge from NAMII, Northampton will be among the first to disseminate them.
  "From the community college's perspective," says Pierpoint, "we want to be sure that anyone who wants to introduce this new manufacturing technique has the workers they need to do it. If we want to maintain a manufacturing base in the Lehigh Valley, this is the way we need to go."
  At Pennsylvania College of Technology, a special-mission affiliate of Penn State in Williamsport, Vice President for Workforce and Economic Development Tracy L. Brundage tells a similar story.
  "We have a credit degree program in advanced manufacturing that offers coursework in additive manufacturing (rapid prototyping), so we felt that we had a number of resources that would benefit the initiative in terms of faculty expertise, equipment, state-of-the-art labs, and curriculum.says Brundage.
  ''Our faculty will gain access to a network of other subject-matter experts which can help guide future programming decisions, curriculum updates, and equipment specifications."
  Brundage also hopes Penn College will lead the way in local workforce training as demand spreads for advanced manufacturing. She expects Penn College's role to be defined further when NAMII members meet for the first time October 10.
  In addition to benefiting from trained workers, Pennsylvania companies expect to benefit from NAMII in other ways while also helping it. For instance, Allegheny Technologies, Inc. in Pittsburgh sells several billion dollars annually in specialty metals, primarily for aerospace and defense, both key markets for additive manufacturing. The company's CEO and chairman Richard Harshman was on the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee, which originally proposed creating innovation institutes such as NAMII. The company can provide metallurgical expertise to the institute and, in turn, expects to gain industry contacts and new ideas.
  "ATI is at the leading edge and we want to stay at the leading edge,'' says spokesman Dan Greenfield. ''But innovation is not easy to schedule. It happens when you put the right people in the right circumstances."
  Nearby in Latrobe and only slightly smaller in sales, Kennametal produces specialized components for metalworking, mining, and other markets. Kennametal, too, sees part of its future in additive manufacturing and thus joined NAMII. Corporate communication manager Christina Sutter says training the manufacturing workforce "is important to the long-term sustainability of the industry and something Kennametal is dedicated to addressing." She also expects NAMII will increase business opportunities for 3D printing and thus increase demand for Kennametal's products.
  Other members of NAMII with a significant presence in Pennsylvania are Westinghouse Nuclear, with headquarters in Cranberry; Catalyst Connection, a consultancy; Penn State Tool & Die; and ExOne, a 3D metal printing firm founded in Germany. Other members range from smaller corporations to ones as large as Honeywell, IBM, Boeing, and General Electric.
  Finally, Pennsylvania's non-profit organizations have played and will play an important role in NAMII. Ben Franklin Technology Partners supports the state's economic development through assisting technology-driven entrepreneurship, a mission which led it to NAMII. Innovation Works, the Ben Franklin Technology Partner for Southwestern Pennsylvania, is an active member in NAMII and is developing ways in which NAMII programs dovetail with the extensive hardware-oriented programs, activities and businesses operating in southwestern Pennsylvania.
  NAMII itself will be run by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining. With headquarters in Blairsville in Indiana County and a branch office in Chambersburg at the Letterkenny Army Depot, the organization's mission is to improve manufacturing for the military while lowering costs, which makes it a natural partner to advance additive manufacturing on behalf of the nation as well as the state.
  MARK MEIER is a writer, independent consultant, and part-time professor who lives in Dunmore and plants butterfly gardens in Scranton (which is his backyard). Send feedback here.
  Photographs by BRAD BOWER
VIDEO-BBC News - 'Epic' comet Ison approaching the Sun
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:23
  Comet Ison's close encounter with the Sun could give astronomers and stargazers a visual treat to be savoured.
  Described as the "comet of the century", Ison's loop around the Sun has been eagerly awaited, but scientists fear it could break up during its pass.
  Rebecca Morelle reports.
About the Data Set - Common Crawl - Confluence
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  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:14
  OverviewThe Common Crawl data set contains approximately 6 billion web documents stored on a publicly accessible, scalable computer cluster. Here is some more information on the content and storage of the data set.
  File LocationsThe entire Common Crawl data set is stored on Amazon S3 as a Public Data Set:
  http://aws.amazon.com/datasets/41740
  The data set is divided into three major subsets:
  Archived Crawl #1 - s3://aws-publicdatasets/common-crawl/crawl-001/ - crawl data from 2008/2010 Archived Crawl #2 - s3://aws-publicdatasets/common-crawl/crawl-002/ - crawl data from 2009/2010 Current Crawl - s3://aws-publicdatasets/common-crawl/parse-output/ - crawl data from 2012
  The two archived crawl data sets are stored in folders organized by the year, month, date, and hour the content was crawled. For example:
  s3://aws-publicdatasets/common-crawl/crawl-002/2010/01/06/10/1262847572760_10.arc.gzthe contents of this file were crawled started on January 6th, 2010 at 10 AM.
  The current crawl data set is stored in the "parse-output" folder in a similar manner to how Nutch stores archives. Crawl data is stored in a "segments" subfolder, then in a folder that starts with the UNIX timestamp of crawl start time. For example:
  s3://aws-publicdatasets/common-crawl/parse-output/segment/1341690169105/1341826131693_45.arc.gzThe "crawl-intermediate", "merge-output", and "stats-output" subfolders are used for internal data processing, and, while publicly available, are currently not documented and are not considered part of the corpus.
  File TypesThe current crawl data set includes three different types of files: ARC raw content, Text Only, and Metadata.
  The archived crawl data sets contain only ARC raw content files.
  ARC Files - Raw ContentARC files contain the full HTTP response and payload for all pages crawled. The ARC file format was designed by the Internet Archive. You can read more about this file format here:
  http://archive.org/web/researcher/ArcFileFormat.php
  ARC files are a series of concatenated GZIP documents. The first compressed member is a ARC file header, which usually looks like this:
  filedesc://1341817173109_4.arc.gz 0.0.0.0 20120709065933 text/plain 731 0 CommonCrawlURL IP-address Archive-date Content-type Archive-lengthThis file header lists the fields that are used in the record header of subsequent records: URL, IP Address, Archive Date, Content Type, Archive Length
  The rest of the individually compressed members consist of an ARC record header, followed by the full HTTP response:
  http://www.srlchem.com/products/ 74.55.84.98 20120518232759 text/html 28556HTTP/1.1 200 OKServer:nginxDate:Fri, 18 May 2012 23:28:04 GMTContent-Type:text/html...The ARC files reside in timestamp-based folders in the archived crawls, and in the segment folders in the current crawl. They files are named "*.arc.gz". For example:
  s3://aws-publicdatasets/common-crawl/parse-output/segment/1341690169105/1341826131693_45.arc.gzThe Metadata files, described below, contain offsets into the ARC files. You can use these offsets as a cross-reference between content metadata and the actual content.
  Text Files - Text OnlyCommon Crawl also produces a series of text only files. These files take content returned as HTML or RSS and parse out just the text content - making it easier for researchers to perform text-based analysis.
  Text Only files are saved as Hadoop SequenceFiles using GZIP compression. The key and value data types are both Text. The key in these files is the URL, and the value is the actual text content. From HTML pages, the text content includes the page title, the page meta description content, and all text content from the HTML body. They are located in the segment directories, with a file name of "textData-nnnnn". For example:
  s3://aws-publicdatasets/common-crawl/parse-output/segment/1341690169105/textData-00112The numbers at the end of the filename are sequentially assigned to Text Only files within the segment - they have not specific meaning.
  Further, Text Only files are translated from their native character sets into UTF-8. All Text Only content (in all languages) can be read using the UTF-8 character set.
  Currently, we are only producing Text Only files from HTML and RSS/Atom content. The Text Only files are on average 20% of the size of the raw content.
  MetadataIn addition to content files, Common Crawl produces a series of Metadata files that provide useful information about the crawled content. For each URL, the Metadata files contain status information, the HTTP response code, and file names and offsets of ARC files where the raw content can be found.
  Most importantly for some users, the Metadata files contain the HTML title, HTML meta tags, RSS/Atom information, and all anchors/hyperlinks from HTML documents (including all fields on the link tags). Users can scan the metadata files to pick up extracted links rather than extracting the links themselves.
  Records in the Metadata files are in the same order and have the same file numbers as the Text Only content.
  Metadata files are saved as Hadoop SequenceFiles using GZIP compression. The key and value data types are also both Text. The key in these files is the URL, and the value is a JSON structure of fields and subfields - the full structure is defined below.. Just like the Text Only files, the Metadata files are located in the segment directories, with a file name of "metadata-nnnnn". For example:
  s3://aws-publicdatasets/common-crawl/parse-output/segment/1341690169105/metadata-00112Metadata SchemaThe Metadata file JSON contains the following attributes.
  All attributes are considered optional, and are only present when they apply.
  General AttributesThe following attributes apply to all types of content:
  Attribute NameAttribute DescriptionAvailableattempt_timeThe time (in UNIX time format) that the crawl of this page was attempted.alwaysdispositionSUCCESS if the crawler received a successful HTTP response; FAILURE if not.alwaysfailure_reasonA code representing why the crawl of this page failed.on failurefailure_detailA message, if available, on why the crawl of this page failed.on failureserver_ipThe IP address of the server that returned the response.on successhttp_resultThe HTTP result code.on successhttp_headersA JSON object containing all returned HTTP headers as key/value pairs.on successredirect_from if URL was redirectedcontent_lenThe value of the Content-Length HTTP header.on successmime_typeThe value of the Content-Type HTTP header (stripped of the charset).on successdownload_sizeThe actual size of the downloaded content.on successcontent_is_gzipOptional attribute that specifies that source content was gzip'd.if payload is gzip'dgunzip_content_lenIf the content was gzip'd, this is the decompressed length of the incoming content.if payload is gzip'dmd5The md5 hash of the downloaded content.on successtext_simhashThe 64-bit simhash of the text (UCS-2) content if document was a valid text type.if payload is textcharset_detectedThe character set Common Crawl detected for the downloaded content.on successcharset_detector0 - The character set was derived from an HTTP header.1 - The character set was derived from an HTML "meta" tag.2 - The character set was derived from the ICU detector.3 - The character set was derived from the Mozilla detector.10 - The character set could not be determined. ISO-8895-1 is assumed.
  on successparsed_ashtml - Downloaded content was parsed as HTML.feed - Downloaded content was parsed as an RSS/Atom feed.on successcontentIf the HTTP response code was 20x, and if the downloaded content was parsed as HTML oras Feed, a JSON object represent the document's metadata.
  HTTP Code = 20xarchiveInfo
  A JSON object with information about where the content for this retrieved URL can be found.on successarchiveInfo > arcSourceSegmentId
  The segment that contains the ARC file in which the content for this record is stored.i.e. ../parse-output/segment/[arcSourceSegmentId]/[arcFileDate]_[arcFileParition].arc.gzon successarchiveInfo > arcFileDateThe date prefix of the ARC file in which the content for this record is stored.i.e. ../parse-output/segment/[arcSourceSegmentId]/[arcFileDate]_[arcFileParition].arc.gzon successarchiveInfo > arcFileParitionThe partition ID of the ARC file in which the content for this record is stored.i.e. ../parse-output/segment/[arcSourceSegmentId]/[arcFileDate]_[arcFileParition].arc.gzon successarchiveInfo > arcFileOffsetThe byte offset at which the ARC file record is stored.on successarchiveInfo > compressedSizeThe compressed size of the ARC file record associated with this URL.on successHTML Content AttributesThe "content" JSON object of an HTML document can contain the following fields:
  Attribute NameAttribute Descriptioncontent > typeAlways "html-doc".content > title
  The value of the HTML "title" tag.content > meta_tagsA JSON array of objects representing each "meta" tag found by the parser.
  Note: If the "meta" tag uses a "property" attribute instead of a "name" attribute, "property" is used as the key.
  content > linksA JSON array of objects representing each link found by the parser.content > links > typeThe HTML tag type that the link was found in. Examples: a, area, frame, iframe, script, img, link, etc.content > links > hrefThe URL associated with the tag, usually from the "href" attribute.content > links > textThe text displayed for the link. Usually the value of the link element.content > links > *Every attribute of the link tag is provided.The "content" JSON object of an RSS feed document can contain the following fields:
  Attribute NameAttribute Valuecontent > typeAlways "rss-feed".
  content > titleThe value of the feed "title" element.content > linkThe value of the feed "link" element.
  content > descriptionThe value of the feed "description" element.content > updatedThe later of either the "lastBuildDate" or the "pubDate" elements.content > generatorThe value of the feed "generator" element.
  content > ttlThe value of the feed "ttl" element.content > categoriesA JSON array of category names associated with the feed.content > itemsA JSON array of objects representing each feed item.content > items > titleThe value of the item "title" element.content > items > descriptionThe value of the item "description" element.content > items > linkThe value of the item "link" element.content > items > authorThe value of the item "author" element.content > items > commentsThe value of the item "comments" element. A URL where users can comment on the feed item.content > items > publishedThe value of the item "pubDate" element.content > items > guidThe value of the item "GUID" element. A unique identifier for the feed item.content > items > categoriesA JSON array of category names associated with the item.content > items > contentA JSON object or array of objects containing any links embedded in the body of the item.
  Atom Content AttributesThe "content" JSON object of an Atom feed document can contain the following fields:
  Attribute NameAttribute Valuecontent > typeAlways "atom-feed".
  content > titleThe value of the feed "title" element, stripped of any HTML.content > linkA JSON object representing the feed rel=alternate "link" element.
  content > descriptionThe value of the feed "description" element.content > updatedThe value of the feed "updated" element.content > generatorThe value of the feed "generator" element.
  content > authorsA JSON array of authors associated with the feed.content > categoriesA JSON array of category names associated with the feed.content > itemsA JSON array of objects representing each feed item.content > items > titleThe value of the item "title" element, stripped of any HTML.content > items > descriptionThe value of the item "description" element.content > items > linkA JSON object or array of objects representing the item rel=alternate "link" elements.content > items > selfA JSON object or array of objects representing the item rel=self "link" elements.content > items > repliesA JSON object or array of objects representing the item rel=replies "link" elements.content > items > authorsA JSON array of objects represeting the item authors.content > items > publishedThe value of the item "published" element.content > items > updatedThe value of the item "updated" element.content > items > categoriesA JSON array of category names associated with the item.content > items > contentA JSON object or array of objects containing any links embedded in the body of the item.
Keeping Secrets: Pierre Omidyar, Glenn Greenwald and the privatization of Snowden's leaks | PandoDaily
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:07
  By Mark AmesOn November 27, 2013
  Who ''owns'' the NSA secrets leaked by Edward Snowden to reporters Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras?
  Given that eBay founder Pierre Omidyar just invested a quarter of a billion dollars topersonally hire Greenwald and Poitras for his new for-profit media venture, it's a question worth asking.
  It's especially worth asking since it became clear that Greenwald and Poitras are now the only two people with full access to the complete cache of NSA files, which are said to number anywhere from 50,000 to as many as 200,000 files. That's right: Snowden doesn't have the files any more, the Guardian doesn't have them, the Washington Post doesn't have them'... just Glenn and Laura at the for-profit journalism company created by the founder of eBay.
  Edward Snowden has popularly been compared to major whistleblowers such as Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning and Jeffrey Wigand. However, there is an important difference in the Snowden files that has so far gone largely unnoticed. Whistleblowing has traditionally served the public interest. In this case, it is about to serve the interests of a billionaire starting a for-profit media business venture. This is truly unprecedented. Never before has such a vast trove of public secrets been sold wholesale to a single billionaire as the foundation of a for-profit company.
  Think about other famous leakers: Daniel Ellsberg neither monetized nor monopolized the Pentagon Papers. Instead, he leaked them to well over a dozen different newspapers and media outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post, and to a handful of sitting senators '-- one of whom, Mike Gravel, read over 4,000 of the 7,000 pages into the Congressional record before collapsing from exhaustion. The Papers were published in book form by a small nonprofit run by the Unitarian Church, Beacon House Press.
  Chelsea Manning, responsible for the largest mass leaks of government secrets ever, leaked everything to WikiLeaks, a nonprofit venture that has largely struggled to make ends meet in its seven years of existence. Julian Assange, for all of his flaws, cannot be accused of crudely enriching himself from his privileged access to Manning's leaks; instead, he shared his entire trove with a number of established media outlets including the Guardian, New York Times, Le Monde and El Pais. Today, Chelsea Manning is serving a 35-year sentence in a military prison, while the Private Manning Support Network constantly struggles to raise funds from donations; Assange has spent the last year and a half inside Ecuador's embassy in London, also struggling to raise funds to run the WikiLeaks operation.
  A similar story emerges in the biggest private sector analogy '-- the tobacco industry leaks by whistleblowers Merrell Williams and Jeffrey Wigand. After suffering lawsuits, harassment and attempts to destroy their livelihoods, both eventually won awards as part of the massive multibillion dollar settlements '-- but the millions of confidential tobacco documents now belong to the public, maintained by a nonprofit, the American Legacy Project, whose purpose is to help scholars and reporters and scientists fight tobacco propaganda and power. Every year, over 400,000 Americans die from tobacco-related illnesses.
  The point is this: In the most successful whistleblower cases, the public has sided with the selfless whistleblower against the power- or profit-driven entity whose secrets were leaked. The Snowden case represents a new twist to the heroic whistleblower story arc: After successfully convincing a large part of the public and the American Establishment that Snowden's leaks serve a higher public interest, Greenwald promptly sold those secrets to a billionaire.
  He justified this purely on grounds of self-interest, calling Omidyar's offer ''a once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity.'' Speaking to the Washington Post, Greenwald used crude careerist terminology to justify his decision to privatize the Snowden secrets:
  ''It would be impossible for any journalist, let alone me, to decline this opportunity.''
  Let alone me.
  News about Greenwald-Poitras' decision to privatize the NSA cache came just days after the New York Times reported on Greenwald's negotiations with major movie studios to sell a Snowden film. This past summer, Greenwald sold a book to Metropolitan Books for a reportedly hefty sum, promising that some of the most sensational revelations from Snowden's leaks would be saved for the book.
  Indeed what makes the NSA secrets so valuable to Greenwald and Poitras is that the two of them have exclusive access to the entire cache. Essentially they have a monopoly over secrets that belong to the public. For a time, it was assumed that Snowden had kept copies of the leaked documents, possibly on a number of laptops he was carting around the world. Greenwald and Poitras were simply conduits between Snowden's cache and the public. In late August, Greenwald disclosed for the first time in a statement to BuzzFeed:
  ''Only Laura and I have access to the full set of documents which Snowden provided to journalists.''
  Later, from his hideout in Russia, Snowden released a statement claiming he had left all the NSA files behind in Hong Kong for Greenwald and Poitras to take. A third Guardian journalist in Hong Kong at the time, Ewen MacAskill, confirmed to me on Twitter that only Greenwald and Poitras took with them the full cache. Even the Guardian was not allowed access to the motherlode.
  Clearly, in a story as sensational and global and alluring as Snowden's Secrets', exclusive access equals value. And for the first time in whistleblower history, that value has been extracted in full through privatization.
  It is one thing for Greenwald to maintain that exclusivity '-- or monopoly '-- while working with the Guardian, a nonprofit with institutional experience in investigative journalism. It is quite another for him to sell them to a guy with a history of putting profits before public interest. As Yasha Levine and I wrote at NSFWCORP, Omidyar invested in a third-world micro-loans company whose savage bullying of debtors resulted in mass suicides. Rather than acknowledge this tragedy, Omidyar Network simply deleted reference to the company from his website when the shit hit the fan.
  This '-- this? '-- is the guy we're supposed to trust with the as-yet unpublished NSA files? He's the one we're relying on to reveal any dark secrets about the tech industry's collusion with the NSA? Let's hope there's nothing in there about eBay. Whoops! Deleted!
  Since we first raised our concerns, Yasha and I have been swamped with responses from Greenwald's followers. The weird thing is, not all of those responses have been negative: even Wikileaks '-- Wikileaks! '-- responded that, ''We have not [fallen out with Greenwald] but @Pierre is seriously compromised by Paypal's attacks on our organisation and supporters.''
  Greenwald's leftist and anarchist fans have always had an almost cult-like faith in his judgment, seeing him as little less than a digital-age Noam Chomsky. But now they're reeling from cognitive dissonance, trying to understand why their hero would privatize the most important secrets of our generation to a billionaire free-marketeer like Omidyar, whose millions have, in some cases, brought market-based misery into some of the poorest and most desperate corners of the planet.
  A Greenwald-Omidyar partnership is as hard to swallow as if Chomsky proudly announced a new major venture with Sheldon Adelson, on grounds that it's a ''once-in-a-career dream academic opportunity.''
  WikiLeaks' concern about Omidyar can be traced back to PayPal's decision in December 2010 to blockade users from sending money to WikiLeaks. PayPal (founded by Pando investor, Peter Thiel '-- more on that below) is owned by eBay, where Omidyar has served as the chairman of the board since 2002. Before the blockade, PayPal was the principal medium for WikiLeaks donations, according to the Washington Post.
  As the single investor, founder and CEO of ''NewCo'', Omidyar's self-professed helplessness at eBay doesn't extend to his new journalistic venture.
  More troubling for fans is that Greenwald has repeatedly provided cover for Omidyar, claiming that he ''had nothing to do with [the blockade]'' despite his board status. Whether or not eBay's chairman really was ignorant of his company's most controversial decision in years, there's no denying that Omidyar is also eBay's largest shareholder. At nearly 10%, his stake is worth billions and is more than twice as large as that of the next largest shareholder.
  By Greenwald's reasoning, even though Omidyar is the founder, largest shareholder, and chairman of the body responsible for eBay/PayPal management oversight, he had ''nothing to do with'' its policy towards Wikileaks. Zero. None. He was as helpless as you, me, Batkid, or Grumpy Cat.
  Fortunately, as the single investor, founder and CEO of ''NewCo'', Omidyar's self-professed helplessness at eBay doesn't extend to his new journalistic venture. With that level of autonomy, no one '-- not even Glenn Greenwald, who has admitted that Omidyar's money is irresistibly persuasive '-- can tell him which secrets to publish on his new site, and which should remain hidden forever.
  We can all rest easy in our beds, then, knowing that Omidyar is in charge of our secrets. Information of national importance, such as which major tech companies colluded with the US government to spy on private citizens, will be published at the discretion of the founder and largest shareholder of one of those companies.
  Robbing Peter to Pay Paul (and Mark). An important footnote about Peter Thiel and Pando, by Paul Carr
  When NSFWCORP's acquisition by Pando was announced, Greenwald raced to Twitter to accuse us of hypocrisy because Peter Thiel (another billionaire whose previous business dealings could fill a book, and who sold PayPal to eBay in the first place) once invested $200,000 in PandoDaily, through his Founders Fund.
  That's absolutely true. Founders Fund's investment is disclosed here on Pando's main about page, along with the names of the other investors who collectively invested the remaining $2.8m raised by Pando.
  The difference between us selling our company to a media outlet that once received a minority investment from Founders Fund and Greenwald being personally hired by Omidyar should be obvious to anyone with a brain. But at the risk that category excludes Glenn's most ardent supporters, we're happy to spell out the difference (apart from the monetary difference of $249,800,000 between Thiel's $200k and Omidyar's $250 million, of course):
  Peter Thiel has no involvement with the running of Pando. Zero. He doesn't make hiring or firing or any other kind of decisions (nor do any other investors), Founders Fund isn't Pando's only (or even closest largest) investor and no one from Founders Fund has a board seat, voting rights or any other input in business or editorial policy. In other words, Thiel has less ability to dictate editorial policy here, in fact, than the guy who cleans the coffee cups (at least that guy has a key to the office).
  Pierre Omidyar is personally hiring the journalists for his new project, starting with Greenwald himself. He is the venture's sole backer. But, you know what? All of that would still be OK if Greenwald would make a simple, unequivocal, public pledge: to cover any bad behavior by Pierre Omidyar in the same way that he would cover someone who wasn't backing him with millions of dollars.
  Should be a simple thing to promise, right?
  Here's our absolute, unequivocal pledge: we will cover Peter Thiel and Pando's other investors just as fiercely as we cover Pierre Omidyar or anyone else. In fact, it's likely due to proximity that we will cover Pando's investors even more fiercely. That's how we always worked at NSFWCORP '-- and it's how we'll work here. Our past coverage of Thiel can be found all over the web, including here, here and even right here on Pando. Or see how we've covered NSFWCORP/Pando investors CrunchFund and Vegas Tech Fund.
  When we asked Glenn to make that same pledge about his single investor, in light of our coverage of Omidyar, he responded simply: ''I can't speak for Omidyar Network,'' adding he had ''no idea'' about Omidyar's involvement in micro loans.
  We contacted Omidyar Network for comment on this story but neither had responded at press time. We'll update here if they do.
  Illustration by Brad Jonas.
WORLD AIDS DAY, 2013
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 01:47
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  November 27, 2013
  Each year on World AIDS Day, we come together as a global community to fight a devastating pandemic. We remember the friends and loved ones we have lost, stand with the estimated 35 million people living with HIV/AIDS, and renew our commitment to preventing the spread of this virus at home and abroad. If we channel our energy and compassion into science-based results, an AIDS-free generation is within our reach.
  My Administration released the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy in 2010. Since then, we have made significant progress in strengthening scientific investments, expanding effective HIV/AIDS education and prevention, and connecting stakeholders in both the public and private sectors. At the same time, advances in our scientific understanding have allowed us to better fight this disease. We know now that by focusing on early detection and treatment, we can both prevent long-term complications and reduce transmission rates. To build on this progress, I issued an Executive Order in July establishing the HIV Care Continuum Initiative, which addresses the gaps in care and prevention, especially among communities with the greatest HIV burden. And this November, I signed the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act, lifting the ban on research into the possibility of organ transplants between people with HIV.
  My Administration remains committed to reducing the stigma and disparities that fuel this epidemic. Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will require health insurance plans to cover HIV testing without any additional out-of-pocket costs. It will also prohibit discrimination based on HIV status and eliminate annual benefit caps. Under this law, we have already expanded Medicaid for working class Americans and banned lifetime limits on insurance coverage.
  Our work to end HIV extends far beyond our borders. This is a global fight, and America continues to lead. The United States has provided HIV prevention, treatment, and care to millions around the world, helping to dramatically reduce new infections and AIDS-related deaths. This year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a powerful bipartisan effort to turn the tide on this epidemic. Through PEPFAR, we are making strong global progress and are on track to achieve the ambitious HIV treatment and prevention targets I set on World AIDS Day in 2011. Because country ownership and shared responsibility are vital to a2
  strong and sustained global response, we launched PEPFAR Country Health Partnerships, an initiative that will empower our partner countries as they progress toward an AIDS-free generation. In the next few days, my Administration will host the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's Replenishment Conference to enlist new partners, leverage American funding, and increase our collective impact against these diseases. With continued United States leadership, strong partners, and shared responsibility, we can realize this historic opportunity.
  We will win this battle, but it is not over yet. In memory of the loved ones we have lost and on behalf of our family members, friends, and fellow citizens of the world battling HIV/AIDS, we resolve to carry on the fight and end stigma and discrimination toward people living with this disease. At this pivotal moment, let us work together to bring this pandemic to an end.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States do hereby proclaim December 1, 2013, as World AIDS Day. I urge the Governors of the States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of the other territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and the American people to join me in appropriate activities to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS and to provide support and comfort to those living with this disease.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
  BARACK OBAMA
  ## #
Union proposes armed TSA officers at every checkpoint in wake of LAX shooting.
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 01:36
  As autopsy results of a fallen TSA officer killed earlier this month were released Friday, union officials are outlining increased security measures for both the public and Congress to consider.While a final report of the Nov. 1 shootings of TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez and two other officers who were wounded has yet to be released, the American Federation of Government Employees has developed proposals for increased security measures for transportation security employees, which were released in a Nov. 14 statement.
  One proposal suggests creating a separate unit of armed, law enforcement-trained TSA officers at security checkpoints.
  ''People don't realize our TSA officers aren't law enforcement officers,'' said AFGE general counsel David Borer. ''They don't have that authority under the law; they don't have arrest power; they don't have the ability to detain people.''
  The proposed special unit of Transportation Security Administration officers would be required to undergo law enforcement training as well as obtain proper weapons certifications. Though a call to arm all 45,000 TSA officers was never proposed, Borer said, officers wouldn't replace existing airport authorities either.
  ''At O'Hare you'll see Chicago Police Department officers in the terminal, but some airports have officers and some do not. This new unit would have to coordinate with whatever those existing programs are,'' Borer said. ''And we're not proposing every officer should be armed, rather that every checkpoint should have an armed officer. Someone who is specifically there to protect those who work at the checkpoint or passengers who come through.''
  Borer added that due to increasing harassment of TSA officers, employee safety at checkpoints has become a major concern.
  ''The event at LAX was the first time we've had an officer killed, but our officers are attacked both verbally and physically far too often.'' Borer said. ''We have officers punched, knocked out, kicked and tackled and spat upon on a fairly routine basis.''
  AFGE's second proposal involves implementing a raised platform or podium that would provide TSA employees better visibility around the checkpoint. Passengers would be able to better identify officers as well.
  ''A raised platform would go hand-in-hand with putting armed officers at those locations,'' Borer said. ''It's a deterrent, but the platform can also be reinforced in a way that gives them a certain amount of protection if an event were to start and they needed a location from which to return fire, for example.''
  The third proposal deals with airport exit lanes, and the restoration of TSA officers to these lanes with the addition of an armed officer. For budgetary reasons, the Transportation Security Administration began phasing out staffing at exit lanes in April, instead turning over jurisdiction to local airport authorities.
  But Borer said this move was a mistake.
  ''Until we secure those exit lanes, that's always going to be a point of vulnerability,'' Borer said. ''We need someone to stop any shooters, like the shooter in LA who allegedly killed Officer Hernandez and afterwards proceeded through the exit lane unimpeded down Terminal 3, where he shot three more people.''
  Since it's not considered part of the screening process, the TSA does not provide exit lane security at more than two-thirds of federalized airports, according to Ann Davis, regional TSA public affairs manager.
  ''To most efficiently use TSA's limited resources and to focus on the priority of screening passengers and baggage, the TSA has proposed transferring exit lane access control responsibility to local airport authorities, reducing the agency's budget request by $88.1 million for fiscal year 2014,'' Davis wrote in an email.
  Making the responsibility standard across all airport exit lanes, ensuring consistency with airport perimeter access controls and maintaining TSA's compliance through its regulatory inspection program were additional reasons to eliminate TSA exit lane staffing, according to Davis.
  AFGE's last proposal entails the Behavior Detection Officer program, which was subject to a Nov. 14 House Subcommittee on Transportation Security meeting.
  Behavior detection officers are trained to detect unusual or suspicious behaviors through the SPOT program '' screening of passengers by observation techniques '' and investigate situations in which someone poses a threat.
  But a study released this month by the Government Accountability Office, ''Aviation Security: TSA Should Limit Future Funding for Behavior Detection Activities,'' indicated the program lacked scientific evidence of its effectiveness. The study recommends the Secretary of Homeland Security direct the TSA Administrator to limit future funding for the BDO program until it can demonstrate the program's effectiveness in identifying passengers who pose an aviation security risk.
  According to the study, the BDO program has spent $900 million since it was implemented in 2007.
  The TSA isn't cutting BDO programs at O'Hare and Midway airports, and there are no plans to eliminate the program at these airports at this time, according to Davis.
  Though Borer thinks if enough behavior detection officers been present the day of the shooting, maybe the disaster could have been avoided. And contrary to the study's recommendations, what AFGE proposes is an expansion of the Behavior Detection Officer program.
  But it's difficult to put a ballpark figure on how much it would cost to expand the BDO program, and implement each of AFGE's three other proposals.
  ''Obviously there is not an unlimited amount of funds,'' Borer said, ''but if the government's going to put officers in harm's way, they need to give them enough backup to protect themselves.''
NRA silence gave pass to 'pro gun Democrats' who voted for 'nuclear option' - National gun rights | Examiner.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 01:27
  The so-called ''nuclear option,'' where the Senate voted to change filibuster rules on nominations, ''was a vote to begin the process of effectively repealing the Second Amendment,'' Gun Owners of America warned Monday in a member alert. And an analysis of that vote shows many Democrats given high ratings by the National Rifle Association helped to ram through what The Los Angeles Times has called ''one of the most significant rule changes in Senate history'' with no fear of political repercussions from the nation's largest gun rights group.
  ''Harry Reid ... did this for the ostensible purpose of packing the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals with three anti-gun judges -- one of which (Robert Wilkins) has held that the Second Amendment doesn't protect the right to purchase firearms, just the right to possess them,'' GOA explained. ''[B]efore the ink was dry on the tally sheet, Barack Obama commended the Senate and mourned the fact that filibusters had blocked his gun ban and gun registration scheme. What Obama is clearly calling for is for the same 'nuclear option' to be used to pass comprehensive gun control.''
  GOA's assessment is corroborated by The Times' report, which focused on recently-elected Democrats being the driving force behind the filibuster rule change, and cited Connecticut Senator Christopher S. Murphy's reasons for pushing it through.
  ''For Murphy, the failure of the Senate gun control bill earlier this year was the final straw,'' the report explained. ''He took on the issue of gun violence after the Newtown school shooting in his state in 2012. A bipartisan bill crafted by Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) had 55 votes but failed to advance.''
  "I was a proponent of filibuster reform coming into the Senate, but I became a revolutionary on this issue when we lost the gun bill," Murphy was quoted.
  But while Murphy is recognized by both NRA and GOA as a confirmed anti-gunner, a cadre of supposedly ''pro-gun Democrats'' putting party over principle cast the votes that enabled the radical change to pass.
  Foremost, of course, is NRA's ''B''-rated Harry Reid, once described by NRA's Wayne LaPierre as ''a true champion of the Second Amendment.'' That Reid, since wooed and supported by Michael Bloomberg, has since gone full Gillibrand is hardly surprising. Nor is his hypocritical reversal on filibusters now that his party is in power.
  Last December, The Washington Post published a chart representing NRA and GOA grades for the Senate. Among NRA ''A+''-rated Democrats, Max Baucus of Montana voted for the filibuster rule change. Among those given ''A'' grades, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Robert Casey of Pennsylvania, Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Mark Warner of Virginia all supported Obama's and Reid's move to eliminate an important confirmation hurdle for anti-gun nominees. Those given ''AQ'' rating (based solely on questionnaires because they did not have a legislative track record) who then voted for the change included Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mark Begich of Alaska. Jon Tester of Montana, who scored an ''A-,'' completed the list of NRA's high-scoring Democrats who enabled the vote to succeed. Simply put, it would not have happened without them.
  It's a political reality that Democrats are needed to keep bad gun bills from passing and to help good gun bills get enacted. That said, there is no need to inflate grades or to withhold from voters the unvarnished realities of a given race. To do otherwise is a disservice, not to mention manipulative and dismissive of gun owners looking to NRA for reliable direction, so they can be fully informed, and can evaluate pros and cons for themselves.
  NRA went to great lengths to convince voters that ''Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history.'' Every one of their ''A''-rated Democrats supported Obama. The ones who were in office at the time (Baucus and Tester) supported confirmation of Eric Holder. They were allowed to do so without any impact on their rating. This has enabled the president's anti-gun appointments, executive actions and unrivaled bully pulpit for the ''legitimate news media'' to get their marching orders and talking points from. And NRA still gives them an ''A''?
  This is hardly the first time the issue of politician grade reliability has been questioned. Some political observers have been documenting disconnects from reality for decades, with more examples reported throughout the years.
  And now it looks like these Democrats will once again be allowed to escape any political repercussions for supporting a change that clearly poses great legal dangers for gun rights. As with Supreme Court nominations and Fast and Furious (until they could no longer remain silent), the confirmation of B. Todd Jones as permanent head of ATF, anti-gun pitfalls hidden in so-called ''immigration reform,'' ''undetectable firearms'' and other issues of import to gun owners, the most powerful ''gun rights'' organization is once more electing to withhold leadership and let others steer the debate.
  ''In an effort to cover their rear ends, Thursday's rules change purports to exempt Supreme Court nominees from the 50-vote non-filibusterable procedure,'' GOA acknowledges in its alert. ''But one would have to be a fool to think that 52 Democrats who would blow up the Senate over an appeals court would not do the same if the balance on the Supreme Court were at stake.''
  Assuming the NRA leadership is not comprised of fools, what other reason could there be for posting nothing on their ILA website about the ''nuclear option'' just exercised by Mr. LaPierre's ''true champion,'' with no statement from the Association, and not even a link on their ''In the News'' page to such a significant and threatening development?
  ------------
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Dominican Republic breaks off Haiti talks over immigration ruling
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Reuters: World News
  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 01:21
  click here to continue to articlecliquez ici pour lire l'articleweiter zum Artikelclicca qui per visualizzare l'articoloweiter zum Artikelir a la noticiaklik hier om door te gaan naar het artikelYazÄ±ya devam etmek i§in tÄ±klayÄ±n>>ÐŸÐµÑÐµÐ¹Ñ‚Ð¸ Ðº ÑÑ‚Ð°Ñ‚ÑŒÐµ>>ç>>§ç>>­é…è¯>>æ–‡ç ¼Œè¯·ç‚¹å‡>>èé‡ŒTovbb a cikkre
BAN-Bill Would Restrict Electronic Cigarettes in New York - NYTimes.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 01:19
  Trendsetters who have circumvented New York City's public smoking bans by ''vaping'' electronic cigarettes would no longer be able to do so under legislation proposed by the City Council that would crack down on the smokeless cigarettes.
  E-cigarettes are a growing industry and phenomenon, partly because of a perception they are healthier than regular cigarettes and partly because, for the moment anyway, they are not covered by many existing bans.
  But antismoking advocates have argued that the electronic devices are a gateway to conventional cigarettes, particularly for teenagers, and that the potential health hazards of the devices have not been sufficiently studied to declare them safe.
  The law would add electronic cigarettes to the conventional tobacco products '-- like cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos '-- that are now banned in almost all public places in New York, including offices, bars, restaurants, parks, beaches and public plazas.
  ''We see these cigarettes are really starting to proliferate, and it's unacceptable,'' Councilman James Gennaro said on Wednesday. He and Christine C. Quinn, the Council speaker, are the lead sponsors of the measure.
  ''I get reports of people smoking cigarettes in public libraries,'' Mr. Gennaro said. ''Certainly, they're becoming more common in restaurants and bars.''
  He said the Bloomberg administration supported the bill. City Hall did not immediately return phone calls seeking confirmation of that.
  The bill is being fast-tracked, because new council members will be seated in January, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will be succeeded by Bill de Blasio. If the bill does not pass before then, it would have to be reintroduced.
  A hearing on the bill will be held next week, and Mr. Gennaro said the Council expected to take it up on Dec. 19.
  E-cigarette makers are expected to mount a strenuous challenge to the bill. The industry has grown in recent years to more than 200 manufacturers in the United States doing $1.7 billion in annual sales; Lorillard, one of the major traditional tobacco companies, acquired Blu, one of the best-known e-cigarette brands, last year.
Los Angeles Considering Proposal To Ban Feeding Homeless People In Public | ThinkProgress
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Thu, 28 Nov 2013 00:21
  By Scott Keyes on November 26, 2013 at 11:02 am
  "Los Angeles Considering Proposal To Ban Feeding Homeless People In Public"
  A homeless man and his possessions in downtown Los Angeles
  CREDIT: AP
  There's a perpetual yuppie belief that society's true failing isn't the fact that half a million residents don't have shelter, but that some do-gooders have the audacity to give homeless people food. The latest epicenter of this thinking is Los Angeles, where the City Council is considering a ban on feeding homeless people in public areas after complaints from nearby homeowners.
  Los Angeles has the second highest homeless population in the country, at 53,800 individuals, according to the 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report. And although the number of homeless people went down nationally over the past year, it increased by 27 percent in Los Angeles.
  For a quarter-century, the Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition, a group of community members who strive to meet homeless people ''on their own turf, talk to them, and listen,'' has served meals to the hungry every evening. On any given night, volunteers will hand out as many as 200 meals.
  However, the group is now facing a backlash from locals who don't like the presence of homeless people near their homes. The New York Times quotes one such man, an actor named Alexander Polinsky, who lives nearby: ''If you give out free food on the street with no other services to deal with the collateral damage, you get hundreds of people beginning to squat. They are living in my bushes and they are living in my next door neighbor's crawl spaces. We have a neighborhood which now seems like a mental ward.''
  As bad as Polinsky thinks he has it, it's safe to assume that any one of the 100 homeless people lined up for a meal would, given the chance, switch spots with him without hesitation.
  But complaints like those from Polinsky are beginning to fall on sympathetic ears among City Councilmembers, two of whom have already called on the city to ban groups like GWHFC from feeding homeless people in public. One of them, Councilman Tom LaBonge, called the charities ''well-intentioned'' but said the effort has devolved into a ''free-for-all'' that ''has overwhelmed what is a residential neighborhood.''
  But GWHFC and other charities are critical for the homeless who rely on these meals to survive. ''People here '-- it's their only way to eat,'' said one homeless man, Aaron Lewis, who lives on the sidewalk outside a 7-Eleven. ''The community doesn't help us eat.'' Another man, Emerson Tenner, agreed: ''There are people here who really need this,'' he said while waiting in line for a meal. ''A few people act a little crazy. Don't mess it up for everyone else.''
  The proposal will need to pick up more support among the 15-member Council in order to become law.
  If passed, though, Los Angeles would join a growing number of other cities that have banned or passed significant restrictions on charities attempting to feed the homeless, including Raleigh and Orlando.
World Bank says no money for nuclear power
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:17
  World Bank says no money for nuclear power28 minutes agoThe World Bank building entrance is seen on May 8, 2007, in Washington, DC.
  The World Bank and United Nations on Wednesday appealed for billions of dollars to provide electricity for the poorest nations but said there would be no investment in nuclear power.
  "We don't do nuclear energy," said World Bank president Jim Yong Kim as he and UN leader Ban Ki-moon outlined efforts to make sure all people have access to electricity by 2030.
  Kim said $600-$800 billion a year will be needed to meet the campaign target of universal access to electricity, doubling energy efficiency and doubling the share of renewable energy by 2030.
  In some countries, only 10% of the population has electricity.
  So far, the campaign has a pledge of one billion dollars from the OPEC Fund for International Development, Bank of America has raised $500 million through the world's first 'green bond' and Norway has committed to spend two billion krone ($325 million) on renewable energy efforts in 2014.
  Kim said the World Bank is preparing energy plans for 42 countries that would be ready in June, but said any money raised would only go to new power sources.
  "Nuclear power from country to country is an extremely political issue," Kim told reporters.
  "The World Bank Group does not engage in providing support for nuclear power. We think that this is an extremely difficult conversation that every country is continuing to have.
  "And because we are really not in that business our focus is on finding ways of working in hydro electric power in geo-thermal, in solar, in wind," he said.
  "We are really focusing on increasing investment in those modalities and we don't do nuclear energy."
  Kim highlighted private financing for power expansion in Nigeria and Ivory Coast and said efforts were being made to launch a similar deal for Myanmar, where the government has launched major reform efforts.
  "We are working and moving very quickly to try to ensure that Myanmar experiences a clear democracy dividend," Kim said.
  The World Bank chief said it had been difficult to find long term capital for poorer countries but insisted: "We will show investors that sustainable energy is an opportunity they cannot afford to miss."
  Explore further:World Bank sets $700 mn for women's, children's health
  (C) 2013 AFP
  More from Physics Forums - General Engineering
  Related StoriesWorld Bank sets $700 mn for women's, children's health Sep 23, 2013
  World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced Monday that at least $700 million would be made available over the next two years for women's and children's health needs in poor countries.
  South Africa gets $250mn loan for wind, solar power Nov 14, 2011
  South Africa signed a $250-million (183-million-euro) loan deal with the World Bank on Monday aimed at adding 200 Megawatts of solar and wind power to the coal-dependent country's grid.
  UN aims at universal access to clean energy by 2030 Jun 21, 2012
  UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday outlined plans at the Rio+20 summit to provide universal access to energy by 2030, with tens of billion of dollars in funding from business and investors.
  World Bank to raise $500 mn for geothermal energy Mar 06, 2013
  The World Bank launched a fund in Reykjavik on Wednesday to come up with $500 million for developing geothermal energy in developing countries.
  US ends most financing of overseas coal projects Oct 29, 2013
  The United States said Tuesday it would end most financing of coal projects overseas, taking a potentially significant step to curbing carbon emissions blamed for climate change.
  ADB sells $339 million 'clean energy' bonds May 16, 2012
  The Asian Development Bank said Wednesday it had sold $339 million worth of bonds to help fund investment in more environmentally-friendly power projects in the region.
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  University of Adelaide engineering research is promising significant reductions in the energy use of commercial buildings by modelling and predicting temperature changes within a building.
  Nuclear waste burial debate produces odd alliances Nov 26, 2013
  Ordinarily, a proposal to bury radioactive waste in a scenic area that relies on tourism would inspire "not in my backyard" protests from local residents'--and relief in places that were spared.
  User comments : 0More news stories
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  Economic development can only buy happiness up to a 'sweet spot' of $36,000 GDP per person, study findsEconomists have shed light on the vexed question of whether economic development can buy happiness '' and it seems that life satisfaction actually dips among people living in the wealthiest countries.
  Are you carrying adrenal Cushing's syndrome without knowing it?Genetic research that will be published tomorrow in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests to Dr. Andr(C) Lacroix, professor at the University of Montreal, that clinicians' understanding and treatment of a form of Cus ...
  The good news about the global epidemic of dementiaIt's rare to hear good news about dementia. But that's what a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective article reports. The article discusses several recent studies that show how age-adjusted rates in aging populations have d ...
  Study unlocks trove of public health data to help fight deadly contagious diseasesIn an unprecedented windfall for public access to health data, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researchers have collected and digitized all weekly surveillance reports for reportable diseases in ...
  EU fishing fleets reap profits while taxpayers foot the billThe European Union's taxpayers are paving the way for fishing fleets to reel in valuable catch in developing countries while fishing companies pocket the profits, according to University of British Columbia researchers.
  Javascript is currently disabled in your web browser. For full site functionality, it is necessary to enable Javascript. In order to enable it, please see these instructions.(C) Phys.org' 2003-2013
  World Bank says no money for nuclear power28 minutes agoThe World Bank building entrance is seen on May 8, 2007, in Washington, DC.
  The World Bank and United Nations on Wednesday appealed for billions of dollars to provide electricity for the poorest nations but said there would be no investment in nuclear power.
  "We don't do nuclear energy," said World Bank president Jim Yong Kim as he and UN leader Ban Ki-moon outlined efforts to make sure all people have access to electricity by 2030.
  Kim said $600-$800 billion a year will be needed to meet the campaign target of universal access to electricity, doubling energy efficiency and doubling the share of renewable energy by 2030.
  In some countries, only 10% of the population has electricity.
  So far, the campaign has a pledge of one billion dollars from the OPEC Fund for International Development, Bank of America has raised $500 million through the world's first 'green bond' and Norway has committed to spend two billion krone ($325 million) on renewable energy efforts in 2014.
  Kim said the World Bank is preparing energy plans for 42 countries that would be ready in June, but said any money raised would only go to new power sources.
  "Nuclear power from country to country is an extremely political issue," Kim told reporters.
  "The World Bank Group does not engage in providing support for nuclear power. We think that this is an extremely difficult conversation that every country is continuing to have.
  "And because we are really not in that business our focus is on finding ways of working in hydro electric power in geo-thermal, in solar, in wind," he said.
  "We are really focusing on increasing investment in those modalities and we don't do nuclear energy."
  Kim highlighted private financing for power expansion in Nigeria and Ivory Coast and said efforts were being made to launch a similar deal for Myanmar, where the government has launched major reform efforts.
  "We are working and moving very quickly to try to ensure that Myanmar experiences a clear democracy dividend," Kim said.
  The World Bank chief said it had been difficult to find long term capital for poorer countries but insisted: "We will show investors that sustainable energy is an opportunity they cannot afford to miss."
  Explore further:World Bank sets $700 mn for women's, children's health
  (C) 2013 AFP
  More from Physics Forums - General Engineering
  Related StoriesWorld Bank sets $700 mn for women's, children's health Sep 23, 2013
  World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced Monday that at least $700 million would be made available over the next two years for women's and children's health needs in poor countries.
  South Africa gets $250mn loan for wind, solar power Nov 14, 2011
  South Africa signed a $250-million (183-million-euro) loan deal with the World Bank on Monday aimed at adding 200 Megawatts of solar and wind power to the coal-dependent country's grid.
  UN aims at universal access to clean energy by 2030 Jun 21, 2012
  UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday outlined plans at the Rio+20 summit to provide universal access to energy by 2030, with tens of billion of dollars in funding from business and investors.
  World Bank to raise $500 mn for geothermal energy Mar 06, 2013
  The World Bank launched a fund in Reykjavik on Wednesday to come up with $500 million for developing geothermal energy in developing countries.
  US ends most financing of overseas coal projects Oct 29, 2013
  The United States said Tuesday it would end most financing of coal projects overseas, taking a potentially significant step to curbing carbon emissions blamed for climate change.
  ADB sells $339 million 'clean energy' bonds May 16, 2012
  The Asian Development Bank said Wednesday it had sold $339 million worth of bonds to help fund investment in more environmentally-friendly power projects in the region.
  Recommended for you
  Harvard materials scientists win award for tiny 3D-printed battery 9 hours ago
  Materials scientists at Harvard University have been recognized by the printed electronics industry for their work on novel 3D-printed lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand.
  NREL-developed software tackles building efficiency and offers cost savings Nov 26, 2013
  A unique software application created by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) could improve the efficiency of commercial buildings by allowing occupants to interact with buildings more directly.
  Video: EcoVolt generates energy from wastewater (w/ Video) Nov 26, 2013
  Spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2006, Cambrian Innovation is commercializing a portfolio of environmental solutions based on newly discovered electrically active microbes. By harnessing the ...
  RWE pulls plug on wind farm in Bristol channel Nov 26, 2013
  German power giant RWE said Tuesday it has decided not to go ahead with a plans to build a gigantic wind farm in the Bristol Channel on Britain's west coast.
  Connecting weather predictions to building management Nov 26, 2013
  University of Adelaide engineering research is promising significant reductions in the energy use of commercial buildings by modelling and predicting temperature changes within a building.
  Nuclear waste burial debate produces odd alliances Nov 26, 2013
  Ordinarily, a proposal to bury radioactive waste in a scenic area that relies on tourism would inspire "not in my backyard" protests from local residents'--and relief in places that were spared.
  User comments : 0More news stories
  Robots may receive urine-powered artificial 'hearts'(Phys.org) '--It's a first: researchers have built the first artificial-heart-like pump that is powered by microbial fuel cells fed on human urine. But instead of being used as a prosthetic device for human ...
  New technique for dataset cluster detection(Phys.org) '--A persistent problem for mathematicians trying to understand the structures of networks '' in datasets representing relationships among everything from galaxies to people '' is community detection: finding ...
  EU lays down steps US must take to protect dataThe EU on Wednesday laid down steps Washington must take to restore trust after a huge spying scandal, including giving EU citizens the right to US legal redress to protect personal data.
  Harvard materials scientists win award for tiny 3D-printed batteryMaterials scientists at Harvard University have been recognized by the printed electronics industry for their work on novel 3D-printed lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand.
  Imec simplifies i-PERC solar cell processing by implementing laser doping from ALD-Al2O3Nanoelectronics research centre IMEC announced today that they have developed large area (156x156mm2) i-PERC-type silicon solar cells using a new processing sequence based on laser doping from a thin ato ...
  Economic development can only buy happiness up to a 'sweet spot' of $36,000 GDP per person, study findsEconomists have shed light on the vexed question of whether economic development can buy happiness '' and it seems that life satisfaction actually dips among people living in the wealthiest countries.
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  Study unlocks trove of public health data to help fight deadly contagious diseasesIn an unprecedented windfall for public access to health data, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researchers have collected and digitized all weekly surveillance reports for reportable diseases in ...
  EU fishing fleets reap profits while taxpayers foot the billThe European Union's taxpayers are paving the way for fishing fleets to reel in valuable catch in developing countries while fishing companies pocket the profits, according to University of British Columbia researchers.
  Javascript is currently disabled in your web browser. For full site functionality, it is necessary to enable Javascript. In order to enable it, please see these instructions.(C) Phys.org' 2003-2013
Zuckerberg Wants Your Kid's Student Data
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Valleywag
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:13
  Code.org'--a tech non-profit backed by Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and other top brass'--wants to improve computer science education for young women and minorities. And hey, that's great. But it wouldn't be a Zuck joint without something insidious: the group will hold private data about kids for years.The initiative is trying to sign up entire school districts to test the curriculum: Code.org will provide schools with course materials, teacher stipends, and general support. What a deal!
  But as Slashdot just pointed out, there's some iffy fine print in the sample contract (read it in full at the bottom):[It] not only calls for collecting children's data for Code.org ("Code.org's ongoing studies review longitudinal student achievement data for the current year, the preceding four (4) to six (6) academic years, until the end of the student's academic history in the district"), but also locks teachers into a 2+ year commitment on behalf of Code.org ("Each teacher selected to participate in the Code.org Program shall commit to teaching in the Code.org Program for a minimum of two school years through a letter of intent administered by the district"). Among other requirements, the contract calls for "an Entity participating in the Code.org Program" to "offer courses, select teachers to receive professional development, and to
  market these courses to students and parents."The relevant bit about student data is here:
  S
  Code.org promises it complies with all pertinent privacy laws and will do its darndest to keep it all locked up. But beyond performance reviews, it's unclear what will be done with the test scores of children, and to what end. Code.org reserves the right to figure that out as it goes along:
  Use or access to any protected data obtained as a result of these studies will be limited to representatives with a legitimate interest in accessing this data, which will include the Entity Coordinator, school administrators, and other persons who are specifically authorized by the Entity as having a legitimate interest in receiving the data.
  You should probably just trust them.
Background on the Pardoning of the National Thanksgiving Turkey
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:11
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  November 27, 2013
  WASHINGTON '' On Wednesday, November 27, 2013, President Obama will pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey in a ceremony on the North Portico. The President will celebrate the 66th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation, reflect upon the time-honored traditions of Thanksgiving, and wish American families a warm, safe, and healthy holiday.
  The President will pardon Popcorn and his alternate Caramel, both 20-week old, approximately 38-pound turkeys. The names of the turkeys were chosen from submissions from elementary schools in Roseau County, Minnesota, where the turkeys were raised. This year, the American public once again decided which of the two turkeys '' Caramel or Popcorn '' would become the 2013 National Thanksgiving Turkey by casting a vote for #TeamCaramel or #TeamPopcorn on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
  National Turkey Federation Chairman John Burkel of Badger, Minnesota, his wife Joni, and their five children raised and selected the turkeys that will be presented to President Obama. Students from Badger High School in Badger, Minnesota, who joined the Burkel family on their journey to Washington, D.C., will also be in attendance at today's ceremony.
  After the pardoning, the turkeys will be driven to George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens. The National Thanksgiving Turkey will be on display for visitors during ''Christmas at Mount Vernon,'' a traditional program through January 6. The turkeys will then travel to their permanent home at Morven Park's Turkey Hill, the historic turkey farm located at the home of former Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis (1918-1922) in Leesburg, Virginia.
  Jaindl's Turkey Farm in Orefield, Pennsylvania, gave President Obama's family two dressed turkeys that will be donated to a local area food bank.
VIDEO-If You Like Your Plan You Can Keep It: The Rap (w/ Remy) - YouTube
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:11
Understanding the Enemy - Skating on Stilts
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 22:37
  The latest Snowden leak story is in the Huffington Post. It says that NSA thought about exposing the hypocrisy of Islamic extremist recruiters by revealing their financial greed or predatory sexual habits. I'm quoted in support of considering such tactics, but the backstory of the interview may be more interesting.
  When one of the authors, Ryan Grim, called me for comment, he said that while Glenn Greenwald was transitioning to his new Omidyar-funded venture he was temporarily publishing his Snowden leaks with HuffPo. So when he asked for my take on the NSA story, pretty much the first words out of my mouth were, "Why wouldn't we consider doing to Islamic extremists what Glenn Greenwald does routinely to Republicans?" The story quotes practically everything I said to Grim except that, although I returned to the point a couple of times and emphasized that it summed up my view.
  I don't think HuffPo cut the quote because they ran out of electrons. The article itself is so tediously long that I defy anyone to read every word in a single go.
  Nor because my remark was inaccurate. It turns out that Glenn Greenwald has written an entire book devoted to exposing the contradiction between Republicans' ideology and their private lives. In Greenwald's words, "While the right wing endlessly exploits claims of moral superiority ... virtually its entire top leadership have lives characterized by the most decadent, hedonistic, and morally unrestrained behavior imaginable ...[including] a string of shattered marriages, active out-of-wedlock sex lives, and highly 'untraditional' and 'un-Christian' personal lives [endless detail omitted]." His book certainly makes the NSA memo sound restrained and cautious, but both are motivated by the same idea.
  Grim and Greenwald very likely cut the quote because it would have undermined the narrative of the piece, which combines solicitude for the poor Islamists whose sexual and financial hypocrisy might be exposed with outrage at the NSA for even considering such a tactic. The quote would have made them look like, well, hypocrites.
  The incident makes me wonder what else Greenwald leaves out of his stories. And why we should continue to trust snippets of documents selected by someone who thinks that the difference between Islamist extremists and Republicans is that one is an enemy that deserves no quarter and the other is sort of like Martin Luther King, except for the part about trying to kill us.
Top-Secret Document Reveals NSA Spied On Porn Habits As Part Of Plan To Discredit 'Radicalizers'
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 22:33
  WASHINGTON -- The National Security Agency has been gathering records of online sexual activity and evidence of visits to pornographic websites as part of a proposed plan to harm the reputations of those whom the agency believes are radicalizing others through incendiary speeches, according to a top-secret NSA document. The document, provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, identifies six targets, all Muslims, as ''exemplars'' of how ''personal vulnerabilities'' can be learned through electronic surveillance, and then exploited to undermine a target's credibility, reputation and authority.
  The NSA document, dated Oct. 3, 2012, repeatedly refers to the power of charges of hypocrisy to undermine such a messenger. ''A previous SIGINT" -- or signals intelligence, the interception of communications -- "assessment report on radicalization indicated that radicalizers appear to be particularly vulnerable in the area of authority when their private and public behaviors are not consistent,'' the document argues.
  Among the vulnerabilities listed by the NSA that can be effectively exploited are ''viewing sexually explicit material online'' and ''using sexually explicit persuasive language when communicating with inexperienced young girls.''
  The Director of the National Security Agency -- described as "DIRNSA" -- is listed as the "originator" of the document. Beyond the NSA itself, the listed recipients include officials with the Departments of Justice and Commerce and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
  "Without discussing specific individuals, it should not be surprising that the US Government uses all of the lawful tools at our disposal to impede the efforts of valid terrorist targets who seek to harm the nation and radicalize others to violence," Shawn Turner, director of public affairs for National Intelligence, told The Huffington Post in an email Tuesday.
  Yet Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said these revelations give rise to serious concerns about abuse. "It's important to remember that the NSA's surveillance activities are anything but narrowly focused -- the agency is collecting massive amounts of sensitive information about virtually everyone," he said.
  "Wherever you are, the NSA's databases store information about your political views, your medical history, your intimate relationships and your activities online," he added. "The NSA says this personal information won't be abused, but these documents show that the NSA probably defines 'abuse' very narrowly."
  None of the six individuals targeted by the NSA is accused in the document of being involved in terror plots. The agency believes they all currently reside outside the United States. It identifies one of them, however, as a "U.S. person," which means he is either a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident. A U.S. person is entitled to greater legal protections against NSA surveillance than foreigners are.
  Stewart Baker, a one-time general counsel for the NSA and a top Homeland Security official in the Bush administration, said that the idea of using potentially embarrassing information to undermine targets is a sound one. "If people are engaged in trying to recruit folks to kill Americans and we can discredit them, we ought to," said Baker. "On the whole, it's fairer and maybe more humane" than bombing a target, he said, describing the tactic as "dropping the truth on them."
  Any system can be abused, Baker allowed, but he said fears of the policy drifting to domestic political opponents don't justify rejecting it. "On that ground you could question almost any tactic we use in a war, and at some point you have to say we're counting on our officials to know the difference," he said.
  In addition to analyzing the content of their internet activities, the NSA also examined the targets' contact lists. The NSA accuses two of the targets of promoting al Qaeda propaganda, but states that surveillance of the three English-speakers' communications revealed that they have "minimal terrorist contacts."
  In particular, ''only seven (1 percent) of the contacts in the study of the three English-speaking radicalizers were characterized in SIGINT as affiliated with an extremist group or a Pakistani militant group. An earlier communications profile of [one of the targets] reveals that 3 of the 213 distinct individuals he was in contact with between 4 August and 2 November 2010 were known or suspected of being associated with terrorism," the document reads.
  The document contends that the three Arabic-speaking targets have more contacts with affiliates of extremist groups, but does not suggest they themselves are involved in any terror plots.
  Instead, the NSA believes the targeted individuals radicalize people through the expression of controversial ideas via YouTube, Facebook and other social media websites. Their audience, both English and Arabic speakers, "includes individuals who do not yet hold extremist views but who are susceptible to the extremist message,'' the document states. The NSA says the speeches and writings of the six individuals resonate most in countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Kenya, Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia.
  The NSA possesses embarrassing sexually explicit information about at least two of the targets by virtue of electronic surveillance of their online activity. The report states that some of the data was gleaned through FBI surveillance programs carried out under the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act. The document adds, "Information herein is based largely on Sunni extremist communications." It further states that "the SIGINT information is from primary sources with direct access and is generally considered reliable."
  According to the document, the NSA believes that exploiting electronic surveillance to publicly reveal online sexual activities can make it harder for these ''radicalizers'' to maintain their credibility. "Focusing on access reveals potential vulnerabilities that could be even more effectively exploited when used in combination with vulnerabilities of character or credibility, or both, of the message in order to shape the perception of the messenger as well as that of his followers," the document argues.
  An attached appendix lists the "argument" each surveillance target has made that the NSA says constitutes radicalism, as well the personal "vulnerabilities" the agency believes would leave the targets "open to credibility challenges" if exposed.
  One target's offending argument is that "Non-Muslims are a threat to Islam," and a vulnerability listed against him is "online promiscuity." Another target, a foreign citizen the NSA describes as a "respected academic," holds the offending view that "offensive jihad is justified," and his vulnerabilities are listed as "online promiscuity" and "publishes articles without checking facts." A third targeted radical is described as a "well-known media celebrity" based in the Middle East who argues that "the U.S perpetrated the 9/11 attack." Under vulnerabilities, he is said to lead "a glamorous lifestyle." A fourth target, who argues that "the U.S. brought the 9/11 attacks on itself" is said to be vulnerable to accusations of ''deceitful use of funds." The document expresses the hope that revealing damaging information about the individuals could undermine their perceived "devotion to the jihadist cause."
  The Huffington Post is withholding the names and locations of the six targeted individuals; the allegations made by the NSA about their online activities in this document cannot be verified.
  The document does not indicate whether the NSA carried out its plan to discredit these six individuals, either by communicating with them privately about the acquired information or leaking it publicly. There is also no discussion in the document of any legal or ethical constraints on exploiting electronic surveillance in this manner.
  While Baker and others support using surveillance to tarnish the reputation of people the NSA considers "radicalizers," U.S. officials have in the past used similar tactics against civil rights leaders, labor movement activists and others.
  Under J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI harassed activists and compiled secret files on political leaders, most notably Martin Luther King, Jr. The extent of the FBI's surveillance of political figures is still being revealed to this day, as the bureau releases the long dossiers it compiled on certain people in response to Freedom of Information Act requests following their deaths. The information collected by the FBI often centered on sex -- homosexuality was an ongoing obsession on Hoover's watch -- and information about extramarital affairs was reportedly used to blackmail politicians into fulfilling the bureau's needs.
  Current FBI Director James Comey recently ordered new FBI agents to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington to understand "the dangers in becoming untethered to oversight and accountability."
  James Bamford, a journalist who has been covering the NSA since the early 1980s, said the use of surveillance to exploit embarrassing private behavior is precisely what led to past U.S. surveillance scandals. "The NSA's operation is eerily similar to the FBI's operations under J. Edgar Hoover in the 1960s where the bureau used wiretapping to discover vulnerabilities, such as sexual activity, to 'neutralize' their targets," he said. "Back then, the idea was developed by the longest serving FBI chief in U.S. history, today it was suggested by the longest serving NSA chief in U.S. history."
  That controversy, Bamford said, also involved the NSA. "And back then, the NSA was also used to do the eavesdropping on King and others through its Operation Minaret. A later review declared the NSA's program 'disreputable if not outright illegal,'" he said.
  Baker said that until there is evidence the tactic is being abused, the NSA should be trusted to use its discretion. "The abuses that involved Martin Luther King occurred before Edward Snowden was born," he said. "I think we can describe them as historical rather than current scandals. Before I say, 'Yeah, we've gotta worry about that,' I'd like to see evidence of that happening, or is even contemplated today, and I don't see it."
  Jaffer, however, warned that the lessons of history ought to compel serious concern that a "president will ask the NSA to use the fruits of surveillance to discredit a political opponent, journalist or human rights activist."
  "The NSA has used its power that way in the past and it would be na¯ve to think it couldn't use its power that way in the future," he said.
  Adriana Usero and Ryan J. Reilly contributed reporting
  Arguments for which radicalizers are being targeted:
  Where the report was sent:
  Intelligence gleaned from electronic surveillance:
  Also on HuffPost:
Leakers, privacy activists find new home in Berlin - The Washington Post
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 21:31
  A rare privacy haven
  For many of the privacy advocate expatriates, Britain and the United States don't feel very comfortable anymore. Former Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, who has asked to be known as Chelsea, was sentenced to 35 years in prison this year after releasing a trove of State Department cables to WikiLeaks in 2010. Snowden is under indictment in the United States on charges of espionage. David Miranda, the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has reported on many of the Snowden leaks in the Guardian newspaper, was detained at London's Heathrow Airport in August under terrorism-related statutes. And New York Times journalist James Risen is risking jail by refusing to testify in the trial of a former CIA official who is accused of leaking information.
  The uproar within Germany about the U.S. surveillance allegations has been the strongest of any American ally. Top German officials have flown to Washington to push for new restrictions on U.S. spy activity in their country. Major German telecommunications companies have announced efforts to build a new Internet infrastructure that would keep domestic Internet traffic firmly within national borders, thus ensuring, they say, that German national privacy law would be respected.
  And the leakers themselves have been hailed as heroes and offered at least some officialprotection. Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in an interview last month that U.S. authorities had asked her to sign an agreement to extradite Snowden to the United States should he step foot on German soil. She refused, she said.
  ''Germany has a history with these types of issues that is not forgotten, but it is in fact carried forth and remembered today,'' Appelbaum said in August during a ceremony in Berlin at which Snowden was awarded a whistleblower prize.
  Historical consciousness
  Privacy advocates say Germany is particularly sensitive to privacy concerns because of its 20th-century history of being watched over '-- first by the Nazis, then in Communist East Germany by the secret police known as the Stasi. Some Stasi victims say that explanation is a bit too glib, because the United States and modern-day Germany are democracies and East Germany was not.
  Among hackers, the city is world-renowned. Groups here such as the Chaos Computer Club provide homes to technology geeks who like to do everything from crack the new iPhone's ­fingerprint sensor to design ways to stay hidden on the Internet.
  Businesses have started to take note, which means that the new transplants might find plenty of opportunities to earn paychecks. GSMK, a secure-cellphone company, is headquartered in Berlin and says that it is receiving more than five times the usual amount of inquiries about its products.
  ''It's of utmost importance that our customers can trust that the parts that we build are actually trustworthy, and Germany is a good place to do so,'' GSMK chief executive Bjoern Rupp said. ''German law really makes sure that you can build strong crypto products.'' He wouldn't locate his company any other place, he said.
  In 1990, ''after reunification, the city had to reinvent itself. It was a question of survival,'' he said. ''And ever since then, it has been characterized by dynamism that I don't think you'd find in any other European capital.''
Missing: hard drive containing Bitcoins worth £4m in Newport landfill site | Technology | theguardian.com
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 20:32
  The 7,500 Bitcoins on the hard drive were worth around £500,000 when it was thrown in the rubbish. Since then, the value has soared. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
  Buried somewhere under four feet of mud and rubbish, in the Docksway landfill site near Newport, Wales, in a space about the size of a football pitch is a computer hard drive worth more than £4m.
  It belonged to James Howells, who threw it out when he was clearing up his desk in mid-summer and discovered the part, rescued from a defunct Dell laptop. He found it in a drawer and put it in a bin.
  And then last Friday he realised that it held a digital wallet with 7,500 Bitcoins created for almost nothing in 2009 - and then worth about the same.
  "You know when you put something in the bin, and in your head, say to yourself 'that's a bad idea'? I really did have that," Howells, who works in IT, told the Guardian. "I don't have an exact date, the only time period I can give '' and I've been racking my own brains '' is between 20 June and 10 August. Probably mid-July". At the time he obliviously threw them away, the 7,500 Bitcoins on the hard-drive were worth around £500,000. Since then, the cryptocurrency's value has soared, passing $1,000 on Wednesday afternoon.
  In 2009, a few months after Bitcoin's launch, it was comparatively easy to 'mine' the digital currency, effectively creating money by computing. Photograph: Rick Bowmer/APAlthough Bitcoins have recently become part of the zeitgeist '' with Virgin saying it will accept the currency for its Virgin Galactic flights, and central bankers considering its position in finance seriously '' Howells generated his in early 2009, when the currency was only known in tech circles. At that time, a few months after its launch, it was comparatively easy to "mine" the digital currency, effectively creating money by computing: Howells ran a program on his laptop for a week to generate his stash. Nowadays, doing the same would require enormously expensive computing power.
  That lost hard drive, though, contains the cryptographic "private key" that is needed to be able to access and spend the Bitcoins; without it, the "money" is lost forever.
  And Howells didn't have a backup.
  Howells stopped mining after a week because his girlfriend complained that the laptop was getting too noisy and hot while it ran the programs to solve the complex mathematical problems needed to create new Bitcoins.
  In 2010, the Dell XPS N1710 broke after he accidentally tipped lemonade on it, so he dismantled it for parts. Most were thrown away or sold, but he kept the hard drive in a desk drawer for the next three years '' until that fateful summer day when he had the clearout.
  Howells didn't realise his mistake until Friday. Since then, he said, "I've searched high and low. I've tried to retrieve files from all of my USB sticks, from all of my hard drives. I've tried everything just in case I had a backup file, or had copied it by accident. And '... nothing."
  He even went down to the landfill site itself. "I had a word with one of the guys down there, explained the situation. And he actually took me out in his truck to where the landfill site is, the current ditch they're working on. It's about the size of a football field, and he said something from three or four months ago would be about three or four feet down."
  After he stopped mining Bitcoins in 2009, Howells hadn't given the currency much thought. "I hadn't kept up on Bitcoin, I'd been distracted. I'd had a couple of kids since then, I'd been doing the house up, and forgot about it until it was in the news again."
  Howells considered retrieving the hard drive himself, but was told that "even for the police to find something, they need a team of 15 guys, two diggers, and all the personal protection equipment. So for me to fund that, it's not possible without the guarantee of money at the end." As such, he's resigned to never getting the virtual money back.
  "There's a pot of gold there for someone '... I'm even thinking of registering www.returnmybitcoin.com. It's available," he said. He has also set up a Bitcoin wallet for donations aimed at recovering the hard drive.
  "If they were to offer me a share, fair enough," he said. "If they were to go out and find it for themselves '... it's my mistake throwing the hard drive out, at the end of the day."
  A spokeswoman from Newport council emphasised that any treasure hunters turning up to the landfill site wouldn't be allowed in, but "obviously, if it was easily retrieved, we'd return it."
  "I'm at the point where it's either laugh about it or cry about it," Howells says. "Why aren't I out there with a shovel now? I think I'm just resigned to never being able to find it."
  Nonetheless, he continues to believe, as he did four years ago, that Bitcoin is the future of money. "I still think it's going to go higher. I just think it's the next step of the internet, which is why I mined it in the first place. When I first came across it, I knew straight away. We had everything else at the time; Google, Facebook, they were already the market leaders in their areas. The only thing that was missing was an internet money."
  ' Bitcoin: what you need to know
Comet ISON Model
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 19:57
  Comet ISON ModelComet ISON real-time interactive 3D model - comet's current position, path through the solar system and where is ISON visible in the night sky.
  2013 Comet, 3D, Model, Interactive model, Real-Time Visualization, Simulation, Trajectory, Orbit, Solar system, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Planets, Stars
VIDEO-CDC: More Than 20% of 14-Year-Old Boys Diagnosed With ADHD | CNS News
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 19:54
  (AP Photo)
  (CNSNews.com) - More than 20 percent of the 14-year-old boys in the United States have been diagnosed at some point in their lives with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a newly released study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  The study also said more than 20 percent of 11-year-old boys had been diagnosed with ADHD at some point in their lives.
  The study indicated that American boys were 125 percent more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ADHD, and that boys were 127 percent more likely than girls to be medicated for it.
  13.3 percent of American 11-year-old boys are being medicated for ADHD, said the study.
  Overall, the percentage of children from 4 through 17 years of age who have been diagnosed with ADHD increased 42 percent from 2003 through 2011.
  The study also found that children in public health programs (Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program) were 53 percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children with private health insurance.
  ''The parent-reported prevalence of a history of an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis by a health care provider among U.S. school-aged children increased from 7.8% in 2003 to 11% in 2011, an increase of 42% in less than a decade,'' said the study published by the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
  ''This study is really based on the parent-reported survey data and it extends what we know about the increasing prevalence of health-care-provider diagnosed ADHD,'' said Susanna Visser of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities in a CDC podcast.
  ''It highlights the consistent increases in ADHD diagnoses since 2003,'' said Visser, who is one of the authors of the study. ''Now we also document that there's been significant increases in the percentage of kids 4-17 years of age who are taking medication for ADHD since 2007.''
  ADHD diagnoses, according to the study, are not distributed evenly among the nation's children.
  ''Ever-diagnosed ADHD was more common among children with health care coverage than those without coverage, and among those with public coverage than with private coverage,'' said the study.
  ''Nearly 1 in 5 high school boys and 1 in 11 high school girls had been diagnosed with ADHD,'' said the study.
  ''Estimates of medicated ADHD increased in 2011, as compared to 2007, particularly among teen boys. In 2011, the highest medicated ADHD prevalence was among 11-year-old boys (13.3%).''
  The study was based on the National Survey of Children's Health, which has been conducted in three phases, including one in 2003, another in 2007, and a third in 2011. The survey interviewed a random sample of tens of thousands of parents (95,677 in the 2011-2012 phase), asking each parent interviewed about one child in their family. Among the questions asked was whether a doctor or other health provider had ever told the parent the child in question had ADHD, and whether this child is currently taking medication for ADHD.
  In the 2003 survey, 7.8 percent of parents said their child had been diagnosed at some point with ADHD. In 2007, 9.5 percent said that, in 2011, 11.0 percent said that.
  Children who did not have health-care coverage were least likely to have been diagnosed with ADHD, and children children on Medicaid and SCHIP were most likely. In the 2011 survey, 6.4 percent of children without health coverage were diagnosed, compared to 9.4 percent with private coverage, and 14.4 percent with Medicaid or SCHIP.
  The 14.4 percent of children on Medicaid or SCHIP diagnosed with ADHD was 125 percent more than the 6.4 percent with no health coverage and 53 percent more than the 9.4 percent with private health coverage.
  According to the 2011 survey, 15.1 percent of all American boys 4 to 17 years old have been diagnosed at some point with ADHD. That compares with 6.7 percent of girls in that age bracket. Thus, boys are 125 percent more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ADHD.
  The 2011 survey also showed that 8.4 percent of American boys who are 4 to 17 years old are currently being medicated for ADHD, while only 3.7 percent of girls are being currently medicated. Thus, boys are 127 percent more likely than girls to be medicated for ADHD.
  The study said: ''Among boys, the 2003 prevalence of ever diagnosed ADHD '... was less than 15%, regardless of age; in 2007, the estimates exceeded 15% for individuals 9 to 17 years of age, with the exception of those 12 years of age (13.6%); in 2011 the estimates exceeded 15% for those 10 to 17 years, and exceeded 20% for those 11 years and 14 years.''
  ''Nationally, the increases in parent-reported ADHD diagnosis and associated medication treatment occurred during a period in which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued 3 Public Health Alerts and a series of communications regarding cardiac and psychiatric risks of ADHD medications,'' said the report.
  The CDC describes ADHD symptoms as follows: ''A child with ADHD might: daydream a lot, forget or lose things a lot, squirm or fidget, talk too much, make careless mistakes or take unnecessary risks, have a hard time resisting temptation, have trouble taking turns, have difficulty getting along with others''
  ''We also have new information from the survey about the age of health-care-provider diagnosed ADHD and overall we estimate that children are diagnosed at an average age of 7, with about half of these children diagnosed by age 6,'' said the CDC's Visser in her podcast.
The last Tycoon - article on Zionist Jew Arnon Milchan from Los Angeles Magazine - Radio Islam
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 18:30
  Los Angeles Magazine
  The last Tycoon
  Author: Ann Louise Bardach
  Issue: April, 2000
  Like a figure out of fiction, Arnon Milchan is the kind of mysterious character Hollywood loves to invent. He has produced nearly 50 films, including L.A. CONFIDENTIAL and PRETTY WOMAN now he's in business Rupert Murdoch. Yet he remains the town's most secretive mogul. Could it be the Israeli arms deals?
  ARNON. MMM," MURMURS A VETERAN MOVIE PRODUCER. "You know how he made his fortune, don't you?" It is the invariable, hushed preamble to the subject of Arnon Milchan. Confidential stories quickly follow--sketching a man of irascible charm and a shrouded, mysterious past, bearing more in common with Jay Gatsby or even James Bond than, say, Jack Warner or Mike Ovitz.
  Twenty years ago, Milchan, an unknown Israeli tycoon, pitched his hat into the Hollywood ring. Today he runs his own mini studio within a studio on Rupert Murdoch's 20th Century Fox lot. It is the reward for being one of the town's most prolific producers of successful quality movies, more than 60 in all, including Fight Club, L.A. Confidential, Entrapment, Pretty Woman, JFK, The King of Comedy, Brazil, Natural Born Killers, Heat, The Mambo Kings and The War of the Roses. Now, having conquered movies, Milchan has set his sights on the even more lucrative small screen. His first sitcom, Malcolm in the Middle, became an almost instant hit and the phenomenon of the TV season. Premiering in January to some of the best ratings and reviews in Fox's 13-year history, the show was the most watched comedy in the country in only its second week on the air. Milchan is currently plotting a TV pilot of L.A. Confidential and a program by the creators of The Blair Witch Project and, of course, more movies.
  Although kingpins like Warner Bros.' Gerald Levin and Disney's Michael Eisner are quick to return his calls, and celebrities like Tom Cruise, Barbra Streisand, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino count him as a friend, Milchan rarely turns up in print, and not by accident. He is an authentic Hollywood anomaly. "My idea of a good profile is no profile," he tells me over the telephone. In a town where disclosure and revelation are as banal as cereal, Arnon Milchan has kept his secrets to himself.
  In 1996, Milchan briefly popped onto the media radar screen when he nearly seized control of MGM with his partner, Australian media baron Kerry Packer. But only Kirk Kerkorian was willing to pay $1.3 billion for the studio that he had already bought and gutted twice before. "Sometimes losing is winning," Milchan told me smoothly at the time.
  Determined to build his own media giant, Milchan promptly moved on to other ventures and bought a 32 percent stake in the German sneaker giant Puma for $150 million ("We have total control over the company," boasts Milchan). He also gobbled up Restless Records to produce film scores and carved a distribution deal with BMG music. Then in 1997, ending a six-year relationship with Warner Bros., he embarked on perhaps his boldest move yet, a partnership with Murdoch, selling him 20 percent of his film company, New Regency Productions, for $200 million. Murdoch also invested another $30 million in Regency Television. Milchan's tony offices occupy most of Building 12, right next door to the Executive Building on the Fox lot. And it is from this seat of power that Milchan is building an entertainment empire that could one day rival Murdoch's.
  FOLLOWING WEEKS OF A TRANSCONTINENTAL PHONE CHASE, MILCHAN RELUCTANTLY AGREES TO MEET WITH ME ONLY TO "CONSIDER" THE POSSIBILITY OF AN INTERVIEW. A young-looking, exceedingly fit 55-year-old man, Milchan appears at the bar of the Hotel Bel-Air wearing khakis, a T-shirt and an elegant, single-breasted blue blazer. Notwithstanding encroaching baldness and rimless eyeglasses, Milchan has the boyish jaunt and ease of a tennis player. In fact, he is a formidable tennis player, hitting, the courts for at least three, sometimes six hours a day.
  Milchan is quick to make clear his reservations about doing an interview. "I know how you reporters work," he says, his voice tinged with the distinctive guttural tones of an Israeli. "You sit down at your computer and you hit NEXIS and then," a flourish of his hand and some eye-rolling, "it's the same old stuff all over again." His eyes meet mine, his meaning clear. "You mean, the arms dealing?" I venture cautiously. But before I finish, Milchan is waving his hands dismissively. "See what I mean?" he says plaintively. I fear that this may be the end of our brief meeting. After a weighty silence, I tell him that I assume he sees himself as a "patriot." He brightens considerably. "Absolutely. Of course I am," he says, leaning across the table. "But all that is old business---something I did a long time ago." Well, not exactly, but a topic to pursue later.
  It is agreed we will talk in Montfort l'Amaury, a bucolic region about an hour outside of Paris, where Milchan owns a restored 18th-century home, formerly a hunting lodge, on a 50-acre farm. It is replete with pond, chickens, ducks, three horses, five ponies and two donkeys. The estate, which Milchan bought 18 years ago, sprawls onto the Bois de Rambouillet, a lush forest preserved by the French government next to the country home (and far less grand property) of French president Jacques Chirac. Milchan has kept the residence simple, preferring traditional furnishings and representational paintings. The grounds include a clay tennis court, enclosed pool, spa, gym and guest house, where photos of him with his celebrity friends adorn the walls. For his L.A. spread, Milchan has recently purchased and is renovating a home in Malibu in an area that could be called Mogul Beach, with neighbors like David Geffen, Terry Semel and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Then there are houses in Tel Aviv and Monaco--where Milchan enjoys tax-free citizenship.
  But we first meet at the Hotel Trianon in Versailles, halfway between Paris and Montfort l'Amaury. Milchan announces that he has a precondition for the interview. I'm fairly sure it's going to center on arms dealing, but to my surprise and relief, Milchan has an even more sensitive subject. Before I go to his home, I have to agree not to write about whom he lives with and where. Milchan explains with discomforting sincerity that he doesn't want "to hurt anyone's feelings," though it is transparently dear that self-interest is, at least, equally important. Director Terry Gilliam, who made Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen with him, says he's got "a tall Scandinavian blonde in every port." When I mention Gilliam's quip, Milchan laughs. "Okay, you can say that," he hedges. "Just nothing specific." Steve Reuther, Milchan's former business partner, offers his own assessment of Milchan's lifestyle. "I've seen better," he says, his voice tinged with the jaundice of show business, "and I've seen worse."
  Born in Tel Aviv, Milchan describes himself as a "10th-generation Palestinian." Indeed, he was born into Israeli aristocracy. "My family's been there for 500 years. My grandfather was a very close friend of President Weizman." Milchan's father was an enviable success story himself, having laid the sprinklers that irrigated Israel. Later, he would handle some of Israel's lucrative military contracts, according to his son. However, it was young Milchan who put the company on the map internationally, after his father's sudden death. Following a spot of schooling in London and Geneva, where he excelled in soccer and tennis, Milchan dropped out and returned to Israel. Soon, he struck gold. By marketing a newly discovered nutrient that quadrupled citrus production, he brought his company stratospheric sales throughout the world. "This is a man who made his fortune by screwing with nature," says screenwriter Shawn Slovo, who began her career as Milchan's secretary in 1977. "He's the Israeli who made the desert bloom. Amazing when you think about it. He could have retired at the age of 22."
  Instead, like a kid racing around the Monopoly board, Milchan gobbled up another half dozen businesses--including electronics, chemicals, aerospace and plastics. Still in his early twenties, he met the Shah of Iran and reportedly talked the wily Persian into dozens of contracts, one to build much of Tehran's airport. By then, he had met a sultry French model named Brigitte Genmaire in the lobby of a Tel Aviv hotel. "She converted to Judaism when she was nine months' pregnant," says Milchan. "It was funny, because part of her vows was declaring to the rabbi that she was a virgin." Milchan says his young wife had no problem moving to Israel and raising three children there. "The problems began when she learned Hebrew and I really learned French," he says with his well-practiced impish grin. "When we could finally communicate with each other, then there were problems." The marriage ended in divorce.
  Milchan says that 30 years ago he frequented a Tel Aviv restaurant where the best and brightest Israelis hung out. "There was this brilliant guy who wanted to start a new political party," he recalls. The young man's name was Shimon Peres, and he eventually did launch his own party, along with a handsome Israeli war hero named Moshe Dayan, a young Teddy Kolleck, Chaim Herzog and Milchan himself. Milchan's partners nominated him to be finance minister, and he briefly flirted with a political career before deciding against a life in the public eye. Nevertheless, Milchan's political connections would prove to be the foundation of his future empire. In addition to agriculture, there would be biotechnology, advertising, aerospace and the biggest jackpot of them all--arms.
  MMM. YOU KNOW HE'S AN ARMS DEALER, DON'T YOU?" THE PRODUCER CONTINUES. Details are not provided, only a whispered confidence charged with admonition and awe. And notwithstanding Milchan's denials, dismissals and wafflings, arms dealing has surely contributed to his fortune. (He claims that his parent company, Regency Enterprises, is valued at more than $1 billion.) As the Los Angeles Times coyly put it, "Milchan has also worked in arms consulting." Throughout the 1970s, '80s and even up until the Gulf War in 1991, Milchan was Israel's foremost weapons procurer, brokering deals for such prized superweapons as the Hawk missile and the famous Scud-foil of the Gulf War, the Patriot--"everything from nuclear triggers to rocket fuel to guidance systems," according to NBC News. At different times in his career, his Israeli company, Milchan Brothers, has represented arms manufacturers such as Raytheon, North American Rockwell, Beechcraft, Bell Helicopter and Magnavox. Or, as Milchan downplays it, "there were a bunch of them." Nevertheless, he bristles at being called an arms dealer. "I'm their rep in Israel," he says emphatically. "I get a fee, a commission. I'm not even the buyer. I'm an agent. Never, ever, ever," he says, growing visibly irritated, did he sell to countries other than Israel. "I want to make that point, because I know some people would label me an arms dealer.
  "What we do is send my people to the United States," Milchan explains, curiously in the present tense, "so we know what these guys are talking about, and you go back and say to the buyer, `I think this guy has some interesting stuff. Would you meet with him?' And then you arrange a meeting with the head of the [Israeli] air force and the head of this and the head of that." Representing Israel, a country that practices war games during the lulls when it is not waging war, is about as plum as it gets in the arms bazaar. "Israel was the only place where America could use their systems in battle without having to send soldiers," he explains. "That's why Israel is so strategically important for the aerospace industry."
  Gilliam says he'll never forget a visit to the Paris Air Show with Milchan during the filming of Baron Munchausen. "It was wonderful to see how the whole arms business worked," says Gilliam. "Amon was very psyched about the video games. He brought his son with him, who was then a teenager, to play the games, which can replicate the destruction of the planet. He took me to the Raytheon booth, and it was all showmanship. He was obviously a big star to Raytheon."
  Milchan's relationship with Raytheon has been a long and, at times, bumpy one. His first flap with controversy came in 1975, over an "improper $300,000 commission paid to his company by a Raytheon subsidiary for the sale of Hawk missiles," according to Robert Windrem, coauthor of Critical Mass: The Dangerous Race for Superweapons in a Fragmenting World. The case made headlines, but Milchan was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing. Considerably more trouble and bad press resulted from one of Milchan's ventures in South Africa in the mid-'70s, erupting in a national scandal dubbed Muldergate.
  With both Israel and South Africa increasingly isolated at the time, the two countries had embarked on a series of joint ventures running the gamut from public relations to the acquirement of nuclear technology. "Yes, there was a coordinated effort to explain apartheid in a way that it was not such a bad thing," says Milchan, who claims he was innocently and naively brought into a project whose goal was to buy media sources around the world in order to promote a better image of South Africa. According to Andrew and Leslie Cockburn, authors of Dangerous Liaison, "the Rabin government recruited ... Milchan to launder cash ... to purchase influential publications." Milchan puts it another way, saying he was asked by prominent Israelis if "we can use your companies to make deals to buy newspapers. I said, `Sure. It sounds like fun.' Basically, I was used as a middleman." Later, Milchan says, when he realized the true nature of apartheid, he pulled the plug on the deal.
  Milchan's closest call with catastrophe came in 1985, when a business associate, Richard Kelly Smyth, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on charges of smuggling 810 krytons (electronic timing devices that can be used to trigger nuclear explosions) to Israel. Smyth first met him in the early 1970s when he was working for Rockwell. In 1973, Smyth started his own company called Milco, financed, according to the Washington Post, by Milchan, hence its name. Up to 80 percent of Milco's business was reportedly with Milchan and Israel. Milchan claims he has never had any financial interest in Milco. Although selling arms to Israel is legal, any weapon or resource with a nuclear capability requires either a munitions license or an end-user certificate, both of which would be denied by the State Department because Israel has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. However, in 1980, the federal indictment asserted, Smyth and Milco sent 610 krytons to Israel without the necessary licenses, plus another 200 in 1982.
  In August 1985, U.S. Customs subpoenaed the financial records linking Smyth and Milchan. The records were neither turned over nor found. Smyth and his wife disappeared just days before his scheduled trial, which almost certainly would have involved Milchan. "I don't know what the hell they were talking about," he told Windrem about the Smyth case. Milchan's lawyer also claimed he had proof that his client's company had instructed Smyth to apply for the proper licenses. Milchan refuses to divulge details but offers a cryptic aside. "Let's assume that there's nothing that Israel and the United States do separately," he says with a trace of amusement. Smyth, a U.S. fugitive for more than a decade, was last seen in Herzliya Pituach, an affluent suburb of Tel Aviv, where Milchan owns a home.
  Milchan says he dropped out of weapons sales, which he calls "aerospace," in 1991, post-Gulf War, after "selling the Patriot missiles to Israel to defend against the Scuds." He he quit for various reasons, not the least being that he was tired of being stigmatized by what he calls "cheap shots." Some question whether he is really out of the business. Even Milchan is somewhat ambiguous: "I'll say it in my own words. I love Israel, and any way I can help Israel, I will. I'll do it again and again. If you say I'm an arms dealer, that's your problem. In Israel, there is practically no business that does not have something to do with defense."
  PEOPLE COME TO HOLLYWOOD to be born again. The promised land of indulgence and amnesia, Hollywood cares little about people's pasts. Indeed, Milchan's weapons dealing has, if anything, augmented the aura and mystique of his outsider, bad-boy profile. Moreover, anything done for the benefit of Israel is given a wide berth. "I remember a front-page story in London about Amon and nuclear triggers," recalls one of Hollywood's most prominent producers. "Hollywood doesn't give a shit about it. They think it's glamorous. It's like Begelman. Anything goes, as long as your pictures make money."
  But given his combative nature, Milchan has had his share of skirmishes. "Arnon was a pirate, a buccaneer in Hollywood," says Gilliam. "He ran into Hollywood's anti-Semitism. They don't like real Jews. They don't like Israelis. Arnon has a Levantine soul. Everything is horse trading and carpet dealing." A top Hollywood executive once warned Oliver Stone to stay clear of Milchan. "He told me that Arnon was a Middle Eastern rug dealer. Beware," recalls Stone, embittered from business dealings gone sour. "I should have listened to him. He was right."
  In one bruising battle during the making of Brazil, then-MCA president Sidney Sheinberg shot off a memo to Milchan: "In Texas, we have a saying, `Put your money where your mouth is.' I'm sure there's a Hebrew equivalent." Milchan, who later battled Sheinberg over the release of the film, was unamused and dismissed the executive as "an assimilated Beverly Hills Jew."
  Ultimately, it is Israel and its sense of persecution that colors Milchan's personal and professional life. Former Fox president and now independent producer Larry Gordon remembers getting a call a few years ago from Milchan, who was on his first trip to Tokyo. "At the time, I was partnered with the Japanese, and Arnon called and said, `Larry, I feel really weird here. It's very strange the way they treat me.' I said, `Arnon, you gotta understand, these people don't like Americans, they don't like Jews, and they especially don't like Israelis. That's just the way it is.' There was a long pause, and then Arnon says, `You mean, like Baghdad?'"
  Milchan first started producing films in Israel with a movie called Black Joy in the mid-'70s, then forayed into Hollywood by covering the completion bond for the television miniseries Masada in 1981. "I was discovered by a guy called Elliot Kastner," says Milchan. A lover of glamour, glitz and girls, Milchan became hooked on show business after a dinner with Kastner and Elizabeth Taylor. "You kind of buy yourself into it to be humiliated--into becoming the next sucker in the business. So I voluntarily said, `Okay, I just want to be around.' All of a sudden, I'm in business with this guy," says Milchan. "Just staying alive is the name of the game. So I hung on."
  A former employee says that Milchan used his invincible charm to convince Cannes officials that Black Joy was a worthy entry into the festival. After a few films and a falling-out with Kastner, Milchan set out on his own, setting up Regency Productions and establishing a reputation for making prestige pictures with respected directors such as Sydney Pollack, Sidney Lumet, Ridley Scott, Ron Shelton and Martin Scorsese (The King of Comedy is Milchan's favorite of the movies he's produced). Adding to his outsider mystique, the multilingual Milchan continued to live and work most of the time away from Hollywood, shuttling between his various homes--the consummate jet-setter.
  "He's one of those rare people who can do the detail work and also stay focused on the big picture," says former partner Steve Reuther. "I knew he had a dozen other businesses, but here he only talked about the movie business." A current associate describes him as "both a dealmaker and a filmmaker who's pretty hands-on when he's in town." Robert De Niro, who has made five films with Milchan (Brazil, Guilty by Suspicion, Heat, The King of Comedy and Once Upon a Time in America), says that "compared to some of the people out there who have nothing on them but an Armani suit, Arnon is the real thing. He's paid his dues, he's got good taste, works very hard, and he's totally committed. He spins circles around those other guys."
  Milchan runs his company like a family business. Heading up New Regency Productions for him is his childhood friend David Matalon, whose parents were best friends with Milchan's. Daughter Alexandra is vice president of production in Los Angeles; son Yariv, a photographer, shoots movie stills, while daughter Elinor is an independent producer, presently making a documentary on Cuban artists. All three children speak reverentially of their father, who raised them from their teen years. French is the family language, Israel the family identity, says Elinor. "When we were kids, we wanted more time with him," says Alexandra, "but now I realize it's quality, not quantity, of time. Growing up, I would read that he was an arms dealer; he was in the MOSSAD, and he was a movie producer. But what I like is that he is really close to the ground, very real and simple. Until recently, we traveled coach. He wanted us to know the real world. The worst thing that could happen to me is to lose his trust and respect. My family is not a family--it's a clan."
  In Israel, Milchan spends much of his time with best friend Shimon Peres, the former prime minister who recommended two books to him, The Name of the Rose and The Remains of the Day. (Rose was developed by Milchan and eventually made into a movie by other people.) His relationship with Peres almost led to another unlikely collaboration. "I was over at his house during Passover in 1995," recalls Milchan. Anyway, we're getting drunk, having a good time, and all of a sudden he's looking at his watch. He said, `Oh. It's 11:30. I have a meeting with the Palestinians.'" Moments later, "security men and the [Palestinian] delegation come in, including Nabil Shaat, an Arafat lieutenant. And it's `Shimon promised me this and that.' I'm absolutely impressed with how smart they are, how in good faith and trusting they are. Seriously. I here was more good faith there than there is in Hollywood. And I'm sitting there and nobody has noticed me, and Shimon says, `This is Arnon, he's a good friend. He makes movies.' And somebody says, `Really? What movies?' `Oh, he made Pretty Woman.' And they say, `That's Arafat's favorite movie. He saw it 20 times. Oh, you did The Client? Oh, my God.' At the end, they are designing a movie about a Palestinian and a Jew."
  Recently, Milchan has become close to Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and is anxiously watching the Israel-Syria peace talks. "I think Barak will get a good deal. It has got to be done. Look, we can always go back to war if it doesn't work out," he cracks, but adds, "give peace a chance."
  Former colleagues say Milchan shifts from kindly patriarch to vengeful demagogue, veering between outrageous generosity and inexplicable miserliness. "On Brazil we had a great relationship," says Gilliam, "on Munchausen, he was dreadful." The nub of their falling-out was a $150,000 development fee that Fox had paid out for the rights to the screenplay. According to Gilliam and others on the production, Milchan simply pocketed the money, pushing the overbudget, disaster-plagued shoot into more red ink. Milchan says that the money was reimbursement for his own out-of-pocket expenses on the film. When Gilliam decided to take his beleaguered film elsewhere, Fox demanded its development fee back--the first Gilliam had heard about it. Later, when he and Milchan split, Milchan insisted on another $75,000 payment plus profit points before signing off from their deal. "Arnon has to screw everyone--partners, friends--literally, figuratively, in every sense of the word," says Gilliam with a raucous laugh. "It's pathological. He can't stop himself. At some point, he needs to invent an enemy." Another filmmaker says wearily, "Sooner or later, you'll be on the outside with Arnon. This is a man who has to win. He doesn't believe that both parties can win."
  On one occasion, according to producer Gordon, Milchan was playing tennis with his best friend, Meier Tepper, at the Hotel du Cap on the French Riviera. "Meier is a really sweet, nice guy, and Arnon almost always beats him. But this one time, Meier was up five-love. Arnon threw a fit--screaming that his friend was cheating him and carrying on like it was some blood feud, until he just psyched Meier out and won. To my mind, he's as competitive as Eisner and Murdoch."
  Roman Polanski has enjoyed a 20-year friendship with Milchan. "Dinners, parties, nightclubs," says Polanski from his home in Paris. "He's fun." In 1981, Milchan produced the French version of the stage play Amadeus, which Polanski directed and starred in as Mozart. "It was a big success and could have gone on for years, but I couldn't do it anymore," says Polanski, who adds that Milchan has also helped him with advice about distribution of his films. However, they have yet to make a movie together. "Of course, I've heard what people say: `Better to be friends with him than do business.' I know he's a tough businessman. Tough is fine, ruthless, no--but I haven't seen that."
  ALONGSIDE THE POND at Milchan's home in France is a life-size sculpture of a man sitting at a table, facing a plateful of money. It's called The Last Meal of a Greedy Man. Milchan tells me it was a gift to him from director Sergio Leone, but he's quick to add that Leone was not sending him a message. Stone, who made JFK and Natural Born Killers with Milchan, thinks otherwise. "He's as cheap as they come," says a furious Stone. "He's sick about money, obsessed with losing it. I learned a very hard lesson, and it cost me a lot of my personal money. I don't want to get into a pissing contest, but Arnon can be very nasty." Even former partners in Hollywood--where the dictum is "no memory, no enemies"--say that a tangle with Milchan can be costly. Concurs one, "He approaches everything like tennis, and it's unbearable for him to lose--even a point."
  Natalie Zimmerman, an interior designer who was married to Reuther, recalls a dinner at Cannes some years ago where the topic was two competing Christopher Columbus projects, one to be made by Ridley Scott, the other by the Salkind family. "Arnon said, `I bet neither one gets off the ground,'" remembers Zimmerman, who replied that she thought otherwise. "I said, `I bet they both get made.' Arnon gave me one of his looks and says sarcastically, `Look who's talking. The interior designer!' See, he likes to humiliate people. Then he says, `I'll bet you any watch in the world that neither movie will get made.'" Zimmerman won the bet but had to badger Milchan before he finally sent her a Rolex, "a cheap one," she adds.
  Nevertheless, Milchan continues to attract high-class talent and partners. Like Fitzgerald's Gatsby, Milchan possesses "a heightened sensitivity to the promise of life," which draws the best and brightest toward him. However studied and contrived his casualness, self-deprecating charm and perpetual enthusiasm may be, it's an irresistible package to many. "He consistently picks winners. Most of his movies do very well," admits one of his critics. "The showmanship is the side I like, except when it's self-serving," says Gilliam. "That's the sad part." Previous to Munchausen, Gilliam was taken with Milchan's ostensible generosity and grandiosity. "His great skill was pretending that he's very rich. He'd rent two cabanas--not one--at the Beverly Hills Hotel to out-impress the other big shots," says Gilliam. "It was his belief that Hollywood throws money at money. But he never spends his own money." "Personally, I don't know anyone who has ever made money with Arnon," says a major Hollywood producer. "It will be real interesting to see what happens with Rupert Murdoch. Real interesting."
  Milchan clearly relishes his relationship with Murdoch and, judging by his own recent global moves, certainly sees him as a role model. "I consider him one of my best friends, and I think vice versa. We're having a ball. He's a very cool guy." On Murdoch's recent remarriage to 32-year-old Wendi Deng, Milchan says, "He's like a kid now. They giggle and enjoy each other. Rupert's a gentleman, and I know you'll laugh at this, but he's a gentle person."
  Milchan offers a description of Murdoch that could almost describe himself. "He reminds me of the Michael Douglas character in Falling Down, who says, `I just want to go home, and if no one gets in my way, nobody's gonna get hurt.'"
  IN MID-JANUARY, Milchan is in an ebullient mood. He has survived the worst storm of the century in Europe, holed up in his mansion in the French countryside for nine days without electricity, water, heat or telephone. "It was crazy. Here I was, a Jew in a storm. I slept 18 hours a day. It was great. Every time I woke up, I took a sleeping pill."
  Milchan is not cheerful simply because he has caught up on his sleep. He has just received the ratings numbers for his new sitcom, Malcolm in the Middle. "We're going to save the Fox network," he says gleefully. But television and movies are only part of the big picture for Milchan. He promises that another substantial acquisition is in the offing but with typical secretiveness declines to disclose any specifics. In the meantime, he has masterminded a merchandising deal between his sneaker company, Puma, and 13 pro football teams, including the St. Louis Rams and the Tennessee Titans. Much to Milchan's delight, the Super Bowl rivals performed in front of an estimated TV audience of 130 million sporting Puma patches on their jerseys.
  "It's the synergy between films, music and sports," Milchan tells me. "That's where the future lies." And his model is Murdoch's News Corp., which in addition to its Fox Sports Network also owns the Dodgers. Rather than spend 20 years building a sports company, Milchan saw Puma as a shortcut into the sports world, using his movies and Murdoch's TV programming to promote the brand name.
  And, of course, athletes have to be doing something while they wear his shoes, so Milchan spent $120 million to acquire nine-year television rights for the Women's Tennis Association Tour. This was potentially an even better fit with Murdoch's worldwide television interests. For Milchan, the tennis deal had all the ingredients of a movie--stunning women, glamour, exotic locations. At the time of the deal in 1998, he suggested using movie costume designers to outfit his female players. And to prove that tennis had the requisite sizzle, he showed up at the French Open with supermodel Naomi Campbell and at Wimbledon with Kevin Spacey.
  Milchan's deal with Fox also assures him a level of financial security. With Murdoch's $200 million investment and a subsequent $600 million line of credit from a team of banks led by Chase Manhattan, Milchan is well into mogul territory. Although New Regency has been in more of a start-up phase than a production mode at Fox and has yet to have a hit, he expects the company to eventually finance about nine pictures a year. Squelch, directed by film noir master John Dahl, will be released this summer; Joel Schumacher's Tigerland and Big Momma's House, starring Martin Lawrence, are in production.
  With a 15-year distribution arrangement at Fox, Milchan is unlikely to make any moves to acquire another studio, as he did with MGM. "If you buy a studio, you're going to be under intense scrutiny," says one former studio head. "And Arnon's got most of his assets tied up in foreign entities. They would take a close look at all that. Also, running a studio means collective decisions with a board and all that, and I don't see Arnon as being one who likes to consult with a lot of people. I think he's better off doing what he's doing."
  "Arnon gets to do what we all dream about, but you can't if you're running a studio," says former Warner Bros. cochairman Terry Semel. "You can't run Warners or MGM from France. He is a superb producer--brilliant at putting people and things together--but he'd have to trade it all if he became a corporate officer."
  And for all of his wheeling and dealing, Milchan is not a corporate creature. He continues to spend only a few days a month in L.A.; the rest of the time, he is flying between Paris, Monte Carlo and Tel Aviv, often visiting stars on the sets of his movies. He loves reading scripts and jet-setting with the talent. Although he's not always involved in the day-to-day operation of his company, he still retains the final say on all New Regency product.
  In 1994, for his 50th birthday, his longtime paramour produced a video tribute based on his need to conquer and please, titled Natural Born Seducer. Hollywood stories, probably apocryphal, suggest he built a tennis court for one Industry executive and bought a house in the south of France for another. "Arnon has three great assets," Sergio Leone was fond of telling people. "Charm, charm and charm." I get a chance to see this firsthand. Days after I mention my interest in Mideast politics, particularly in Morocco, Milchan calls to invite me to a birthday party for Moroccan King Hassan II's son, who has since ascended to the throne. "Now I'm working for you," he jokes.
  The next day, he has chartered a jet for the flight. "I'm nervous," he says. "This will be my first time to an Arab country. You know I have an Israeli passport." We are met at the airport in Rabat by one of the court's ladies-in-waiting. Before the party, Milchan and his son run off to the beach for a swim. Still in his shorts and T-shirt, Milchan drops in at the home of the king's chief adviser, Andre Azoulay, a Moroccan Jew who had previously been a political prisoner. In the space of two hours, Milchan announces his intention to invest in Moroccan agriculture and in starting a new media company. Azoulay is so impressed that he calls and notifies the king midway through the meeting.
  Later that night, at the prince's party, an event as lavish and surreal as any Fellini movie, Milchan mingles easily with the polylingual glitterati, imported Eurotrash and powers that be. After leaving Morocco on a hired jet, he lands at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, helicopters to his home in Montfort l'Amaury, sleeps two hours, helicopters back to the airport, jumps on the Concorde to JFK and then another helicopter to a waiting boat in East Hampton for a weekend cruise with his children, then heads off to L.A. for the premiere of one of his films. "Arnon is too smart to waste life on pessimism," says his old friend Shimon Peres. "But he is more than an opportunist; he's an opportunity creator."
  Indeed. A few years back, during Benjamin Netanyahu's hectic first visit to the States as Israel's prime minister, Milchan somehow wangled a dinner date with him. Never mind that Netanyahu had ousted Peres, whom Milchan had spent election night consoling. Not one to let stones gather moss, Milchan was eager to offer congratulations. Charmed, the new prime minister took time out of his frantic schedule to accompany Milchan to a specially arranged screening for the producer's latest film, A Time to Kill. Even for a social magician like Milchan, the evening paid a handsome dual dividend--cementing a relationship with Israel's new leader while garnering a fresh dollop of buzz for his film. "No one but Arnon could get Netanyahu to go to his movie. No one. That's his genius," says Gordon. Even Gilliam agrees. "Arnon could be king of the world--if he only stopped doing petty, stupid things."
  ANN LOUISE BARDACHIn her long journalism career, Ann Louise Bardach has interviewed world leaders from Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto to Cuba's Fidel Castro. Bardach stays on the world stage this month with her story on enigmtic producer Arnon Milchan ("The Last Tycoon" page 74), who already exerted a certain global influence before he came to town. "Most Hollywood people think they're very sophisticated, but in fact, they're not," says Bardach, who writes for Vanity Fair and the New York Times and is the winner of the 1995 PEN West Award for Journalism. "Milchan is truly an international player" Bardach's work has also appeared in The New Yorker and the New Republic.
VIDEO-Major film producer Arnon Milchan says he was a spy - YouTube
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AUDIO-VIDEO-'The Knockout Game': An Old Phenomenon With Fresh Branding : Code Switch : NPR
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  This still from a video of an alleged "knockout game" assault has been played over and over on news reports on the supposed trend.
  HLNThis still from a video of an alleged "knockout game" assault has been played over and over on news reports on the supposed trend.
  HLNThere are a few variations, but this is generally how "the knockout game" works: A teenager, or a bunch of teenagers, bored and looking for something to get into, spies some unsuspecting mark on the street. They size up the person, then walk up close to their target and '-- BLAM '-- punch him or her as hard as possible in an effort to knock the person out. The most brazen perpetrators even post the videos on sites like YouTube and Vine.
  There are reports about "the knockout game" popping up all over the news. In St. Louis. In Hoboken, N.J.Brooklyn. Lansing, Mich.
  In several instances, these attacks have been fatal. And they can be deeply and understandably traumatizing to victims.
  Part of what unnerves people about this phenomenon is that it's described as a "game," a pastime of bored, delinquent young people. As Jamelle Bouie writes at The Daily Beast, "It's as if we're living in A Clockwork Orange, with our cities under siege by violent young men."
  In a story in the Riverfront Times, a few young people said they'd participated in "knockout king" '-- one of the its various names '-- and said it was a pretty well-known activity in their neighborhood. (It's worth noting that this story is from two years ago. More on that in a second.)
  Framing it as a game gives it a hook for the news media, but we already have a name for this type of thing: It's a random street assault, a terrible phenomenon, but not a new one. And the language that kids and the news media have latched onto makes it sound both sinister and casual. It dramatizes the behavior, perversely elevating it above the senseless street violence that happens every day and has happened for decades. (There were more than 750,000 assaults in 2011, according to the FBI.)
  As Chris Ferguson, a psychologist who specializes in youth and violence, told the Riverfront Times, "For some reason everything involving teens gets called a game, no matter how little play behavior has to do with the motives."
  There are plenty of good reasons to refer to this phenomenon simply as assault. For starters, the knockout game is pretty hard to distinguish, in cause and effect, from random attacks, according to the New York Times: "Police officials in several cities where such attacks have been reported said that the 'game' amounted to little more than an urban myth, and that the attacks in question might be nothing more than the sort of random assaults that have always occurred."
  And officials in both the New York Times and the Riverfront Times stories pushed back hard on framing this activity as a game. "A kid arrested for assault may tell authorities it was a game because he doesn't want to tell anyone what the fight was really about," one St. Louis city official told the Riverfront Times.
  And again, in the NYT:
  [Officials] cautioned that they had yet to see evidence of an organized game spreading among teenagers online, though they have been reluctant to rule out the possibility.
  There is particular concern within the department that widespread coverage could create the atmosphere where such a "game" could take hold in New York.
  The name of the "game" itself isn't very precise. In recent years, "knockout" has also been used to refer to a game in which a bunch of kids try to make themselves pass out.
  Every few years, the "trend" of bored delinquents assaulting random strangers gets some new designation. Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was "wilding." In the mid-aughts in the the U.K., it was "happy-slapping." In recent years, the news media in my hometown, Philadelphia, was filled with stories of "flash mobs." (Every report on knockout gives it a different name, too: "point 'em out, knock 'em out," "one-hitter quitter," "knockout king.")
  In a few of these incarnations, as in this most recent one, there are racial dimensions to the phenomenon. The current "knockout game," "wilding" and "flash mobs" all ostensibly involve young black kids inflicting violence on arbitrary white folks because of their race. In fact, one of the knockout game's other alleged names is more gruesomely racialized: "polar bear hunting." And with this, too, we already have some terminology: An attack on someone because of his or her race is a "hate crime." (Indeed, one of the people indicted in an alleged incident of the knockout game was charged with a hate crime.)
  The first reference we could find to "the knockout game" goes back to 1992, when the Boston Globe reported on a case in East Cambridge, Mass., in which several young men fatally stabbed an MIT student after playing "knockout." None of the principals in that story was black.
  But treating the knockout game as a separate phenomenon from street assaults also posits it as an altogether new thing that's on the rise. It isn't.
  Ferguson told us that violent crime, and violent crime by young folks in particular, is down. Way down. The rate of violent crime among young people has fallen by nearly two-thirds over the past two decades. "We are seeing a massive decline in our country '-- of course, being the U.S., we had the furthest to fall compared to other countries," Ferguson said. "There's been a remarkable decline of violence, rape '-- [even] bullying, as much as it gets attention."
  Ferguson went on: "Youth today are about as well-behaved as we have on record," he says. (He said that violent crime committed by people over the age of 50 has fallen less dramatically.)
  Ferguson said that giving crimes names '-- here "the knockout game" '-- also helps gives them narratives. And once we have those categories, we begin to apply that label to any instance that fits the pattern. Ferguson said that now random assaults are being retroactively tagged as examples of the knockout game.
  "If the narrative didn't exist, then people wouldn't be thinking along those lines," Ferguson said.
  Indeed, as several observers have pointed out, many of the videos and cases being discussed in the current furor over the knockout game are over a year old. That Riverfront Times story we linked to above is from 2011. So if this is a new trend, it's been a "new trend" for quite a while now.
  The way we frame this type of incident deeply influences how we process this type of incident. So if these assaults aren't new, and we already have language for them, and the incidents happen with relative infrequency over large swaths of time and space, is there any value in calling it "the knockout game"?
Board of Directors - About CPJ - Committee to Protect Journalists
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  Sandra Mims Rowe was elected chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2011, having joined CPJ's board of directors in 2003. Rowe was editor of The Oregonian in Portland, Oregon, from 1993 until January 2010. Under her leadership, the newspaper won five Pulitzer Prizes, including the Gold Medal for Public Service. She was the Knight Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard University during the 2010-2011 academic year.
  Rowe has been recognized often for her contributions to journalism and her excellence in leadership. In 2003, the National Press Foundation named her editor of the year, and in 2008, Editor & Publisher magazine named her editor of the year. In 2010, the American Society of Newspaper Editors awarded her its National Leadership Award, and in 2010, the University of Missouri School of Journalism awarded her its Medal of Honor for Distinguished Service to Journalism. In 2011, the Livingston Foundation recognized her mentoring of scores of young journalists with the Richard Clurman Award.
  Rowe chairs the Board of Visitors of the Knight Fellowships at Stanford University. She is also a member of Willamette University's Board of Trustees and Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism's Board of Visitors.
  From 1994 to 2003, Rowe served on the Pulitzer Prize Board and was its chair in 2002-2003. She is a past president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
  From 1984 until April 1993, Rowe was executive editor and vice president of The Virginian-Pilot, in Norfolk, Virginia, and The Ledger-Star, in Virginia Beach. She had been with The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star for 22 years. The Virginian-Pilot won the Pulitzer Prize for general news reporting, its first in 25 years, under her leadership.
  She is married to Gerard P. Rowe, a lawyer, and is the mother of two daughters, Mims and Sarah.
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  Stephen J. Adler is president and editor-in-chief of Reuters, where he is responsible for the team that produces and markets Reuters news and commentary worldwide.Adler joined Thomson Reuters in 2010 as senior vice president and editorial director of the company's Professional Division. In this role, he built and directed news operations to deliver original journalism and relevant Reuters content to the millions of subscribers who rely on the company's business units for information products and services. He was named editor-in-chief, Reuters News, and executive vice president, News, in 2011, where he directed the editorial operations and news strategy for the company.
  Before joining Thomson Reuters, Adler was editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek, where, during his five-year tenure, the magazine and its website won more than 100 major journalism awards. He also spent 16 years at The Wall Street Journal. As investigative editor, Adler managed reporting teams that won three Pulitzer Prizes for the paper between 1995 and 1999. As deputy managing editor, he oversaw the award-winning Wall Street Journal Online, created The Wall Street Journal Books imprint, and co-taught the ethics and standards course required of all news employees. Previously he was editor of The American Lawyer. He began his career as a reporter at local newspapers in Florida.
  A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Adler is author of the book The Jury: Trial and Error in the American Courtroom, which won the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association. With his wife, the novelist Lisa Grunwald, he was co-editor of the best-selling Letters of the Century: America 1900--1999 and Women's Letters: America from the Revolutionary War to the Present. They are currently working on a third anthology, about marriage through the centuries.
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  Andrew Alexander is a Washington-based news media consultant and distinguished visiting professional at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University. He served as ombudsman at the Washington Post, a two-year position, from 2009 to 2011. Previously, Alexander was Washington bureau chief for Cox Newspapers, where he oversaw a staff of roughly 25 reporters and editors in the nation's capital as well as bureaus in Baghdad, Jerusalem, London, Beijing, Mexico City, the Caribbean, New York, and the West Coast.
  Alexander began his career as a reporter for the Melbourne Herald in Australia, later joining the Dayton Journal-Herald, where he worked as an investigative reporter and political writer. He joined the Cox Washington Bureau in 1976 as the Journal-Herald's correspondent, moved to the national staff in 1984, and was named foreign editor in 1989. Alexander became deputy bureau chief in 1994 and was named bureau chief in 1997. He has reported from more than 50 countries and covered armed conflicts in Vietnam, Angola, Iran, and Iraq.
  Alexander has won or shared in the Raymond Clapper Award for distinguished Washington correspondence, the Global Media Award, the Thomas L. Stokes Award for environmental reporting, the Ohio Associated Press Award for investigative reporting (twice), and the Ohio Associated Press Award for feature writing.
  Born in Rochester, N.Y., and reared in the Ohio town of Urbana, Alexander graduated from Ohio University with a degree in journalism. He is the chairman of the Freedom of Information Committee of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, and serves on the advisory board of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
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  Franz Allina was counsel to the office of the appellate defender in 2003 and 2004. Awarded his law degree from the Cardozo School of Law in 1993, he has worked on capital appeals in Florida, Arkansas, and Missouri. From 1993 to 1995 he was coordinator of the special committee on capital representation for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is the co-author of the 1993 book, The Crisis in Capital Representation.
  Allina won awards for broadcast editorials from 1979 to 1987, while serving as chairman and president of The Radio Company Inc., which operated FM and AM stations in New York, Connecticut and California. From 1971 to 1979, he was president and a director of CTW Communications, Inc., a venture capital subsidiary of the Sesame Workshop.
  Allina has served as consultant to the president of CBS on Congressional oversight of television programming. He is the author of early critiques of the U.S. Fairness Doctrine and, with Henry Geller, of the FCC equal time rule.
  Allina conducted missions to Malaysia for CPJ and for the anticensorship group, Article 19. He has participated in CPJ missions to Haiti and Indonesia.
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  Christiane Amanpour is the global affairs anchor for ABC News, providing international analysis of important issues of the day for ABC News programs and platforms, and anchoring primetime documentaries on international subjects, as well as host of "Amanpour" and chief international correspondent for CNN International.
  Her illustrious career in journalism spans three decades. When she became an international correspondent for CNN in 1990, her first major assignment was covering the Gulf War. She has since reported from the world's major hotspots, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Somalia, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Asia, Rwanda, the Balkans, and the U.S. during Hurricane Katrina. She has interviewed most of the top world leaders over the past two decades, including securing the only interview with Hosni Mubarak and an exclusive with Muammar Ghadafi during the Arab Spring.
  Ms. Amanpour has received every major broadcast award, including an inaugural Television Academy Award, nine News and Documentary Emmys, four George Foster Peabody Awards, two George Polk Awards, three duPont-Columbia Awards, the Courage in Journalism Award, an Edward R. Murrow Award and nine honorary degrees. In 2011 she received a Giants in Broadcasting award and was the 2011 recipient of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Arizona State University. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and a Honorary Citizen of Sarajevo.
  Ms. Amanpour was born in London and spent part of her childhood in Tehran, Iran. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a BA in journalism.
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  A former foreign correspondent for The Associated Press, Terry Anderson was held hostage for seven years by Shiite Hezbollah partisans attempting to drive the United States from Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war. He is the author of the bestseller Den of Lions, an account of his years as a hostage. In 1996 he returned to Lebanon to do a CNN special report, "Return to the Lion's Den."
  Since his release in 1991, Anderson has worked as a journalist, run small businesses, taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, and run for the Ohio state Senate. He wrote a syndicated column for King Features on government and politics, and is a well-known speaker around the United States. In 2009, Anderson joined the faculty at the University of Kentucky journalism school, where he teaches a course on international journalism.
  Anderson was a combat correspondent with the U.S. Marines during the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1970. He went on to graduate from Iowa State University with a degree in broadcast journalism in 1974. He then joined The Associated Press, serving in Asia and Africa before being assigned to Lebanon as the chief Middle East correspondent in 1983.
  Anderson founded the Vietnam Children's Fund, which builds schools in Vietnam, and the Father Lawrence Jenco Foundation to support charity work in Appalachia. He has received numerous awards, both for journalism and community service, including the first Free Spirit Award from the Freedom Forum.
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  John S. Carroll has been editor of three newspapers: the Los Angeles Times (2000-2005), Baltimore Sun (1991-2000), and Lexington Herald-Leader (1979-1991). He is currently writing a narrative nonfiction book and working on not-for-profit ventures having to do with journalism and education. He is chairman of the News Literacy Project, which gives students critical tools for identifying the valuable sources of information within the torrent of digital information they receive.
  In 2006, he was Knight Visiting Lecturer at the Shorenstein Center of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and taught a course titled "Journalistic Values in a Time of Upheaval."
  Carroll began his career in 1963 as a reporter for the Providence Journal-Bulletin. After serving in the Army (1964-1966) he joined the Baltimore Sun as a local reporter and later became the Sun's correspondent in Vietnam, the Middle East, and Washington. He got into editing as city editor and then metropolitan editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer. A graduate of Haverford College, he was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. He was also a fellow in a program at Oxford modeled on the Nieman Foundation. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  Carroll has received a number of journalism awards and was a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board from 1994 to 2003. He was the board's chairman in 2002. In 2004 he was honored with CPJ's Burton Benjamin Memorial Award.
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  Kathleen Carroll is executive editor and senior vice president of The Associated Press, responsible for content in all formats from the journalists based in AP's 243 bureaus and 97 countries around the world. At the AP, Carroll has helped transition its news into multimedia formats and dealt with security issues for journalists covering stories in war zones and other hostile environments.
  Carroll first joined the AP's Dallas bureau in 1978, after her job as a reporter at The Dallas Morning News. During her career at the AP, she has been a writer and editor at AP's bureaus in Dallas, Washington, New Jersey, and California.
  Carroll has also worked for Knight Ridder, where she directed Washington and international coverage for newspapers and multimedia. She was a business editor at the International Herald Tribune in Paris until returning to the United States as an editor at the San Jose Mercury News. She has served on the Pulitzer Prize Board since 2003.
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  Rajiv Chandrasekaran is a senior correspondent and associate editor of The Washington Post, where he has worked since 1994. He has served as the Post's national editor and as an assistant managing editor. In 2005, Chandrasekaran was the journalist in residence at the International Reporting Project at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, as well as public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
  Chandrasekaran ran the Post's bureau in Baghdad from 2003 to 2004, covering the American invasion of Iraq and the country's occupation. He authored the best-selling book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, a chronicle of the American reconstruction effort in Iraq. His other foreign assignments include serving as Cairo bureau chief and Southeast Asia correspondent, and reporting on the war in Afghanistan.
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  Sheila Coronel is director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and is the Toni Stabile Professor of Professional Practice in Investigative Journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Coronel began her reporting career in 1982, when she joined the staff of Philippine Panorama, a widely read magazine in her native Philippines. As Ferdinand Marcos gradually lost political power, Coronel reported on human rights abuses, the growing democratic movement, and the election of Corazon Aquino as president. She later joined the staff of the Manila Times as a political reporter, and wrote special reports for The Manila Chronicle. As a stringer for The New York Times and The Guardian of London, she covered seven attempted coups against the Aquino government.
  In 1989, Coronel and colleagues founded the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) to promote investigative reporting. Under her leadership, the center became one of the premier investigative reporting institutions in the region.
  Coronel is the author and editor of more than a dozen books, including Coups, Cults & Cannibals, a collection of reporting; The Rulemakers: How the wealthy and well-born dominate Congress; and Pork and other Perks: Corruption and Governance in the Philippines.
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  Josh Friedman is director of international programs at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he has taught since 1992. He reported for Newsday from 1982 until 2001, his last position being United Nations bureau chief. In 1985, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for his coverage of the famine in Ethiopia.
  Friedman was editor-in-chief of the Soho Weekly News in New York from 1979 to 1981; a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1977 to 1979; and statehouse bureau chief for the New York Post from 1972 to 1977. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica from 1964 to 1966.
  Friedman won the International Reporting Award from the National Association of Black Journalists (1985); the Blue Pencil Award from Columbia University's Daily Spectator (1980); the Keystone Press Award from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association (1979); the Associated Press Managing Editors Award for public service (1979); the Thomas L. Stokes Award from the Washington Journalism Center (1979); and the Edward J. Meeman conservation reporting award from the Scripps Howard Foundation (1979). He has a bachelor's degree in history from Rutgers University and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.
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  For more than 20 years, Anne Garrels was a roving correspondent for National Public Radio's foreign desk. She covered the fall of the Soviet Union, Tiananmen Square, the 1991 Gulf War, global water issues, and the breakup of Yugoslavia. She was Moscow Bureau Chief from 1993-1997. She has been recipient of the most prestigious awards for broadcast journalism.
  After 9/11, Garrels reported from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Israel. She earned particular recognition for her coverage in Iraq of the runup to the U.S. invasion, and her on-the-ground reporting during the U.S. bombing campaign. She remained in Iraq for another five years. Her early experiences in Baghdad are chronicled in the 2003 book, Naked In Baghdad.
  Before joining NPR, Garrels worked for ABC News as a producer, Moscow Bureau Chief and chief of Central American operations. She was also NBC's State Department correspondent.
  Garrels is a longtime member of the Committee to Protect Journalists. She is also on the board of Oxfam America.
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  James C. Goodale, a leading First Amendment and communications lawyer, served as Chairman of the CPJ Board from 1989 to 1994. During his tenure he built CPJ into a significant international force to release imprisoned journalists, enlisted powerful members to its Board which included Tom Brokaw, Anthony Lewis and Kati Marton, and increased its budget substantially.
  From 1967 to 1980, he was General Counsel and Vice Chairman of The New York Times. He defended the Times in the Supreme Court case of the Pentagon Papers in 1971, and won a resounding victory. The case prevented the federal government from prior restraint (censorship). Another of his cases, the landmark reporter's privilege case to protect reporter's sources, Branzburg v. Hayes, went to the Supreme Court the following year. His article in Hastings Law Journal, January 1975, in its interpretation of Branzburg v. the U.S., spawned over 1000 reported cases involving the recognition of such a privilege as well as the adoption by 39 states and D.C. of shield laws. He has accordingly been called the "Father of the Reporter's Privilege."
  He drew the reporter's privilege and other First Amendment issues to the attention of lawyers and courts nationwide, by creating a "First Amendment Bar" through his chairmanship of a Communications Law Seminar at the Practising Law Institute in New York, which he ran for 40 years. The Seminar became one of the largest of its kind in the U.S., coining the phrase "First Amendment lawyers."
  He has taught First Amendment and communications law at Yale, New York University and Fordham University Law Schools for over 30 years and has published approximately 200 articles on the First Amendment as well as two books: The New York Times v. The U.S. and All About Cable, a standard reference book which has been cited twice in the U.S. Supreme Court.
  In 1980, Goodale joined the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP where he founded two legal practice groups which were innovative for their time: "Corporate Media and Communications," and "First Amendment and Intellectual Property Litigation." He has represented scores of celebrities such as Tina Brown, Harry Evans and George Plimpton and media companies including Cablevision, Time Inc. and Hearst.
  From 1995-2010 he produced and hosted a television show in New York City called "Digital Age," about the influence of the revolution on media, society and politics. Guests have included Ben Bradlee, Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., Henry Kissinger, Tom Brokaw and Michael Bloomberg.
  Columbia Journalism Review in 2001, named Goodale one of the 200 leaders who shape the national media agenda. Born in Cambridge, Mass., Goodale is a graduate of Yale and the University of Chicago Law School.Back to top
  Cheryl Gould was named senior vice president of NBC News in 2005 after serving as vice president of the news division since 1993. Gould also served as vice president of CNBC, concentrating on prime time and weekend program development. Her current portfolio includes business development, the archives and its derivative businesses, media management and intellectual property issues.
  Gould served as acting executive producer of "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw," the first woman in the industry to fill such a role, and was the broadcast's senior producer from 1985 to 1996.
  Gould joined NBC News in 1977 as a field producer and radio reporter in the Paris bureau and later as a producer in the network's London bureau. In 1981, she moved to New York to become a producer on the weekend edition of "NBC Nightly News." She helped create and was senior broadcast producer of "NBC News Overnight" which won the highest award given by the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University awards committee. Gould also served as a producer on a wide variety of NBC News election specials and projects including "D-Day Plus 40," a documentary commemorating the anniversary of the Normandy invasion, anchored by Tom Brokaw.
  She won a 1989 Emmy Award for the "Nightly News" coverage of the Romanian revolution. She has been published in The New York Times, Newsweek, and msnbc.com. She formerly served on the board of the International Women's Media Foundation.
  Gould began her broadcasting career as a radio reporter in Rochester, N.Y. Before joining NBC, she was an on-air reporter for WOKR-TV, the ABC affiliate in Rochester. Gould earned a cum laude bachelor's degree in history from Princeton University in 1974.
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  Arianna Huffington is president and editor-in-chief of AOL Huffington Post Media Group, a nationally syndicated columnist, and author of 13 books. In 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that quickly became one of the most widely read and cited online media brands.
  In 2006 and 2011, she was named to Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people. Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with a master's degree in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union.
  Huffington has made guest appearances on numerous television shows, including "Charlie Rose," "Oprah," "Nightline," "Real Time with Bill Maher," "Hardball," "Good Morning America," the "Today" show, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," and "The O'Reilly Factor." She serves on the board of the Spanish newspaper El Pa­s among others.
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  Charlayne Hunter-Gault rejoined National Public Radio as a special correspondent after six years as CNN's Johannesburg bureau chief and correspondent. Hunter-Gault, NPR's chief correspondent in Africa in the late 1990s, also worked 20 years at PBS, where she served as a national correspondent for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." She began her journalism career as a reporter for The New Yorker; as news anchor for WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., and as Harlem bureau chief for The New York Times.
  Her numerous honors include two Emmy awards and two Peabody awards--one for her work on "Apartheid's People," a "NewsHour" series about South African life during apartheid. Hunter-Gault won the 1986 Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, the 1990 Sidney Hillman Award, and a 2004 National Association of Black Journalists Award for a CNN series on Zimbabwe. Amnesty International has honored Hunter-Gault for her human rights reporting. She holds more than two dozen honorary degrees, in addition to membership on numerous boards.
  She is the author of In My Place, a memoir of the civil rights movement fashioned around her experiences as the first black woman to attend the University of Georgia.
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  Jonathan Klein is co-founder and CEO of the global digital media company Getty Images, the premier creator and distributor of still imagery, video, and music worldwide. His strategic vision has led the company's growth from an analog image collection with transparencies, laboratories, and print catalogs in 1995, to an award-winning, multi-billion-dollar global e-commerce business.
  Klein drove Getty Images' launch into news, sports, and entertainment imagery, as well as video, music, digital asset management, rights services, and assignment photography. Under his direction, Getty Images built a network of exclusive partnerships with the world's most prestigious media and entertainment companies and sports governing bodies, Klein also led the development of the company's innovative API Connect and social listening tool The Feed.
  Klein is the recipient of numerous media, philanthropic, and corporate honors. Under his stewardship, Getty Images received the first International Center of Photography Trustees Award for its commitment to the field of photography, through technology and philanthropy, and its dedication to the power of photography to create change. Fast Company recognized Klein in its "Fast 50" as a business leader who "will change the way we work and live over the next ten years" and he was named number one on American Photo's list of the "100 Most Important People in Photography."
  Klein also holds leadership roles in the fields of global health and international press freedom. He serves on the board of Grassroot Soccer and is chairman of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In addition to serving on the board of CPJ, Klein has played a key role in the creation and success of the global press freedom initiative A Day Without News?. He is vice president of the board of trustees of the Groton School and serves on the boards of directors of Getty Images, Etsy, Squarespace and Getty Investments.
  Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Klein received a master's degree in law from the University of Cambridge. He lives in New York City with his wife and three sons.
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  Jane Kramer is European correspondent for The New Yorker and writes the "Letter from Europe" for the magazine. She is the author of nine books, including The Politics of Memory, a collection of writings from Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Lone Patriot, the story of a militia leader and his followers. Her other books include The Last Cowboy and Europeans.
  Kramer's books and journalism have earned her many awards, including an American Book Award, a National Magazine Award, a Front Page Award, and an Emmy Award. In 1993, she won the Prix Europ(C)en de l'Essai, Europe's prestigious award for non-fiction. Kramer has served on the Council on Foreign Relations, the New York Institute for the Humanities, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a founding board member of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
  She has taught at Princeton University and at the University of California at Berkeley. Kramer is a graduate of Vassar College and received a master's degree in English at Columbia University before starting her career in journalism.
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  Mhamed Krichen is a Doha-based anchor and program host for Al-Jazeera. Having joined the news channel at its inception in 1996, he was a member of Al-Jazeera's editorial board from 2004 to 2010, and has run training courses for Al-Jazeera Training and Media Development Centre since its establishment in 2004. He has interviewed numerous heads of state and other prominent international figures, providing coverage from Iraq to Egypt, Morocco to Saudi Arabia.
  For the last decade, he has been a weekly political columnist with the London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi.
  Krichen's professional career is divided evenly between time spent in his native Tunisia, where he worked as a freelancer covering the activities of the Arab League and the PLO from 1981 to 1994, and working abroad since early 1995.
  After graduating from the Journalism and News Institute in Tunisia in 1981, Krichen worked as a stringer with Reuters and then as editor of Arab affairs for several independent Tunisian weeklies. He also reported for the Saudi Okaz and Lebanese Al-Diyar newspapers. Krichen moved to radio, becoming a reporter with Radio Netherlands, Monte Carlo Middle East Radio, and Radio Tunis. In 1992, he shifted to television as correspondent for the London-based MBC, then as a newscaster for BBC Arabic. Krichen's defense of press freedom in his native Tunisia made him the target of vilification by newspapers affiliated with the former Ben Ali regime.
  He is the author of two books: The PLO: History and Factions (1986), and Al-Jazeera and Its Sisters (2006), essays on the Arab media.Back to top
  David Laventhol, CPJ board chairman from 2002 to 2005, has four decades of experience as an editor and publisher. Most recently, he served as publisher and editorial director of Columbia Journalism Review, from 1999 until 2003. Prior to his appointment at Columbia Journalism Review, he was editor-at-large for Times Mirror Co. from 1994 through 1998; president of Times Mirror 1987-93; and publisher and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Times 1989-93. As president of Times Mirror, Laventhol supervised the company's 20 operating units. As publisher of the Times, he directed the country's second largest metropolitan daily newspaper. Under his leadership, the Times won three Pulitzer Prizes, including a 1992 award for spot news for its coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
  Laventhol began his career in 1957 at the St. Petersburg Times, where he was a reporter and news editor. In 1963, he joined the New York Herald Tribune as city editor. Three years later he moved to The Washington Post, where he was assistant managing editor. While at the Post, he developed and launched the newspaper's Style section, which became a standard for the industry. Laventhol moved to Newsday in 1969 as associate editor, was named executive editor in late 1969 and then editor in 1970. In 1978, he became publisher and chief executive officer. At Newsday, Laventhol directed the planning and development of the Sunday edition of Newsday, which began publishing in 1972, and he supervised the development of New York Newsday, a new city edition developed in the mid-1980s. Under his leadership, Newsday won many major journalism awards, including the 1974 Pulitzer Gold Medal for Meritorious Public Service for its 30-part series, "The Heroin Trail." Published in 1973, the articles traced the flow of illegal narcotics from the poppy fields of Turkey to the towns of Long Island.
  Laventhol is a member of the board of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, the Century Association, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a past chairman of the Pulitzer Prize board, the International Press Institute, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and a former director of the United Negro College Fund, the National Parkinson's Foundation, and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Born in Philadelphia in 1933, Laventhol received his bachelor's degree in literature from Yale University in 1957, and a master's degree in English from the University of Minnesota in 1960.
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  Lara Logan is CBS News' chief foreign affairs correspondent, based in Washington, a position she has held since June 2008. Logan has been a correspondent for CBS News and 60 Minutes since 2002, and has reported as a foreign correspondent for the last 17 years.
  Logan's reporting on Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has earned her multiple awards, including an Emmy, an Overseas Press Club Award and Edward R. Murrow Award, as well as five American Women in Radio and Television Gracie Awards. She has also reported from Mozambique during the devastating flooding there in 2008, the land invasions in Zimbabwe, the conflict in Northern Ireland and the war in Kosovo, among other stories.
  Born in South Africa, Logan began her journalism career there in the city of Durban. She graduated from the city's University of Natal in 1992 with a degree in commerce. She also holds a diploma in French language, culture and history from the Universite de L'Alliance Francaise in Paris.
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  Rebecca MacKinnon is co-founder of the citizen media organization Global Voices Online, a passionate advocate of free expression, a leading authority on Internet censorship in China and elsewhere, and an expert on the growing power of online and social media. She lives in Washington, D.C. where she is currently a Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation. Her first book, Consent of the Networked, a treatise on the future of liberty in the Internet age, will be published by Basic Books in late 2011.
  Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, MacKinnon worked for 12 years for CNN and held Bureau Chief jobs in both Beijing and Tokyo. Since leaving CNN in 2004 she has received fellowships from Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy, the Open Society Institute, Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. From 2007-2009 she taught and conducted research at the University of Hong Kong's Journalism and Media Studies Centre. Along with CPJ, MacKinnon is a founding member of the Global Network Initiative, an organization composed of major technology companies and human rights organizations that have joined to protect and advance freedom of expression when faced with pressure from local governments.
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  Born in Hungary, Kati Marton has combined a career as a reporter and writer with human rights advocacy. From 2003 to 2008 Marton chaired the International Women's Health Coalition, a global leader in promoting and protecting the health and human rights of women and girls. From 2001 to July 2002 Kati Marton was Chief Advocate for the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict at the United Nations. Marton is currently a director and formerly chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists. She also serves on the board of directors of the International Rescue Committee and the New America Foundation, a public policy think tank. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, P.E.N. International and the Author's Guild.
  Since 1980, Marton has published seven books and contributed as a reporter to ABC News, Public Broadcasting Services, National Public Radio, The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, The Times of London, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Vanity Fair and The New Republic. Her first book, Wallenberg, a biography of Raoul Wallenberg, was published by Random House in 1982. From 1983 until 1984, she was a columnist for the Sunday Times of London. Her second book, a novel entitled An American Woman was published in 1987. Her third book was an investigative history entitled The Polk Conspiracy--Murder and Cover-up in the Case of CBS News Correspondent George Polk. Her fourth book, A Death in Jerusalem--the Assassination by Extremists of the First Middle East Peacemaker, was published by Pantheon Books/Random House in the fall of 1994. Marton's book, Hidden Power--Presidential Marriages that Shaped History, was published in September 2001 and was a New York Times best seller. Her most recent book, The Great Escape--Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World, was released by Simon and Schuster in October 2006. Marton's Cold War memoir, Enemies of the People--My Family's Journey to America, was published in the fall of 2009 by Simon and Schuster and was a 2010 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Prize. The New York Times called it "a powerful and absorbing narrative...[with] all the magnetism and yes, the excitement of the very best spy fiction."
  From 1995 until 1997, Marton hosted NPR's America and the World, a weekly half-hour broadcast on international affairs. From December 1977 until December 1979, Marton was ABC Bureau Chief in Germany. While based in Germany, Marton reported from Poland, Hungary, Italy, Holland, Northern Ireland, East Germany, and the Middle East. Marton was a news writer/reporter at WCAU-TV, the CBS-owned-and-operated affiliate in Philadelphia from January 1973 until November 1977. From 1972 until 1973, Marton was a reporter for National Public Radio in Washington. In addition to diplomatic and political assignments, Marton was involved in the development of NPR's program, All Things Considered.
  Kati Marton has been honored for her writing, reporting, and human rights advocacy including a George Foster Peabody Award for a one-hour documentary on China. She was a Gannett Fellow at Columbia University's School of Journalism in 1988 and she received a Philadelphia Press Association Award for Best Television Feature Story and a PBS Award for reporting from China. In 1997, she received the Marc H. Tannenbaum Foundation Award for the Advancement of Interreligious Understanding and the Athens, Greece-based Kyriazis Foundation prize for the promotion of press freedom. In 2001, she was awarded the Rbekah Kohut Humanitarian Award by the National Council of Jewish Women. In 2002 she received a Matrix-Award for Women Who Change the World. In 2004 she was honored with the Citizen's Committee of New York's Marietta Tree Award for Public Service. In 2004 she also received the Edith Wharton Award for Journalism and the Woodhull Institute's Changemakers Award for Ethical Leadership in the Arts. Most recently the President of the Republic of Hungary awarded Marton the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of The Republic of Hungary. In 2007, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research honored her with their Special Cultural Award. In 2008 she was presented the Leadership Award for Media by the Merage Foundation for the American Dream.
  Marton attended Wells College in Aurora, New York, the Sorbonne, and the Institute des Etudes de Science Politiques in Paris. She earned a B.A. in Romance Languages and a M.A. in International Relations from the George Washington University. She has also received two honorary doctorates: one from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island in 2000 and another from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York in 2009.
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  Michael Massing is the author of Now They Tell Us (2004), a collection of articles published in the New York Review of Books about press coverage of the war in Iraq. He is also author of The Fix, a critical study of the U.S. war on drugs that was named co-winner of the Washington Monthly's Political Book Award for 1998.
  He is a former executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review and remains a contributing editor at that publication. He has served as an adjunct professor at the Columbia School of Journalism and at the Columbia School for International and Public Affairs.
  Massing is co-founder of the Committee to Protect Journalists and a member of PEN America and the New York Institute for the Humanities. He has a bachelor's degree from Harvard and a master's degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. In 1989, Massing was awarded an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship; in 1992, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. In 2005, he received the Mongerson Prize for Investigative Reporting on the News for his articles in the New York Review on the coverage of the Iraq war. In 2010, he was named a fellow at the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the CUNY Grad Center.
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  Geraldine Fabrikant Metz is a contract writer for The New York Times. Previously, she was a senior writer for media and investing for the Times' Business Day section. Before joining the Times in 1985, she had been an editor and reporter for Business Week, Variety; and The Hollywood Reporter.
  Fabrikant Metz won the Loeb Award for deadline reporting in 1996. In 1999, she was named a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in economics and business journalism by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. A New York native, Fabrikant attended Brandeis University and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1964.
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  Victor Navasky has served as editor, publisher and now publisher emeritus of The Nation, which he joined in 1978. He is also the George Delacorte Professor of Magazine Journalism at the Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, where he directs the Delacorte Center of Magazines and chairs the Columbia Journalism Review. In the 1970's he served as an editor on The New York Times Magazine. In the 1960's he was founding editor and publisher of Monocle, a "leisurely quarterly of political satire" (that meant it came out twice a year). His books include Kennedy Justice, Naming Names, which won a National Book Award, and (with Christopher Cerf) The Experts Speak: The Definitive Guide to Authoritative Misinformation and also Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won the War In Iraq. A Matter of Opinion, which won the 2005 George Polk Book Award and the 2006 Ann M. Sperber Prize, and of which The New York Times wrote, "Anybody who has ever dreamed of starting a magazine, or worried that the country is losing the ability to speak seriously to itself, should read A Matter of Opinion..." Navasky is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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  Clarence Page, the 1989 Pulitzer Prize winner for commentary, has been a Chicago Tribune columnist and member of its editorial board since July 1984. His column is syndicated nationally by Tribune Media Services to more than 180 newspapers. He is based in Washington, D.C.
  Page has been a frequent panelist on "The McLaughlin Group," "Hardball with Chris Mathews," National Public Radio, and Black Entertainment Television. He is a regular contributor of essays to the News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS and a frequent guest on national news programs on all of the major networks.
  Page was a reporter and later assistant city editor at the Chicago Tribune from 1969 to 1980, when he joined WBBM-TV in Chicago as director of community affairs and later as an on-air reporter.
  Honors include a 1989 award for commentary from the National Association of Black Journalists; a 1980 Illinois UPI award for community service for an investigative series titled "The Black Tax"; and the Edward Scott Beck Award for overseas reporting for a 1976 series on the changing politics of Southern Africa. Page participated in a Chicago Tribune vote fraud investigation that won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for public service. He has received awards from the Illinois and Wisconsin chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union for his columns on civil liberties and constitutional rights.
  Page serves on the boards of directors of the Herb Block Foundation and the Fund for Investigative Journalism. In 1992, he was inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame. He is the author of Showing My Color: Impolite Essays on Race and Identity.
  An Ohio native, Page received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio University in 1969.
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  Norman Pearlstine was named the executive vice president and chief content officer of Time Inc. in October 2013, a newly established position. In this role, Pearlstine was charged with driving the development of new content experiences, consumer products, and lines of business across Time Inc. brands. He also oversees the company's editorial policies and standards. He previously served as Time Inc.'s editor-in-chief from 1995 through 2005.
  Pearlstine returned to Time Inc. after a five-year stint at Bloomberg L.P., where as chief content officer, he was responsible for developing growth opportunities for Bloomberg's television, radio, magazine, and online products to make the most of the company's news operations. He assumed the additional positions of chairman, Bloomberg Businessweek, following the acquisition of the magazine in December 2009, and co-chairman, Bloomberg Government, a comprehensive source for government news, analysis and insights.
  Pearlstine has spent nearly four decades working as a reporter and editor. He worked for The Wall Street Journal from 1968 to 1992, except for a two-year period, 1978 through 1980, when he was an executive editor of Forbes magazine. At the Journal, he served as a staff reporter in Dallas, Detroit, and Los Angeles; Tokyo bureau chief; founding managing editor of The Asian Wall Street Journal; national editor; founding editor and publisher of The Wall Street Journal/Europe; managing editor; and, ultimately, executive editor.
  After leaving the Journal in 1992, Pearlstine spent a year launching Smart Money magazine for the Journal's parent, Dow Jones & Company, and for Hearst. He then spent a year as a general partner of Friday Holdings L.P., a multimedia investment company.
  Pearlstine is the author of OFF THE RECORD: The Press, the Government, and the War over Anonymous Sources, which was published in June 2007. He has also received numerous awards over his career. In January 2005, the American Society of Magazine Editors named Pearlstine the recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award and inducted him into the Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame. He was honored with the Loeb Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism in 2000. He received the National Press Foundation's Editor of the Year Award in 1989.
  Pearlstine received his bachelor's from Haverford College, his L.L.B. from the University of Pennsylvania, and did postgraduate work at the law school of Southern Methodist University. He is a member of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
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  Ahmed Rashid is one of the world's foremost experts on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Taliban. Journalist Christopher Hitchens has called him "Pakistan's best and bravest reporter." He is the author of many influential books on the region, including the bestselling Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. Published prior to the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, Taliban became a critical guide to understanding the Taliban in their wake. Rashid has three more books on the region: The Resurgence of Central Asia, Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia, and Descent Into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. Rashid is a champion of local media development and donated a quarter of the profits from Taliban to create the Open Media Fund for Afghanistan. He also enlisted the Open Society Institute, AOL Time Warner Foundation, and Internews Network to provide financial support for local Afghan journalists. Until 2009, Rashid was the Afghanistan, and Central Asia correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review frequently contributes to the U.S. and British media including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The New York Review of Books, the Daily Telegraph, and the London Evening Standard. Foreign Policy magazine chose him as one of the world's most important 100 Global Thinkers in 2009 and 2010.
  Back to topGene Roberts has taught at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland since 1991, following 18 years as the executive editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, which won 17 Pulitzer Prizes under his leadership.
  He took a hiatus from his university work from 1994 to 1997 to serve as managing editor of The New York Times. In 1998, he returned to the college, where he teaches courses on writing the complex story, the press and the civil rights movement, and newsroom management.
  Roberts is a former chairman of the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists. He has served on the boards of the Pulitzer Prize, the World Press Freedom Committee, and the Center for Foreign Journalists. He has co-authored numerous books, including "Leaving Readers Behind: The Age of Corporate Newspaper, " "The Censors and the Schools" and the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Race Beat." He was editor-in-chief of the American Journalism Review's "State of the American Newspaper Project," published in 2000.
  Roberts began his career as a farm reporter for The Goldsboro (N.C.) News-Argus. He later joined The New York Times where he led the paper's coverage of the 1960s civil rights movement in the South and served as chief war correspondent in Vietnam. Roberts received the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award for Distinguished Contributions to Journalism in 1993.
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  Mar­a Teresa Ronderos currently serves as editorial advisor to the Revista Semana, president of the Foundation for Freedom of the Press and teacher at the Foundation for New Iberoamerican Journalism. She studied Political Science at the International University of Florida; earned a Master's in Political Science from Syracuse University and completed coursework for a Master's in Journalism from the same university. She was director of the journalistic TV program, Testimonio, political editor at El Tiempo, director of the news program Buenos D­as Colombia, columnist for El Espectador and editor of the magazine Nota Econ"mica. She received a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University and won the King of Spain Prize in 1997. Ronderos is author of the books "Punch, una experiencia en televisi"n" (1992), "Retratos del Power" (2002), and co-author of "Como hacer periodismo" (2002), and "Poder y medios" (2004).
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  Diane Sawyer joined ABC News in 1989 as co-anchor of "Primetime Live" and was named co-anchor, with Charles Gibson, of "Good Morning America" in January 1999. As co-anchor, she has interviewed world leaders and celebrities and has won awards for her investigative journalism.
  Sawyer has reported on stories ranging from biological weapons production in Russia to day care abuse to unsanitary conditions at the Food Lion chain of grocery stores. Sawyer's international news coverage includes the coup attempt in Moscow in 1991, where she got an exclusive interview with Boris Yeltsin at the height of the crisis. She is also one of the few Western journalists to have reported from North Korea, where she uncovered new details of that country's famine and official efforts to cover it up. In 2004, she received a George Polk Award for her reporting on conditions in Veterans Administration hospitals across the country.
  Sawyer began her journalism career in 1967 at WLKY-TV in Louisville, Ky. She also served in the Nixon administration and on the transition team between Nixon and Gerald Ford in 1975. Prior to joining ABC News, Sawyer worked at CBS News as a political correspondent and in 1984 became the first woman to ever co-anchor the newsmagazine "60 Minutes."
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  David Schlesinger is the founder and managing director of the Hong Kong-based media and China consultancy Tripod Advisors, a D.A. Schlesinger Limited company.
  Before founding Tripod Advisors, Schlesinger was Chairman of Thomson Reuters China and was the global information services group's senior representative in the region. He was responsible for building relationships, providing thought leadership and advising on strategy for operations across Thomson Reuters interests in financial markets, legal and regulatory databases, scientific information and journalism.
  Schlesinger was appointed to that role after four years as Editor-in-Chief of Reuters News, running all aspects of the 3,000-journalist strong international news service. Before that, Schlesinger was Global Managing Editor of Reuters News for three years, in charge of the worldwide operations and news editing
  He joined Reuters Hong Kong bureau in 1987 as a correspondent. From 1989 to 1995, he ran Reuters editorial operations in Taiwan, China and the Greater China region in a series of posts. He then transferred to New York to serve in turn as Financial Editor, Managing Editor for the Americas and Executive Vice President and Editor of the Americas.
  Schlesinger has served on the board of ChinaWeb, the parent company of Hexun.com, China's leading business/investing portal. He is active in the World Economic Forum, where he has served as a member of the International Media Council and the China Agenda Council. He is Honorary President of the International Network of Street Papers. In 2008, he was awarded an Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award for Business and Financial Reporting by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the United States.
  Schlesinger graduated from Oberlin College and has a Masters degree from Harvard University, where he concentrated on Chinese politics in the Regional Studies East Asia program.
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  Paul C. Tash is chairman and CEO of the Times Publishing Company.
  A native of South Bend, Indiana, Tash graduated summa cum laude from Indiana University in 1976. He received a Marshall Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of laws degree from Edinburgh University in Scotland in 1978.
  He started with the Times that fall as a local news reporter. He also has been a Tallahassee reporter, the city editor, metropolitan editor, Washington bureau chief and editor of the Times. From 1990-91, Tash was the editor and publisher of Florida Trend, a statewide business magazine owned by Times Publishing.
  Tash is chairman of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a school for journalists and media leaders, which owns Times Publishing. He also serves on the boards of the Pulitzer Prize and the Associated Press. Tash is a member of the Florida Council of 100, a group of business leaders.
  Tash is married to the former Karyn Krayer of St. Petersburg, a high school teacher. They have two daughters; one is a physician at Duke University Medical Center, the other a student at Duke Law School.
  The Tampa Bay Times is Florida's leading newspaper, with an average Sunday circulation of 400,000, and it is widely considered among the country's best newspapers. It has won eight Pulitzer Prizes, including two in 2009. Until 2012, the newspaper was known as the St. Petersburg Times, but changed its name to reflect its growth throughout the Tampa Bay region.
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  Jacob Weisberg is chairman of The Slate Group, a unit of The Washington Post Company devoted to developing a family of Internet-based publications through start-ups and acquisitions. The Slate group's roster includes Slate, The Root, the video site Slate V, and ForeignPolicy.com, as well as the bimonthly print journal, Foreign Policy. His regular opinion column is published by Slate.
  A native of Chicago, Weisberg attended Yale University and New College, Oxford. From 1989 until 1994, he worked as a writer and editor at The New Republic. Between 1994 and 1996, he covered politics for New York Magazine. In 1996, he joined the new Internet magazine Slate, where he covered the 1996 and 2000 presidential campaigns as chief political correspondent.
  Weisberg served as editor of Slate from 2002 until 2008. He has also been a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, a contributing editor of Vanity Fair, a reporter for Newsweek in London and Washington, and editorial page columnist for the Financial Times.
  Since 2010, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Media Network, which publishes the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News. Weisberg is also a past board member of the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Hudson Highlands Land Trust.
  Weisberg is the author of several books, including The Bush Tragedy, which was a New York Times bestseller in 2008. With former Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin, he co-wrote In an Uncertain World, which was published in 2003. His first book, In Defense of Government, was published in 1996.Back to top
  Mark Whitaker is the former executive vice president and managing editor of CNN Worldwide, where he was responsible for leading editorial coverage across CNN's multiple platforms and directing the overall approach, tone, and scope of CNN's reporting.
  Prior to his position at CNN Worldwide, Whitaker served as senior vice president and Washington bureau chief for NBC News, succeeding the late Tim Russert in July 2008. In that role, he was responsible for Washington-based programming for NBC and MSNBC, including "Meet the Press" and the network's political coverage.
  Before joining NBC in May 2007 as senior vice president, Whitaker was vice president and editor-in-chief of new ventures in the digital division of The Washington Post Company. He was editor of Newsweek from 1998 to 2006, during which time the magazine won more top editorial awards and nominations than at any time in its history, including four National Magazine Awards for coverage of the attacks of September 11, the Iraq War, the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and the 2004 elections. As editor, Whitaker redesigned Newsweek to emphasize in-depth reporting and diversified opinion columns.
  Whitaker joined Newsweek in 1981 and wrote and reported for the International section, covering such major stories as the conflicts in Central America, the Soviet Union, and the Middle East. He served as business editor from 1987 to 1991, directing coverage of stories including the stock-market crash and the S&L crisis.
  Whitaker graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 1979. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and served on the editorial board of the Harvard Crimson. Whitaker attended Oxford University's Balliol College for postgraduate studies as a Marshall Scholar from 1979-1981.
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  Brian Williams is the anchor and managing editor of "NBC Nightly News," a position he has held since 2004. His work covering Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath garnered numerous awards including an Emmy, a DuPont, four Edward R. Murrow Awards and a Peabody.
  Williams has traveled extensively around the world to cover breaking news since joining NBC News in 1993. He is a veteran of political campaigns and elections and has reported numerous times from the Middle East, including several trips to Iraq to cover the war.
  Beginning in 1996, he was anchor and managing editor of "The News with Brian Williams," a nightly news program broadcast on MSNBC and CNBC. Before becoming anchor of the weekday broadcast, Williams was anchor and managing editor of the Saturday edition of "NBC Nightly News" for six years.
  Williams' start in broadcast journalism was at KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, Kan. in 1981. After serving as intern in the Carter administration, he worked for WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C. Before joining NBC, Williams was anchor and correspondent for CBS' Television Stations Division in Philadelphia and New York for seven years.
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  Matthew Winkler is editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, a global news service he founded with Michael Bloomberg in 1990 when he joined the then eight-year-old financial information company Bloomberg LP. Bloomberg News, which has grown to 2,200 editors and reporters in print and broadcast media in 130 bureaus throughout North and South America, covers the economy, companies, governments, financial, and commodity markets as well the arts, sports, politics and policy.
  Winkler received the New York Financial Writers' Association 2003 Elliott V. Bell Award for making a "significant long-term contribution to the advancement of financial journalism." During the past decade, Bloomberg News has received more than 250 awards for the quality of its journalism, including: the George Polk, Gerald Loeb, Overseas Press Club, Sidney Hillman, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists (Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York chapters) and Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
  Winkler is co-author of Bloomberg by Bloomberg, published April 1997 by John Wiley & Son. Between 1991 and 1994 while editing Bloomberg News, he wrote the "Capital Markets" column for Forbes magazine. Between July 1980 and February 1990, Winkler was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and news services of its parent, Dow Jones & Co. At the Journal, he was responsible for credit markets, corporate finance, and the securities industry from 1987 to 1990 in New York. He served as European financial correspondent for The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Wall Street Journal in London from 1982 to 1987. Winkler was a New York-based reporter and assistant editor at The Bond Buyer (1978-1980); a public relations specialist for Gehrung Associates in Keene, N.H. (1977-1978); and a reporter for the Ohio-based Mount Vernon News (1976-1977).
  Winkler was born in New York City in 1955 and is a graduate of Kenyon College with a bachelor's degree in history. He is a trustee of Kenyon College and The Kenyon Review; chairman of the board of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship Program at Columbia University; a member of the Board of Visitors of Columbia College of Columbia University; a trustee of the business journalism program of the City University of New York; a director of the International Center for Journalists, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York. He and his wife Lisa, an English teacher, have three children.
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  Tom Brokaw, one of the most trusted and respected figures in broadcast journalism, is a special correspondent for NBC News. In this role, he reports and produces long-form documentaries and provides expertise during election coverage and breaking news events for NBC News.
  Most recently, Brokaw reported for USA Network's "Bridging the Divide," a documentary aimed at assessing America's progress combating prejudice and discrimination in the nearly 50 years since the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. Prior to that project, Brokaw reported on the baby boomer generation for a documentary on CNBC, and before that he traveled across the country to report on the changing face of the nation in "American Character Along Highway 50" for NBC News and USA Network.
  On December 1, 2004, Brokaw stepped down after 21 years as the anchor and managing editor of "NBC Nightly News." He has received numerous honors, including the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award, the Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement, and he was inducted as a fellow into the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition, Brokaw has received the Records of Achievement Award from The Foundation for the National Archives; the Association of the U.S. Army honored him with their highest award, the George Catlett Marshall Medal, first ever to a journalist; and he was the recipient of the West Point Sylvanus Thayer Award, in recognition of devoted service to bringing exclusive interviews and stories to public attention. His insight, ability and integrity have earned him a dozen Emmys and two Peabody and duPont awards for his journalistic achievements. In 2003, "NBC Nightly News" was honored with the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast, representing the program's fourth consecutive win in this category.
  From June 2008 until December 2008, Brokaw served as interim moderator of NBC's top-rated Sunday morning public affairs program, "Meet the Press," after the untimely death of Tim Russert.
  Over the years at NBC, Brokaw has reported in more than 30 documentaries on subjects ranging from race, AIDS, the war on terror, health care, Los Angeles gangs, Bill Gates, literacy, immigration and the evangelical movement. In addition, he collaborated with NBC's Peacock Productions for Discovery's Emmy-winning documentary "Global Warming: What You Need to Know with Tom Brokaw," and History Channel's two-hour documentaries, "1968 with Tom Brokaw" and "KING."
  In 2006, Brokaw reported on race and poverty in "Separate and Unequal," which was awarded an RTNDA/Unity Award. The documentary took an honest look at the progress that's been made, and the problems that persist, 40 years after the civil rights movement. Later that year, he reported on illegal immigration in "In the Shadow of the American Dream," exploring the economic realities, the social consequences and the political controversies surrounding one of the hottest topics dividing the country today.
  In June 2005, Brokaw returned to primetime for the first time since leaving the anchor desk with "The Long War," an in-depth look at the war on terror. For the report, he traveled around the world--to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, France and Washington D.C.--to interview world leaders, intelligence experts and those personally affected by the events of Sept. 11. "The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat," quickly followed in July 2005, and in September 2005, Brokaw reported on the religious revolution sweeping the country in "In God they Trust." In December 2005, he received wide acclaim for his fourth documentary that year, "To War and Back," which took a comprehensive look at what happens when young men go to war, lose friends, get hurt and then come home.
  Brokaw received his second Peabody in 2004 with the documentary, "Tom Brokaw Reports: A Question of Fairness." The report examined the issue of affirmative action through the controversy surrounding the University of Michigan and its affirmative action policy, which detailed the continuing struggle to deal with race, fairness and higher education in America. In 2003, he won an Emmy for Outstanding Interview for "America Remembers: 9/11 Air Traffic Controllers."
  Prior to stepping down as anchor of "Nightly News," Brokaw traveled to Iraq in June 2004 to cover the handover of power and reported for five days for all NBC News programs and MSNBC. In addition to interviewing a mix of newsmakers including Iraq's interim president Ghazi Al Yawer, General David Petraeus, the American General who is charged with rebuilding the Iraqi security forces, and securing an exclusive interview with General Ricardo Sanchez, the man who was in charge of the American forces in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was captured, Brokaw patrolled the dangerous Baghdad streets in a humvee convoy with the First Cavalry Division, and also reported on student life in Baghdad with the class of 2004.
  Brokaw was the only network evening news anchor to report from Normandy, France during the D-Day 60th Anniversary ceremonies in June 2004. He had exclusive interviews with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris and President George W. Bush at the American Cemetery Normandy Beach in Colleville-sur-Mer, France on June 6, the 60th Anniversary of D-Day. In February 2004, Brokaw returned to the Asian subcontinent to report on the challenges Pakistan and Afghanistan face as they continue to fight the war on terror. In addition to securing exclusive interviews Pakistan president Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Afghan president Hamid Karzai, Brokaw traveled with the Pakistani army to mountainous and barren terrain along the border with Afghanistan as they hunted for Al Qaeda and also reported from Southeastern Afghanistan, the base of the 10th Mountain Division, where U.S. soldiers are not only hunting for Al Qaeda, but trying to win the hearts and minds of the people as well.
  In 2003, as the international controversy escalated over the increasing likelihood of war with Iraq, Brokaw traveled overseas to the diplomatic and military hotspots throughout the Middle East and the Gulf. On March 19, 2003, Brokaw was the first American news anchor to report that the war with Iraq had begun, and in April 2003, he landed the first television interview with President Bush after the President declared the end of major combat. During the summer of 2003, Brokaw was the first evening news anchor to return to Baghdad to report for five nights for "NBC Nightly News" and "Dateline NBC" on post-war Iraq and the reconstruction efforts.
  He has an impressive series of additional "firsts," including the first exclusive U.S. one-on-one interview with Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, earning an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award. Brokaw was the first and only anchor to report from the scene the night the Berlin Wall fell, and was the first American anchor to travel to Tibet to report on human-rights abuses and to conduct an interview with the Dalai Lama.
  Brokaw has also reported in documentaries of international importance, including "The Road to Baghdad" where he documented the path to possible war with Iraq through the eyes of half a dozen people at the center of the crisis, and "The Lost Boys," a story about how the ongoing war in Sudan forced the "lost boys" out of their villages in the 1980s, which won a National Press Club Award.
  In 1997, Brokaw was awarded with another Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism for "Why Can't We Live Together," a documentary that examined the hidden realities of racial separation in America's suburbs. His first Peabody award in 1989 was for "To Be An American," a documentary about the American tapestry: who we are, how we got here and what it means to become a new citizen.
  The NBC News anchor also has a distinguished record as a political reporter. He has interviewed every president since Lyndon Baines Johnson and has covered every presidential election since 1968. Brokaw was NBC's White House correspondent during the national trauma of Watergate (1973-1976). From 1984 to 2004, he anchored all of NBC's political coverage, including primaries, national conventions and election nights, and moderated nine primary and/or general election debates.
  Complementing his distinguished broadcast journalism career, Brokaw has written articles, essays and commentary for several publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Time, The New Yorker, Men's Journal, Sports Illustrated, Life, National Geographic, Outside and Interview.
  In 1998, Brokaw became a best selling author with the publication of "The Greatest Generation." Inspired by the mountain of mail he received from his first book, Brokaw wrote "The Greatest Generation Speaks" in 1999. His third book, "An Album of Memories," was published in 2001. In November 2002, Brokaw's fourth best selling book "A Long Way from Home," a reflective look about growing up in the American Heartland, was released. In his fifth best-selling book, "BOOM! Voices of the Sixties," Brokaw shares a series of remembrances and reflections of the time based on his experiences and over 50 interviews with a wide variety of well known artists, politicians, activists, business leaders, and journalists, as well as lesser known figures, including a daughter of a former Mississippi segregationist governor, Vietnam veterans, civil rights activists, health care pioneers, environmentalists, and war protesters.
  Brokaw began his journalism career in 1962 at KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska. He anchored the late evening news on Atlanta's WSB-TV in 1965 before joining KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. Brokaw was hired by NBC News in 1966 and from 1976-1981 he anchored NBC News' "Today" program.
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  Gwen Ifill is the award-winning moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week," the longest-running public affairs program on public television, and senior correspondent for "The PBS NewsHour." She has moderated national political debates, including the U.S. vice presidential debates in 2004 and 2008, and is the author of "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama." (Doubleday, 2009)
  Before joining PBS, Ifill served at NBC News for five years as chief congressional and political correspondent. While at NBC she covered national political stories for "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw," "Today," and "Meet the Press."
  Ifill worked for many years as a print journalist before becoming a fixture on broadcast news. She was a reporter at The New York Times, where she covered the White House and politics; The Washington Post, where her focus was national and local affairs; The Baltimore Evening Sun; and The Boston Herald American.
  Ifill grew up in New York City and is a graduate of Simmons College in Boston. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and serves on the board of the News Literacy Project and is a lifetime member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
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  Steven L. Isenberg is Executive Director of the PEN American Center, the largest chapter of International PEN, the world's oldest international literary and human rights organization. He has held important posts in journalism, government, law, and academia. He was publisher of New York Newsday, The Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Time, and the Executive Vice President of The Los Angeles Times. Since 2003, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Committee to Protect the Journalists (CPJ) and became an advisory board member in February 2008. Isenberg is now Chairman of the Board Emeritus of Adelphi University on Long Island, New York, where he was President ad interim.
  He taught for several years at the University of Texas at Austin as a visiting professor of the humanities in the liberal arts honors program; at Berkeley as a visiting professor of English and journalism; visiting lecturer at Yale; the James K. Batten Professor of Public Policy at Davidson College; and visiting scholar in media studies at The New School University and Polytechnic in New York. He is also an honorary Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford University, England, and holds an Honorary Doctorate from Adelphi University.
  Prior to working in newspapers, Isenberg had been chief of staff to New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay and a litigator at the firm of Breed, Abbott and Morgan. He served as president of the executive advisory board of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley.
  Isenberg obtained his undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of California at Berkeley in 1962; a second bachelor's degree and a master's degree (also in English Literature) from Worcester College, Oxford University, England, in 1966; and a JD from Yale Law School in 1975.
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  David Marash is a veteran broadcast journalist, turned teacher and trainer of young journalists. Marash's work has most recently appeared on PBS/AARP's Inside E Street, and PBS's WorldFocus. He was Main Washington Anchor for Al Jazeera English from 2006-2008, and reported for ABC News "Nightline" from 1989 to 2005. His reporting of the wars in the former Yugoslavia, earned an Emmy Award in 1994. Marash also received Emmys for his "Nightline" coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing, his coverage of the explosion of TWA Flight 800, and a 1980 ABC News "20/20" report on the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. Marash and "Nightline" producer Jay LaMonica's three-part Nightline series on AIDS in Zimbabwe received an Alfred I. duPont Award.
  Marash filed numerous breaking news stories for "Nightline," including coverage of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat, the siege of Sarajevo, suicide bombings in Tel Aviv, Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, and the Rwandan genocide. He filed investigative reports on topics as diverse as the failure of the General Motors' minority dealership development program and the legal tactics of tobacco industry lawyers.
  Before beginning work for "Nightline" in 1989, Marash spent more than a decade in local news in New York and Washington, D.C. From 1985 to 1989 he was a news anchor for WRC-TV, Washington. He was an investigative reporter for WNBC-TV in New York, and a contributing reporter for NBC Weekend News and NBC Sports from 1983 to 1985. He anchored the news for WCBS-TV in New York in 1981 and 1982, and earlier, from 1973 through 1978.
  Marash has published articles in The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Carnegie Foundation Reporter, Washington Monthly, The Washington Journalism Review, Ms Magazine and TV Guide.
  He has won numerous broadcasting honors, including seven local Emmys in New York and Washington, New York and Long Island Press Club Awards, and an Overseas Press Club Award for his 1972 CBS Radio reports on the terrorist attack at the Munich Olympic Games. Marash graduated from Williams College in 1964, and did his first teaching there in 1971.
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  Charles L. Overby is chairman and chief executive officer of the Freedom Forum, an independent, nonpartisan foundation dedicated to First Amendment and media issues, and the Diversity Institute, which is dedicated to recruiting, training, mentoring, and retaining a diverse newsroom workforce.
  Overby is also chief executive officer of the Newseum, the interactive museum of news, which opened April 11, 2008, in Washington, D.C. The Freedom Forum funds the operations of the Newseum and the Diversity Institute. He was named president and chief executive officer of the Gannett Foundation in 1989. (The foundation was renamed the Freedom Forum in 1991.) In 1997, he became chairman as well as CEO, traveling to six continents to promote free press values.
  Overby is a former editor of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. Under his leadership, the newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize Public Service Award for news and editorials on education reform in Mississippi in 1983. He worked for 16 years as reporter, editor and corporate executive for Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper company. He was vice president for news and communications for Gannett and served on the management committees of Gannett and USA Today.
  As a reporter, he covered the White House, presidential campaigns, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Overby serves on the board of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. He is a member of the foundation board of the University of Mississippi, his alma mater, and a former member of the Board of Regents at Baylor University.
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  Erwin Potts is a native of North Carolina and received a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina in 1954. He began his career as a reporter in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C. He moved on to managerial positions with Knight-Ridder Newspapers, including city editor and assistant managing editor at The Miami Herald, general manager of the Tallahassee Democrat, and vice president and general manager of The Charlotte Observer and The Charlotte News.
  Potts joined McClatchy Co. as director of newspaper operations in 1975. He became a vice president in 1979, executive vice president in 1985, president in 1987, chief executive officer in 1989, and chairman in 1995. With the unexpected death of C.K. McClatchy in 1989, Potts became the first non-family member to head the McClatchy Co., which was founded in 1857 by James McClatchy. He retired as chairman in 2002.
  Potts has served on the Newspaper Association Board of Directors, Stanford University's John S. Knight Fellowship Board of Visitors, and the Sacramento Regional Foundation Board. Potts joined CPJ's board of directors in 1997 and became a member of its advisory board in November 2007.
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  Dan Rather is a Hall of Fame television and radio correspondent and anchor, and one of the best known journalists in the world.
  He currently leads his own media company, "News and Guts", and is anchor and managing editor for "Dan Rather Reports" on the HDNet cable and satellite network. The one hour weekly news program premiered in November 2006. It concentrates on investigative reports, international coverage, politics and on-scene field reporting.
  Rather was anchor and managing editor of "The CBS Evening News" for a record 24 years before stepping away in March 2005. In his 44 years with CBS News, he was also a veteran correspondent for "60 Minutes, among many other posts.
  The war on terrorism and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq have taken Rather to Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Israel in recent years. In April 2004, his all-media exclusive "60 Minutes II" investigative report revealing abuses at the U.S. military's Abu Ghraib prison drew worldwide attention and critical acclaim. In February 2003, Rather secured an exclusive one-on-one interview with Saddam Hussein in Baghdad--the first the Iraqi leader had conducted with a U.S. journalist since 1991. (when Rather had scored the first interview with Saddam Hussein after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait) Rather also reported from Kabul on the U.S. effort to oust the Taliban and from Jerusalem and the West Bank during the largest Israeli military action in two decades.
  Rather joined CBS News in 1962 as chief of its Southwest bureau in Dallas. From November 22, 1963, when he reported on the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Rather has covered most of the world's major news stories, from Beijing and Bosnia to Haiti and Hong Kong. He reported on the civil rights movement in the South; the White House; the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf and Yugoslavia; and the quest for peace in South Africa and the Middle East.
  He has received numerous Emmy and Peabody Awards, and citations from scholarly, professional and charitable organizations. During his 44 years with CBS News, Rather held many prestigious positions, ranging from co-editor of "60 Minutes" to CBS News bureau chief in New Orleans, London and Saigon, and White House correspondent during the Johnson, Nixon and Ford administrations. He helped to create, anchored and reported for CBS News' "48 Hours" from its premiere in 1988, through September 2002. He has interviewed every U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower and virtually every major international leader of the past 30 years.
  Among his many assignments, Rather reported on the pope's visit to Cuba in January 1998; Hong Kong's turnover to Chinese rule in 1997; from the front lines in Bosnia in 1995; and from Jerusalem on the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He was the only U.S. anchor at Rabin's funeral. As a correspondent for "60 Minutes II," Rather secured an exclusive interview with President Bill Clinton, the president's first sit-down interview following his impeachment by the House. Rather was the first U.S. anchor on the scene in Belgrade in the middle of NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia, reporting for several CBS News broadcasts.
  Rather has also authored or co-authored seven books, four of which have become New York Times bestsellers.
  Rather began his career in journalism in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Later, he was a reporter for United Press International (1950-52), KSAM Radio in Huntsville (1950-53), KTRH Radio in Houston and the Houston Chronicle (1954-55). He became news director of KTRH Radio in 1956 and from 1960-63 he was news director at KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston. His widely acclaimed coverage of "Hurricane Carla" for that station, some of which was broadcast nationwide, took him to CBS News.
  He was born in Wharton, Texas, and received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State Teachers College.
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  John Seigenthaler founded the First Amendment Center in 1991 with the mission of creating national discussion, dialogue, and debate about First Amendment rights and values.
  A former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Seigenthaler served for 43 years as an award-winning journalist for The Tennessean, Nashville's morning newspaper. At his retirement he was editor, publisher and CEO. He retains the title chairman emeritus. In 1982, Seigenthaler became founding editorial director of USA Today and served in that position for a decade, retiring from both the Nashville and national newspapers in 1991.
  Seigenthaler left journalism briefly in the early 1960s to serve in the U.S. Justice Department as administrative assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. His work in the field of civil rights led to his service as chief negotiator with the governor of Alabama during the Freedom Rides. During that crisis, while attempting to aid Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Ala., he was attacked by a mob of Klansmen.
  Seigenthaler hosts a weekly book-review program, "A Word On Words," on Nashville Public Television. He is a senior advisory trustee of the Freedom Forum. He chairs the annual "Profile in Courage Award" selection committee of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and co-chairs with Arthur Schlesinger Jr. the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for the RFK Memorial.
  Seigenthaler served on the 18-member National Commission on Federal Election Reform organized in 2001 by former Presidents Carter and Ford. He is a member of the Constitution Project on Liberty and Security, created after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
  In 2002, the trustees of Vanderbilt University created the John Seigenthaler Center, naming the building at 18th Avenue South and Edgehill Avenue that houses the offices of the Freedom Forum, the First Amendment Center, and the Diversity Institute. The John Seigenthaler Center encompasses 57,000 square feet and includes a three-story expansion that was funded by the Freedom Forum and donated to Vanderbilt.
  Seigenthaler is the author of the biography, James K. Polk, published in 2004.
  He joined CPJ's board of directors in 1982 and became a member of its advisory board in November 2007.
  Back to top
  Paul Steiger is president and editor-in-chief of ProPublica, a New York-based non-profit newsroom focused on investigative journalism, a position he assumed beginning January 2008. Steiger was previously editor-at-large at The Wall Street Journal, having stepped down in May 2007 from a 15-year stint as managing editor and vice president of Dow Jones & Company. Steiger joined the Journal in 1966 as a reporter in the San Francisco bureau. In 1968, he moved to the Los Angeles Times as a staff writer and in 1971 he transferred to that paper's Washington, D.C. bureau as an economic correspondent. He returned to Los Angeles in 1978 to serve as the Times' business editor.
  In 1983, Steiger rejoined the Journal as an assistant managing editor in New York and became deputy managing editor in April 1985. He was appointed managing editor in June 1991 and became a vice president in May 1992. Under his leadership, The Wall Street Journal's reporters and editors won numerous Pulitzer Prizes. Editors and news staffs of the European and Asian Journals began reporting to him in July 2002.
  Steiger was elected chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2005. The same year, Steiger was honored with the "Decade of Excellence" award from the World Leadership Forum.
  In November 2007, the National Press Club awarded Steiger the Fourth Estate Award, its highest honor, for "a lifetime of contributions to American journalism." In 2002, Steiger was selected as the first recipient of the American Society of Newspaper Editors' Leadership Award, honoring more than a decade of leadership at The Wall Street Journal. The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA honored him with the 2002 Gerald Loeb Award for lifetime achievement. Also in 2002, he was awarded the Columbia Journalism Award, given to honor a "singular journalistic performance in the public interest," and the highest honor awarded by the Columbia University School of Journalism. He was named a 2001-02 Poynter Fellow by Yale University.
  The National Press Foundation awarded him the 2001 George Beveridge Editor of the Year Award for qualities that produce excellence in media. In March 1999, he was elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board. Steiger won three Gerald Loeb Awards and two John Hancock awards for his economics and business coverage. He is co-author of the book, The '70s Crash and How to Survive It, published in 1970.
  Born in New York City, Steiger graduated from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in economics.
  Back to top
Juror Form Lists 'Slave' as Occupation
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 17:30
  Juror Form Lists 'Slave' as Occupationwww.breitbart.com
  Juror Form Lists 'Slave' as Occupation
  by Jon David Kahn26 Nov 2013, 12:37 PM PDTpost a comment
  DECATUR, Ga. - A new online questionnaire offered by the DeKalb County Court caught the attention of one potential juror who noticed that "slave" was listed as a choice for occupation. The potential juror was reportedly filling out the form Monday morning and clicked the letter "s" with the intention of entering his occupation "sales." What he saw instead was the word "slave." Court Administrator Cathy McCumber told a local news station that the questionnaire went online a month ago, but it is based off an internal list that the court has been using for 13 years. McCumber also noted the list is 62 pages long so she could not determine if the word "slave" has always been on the list or if it found its way on when the questionnaire went online.
  The software company that designed the program says the drop down menus in the survey are inputted by the user, which in this case means the county. The courthouse reportedly removed the word "slave" from the site within an hour of its discovery.
  At the courthouse Monday, residents responded with disbelief and a degree of skepticism.
  "That is not an occupation, slave is not an occupation," said DeKalb resident, Cheryl Glass.
  Another resident, Bridgette Mathis, said "So they're saying it's a mistake? I don't think so. Why is that even an option? Wow."
  Juror Form Lists 'Slave' as Occupationwww.breitbart.com
  Juror Form Lists 'Slave' as Occupation
  by Jon David Kahn26 Nov 2013, 12:37 PM PDTpost a comment
  DECATUR, Ga. - A new online questionnaire offered by the DeKalb County Court caught the attention of one potential juror who noticed that "slave" was listed as a choice for occupation. The potential juror was reportedly filling out the form Monday morning and clicked the letter "s" with the intention of entering his occupation "sales." What he saw instead was the word "slave." Court Administrator Cathy McCumber told a local news station that the questionnaire went online a month ago, but it is based off an internal list that the court has been using for 13 years. McCumber also noted the list is 62 pages long so she could not determine if the word "slave" has always been on the list or if it found its way on when the questionnaire went online.
  The software company that designed the program says the drop down menus in the survey are inputted by the user, which in this case means the county. The courthouse reportedly removed the word "slave" from the site within an hour of its discovery.
  At the courthouse Monday, residents responded with disbelief and a degree of skepticism.
  "That is not an occupation, slave is not an occupation," said DeKalb resident, Cheryl Glass.
  Another resident, Bridgette Mathis, said "So they're saying it's a mistake? I don't think so. Why is that even an option? Wow."
It's business that really rules us now | George Monbiot
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:48
  'Tony Blair and Gordon Brown purged the party of any residue of opposition to corporations and the people who run them. That's what New Labour was all about.' Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA
  It's the reason for the collapse of democratic choice. It's the source of our growing disillusionment with politics. It's the great unmentionable. Corporate power. The media will scarcely whisper its name. It is howlingly absent from parliamentary debates. Until we name it and confront it, politics is a waste of time.
  The political role of business corporations is generally interpreted as that of lobbyists, seeking to influence government policy. In reality they belong on the inside. They are part of the nexus of power that creates policy. They face no significant resistance, from either government or opposition, as their interests have now been woven into the fabric of all three main political parties in Britain.
  Most of the scandals that leave people in despair about politics arise from this source. On Monday, for instance, the Guardian revealed that the government's subsidy system for gas-burning power stations is being designed by an executive from the Dublin-based company ESB International, who has been seconded into the Department of Energy. What does ESB do? Oh, it builds gas-burning power stations.
  On the same day we learned that a government minister, Nick Boles, has privately assured the gambling company Ladbrokes that it needn't worry about attempts by local authorities to stop the spread of betting shops. His new law will prevent councils from taking action.
  Last week we discovered that G4S's contract to run immigration removal centres will be expanded, even though all further business with the state was supposed to be frozen while allegations of fraud were investigated.
  Every week we learn that systemic failures on the part of government contractors are no barrier to obtaining further work, that the promise of efficiency, improvements and value for money delivered by outsourcing and privatisation have failed to materialise.
  The monitoring which was meant to keep these companies honest is haphazard, the penalties almost nonexistent, the rewards can be stupendous, dizzying, corrupting. Yet none of this deters the government. Since 2008, the outsourcing of public services has doubled, to £20bn. It is due to rise to £100bn by 2015.
  This policy becomes explicable only when you recognise where power really lies. The role of the self-hating state is to deliver itself to big business. In doing so it creates a tollbooth economy: a system of corporate turnpikes, operated by companies with effective monopolies.
  It's hardly surprising that the lobbying bill '' now stalled by the House of Lords '' offered almost no checks on the power of corporate lobbyists, while hog-tying the charities who criticise them. But it's not just that ministers are not discouraged from hobnobbing with corporate executives: they are now obliged to do so.
  Thanks to an initiative by Lord Green, large companies have ministerial "buddies", who have to meet them when the companies request it. There were 698 of these meetings during the first 18 months of the scheme, called by corporations these ministers are supposed be regulating. Lord Green, by the way, is currently a government trade minister. Before that he was chairman of HSBC, presiding over the bank while it laundered vast amounts of money stashed by Mexican drugs barons. Ministers, lobbyists '' can you tell them apart?
  That the words corporate power seldom feature in the corporate press is not altogether surprising. It's more disturbing to see those parts of the media that are not owned by Rupert Murdoch or Lord Rothermere acting as if they are.
  For example, for five days every week the BBC's Today programme starts with a business report in which only insiders are interviewed. They are treated with a deference otherwise reserved for God on Thought for the Day. There's even a slot called Friday Boss, in which the programme's usual rules of engagement are set aside and its reporters grovel before the corporate idol. Imagine the outcry if Today had a segment called Friday Trade Unionist or Friday Corporate Critic.
  This, in my view, is a much graver breach of BBC guidelines than giving unchallenged airtime to one political party but not others, as the bosses are the people who possess real power '' those, in other words, whom the BBC has the greatest duty to accost. Research conducted by the Cardiff school of journalism shows business representatives now receive 11% of airtime on the BBC's 6 o'clock news (this has risen from 7% in 2007), while trade unionists receive 0.6% (which has fallen from 1.4%). Balance? Impartiality? The BBC puts a match to its principles every day.
  And where, beyond the Green party, Plaid Cymru, a few ageing Labour backbenchers, is the political resistance? After the article I wrote last week, about the grave threat the transatlantic trade and investment partnership presents to parliamentary sovereignty and democratic choice, several correspondents asked me what response there has been from the Labour party. It's easy to answer: nothing.
  Tony Blair and Gordon Brown purged the party of any residue of opposition to corporations and the people who run them. That's what New Labour was all about. Now opposition MPs stare mutely as their powers are given away to a system of offshore arbitration panels run by corporate lawyers.
  Since Blair, parliament operates much as Congress in the United States does: the lefthand glove puppet argues with the righthand glove puppet, but neither side will turn around to face the corporate capital that controls almost all our politics. This is why the assertion that parliamentary democracy has been reduced to a self-important farce has resonated so widely over the past fortnight.
  So I don't blame people for giving up on politics. I haven't given up yet, but I find it ever harder to explain why. When a state-corporate nexus of power has bypassed democracy and made a mockery of the voting process, when an unreformed political funding system ensures that parties can be bought and sold, when politicians of the three main parties stand and watch as public services are divvied up by a grubby cabal of privateers, what is left of this system that inspires us to participate?
  Twitter: @georgemonbiot A fully referenced version of this article can be found at monbiot.com
EU lays down steps US must take to protect data
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:40
  EU lays down steps US must take to protect data1 hour agoA pictures shows binary code reflected from a computer screen in a woman's eye on October 22, 2012
  The EU on Wednesday laid down steps Washington must take to restore trust after a huge spying scandal, including giving EU citizens the right to US legal redress to protect personal data.
  "Massive spying on our citizens, companies and leaders is unacceptable," EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said, adding there was "now a window of opportunity to rebuild trust which we expect our American partners to use."
  An umbrella agreement being negotiated on EU-US data protection "has to give European citizens concrete and enforceable rights, notably the right to judicial redress in the US whenever their personal data are being processed in the US," Reding said in a statement.
  A key concern in Europe'--where memories of surveillance by fascist and communist dictatorships remain alive'--is the pressure Washington exerts on giant US companies to hand over personal data, including of EU citizens, on national security grounds.
  Up to now Brussels and Washington have reconciled their differences in a 'Safe Harbour' agreement which aims to ensure US companies respect EU norms on commercial personal data use.
  In the EU, personal data protection is considered a basic right whose commercial use must be carefully controlled.
  Data protection has become a hugely sensitive topic since intelligence leaker Edward Snowden described a massive network of US spy operations on friend and foe alike earlier this year
  Safe Harbour now needs to be tightened up, Reding said, with 13 suggested changes, including a provision requiring US companies to make clear the extent to which US authorities have the right to collect and process data they may have gathered.
  The national security justification often cited for such government access must also be used only if strictly necessary.
  Reding said the EU must conclude reform of its own data protection laws and be actively involved to ensure that US reforms promised by President Barack Obama "also benefit EU citizens."
  Highlighted by the reported US tapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, data protection has become a hugely sensitive topic since intelligence leaker Edward Snowden described a massive network of US spy operations on friend and foe alike earlier this year.
  The uproar prompted the European Parliament to call for talks on a massive free trade deal with the United States to be halted and the Safe Harbour system to be scrapped in protest.
  But the European Commission stressed again Wednesday that data protection standards would not be part of the negotiations on the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
  Explore further:EU, Merkel to raise NSA program with US officials
  (C) 2013 AFP
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  The backlash in Europe over U.S. spying is threatening an agreement that generates tens of billions of dollars in trans-Atlantic business every year'--and negotiations on another pact worth many times more.
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  European Union lawmakers on Tuesday urged heads of state and government to endorse a proposal for beefed-up data privacy laws ahead of a summit in Brussels later this week.
  Despite data privacy scandal, no deal yet on new EU laws Oct 07, 2013
  EU justice ministers meeting for the first time since revelations of US spying on Europeans, agreed on Monday that new data protection laws were needed but disagreed on how to proceed.
  EU, Germany demand answers on UK surveillance Jun 26, 2013
  (AP)'--The European Union's justice chief on Wednesday demanded urgent answers from Britain on the nature and extent of an alleged online eavesdropping operation comparable to the U.S. international Internet surveillance ...
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  User comments : 0More news storiesNew technique for dataset cluster detection(Phys.org) '--A persistent problem for mathematicians trying to understand the structures of networks '' in datasets representing relationships among everything from galaxies to people '' is community detection: finding ...
  Niger cuts off third of mobile phones to stop crimeNiger has deactivated a third of its mobile phone connections to curb anonymous phone calls used for criminal activity, the country's telecoms regulator has announced.
  Snapchat finds its niche with disappearing messagesFor 13-year-old Coral Fairchild, Snapchat trumps old-style text messaging as the way to socialize with friends in the mobile Internet age.
  Harvard materials scientists win award for tiny 3D-printed batteryMaterials scientists at Harvard University have been recognized by the printed electronics industry for their work on novel 3D-printed lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand.
  IBM combines local IT systems with cloud storageIBM today announced that its inventors have patented a technique for combining Big Data from distributed cloud services with data stored on local IT systems to gain new insights that can enable businesses ...
  Express yourself: Scientists use genetic algorithm to design self-assembling ssDNA-grafted particles(Phys.org) '--Material design usually follows what is known as the Edisonian method, a traditional process characterized by trial-and-error discovery rather than a systematic theoretical approach. While ...
  Figures of eight and peanut shells: How stars move at the center of the galaxy(Phys.org) '--Two months ago astronomers created a new 3D map of stars at the center of our galaxy (the Milky Way), showing more clearly than ever the bulge at its core. Previous explanations suggested that ...
  Researchers find native male praying mantises falling prey to invading females(Phys.org) '--A trio of researchers from the University of Auckland in New Zealand has found that male praying mantises are being eaten when they attempt to mate with an invasive species of female mantis. ...
  Subarctic lakes are drying up at a rate not seen in 200 yearsThe decrease in snowfall observed in recent years in Canada's subarctic regions has led to worrisome desiccation of the regions' lakes. This is the conclusion arrived at by researchers from Universit(C) Laval, ...
  Automated prediction alert helps identify patients at risk for 30-day readmissionAn automated prediction tool which identifies newly admitted patients who are at risk for readmission within 30 days of discharge has been successfully incorporated into the electronic health record of the University of Pennsylvania ...
  Javascript is currently disabled in your web browser. For full site functionality, it is necessary to enable Javascript. In order to enable it, please see these instructions.(C) Phys.org' 2003-2013
  EU lays down steps US must take to protect data1 hour agoA pictures shows binary code reflected from a computer screen in a woman's eye on October 22, 2012
  The EU on Wednesday laid down steps Washington must take to restore trust after a huge spying scandal, including giving EU citizens the right to US legal redress to protect personal data.
  "Massive spying on our citizens, companies and leaders is unacceptable," EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said, adding there was "now a window of opportunity to rebuild trust which we expect our American partners to use."
  An umbrella agreement being negotiated on EU-US data protection "has to give European citizens concrete and enforceable rights, notably the right to judicial redress in the US whenever their personal data are being processed in the US," Reding said in a statement.
  A key concern in Europe'--where memories of surveillance by fascist and communist dictatorships remain alive'--is the pressure Washington exerts on giant US companies to hand over personal data, including of EU citizens, on national security grounds.
  Up to now Brussels and Washington have reconciled their differences in a 'Safe Harbour' agreement which aims to ensure US companies respect EU norms on commercial personal data use.
  In the EU, personal data protection is considered a basic right whose commercial use must be carefully controlled.
  Data protection has become a hugely sensitive topic since intelligence leaker Edward Snowden described a massive network of US spy operations on friend and foe alike earlier this year
  Safe Harbour now needs to be tightened up, Reding said, with 13 suggested changes, including a provision requiring US companies to make clear the extent to which US authorities have the right to collect and process data they may have gathered.
  The national security justification often cited for such government access must also be used only if strictly necessary.
  Reding said the EU must conclude reform of its own data protection laws and be actively involved to ensure that US reforms promised by President Barack Obama "also benefit EU citizens."
  Highlighted by the reported US tapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, data protection has become a hugely sensitive topic since intelligence leaker Edward Snowden described a massive network of US spy operations on friend and foe alike earlier this year.
  The uproar prompted the European Parliament to call for talks on a massive free trade deal with the United States to be halted and the Safe Harbour system to be scrapped in protest.
  But the European Commission stressed again Wednesday that data protection standards would not be part of the negotiations on the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
  Explore further:EU, Merkel to raise NSA program with US officials
  (C) 2013 AFP
  More from Physics Forums - Computers
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  Senior European Union officials will question their American counterparts about previously undisclosed U.S. surveillance programs during a trans-Atlantic ministerial meeting in Dublin starting Thursday.
  EU wants privacy guarantees from US amid Prism crisis Jun 11, 2013
  The EU said Tuesday it will seek a strong commitment from the United States to respect the rights of European citizens, following revelations that Washington is running a worldwide Internet surveillance programme.
  EU spying backlash threatens billions in US trade Oct 30, 2013
  The backlash in Europe over U.S. spying is threatening an agreement that generates tens of billions of dollars in trans-Atlantic business every year'--and negotiations on another pact worth many times more.
  EU lawmakers push leaders on data privacy Oct 22, 2013
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  Despite data privacy scandal, no deal yet on new EU laws Oct 07, 2013
  EU justice ministers meeting for the first time since revelations of US spying on Europeans, agreed on Monday that new data protection laws were needed but disagreed on how to proceed.
  EU, Germany demand answers on UK surveillance Jun 26, 2013
  (AP)'--The European Union's justice chief on Wednesday demanded urgent answers from Britain on the nature and extent of an alleged online eavesdropping operation comparable to the U.S. international Internet surveillance ...
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  Cyber resilience metrics needed to meet increased threats Nov 25, 2013
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  User comments : 0More news storiesNew technique for dataset cluster detection(Phys.org) '--A persistent problem for mathematicians trying to understand the structures of networks '' in datasets representing relationships among everything from galaxies to people '' is community detection: finding ...
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  Snapchat finds its niche with disappearing messagesFor 13-year-old Coral Fairchild, Snapchat trumps old-style text messaging as the way to socialize with friends in the mobile Internet age.
  Harvard materials scientists win award for tiny 3D-printed batteryMaterials scientists at Harvard University have been recognized by the printed electronics industry for their work on novel 3D-printed lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand.
  IBM combines local IT systems with cloud storageIBM today announced that its inventors have patented a technique for combining Big Data from distributed cloud services with data stored on local IT systems to gain new insights that can enable businesses ...
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  Researchers find native male praying mantises falling prey to invading females(Phys.org) '--A trio of researchers from the University of Auckland in New Zealand has found that male praying mantises are being eaten when they attempt to mate with an invasive species of female mantis. ...
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  Javascript is currently disabled in your web browser. For full site functionality, it is necessary to enable Javascript. In order to enable it, please see these instructions.(C) Phys.org' 2003-2013
President Obama Signs Illinois Disaster Declaration
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:38
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  November 26, 2013
  The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Illinois and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes on November 17, 2013.
  The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Champaign, Douglas, Fayette, Grundy, Jasper, La Salle, Massac, Pope, Tazewell, Vermilion, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, Will, and Woodford.
  Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
  Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
  W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Donald L. Keldsen as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.
  FEMA said that damage surveys are continuing in other areas, and additional counties may be designated for assistance after the assessments are fully completed.
  FEMA said that residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT: FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@DHS.GOV
CIA chief accused of murder over Pakistan drone attack
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: The Daily Star >> Live News
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:37
  ISLAMABAD: The political party of former cricketer Imran Khan Wednesday named the CIA's director and a man it said was the agency's chief in Pakistan as murder suspects over a drone strike.
  Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party has written to police over last week's attack on a seminary linked to the feared Haqqani militant network in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest.
  The attack, which militant sources said killed the Haqqanis' spiritual leader along with five others, was extremely unusual in that it was mounted outside Pakistan's lawless tribal areas on the Afghan border.
  The letter signed by PTI information secretary Shireen Mazari asked Hangu police to name CIA director John Brennan and a man they identified as the agency's Islamabad station chief as suspects for murder and "waging war against Pakistan".
  The PTI official demanded an interrogation of the CIA's Islamabad chief and said the names of the drone's remote pilot and others involved in the attack must be obtained.
  She also requested in the letter that the interior ministry should be asked to put the CIA official on the "Exit Control List" in order to prevent him from leaving Pakistan.
  It is rare for CIA operatives to be identified in public. The then- Islamabad station chief was forced to leave Pakistan in late 2010 when a Pakistani official admitted his name had been leaked.
  PTI, which leads the coalition government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has long campaigned against the CIA's drone campaign targeting Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan.
  Khan has stepped up his rhetoric since a drone attack killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban on November 1. He accused Washington of deliberately sabotaging fledgling efforts towards peace talks with the militants.
  He has urged the government to halt trucks travelling through Pakistan with supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan.
  But the government has shown no appetite for the move, leaving PTI activists to take matters into their own hands.
  In recent days PTI supporters armed with clubs have set up checkpoints on roads in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and forcibly searched trucks for NATO supplies.
  The government criticises drone strikes as a violation of sovereignty and counterproductive to anti-terror efforts. But ties with Washington have nevertheless improved this year after lurching from crisis to crisis in 2011 and 2012.
  Last month the US announced it would release $1.6 billion in aid and Washington's support was seen as key in Pakistan securing a $6.7 billion rescue loan from the International Monetary Fund in September.
Gentse hogeschool verbiedt horloge bij examen
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: VK: Home
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:37
  27/11/13, 16:31 '' bron: ANP
  (C) AFP.
  Studenten van de Gentse Arteveldehogeschool mogen tijdens examens niet langer een horloge dragen. Zo hoopt de school te vermijden dat studenten spieken via een zogeheten smart watch.
  'Via een dergelijke smart watch kunnen studenten informatie laten binnenkomen en die ook snel laten verdwijnen. Daardoor valt het moeilijk te bewijzen of iemand gefraudeerd heeft', aldus Kristine De Smet van de hogeschool tegenover de Vlaamse omroep VRT woensdag.
  De maatregel wordt ingesteld zodat er achteraf geen onduidelijkheid kan ontstaan, aldus de school. Het is volgens de school te lastig om te bepalen wat een smart watch en wat een gewoon horloge is. Daarom worden alle horloges verboden. De school zorgt ervoor dat in alle examenlokalen een klok hangt.
Mooch Asks Supporters To Pester Loved Ones With Obamacare Propaganda During Holiday Season'...
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:31
  You heard her, Obamabots, ruin Thanksgiving and Christmas for the cause.
  Via Washington Secrets:
  First lady Michelle Obama not only wants Americans to consider signing up for Obamacare during their Thanksgiving get-togethers, she's also offering tips on how to talk about it and wants positive feedback.
  In a fundraising note to supporters that also cheered her husband's economic and global warming efforts, the first lady urged supporters of the president's grassroots group Organizing for Action to share their Obamacare experiences.
  ''The folks at OFA will be collecting some of your stories to share on BarackObama.com. I can't wait to see what you have to say,'' she wrote, adding: ''P.S. '-- As you spend time with loved ones this holiday season, be sure to talk with them about what health reform can mean for them '-- OFA has some tips to help get the ball rolling.''
  Keep reading'...
Snowden Document Reveals The Government Is Tracking Individuals' Online Activities for the Explicit Purpose of Embarrassing Them
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Patterico's Pontifications
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:28
  The latest Edward Snowden document shows the government tracking online activities of people in order to discredit them with charges of hypocrisy for viewing porn and such. But it's OK, nothing to worry about . . . they're all Muslims:
  The National Security Agency has been gathering records of online sexual activity and evidence of visits to pornographic websites as part of a proposed plan to harm the reputations of those whom the agency believes are radicalizing others through incendiary speeches, according to a top-secret NSA document. The document, provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, identifies six targets, all Muslims, as ''exemplars'' of how ''personal vulnerabilities'' can be learned through electronic surveillance, and then exploited to undermine a target's credibility, reputation and authority.
  The NSA document, dated Oct. 3, 2012, repeatedly refers to the power of charges of hypocrisy to undermine such a messenger.''
  It doesn't take a genius to see how a brass knuckles politician might drool over access to information that would embarrass and destroy their critics and political opponents. And it does not take a fanatical student of political smear jobs to imagine information like this being used in a political campaign. See if you buy this argument in response:
  Stewart Baker, a one-time general counsel for the NSA and a top Homeland Security official in the Bush administration, said that the idea of using potentially embarrassing information to undermine targets is a sound one. ''If people are engaged in trying to recruit folks to kill Americans and we can discredit them, we ought to,'' said Baker. ''On the whole, it's fairer and maybe more humane'' than bombing a target, he said, describing the tactic as ''dropping the truth on them.''
  Any system can be abused, Baker allowed, but he said fears of the policy drifting to domestic political opponents don't justify rejecting it. ''On that ground you could question almost any tactic we use in a war, and at some point you have to say we're counting on our officials to know the difference,'' he said.
  Sorry, Stu: no sale. Everything about this story screams, in 20-foot red letters: ''POLITICIANS CAN AND WILL ABUSE INFORMATION LIKE THIS!!!!'' This is pretty much a vindication of everyone who trumpeted the importance of the information being released by Snowden. This document, in my view, reveals important information that shows a fundamental restructuring of the relationship between the government and an individual. It doesn't make Snowden a hero, necessarily . . . but I find this story eye-opening about the government's real purposes in tracking Internet activity. We increasingly live our entire lives online these days. Maybe you don't look at pornography at all, but don't worry. Once the government is able to track and store all your internet activity, it can find some other way to intimidate you.
  The depressing part is, I doubt any level of outrage is going to change the fact that government will do this. If they can do it, they will.
  What, you got a problem with that? OK, I'm happy to hear you out, sir. Before we discuss your concerns, though, could I just ask you a few quick little questions about your browsing history?
  Yeah. That's what I thought. Have a nice day . . . sir.
'I wanna scalp her': Palin haters fall for obviously fake 'Indian' quotes, hurl nastygrams | Twitchy
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:24
  New tone! Also, Sarah Palin said what now?
  https://twitter.com/wkfung108/status/403897514547359744
  That's right. It's not The Onion. It's the Free Wood Post, another satire site that's fooled many a liberal with its spoofs of conservative politicians. Here's a snippet of the over-the-top, screamingly obvious Thanksgiving satire:
  Palin sat dumbfounded unaware of any controversy. The host went on to fill her in on the fact that many Native American tribes do not celebrate the holiday. In fact, it is a day of mourning for them. And those that do celebrate the day do so because it is a reminder that they survived mass murder, forced relocation, the theft of their land and many other injustices.
  Palin's response was astounding, ''Thanksgiving is for real Americans not Indians. We founded this Christian nation. Why if it wasn't for the God-fearing pilgrims, the natives would still be running around in loin cloths shooting at things with their arrows.''
  No, doll. You are. The header on the Free Wood Post announces, ''News that's almost reliable.'' And then there's the disclaimer:
  https://twitter.com/GerryDawes/status/403980883574525952
  Snopes has also rated this one ''false.''
  But try convincing the lefty tolerance brigade that Palin said no such thing. Facts '-- and civility '-- ain't easy when you're frothing at the mouth.
  https://twitter.com/ShannlynSE/status/403933160637231104
  https://twitter.com/Kisskissdarling/status/403981001560719361
  Tell us again that the War on Women comes from the Right.
Disappearing Bitcoins
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:06
  WaPo reports:An academic study published earlier this year by Tyler Moore at Southern Methodist University and Nicolas Cristin at Carnegie Mellon about the risks associated with Bitcoin exchanges reported that 18 of 40 services they studied over three years closed "with customer account balances often wiped out." In that study, less popular services were more likely to just disappear than popular exchanges -- but popular exchanges were more likely to suffer security breaches, which have also been blamed for disappearing bitcoins.
  And this doesn't include those who lost money because of government actions at Mt. Gox and Silk Road.
Presidential Proclamation -- Thanksgiving Day, 2013
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:05
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  November 26, 2013
  THANKSGIVING DAY, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  Thanksgiving offers each of us the chance to count our many blessings -- the freedoms we enjoy, the time we spend with loved ones, the brave men and women who defend our Nation at home and abroad. This tradition reminds us that no matter what our background or beliefs, no matter who we are or who we love, at our core we are first and foremost Americans.
  Our annual celebration has roots in centuries-old colonial customs. When we gather around the table, we follow the example of the Pilgrims and Wampanoags, who shared the fruits of a successful harvest nearly 400 years ago. When we offer our thanks, we mirror those who set aside a day of prayer. And when we join with friends and neighbors to alleviate suffering and make our communities whole, we honor the spirit of President Abraham Lincoln, who called on his fellow citizens to "fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union."
  Our country has always been home to Americans who recognize the importance of giving back. Today, we honor all those serving our Nation far from home. We also thank the first responders and medical professionals who work through the holiday to keep us safe, and we acknowledge the volunteers who dedicate this day to those less fortunate.
  This Thanksgiving Day, let us forge deeper connections with our loved ones. Let us extend our gratitude and our compassion. And let us lift each other up and recognize, in the oldest spirit of this tradition, that we rise or fall as one Nation, under God.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 28, 2013, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage the people of the United States to join together -- whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors -- and give thanks for all we have received in the past year, express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and share our bounty with others.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
  BARACK OBAMA
Presidential Proclamation -- Minority Enterprise Development Week, 2013
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:05
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  November 26, 2013
  MINORITY ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT WEEK, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  This August, as we marked the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, we were reminded that the measure of America's progress is not whether the doors of opportunity are cracked a little wider for a few, but whether our economic system provides a fair shot for the many. Minority-owned businesses play a crucial part in driving this progress -- not only when their founders pursue their fullest measure of success, but also when they offer employees of all backgrounds a chance to enter the ranks of the American middle class. During Minority Enterprise Development Week, we recognize the strength of our diverse workforce and the many ways minority entrepreneurs contribute to our economy, our society, and our Nation's fundamental promise.
  America's minority enterprises include everything from Main Street cornerstones that sustain communities to global firms that drive innovation in the industries of tomorrow. Together, these businesses employ almost 6 million Americans and contribute 1 trillion dollars to our economy every year. Minority entrepreneurs bring unique perspectives to every corner of our country, and their understanding of diverse cultures often gives them an advantage in the international marketplace.
  As our economy continues to recover, our investments in minority owned and operated firms will help create jobs, strengthen families, and build ladders of opportunity in underserved communities. Over the past 5 years, my Administration has worked to empower minority entrepreneurs by connecting them with billions of dollars in contracts and access to capital. And to better serve America's business community, we launched www.Business.USA.gov, where any firm can seek out financing opportunities, navigate Federal bureaucracy, and cut through red tape.
  This week, we celebrate America's minority enterprises, renew our commitment to helping them grow, and look with pride toward the promise of the future.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 1 through December 7, 2013, as Minority Enterprise Development Week. I call upon all Americans to celebrate this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities to recognize the many contributions of our Nation's minority enterprises.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
  BARACK OBAMA
Remarks by the President on the Economy -- DreamWorks
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:00
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  November 26, 2013
  DreamWorksGlendale, California
  12:50 P.M. PST
  THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! (Applause.) Oh, it is good to be in L.A.! (Applause.) It is colder in D.C. at the moment, colder in Chicago, and 70-degree weather is something to be thankful for.
  And it is great to be at DreamWorks Animation. I would like to work here. (Laughter.) I have asked Jeffrey. The only concern I had was the lights were kind of dim in the offices and -- (laughter) -- I'm pretty sure I'd fall asleep. But there's a natural connection between me and DreamWorks. I don't know if you know this, but my ears were one of the inspirations for ''Shrek.'' (Laughter.) That's true. True story.
  Mellody was being very modest when she said she had a front-row seat. Mellody was one of my earliest supporters back when nobody could pronounce my name. And her and John Rogers at Arial Capital helped to co-chair some of my first fundraisers. And they'd have to drag some straggly group in, kicking and screaming, and write a check and listen to this young senator who had a lot of ideas but not necessarily any realistic prospects to win. And she went through a lot of ups and downs with me and my career and is just a great, great friend. So I want to thank her publicly for all the support that she's given us. (Applause.)
  We've got some folks here who are fighting for the people of Southern California every single day and I just want to acknowledge them. We've got the Mayor of Glendale, Dave Weaver. (Applause.) We've got three of your outstanding members of Congress -- Brad Sherman, Adam Schiff, Karen Bass. They are all doing a great job. (Applause.)
  I want to thank all of you for being here. And I want to thank your CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, for inviting me. (Applause.) Jeffrey, like Mellody, has been a friend and a supporter through thick and thin. And I think his place in the entertainment industry is legendary -- I don't need to puff him up too much. (Laughter.) He has a healthy sense of self. (Laughter.) But he is a great friend and somebody whose counsel and advice I value. And I'm incredibly grateful to be here at this wonderful institution that he helped to build.
  And I've come here today because this is one of America's economic engines. Not just DreamWorks, but this whole cluster of companies that generations have grown up knowing -- Disney and Warner and Universal and others. When you think about it, what finance is to New York, what the auto industry is to the Midwest, what technology is to Northern California, entertainment is to this part of the country.
  And most of us have spent a lot of time thinking about our favorite movies or TV shows, but we don't often think about the entire infrastructure and industry behind the scenes. Hundreds of thousands of middle-class jobs -- they're not always on the marquee -- jobs for electricians, and carpenters, and sound mixers, and makeup artists, and designers, and animators depend on this incredible industry here in southern California.
  Entertainment is one of America's biggest exports. And every day, you sell a product that's made in America to the rest of the world. Every time somebody buys movie tickets, or DVDs, or distribution rights to a film, some of that money goes back to the local economy right here.
  And believe it or not, entertainment is part of our American diplomacy. It's part of what makes us exceptional, part of what makes us such a world power. You can go anywhere on the planet and you'll see a kid wearing a ''Madagascar'' T-shirt. (Laughter.) You can say, ''May the Force be with you'' -- they know what you're talking about. (Laughter.)
  Hundreds of millions of people may never set foot in the United States, but thanks to you, they've experienced a small part of what makes our country special. They've learned something about our values. We have shaped a world culture through you.
  And the stories that we tell transmit values and ideals about tolerance and diversity and overcoming adversity, and creativity that are part of our DNA. And as a consequence of what you've done, you helped shape the world's culture in a way that has made the world better.
  They might not know the Gettysburg Address, but if they're watching some old movie, maybe ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,'' or ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show,'' or ''Will and Grace'' and ''Modern Family,'' they've had a front-row seat to our march towards progress, even if their own nations haven't made that progress yet. And young people in countries all around the world suddenly make a connection and have an affinity to people who don't look like them and maybe originally they might have been fearful of, and now suddenly they say, oh, this person is like me -- which is one of the powers of art, but that's what you transmit.
  And that is a remarkable legacy. Now, it's also a big responsibility. When it comes to issues like gun violence, we've got to make sure that we're not glorifying it, because the stories you tell shape our children's outlook and their lives. Earlier this year, leaders from this town sat down with Vice President Biden to talk about what Hollywood could do to help keep our kids safe. This was in the wake of Sandy Hook. And those conversations need to continue. The stories we tell matter. And you tell stories more powerfully than anybody else on the Earth.
  But I want to make clear, even as we think long and hard about the messages we send, we should never waver from our commitment to the freedom that allows us to tell those stories so well. Protecting our First Amendment rights are vital to who we are. And it's also good business, because in the global race for jobs and industries, the thing we do better than anybody else is creativity. That's something that can't be copied. It's one of the reasons why even with new markets and new technologies, there's still no better place to make movies and television and music than right here in the United States.
  Entertainment is one of the bright spots of our economy. The gap between what we can do and what other countries can do is enormous.
  AUDIENCE MEMBER: Woo!
  THE PRESIDENT: Yes, that's worth cheering for. (Applause.) And that means that we've got to do what it takes to make sure that this industry, and every great American industry, keeps that competitive edge so that more folks can find career paths like many of you have, and get good middle-class jobs that allow you to support a family and get ahead.
  Nothing is more important than that right now. And as Mellody mentioned, when I came into office, we were going through a severe crisis. Five years later, America has largely fought our way back. We've made the tough choices required not just to help the economy recover, but to rebuild it on a new foundation for stronger, more durable economic growth.
  We refocused on manufacturing and exports, and today, our businesses sell more goods and services made in this country to the rest of the world than ever before. Our manufacturers are adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s, led by an American auto industry that's come roaring back. American cars are really good now. (Laughter.)
  We decided to reverse our dependence on foreign oil. So today, we generate more renewable energy than ever -- doubled our renewable energy -- more natural gas than anybody. For the first time in nearly 20 years, America now produces more of our own oil than we buy from other countries. It's good news. (Applause.)
  When I took office, America invested far less than countries like China did in wireless infrastructure and we've now narrowed that gap, and we have helped companies unleash jobs and innovation and become a booming app economy that's created hundreds of thousands of jobs. Six years ago, only 5 percent of the world's smartphones ran on American operating systems. Today, more than 80 percent do. (Applause.)
  And, yes, we decided to fix a broken health care system. (Applause.) And it's interesting -- I was talking to some of the studio execs here, and I said, look, the rollout of the new health care marketplace was rough and nobody was more frustrated about the problems with our website than I am. And yet, here in Southern California and here across this state, there are thousands of people every single day who are getting health care for the first time -- for the first time -- because of this. (Applause.) And, by the way, the website is continually working better, so check it out. (Laughter.)
  But as a country, we're now poised to gain health coverage for millions of Americans, starting on January 1st, and that includes more than 350,000 here in California who have already signed up. And thanks in part to the Affordable Care Act, health care costs are growing at the slowest rate in 50 years. Employer-based health care costs are growing at about one-third the rate of a decade ago. And that means that if the studios here or your employers aren't having to spend as much on health care, they can hire more folks and reinvest more in the business, and come up with those cool technologies that -- I don't exactly understand how they work, but -- (laughter) -- were really neat to look at. (Laughter.)
  And, by the way, we've done all this while bringing down our deficits. (Applause.) After years of trillion-dollar deficits, we reined in spending. You would think sometimes listening to folks in Washington that we haven't made any progress on that front. We wound down two wars. We changed a tax code that was too skewed towards the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the middle class. You add it all up, we've cut our deficits by more than half, and they continue to go down faster than any time since World War II. (Applause.)
  So all told, our businesses created 7.8 million new jobs over the past 44 months. America has gone farther, recovered faster than most other industrialized nations. But, as Mellody said, we've got more work to do. The stock market is doing great, corporate profits soaring, but too many Americans aren't sharing in that success. And everybody here who works at DreamWorks -- a really good place to work. I'm going to ask Jeff if maybe I can work here. (Applause.) But all of you have friends and family and neighbors who aren't as lucky. And you know there are still a lot of folks who are struggling out there. And my top priority is making sure that this country remains a country where everybody who is willing to work hard can get ahead.
  And we'd be a lot further along without some of the dysfunction and obstruction we've seen in Washington. (Applause.) We would be a lot further along if we could just get folks to act with some sense -- (laughter) -- if we didn't have one wing of one party that was a little less obsessed with repealing health care for 40 million people, more concerned with making sure the law works. If they hadn't spent 40 votes trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they might have actually taken some votes on rebuilding our infrastructure, or instituting early childhood education for young people across this country, or investing more money in basic research that helps to create the amazing technologies that many of you utilize. Any of the serious proposals I've put forward that would be creating jobs right now, they could have been taking votes on that.
  Instead of rooting for failure, or refighting old battles, Republicans in Congress need to work with us to improve those things about the Affordable Care Act that aren't working as well as they should, and implement policies to strengthen the middle class and create jobs. (Applause.)
  A couple of weeks ago, House Republican leaders handed out a piece of paper to their members and on the top it said, ''Agenda 2014.'' I'm not making this up. Below that, it was blank. (Laughter.) It was a blank sheet of paper -- nothing to create jobs or grow the economy or strengthen the middle class.
  And I've put forward my plans to create new jobs and even the odds for the middle class. And I've put forward plans that gives some Republicans some of the things that they want in exchange for ideas that will create good jobs right now. And so far, they won't consider them.
  Some people have heard me say my list of top five movies -- ''The Godfather,'' one and two, have to be on it. But it turns out Marlon Brando had it easy, because when it comes to Congress, there's no such thing as an ''offer they can't refuse.'' (Laughter.) I mean, I just keep on coming back. (Laughter.) I'm going to keep on trying, though. (Laughter.) I am, because we've got no choice. (Applause.)
  The American people agree with us that jobs, growing the economy should be our number-one priority. And we've got to make some investments to make that happen. And we've got to give a better bargain to the middle class and everybody who is working to join the middle class. And that means building on those cornerstones of what makes for a strong middle class -- good jobs, a good education, a home of your own, health care when you get sick, a secure retirement even if you're not rich. So we can help manufacturers bring more jobs back to America by investing in American clean-energy technology, and putting people to work building roads and bridges and schools and high-speed broadband networks that attract businesses from around the world.
  We can prepare our children and our workers for the global competition that they'll face -- expanding high-quality preschool education, redesigning our high schools, investing in community colleges and job training, and tackling rising college costs, so that young people can afford it. We can help responsible homeowners afford a mortgage or refinancing at today's low rates, help build a rock-solid housing system for decades to come, instead of boom and bust.
  We can bring the promise of a secure retirement back to reach for middle-class families, finding new ways to make it easier for workers to save, and strengthening Social Security, and getting immigration reform done so that undocumented workers are paying their fair share of taxes, but they're not living in the shadows -- (applause) -- and we're attracting the best and the brightest from all around the world.
  As I was getting a tour of DreamWorks, I didn't ask, but just looking at faces, I could tell there were some folks who are here not because they were born here, but because they want to be here and they bring extraordinary talents to the United States. And that's part of what makes America special. And that's part of what, by the way, makes California special, because it's always been this magnet of dreamers and strivers. And people coming from every direction saying to themselves, you know, if I work hard there I can have my piece of the American Dream.
  We're going to continue to make progress on all those fronts. And, yes, we are going to continue to implement the health care law. The product is good. People want it. And we should not live in a country where people are going bankrupt just because they get sick. And anybody who is going to keep on pushing against that, they will meet my resistance, because I am willing to fix any problems that there are, but I'm not going to abandon people to make sure that they've got health insurance in this country. That is not something we're going to do. (Applause.) And the good news is, as I said, thousands of Californians are already signing up.
  I read a really powerful story over the weekend I just want to mention about uninsured folks in Kentucky who are signing up in droves in one of the poorest counties in the country. Some of them can't imagine what having health insurance would be like. And you read these stories and you realize how important it is for folks in Kentucky -- a state, by the way, that did not vote for me -- (laughter) -- and if Kentucky can do it, than every state should be able to do it.
  We should be able to expand Medicaid all across the country. There are millions of people who, right now, even under the law, may not get health care that they deserve because their governors have refused to do it just for political reasons -- expanding Medicaid. Fortunately, California, obviously, is not one of them. But this is a fight that we're going to keep fighting, because it's worth fighting. And that's what Mellody referred to.
  It's true. I'm not an ideological guy, but there are some things I really believe in. And part of what I believe in is that the essence of this country, what makes this place special, is this idea that Hollywood is glorified and held up, but I actually think it's true that here, more than anyplace else, no matter what you look like, where you come from, what your last name is, who you love, you should be able to make it if you're willing to work hard. That's what I believe. (Applause.)
  And there's certain values that make that a reality. I have my critics, obviously, but since were here in Hollywood, I want to think about something that the late, great Chicago film critic, Robert [Roger] Ebert said -- and I was fortunate to get to know Roger Ebert and was always inspired by how he handled some really tough stuff. ''Kindness,'' he wrote, ''covers all of my political beliefs.'' Kindness covers all of my political beliefs.
  And when I think about what I'm fighting for, what gets me up every single day, that captures it just about as much as anything. Kindness; empathy -- that sense that I have a stake in your success; that I'm going to make sure, just because Malia and Sasha are doing well, that's not enough -- I want your kids to do well also. And I'm willing to help to build good schools so that they get a great education, even if mine are already getting a great education.
  And I'm going to invest in infrastructure and building things like the Golden Gate Bridge and the Hoover Dam and the Internet -- (laughter) -- because I'm investing for the next generation, not just this one. And that's what binds us together, and that's how we've always moved forward, based on the idea that we have a stake in each other's success. And that's what drives me. And that's what will continue to drive me.
  I believe that every kid should have opportunity. I believe our daughters should have the same opportunities as our sons. I believe that Jeffrey's kids should be able to aspire to whatever they can dream of, but I also want to make sure that the person who's cleaning up Jeffrey's office, that their kid has that same possibility.
  And we may have different ideas and different policies on how to do things, but that shouldn't negate that that core vision is what we're fighting for, and we should be able to sit down together and to keep dreaming and keep working, and to make sure that the American Dream that's been described here in Southern California is sustained for generations to come.
  And what's stopping us is not policy details; it's not technical issues. It's to summon the courage to put politics aside once in a while and remember that we've got more in common than our politics would suggest. And as long as I've got the privilege of serving as your President, that's what I'm going to keep on making sure that I do -- to put politics aside once in a while and work on your behalf. (Applause.)
  So, thank you, DreamWorks, for what you do. (Applause.) Thank you, Jeffrey, for your hospitality. God bless you. God bless America. (Applause.) Can't wait to see your next movie. (Applause.)
  END 1:16 P.M. PST
NSA collected porn visits data to discredit 'radicalizers'
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  Source: RT - USA
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 15:59
  Published time: November 27, 2013 11:18Edited time: November 27, 2013 12:47Demonstrators hold up their signs during the "Stop Watching Us: A Rally Against Mass Surveillance" march near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, October 26, 2013 (Reuters / Jonathan Ernst)
  The National Security Agency has been collecting a mountain of dirt on the online sexual activity of individuals, all of them Muslims, whom the agency seeks to discredit due to their 'radicalizing' efforts.
  The expression 'all's fair in love and war' just took on a whole new meaning in the ongoing debate that pits national security against personal privacy.
  Yet another top-secret NSA document - one of many whisked out of the United States by whistleblower Edward Snowden - revealed that the agency sought to discredit the ''credibility, reputation and authority'' of six Muslim 'radicalizers' through their online sexual activity and visits to pornographic websites, according to Huffington Post.
  The targeted ''exemplars,'' whose identities are not revealed, are purportedly attempting to recruit and radicalize followers through ''incendiary speeches.''
  The NSA document, dated Oct. 3, 2012, aims to exploit the ''personal vulnerabilities'' of its targets through their online tendencies, including ''viewing sexually explicit material online'' and ''using sexually explicit persuasive language when communicating with inexperienced young girls.''
  The Huffington Post said it is withholding the names and locations of the six targeted individuals, whose alleged online activities ''cannot be verified.''
  The Director of the National Security Agency ("DIRNSA") distributed the top secret document to a number of government agencies, including the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and US Customs.
  'We can discredit them'Snowden's revelation's turned a spotlight on the NSA and its warehousing of billions of pieces of information - emails, phone calls, photos and videos. However, in its effort to find the proverbial needle in a haystack, the NSA is scooping up millions of innocent people in its dragnet.
  However, in the never-ending fight against terrorism, proponents of the NSA's eavesdropping techniques, which have spied on everything from the offices of the United Nations to the Vatican, maintain a position of security over privacy.
  Stewart Baker, former general counsel for the NSA, supported the idea of practicing what essentially amounts to character assassination against individuals who are believed to pose a risk to US security interest.
  "If people are engaged in trying to recruit folks to kill Americans and we can discredit them, we ought to," Baker said, as quoted by HP. "[D]ropping the truth on them," as opposed to a drone missile attack, for example, is ''fairer and maybe more humane.''
  Who's next?Although the NSA document only mentions Muslims on its list of targets, critics of the clandestine data mining system worry that such tactics could be used against ordinary Americans for any number of reasons.
  "This kind of dragnet surveillance is precisely what the Fourth Amendment was meant to prohibit," said ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer, who presented arguments against the NSA surveillance in a US federal court last week.
  "The Constitution does not permit the NSA to place hundreds of millions of innocent people under permanent surveillance because of the possibility that information about some tiny subset of them will become useful to an investigation in the future," Jaffer added.
  Jaffer said it is right to ask if a "president will ask the NSA to use the fruits of surveillance to discredit a political opponent, journalist or human rights activist."
  "The NSA has used its power that way in the past and it would be na¯ve to think it couldn't use its power that way in the future," he said.
  None of the individuals listed in the NSA document, all of whom are believed to reside outside the United States, is accused of being involved in terror plots against US interests, the article concluded.
Iran Gold Sanctions Easing Seen Having Little Price Impact - Bloomberg
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 07:50
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  What You Need to Know About the Iran Nuclear Deal
  The easing of sanctions on trading gold with Iran probably will have little impact on prices, according to Standard Bank Group Ltd. and Societe Generale SA.
  ''Gold overall is dominated by much bigger forces right now,'' Walter de Wet, an analyst at Standard Bank in Johannesburg, said before Iran and world powers announced their wider nuclear agreement yesterday. Prices plunged 27 percent this year, headed for the biggest annual drop in three decades, as some investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value.
  While Iran doesn't disclose gold reserves, its demand for the metal used in jewelry and other fabrication last year was 36.9 metric tons, or 1.4 percent of the global total, according to data from Thomson Reuters GFMS. The Persian Gulf nation probably expanded holdings in 2012 and early this year by taking metal as payment for energy exports, Roubini Global Economics LLC said in a report in May.
  The agreement in Geneva was the first since Iran's nuclear program came under scrutiny in 2003. The Persian Gulf nation will get about $7 billion in relief from economic sanctions over six months, including the suspension of ''certain sanctions on gold and precious metals,'' the U.S. government said. Iran will be barred from accepting precious metals as payment for oil or any other sanctioned transaction, according to diplomats who asked not to be identified because of diplomatic protocol.
  Nuclear ProgramSanctions also are being suspended on Iran's automotive industry and petrochemical exports, and the country will be allowed access to civilian aircraft parts as well as repatriate $4.2 billion in frozen assets. The two sides now aim to conclude a comprehensive accord within six months.
  Iran in return must improve cooperation with United Nations monitors, commit to eliminate its stockpile of uranium enriched to 20 percent levels, and halt advanced centrifuge installation, the White House said in a statement. Iran also won't commission its Arak heavy water reactor.
  Gold for immediate delivery lost as much as 1.5 percent to $1,225.55 an ounce, the lowest since July 8. The price was at $1,231.17 by 11:21 a.m. in London. The precious metal is set for its first annual decline since 2000. Bullion is 36 percent below the record $1,921.15 set in September 2011.
  Sanctions imposed on Iran include limits on its financial transactions and crude exports, the country's main source of revenue. Oil production dropped by about 1 million barrels a day to 2.6 million barrels since the start of 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
  Bullion ImportsAs sanctions limited Iran's ability to receive payments, the country expanded its use of gold. Imports of bullion from neighboring Turkey, a buyer of Iranian natural gas, jumped to 126 tons last year from 1 ton in 2011, according to data from the International Trade Centre, an agency of the UN and World Trade Organization.
  Iran last reported its gold reserves to the International Monetary Fund in March 1996, when it held about 168.6 tons, the Washington-based lender's website shows. That would place it outside the 20 largest holders now.
  ''For Iran to buy gold, they need to have income, which normally comes from oil revenues, and at the moment they're in dire straits,'' Andrey Kryuchenkov, a commodity strategist in London at VTB Capital, said Nov. 19. ''I don't think it will significantly affect the market.''
  The IMF estimates that Iran's economy will contract 1.5 percent this year after shrinking 1.9 percent in 2012, and will expand 1.3 percent in 2014.
  ''I don't think that because there's been effective sanctions on gold trading that Iranian individuals, as well as more official people, haven't been able to invest bits here and there,'' Robin Bhar, an analyst at Societe Generale SA in London, said Nov. 19. By lifting sanctions, ''you're not going to see a significant investment or divestment,'' he said.
  Bloomberg competes with Thomson Reuters Corp. in selling financial and legal information and trading systems.
  To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Indira A.R. Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editor responsible for this story: Whitney McFerron at wmcferron1@bloomberg.net
  Enlarge imageGold BarsAlessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg
  Gold fell 6 percent this month, heading for the worst slide since June, when the metal reached a 34-month low.
  Gold fell 6 percent this month, heading for the worst slide since June, when the metal reached a 34-month low. Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg
  5:36
  Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Jonathan Barratt, chief executive officer of Barratt's Bulletin in Sydney, talks about the gold, oil and metal markets. He speaks with Angie Lau on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
  6:03
  Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- David Cohen, the U.S. Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, talks about Iran's accord with world powers to limit its nuclear program in exchange for as much as $7 billion in relief from sanctions. He speaks with Peter Cook on Bloomberg Television's "Market Makers." (Source: Bloomberg)
White House fact sheet on the Iran deal | JPost | Israel News
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 07:48
  US Sec. of State Kerry hugs EU foreign policy chief Ashton Photo: Reuters
  THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press SecretaryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 23, 2013
  Fact Sheet: First Step Understandings Regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran's Nuclear Program
  The P5+1 (the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China, facilitated by the European Union) has been engaged in serious and substantive negotiations with Iran with the goal of reaching a verifiable diplomatic resolution that would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
  President Obama has been clear that achieving a peaceful resolution that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is in America's national security interest. Today, the P5+1 and Iran reached a set of initial understandings that halts the progress of Iran's nuclear program and rolls it back in key respects. These are the first meaningful limits that Iran has accepted on its nuclear program in close to a decade. The initial, six month step includes significant limits on Iran's nuclear program and begins to address our most urgent concerns including Iran's enrichment capabilities; its existing stockpiles of enriched uranium; the number and capabilities of its centrifuges; and its ability to produce weapons-grade plutonium using the Arak reactor. The concessions Iran has committed to make as part of this first step will also provide us with increased transparency and intrusive monitoring of its nuclear program. In the past, the concern has been expressed that Iran will use negotiations to buy time to advance their program. Taken together, these first step measures will help prevent Iran from using the cover of negotiations to continue advancing its nuclear program as we seek to negotiate a long-term, comprehensive solution that addresses all of the international community's concerns.
  In return, as part of this initial step, the P5+1 will provide limited, temporary, targeted, and reversible relief to Iran. This relief is structured so that the overwhelming majority of the sanctions regime, including the key oil, banking, and financial sanctions architecture, remains in place. The P5+1 will continue to enforce these sanctions vigorously. If Iran fails to meet its commitments, we will revoke the limited relief and impose additional sanctions on Iran.
  The P5+1 and Iran also discussed the general parameters of a comprehensive solution that would constrain Iran's nuclear program over the long term, provide verifiable assurances to the international community that Iran's nuclear activities will be exclusively peaceful, and ensure that any attempt by Iran to pursue a nuclear weapon would be promptly detected. The set of understandings also includes an acknowledgment by Iran that it must address all United Nations Security Council resolutions '' which Iran has long claimed are illegal '' as well as past and present issues with Iran's nuclear program that have been identified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This would include resolution of questions concerning the possible military dimension of Iran's nuclear program, including Iran's activities at Parchin. As part of a comprehensive solution, Iran must also come into full compliance with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its obligations to the IAEA. With respect to the comprehensive solution, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Put simply, this first step expires in six months, and does not represent an acceptable end state to the United States or our P5+1 partners.
  Halting the Progress of Iran's Program and Rolling Back Key Elements
  Iran has committed to halt enrichment above 5%:
  ' Halt all enrichment above 5% and dismantle the technical connections required to enrich above 5%.
  Iran has committed to neutralize its stockpile of near-20% uranium:
  ' Dilute below 5% or convert to a form not suitable for further enrichment its entire stockpile of near-20% enriched uranium before the end of the initial phase.
  Iran has committed to halt progress on its enrichment capacity:
  ' Not install additional centrifuges of any type.
  ' Not install or use any next-generation centrifuges to enrich uranium.
  ' Leave inoperable roughly half of installed centrifuges at Natanz and three-quarters of installed centrifuges at Fordow, so they cannot be used to enrich uranium.
  ' Limit its centrifuge production to those needed to replace damaged machines, so Iran cannot use the six months to stockpile centrifuges.
  ' Not construct additional enrichment facilities.
  Iran has committed to halt progress on the growth of its 3.5% stockpile:
  ' Not increase its stockpile of 3.5% low enriched uranium, so that the amount is not greater at the end of the six months than it is at the beginning, and any newly enriched 3.5% enriched uranium is converted into oxide.
  Iran has committed to no further advances of its activities at Arak and to halt progress on its plutonium track. Iran has committed to:
  ' Not commission the Arak reactor.
  ' Not fuel the Arak reactor.
  ' Halt the production of fuel for the Arak reactor.
  ' No additional testing of fuel for the Arak reactor.
  ' Not install any additional reactor components at Arak.
  ' Not transfer fuel and heavy water to the reactor site.
  ' Not construct a facility capable of reprocessing. Without reprocessing, Iran cannot separate plutonium from spent fuel.
  Unprecedented transparency and intrusive monitoring of Iran's nuclear program
  Iran has committed to:
  ' Provide daily access by IAEA inspectors at Natanz and Fordow. This daily access will permit inspectors to review surveillance camera footage to ensure comprehensive monitoring. This access will provide even greater transparency into enrichment at these sites and shorten detection time for any non-compliance.
  ' Provide IAEA access to centrifuge assembly facilities.
  ' Provide IAEA access to centrifuge rotor component production and storage facilities.
  ' Provide IAEA access to uranium mines and mills.
  ' Provide long-sought design information for the Arak reactor. This will provide critical insight into the reactor that has not previously been available.
  ' Provide more frequent inspector access to the Arak reactor.
  ' Provide certain key data and information called for in the Additional Protocol to Iran's IAEA Safeguards Agreement and Modified Code 3.1.
  Verification Mechanism
  The IAEA will be called upon to perform many of these verification steps, consistent with their ongoing inspection role in Iran. In addition, the P5+1 and Iran have committed to establishing a Joint Commission to work with the IAEA to monitor implementation and address issues that may arise. The Joint Commission will also work with the IAEA to facilitate resolution of past and present concerns with respect to Iran's nuclear program, including the possible military dimension of Iran's nuclear program and Iran's activities at Parchin.
  Limited, Temporary, Reversible Relief
  In return for these steps, the P5+1 is to provide limited, temporary, targeted, and reversible relief while maintaining the vast bulk of our sanctions, including the oil, finance, and banking sanctions architecture. If Iran fails to meet its commitments, we will revoke the relief. Specifically the P5+1 has committed to:
  ' Not impose new nuclear-related sanctions for six months, if Iran abides by its commitments under this deal, to the extent permissible within their political systems.
  ' Suspend certain sanctions on gold and precious metals, Iran's auto sector, and Iran's petrochemical exports, potentially providing Iran approximately $1.5 billion in revenue.
  ' License safety-related repairs and inspections inside Iran for certain Iranian airlines.
  ' Allow purchases of Iranian oil to remain at their currently significantly reduced levels '' levels that are 60% less than two years ago. $4.2 billion from these sales will be allowed to be transferred in installments if, and as, Iran fulfills its commitments.
  ' Allow $400 million in governmental tuition assistance to be transferred from restricted Iranian funds directly to recognized educational institutions in third countries to defray the tuition costs of Iranian students.
  Humanitarian Transactions
  Facilitate humanitarian transactions that are already allowed by U.S. law. Humanitarian transactions have been explicitly exempted from sanctions by Congress so this channel will not provide Iran access to any new source of funds. Humanitarian transactions are those related to Iran's purchase of food, agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices; we would also facilitate transactions for medical expenses incurred abroad. We will establish this channel for the benefit of the Iranian people.
  Putting Limited Relief in Perspective
  In total, the approximately $7 billion in relief is a fraction of the costs that Iran will continue to incur during this first phase under the sanctions that will remain in place. The vast majority of Iran's approximately $100 billion in foreign exchange holdings are inaccessible or restricted by sanctions.
  In the next six months, Iran's crude oil sales cannot increase. Oil sanctions alone will result in approximately $30 billion in lost revenues to Iran '' or roughly $5 billion per month '' compared to what Iran earned in a six month period in 2011, before these sanctions took effect. While Iran will be allowed access to $4.2 billion of its oil sales, nearly $15 billion of its revenues during this period will go into restricted overseas accounts. In summary, we expect the balance of Iran's money in restricted accounts overseas will actually increase, not decrease, under the terms of this deal.
  Maintaining Economic Pressure on Iran and Preserving Our Sanctions Architecture
  During the first phase, we will continue to vigorously enforce our sanctions against Iran, including by taking action against those who seek to evade or circumvent our sanctions.
  ' Sanctions affecting crude oil sales will continue to impose pressure on Iran's government. Working with our international partners, we have cut Iran's oil sales from 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in early 2012 to 1 million bpd today, denying Iran the ability to sell almost 1.5 million bpd. That's a loss of more than $80 billion since the beginning of 2012 that Iran will never be able to recoup. Under this first step, the EU crude oil ban will remain in effect and Iran will be held to approximately 1 million bpd in sales, resulting in continuing lost sales worth an additional $4 billion per month, every month, going forward.
  ' Sanctions affecting petroleum product exports to Iran, which result in billions of dollars of lost revenue, will remain in effect.
  ' The vast majority of Iran's approximately $100 billion in foreign exchange holdings remain inaccessible or restricted by our sanctions.
  ' Other significant parts of our sanctions regime remain intact, including:
  o Sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran and approximately two dozen other major Iranian banks and financial actors;
  o Secondary sanctions, pursuant to the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (CISADA) as amended and other laws, on banks that do business with U.S.-designated individuals and entities;
  o Sanctions on those who provide a broad range of other financial services to Iran, such as many types of insurance; and,
  o Restricted access to the U.S. financial system.
  ' All sanctions on over 600 individuals and entities targeted for supporting Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile program remain in effect.
  ' Sanctions on several sectors of Iran's economy, including shipping and shipbuilding, remain in effect.
  ' Sanctions on long-term investment in and provision of technical services to Iran's energy sector remain in effect.
  ' Sanctions on Iran's military program remain in effect.
  ' Broad U.S. restrictions on trade with Iran remain in effect, depriving Iran of access to virtually all dealings with the world's biggest economy.
  ' All UN Security Council sanctions remain in effect.
  ' All of our targeted sanctions related to Iran's state sponsorship of terrorism, its destabilizing role in the Syrian conflict, and its abysmal human rights record, among other concerns, remain in effect.
  A Comprehensive Solution
  During the six-month initial phase, the P5+1 will negotiate the contours of a comprehensive solution. Thus far, the outline of the general parameters of the comprehensive solution envisions concrete steps to give the international community confidence that Iran's nuclear activities will be exclusively peaceful. With respect to this comprehensive resolution: nothing is agreed to with respect to a comprehensive solution until everything is agreed to. Over the next six months, we will determine whether there is a solution that gives us sufficient confidence that the Iranian program is peaceful. If Iran cannot address our concerns, we are prepared to increase sanctions and pressure.
  Conclusion
  In sum, this first step achieves a great deal in its own right. Without this phased agreement, Iran could start spinning thousands of additional centrifuges. It could install and spin next-generation centrifuges that will reduce its breakout times. It could fuel and commission the Arak heavy water reactor. It could grow its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium to beyond the threshold for a bomb's worth of uranium. Iran can do none of these things under the conditions of the first step understanding.
  Furthermore, without this phased approach, the international sanctions coalition would begin to fray because Iran would make the case to the world that it was serious about a diplomatic solution and we were not. We would be unable to bring partners along to do the crucial work of enforcing our sanctions. With this first step, we stop and begin to roll back Iran's program and give Iran a sharp choice: fulfill its commitments and negotiate in good faith to a final deal, or the entire international community will respond with even more isolation and pressure.
  The American people prefer a peaceful and enduring resolution that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and strengthens the global non-proliferation regime. This solution has the potential to achieve that. Through strong and principled diplomacy, the United States of America will do its part for greater peace, security, and cooperation among nations.
  Stay on top of the news - get the Jerusalem Post headlines direct to your inbox!
IR-40 | Facilities | NTI
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 07:32
  In a letter dated 5 May 2003, Iran informed the for the first time of its plan to construct a 40MW(t) heavy water fueled by natural oxide. [1] The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) states that the reactor, called the IR-40, will be used for research, production, and technical training. [2] The reactor is expected to become operational in late 2014.
  Iran tried to purchase a heavy water moderated reactor in the 1990s. Tehran secretly approached at least four nuclear suppliers, but was repeatedly turned down. However, after unspecified foreign experts provided technical assistance, Iran began constructing the reactor on its own. [3] Starting in August 2008, Iran stopped permitting IAEA visits to the construction site. After Iran completed construction of the reactor vessel's dome, the Agency was unable to remotely monitor construction progress. [4] Following repeated requests, Iran provided the IAEA access to the IR-40 reactor in August 2009, at which time the Agency was able to carry out design information verification (DIV). [5] The IAEA confirmed that the facility "at its current stage of construction conforms to the design information provided by Iran as of 24 January 2007," although Iran still has not provided updated and detailed design information. [6] At the time of the inspection, Iran estimated that the plant was approximately 63% completed, including installation of the reactor vessel's containment dome. [7]
  Heavy water reactors are of proliferation concern because they are optimal for the production of high quality, . The reactors also do not require to produce weapons-usable material, as they are fueled by natural uranium. [8] The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) estimates that if operated efficiently, the IR-40 will be capable of producing 9kg of plutonium annually, enough for approximately one-and-a-half nuclear weapons per year. [9] Before Iran could use any of the plutonium in a nuclear weapon, however, it would first need to separate it from the reactor's . There are currently no known spent fuel facilities in Iran. In 2004, Iran declared that due to difficulties in obtaining equipment and technical information, it would not consider constructing hot cells for long-lived at the Arak complex. [10] Yet according to the August 2009 IAEA report, Iran stated that it had been trying to procure hot cell windows and manipulators for the IR-40 from foreign sources, and was considering producing them domestically. [11]
  In May 2013, Iran reported its commissioning schedule for the IR-40 to the IAEA as follows: "Phase 1 '' pre-commissioning (using dummy fuel assemblies and ) in the fourth quarter of 2013; Phase 2 '' commissioning (using real fuel assemblies and heavy water) in the first quarter of 2014; expected to become operational during the third quarter of 2014." Iran further informed the Agency of its plans to produce 55 fuel assemblies by 9 August 2013. In its May 2013 report, the IAEA highlighted Iran's failure to provide an updated Design Information Questionnaire (DIQ) for the reactor since 2006, thereby falling short of meeting its obligations under the modified Code 3.1 of the General Part of the Subsidiary Arrangements to its Agreement. The report further underlined the impact of this failure on the IAEA's ability to verify the design of the facility, and to implement an effective safeguards approach in light of the approaching date of the IR-40's operation. [12] In July 2013 David Albright and Christina Walrond of the Institute for Science and International Security reported that in spite of sanctions they expect construction on the IR-40 will be completed by 2014, although delays in commissioning are expected. [13]
  Many analysts question the need for a large, heavy water-moderated reactor for scientific research and isotope production. Robert Einhorn argued in 2006 that "much smaller, light-water research reactors are fully satisfactory for the kinds of applications Iran says it is interested in," and compared Iran's plan to use the IR-40 for peaceful purposes to using a 12-inch hunting knife for spreading jam on toast. [14] In response to an IAEA query, Iranian officials stated that that they had planned to procure a new reactor from abroad to replace the aging Tehran Research Reactor, but were unsuccessful. Instead, Iran decided to construct a heavy water reactor fueled by natural uranium oxide, and determined that a 30-40 MW(t) capacity was necessary for sufficient flux. [15]
  Sources:[1] "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 6 June 2003, www.iaea.org.[2] David Albright and Paul Brannan, "Arak Heavy Water Reactor Construction Progressing," The Institute for Science and International Security, 13 November 2008, www.isis-online.org.[3] Robert Einhorn, "Iran's Heavy-Water Reactor: A Plutonium Bomb Factory," Arms Control Association, 9 November 2006, www.armscontrol.org.[4] "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and the Relevant Security Council Resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008) and 1835 (2008) in the Islamic Republic of Iran," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 5 June 2009, www.iaea.org.[5] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and the Relevant Security Council Resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008) and 1835 (2008) in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Report by the Director General, 28 August 2009, www.iaea.org.[6] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and the Relevant Security Council Resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008) and 1835 (2008) in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Report by the Director General, 28 August 2009, www.iaea.org.[7] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and the Relevant Security Council Resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008) and 1835 (2008) in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Report by the Director General, 28 August 2009, www.iaea.org.[8] Robert Einhorn, "Iran's Heavy-Water Reactor: A Plutonium Bomb Factory," Arms Control Association, 9 November 2006, www.armscontrol.org.[9] The IAEA considers six kilograms of plutonium sufficient for production of a nuclear weapon. David Albright and Paul Brannan, "Arak Heavy Water Reactor Construction Progressing," The Institute for Science and International Security, 13 November 2008.[10] "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 1 June 2004, www.iaea.org.[11] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and the Relevant Security Council Resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008) and 1835 (2008) in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Report by the Director General, 28 August 2009, www.iaea.org.[12] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of Security Council resolutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Report by Director General, 22 May 2013, www.iaea.org.[13] David Albright and Christina Walrond, "Update on the Arak Reactor," Institute for Science and International Security, 15 July 2013, www.isis-online.org.[14] Robert Einhorn, "Iran's Heavy-Water Reactor: A Plutonium Bomb Factory," Arms Control Association, 9 November 2006, www.armscontrol.org.[15] International Atomic Energy Agency, "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Report by the Director General, 10 November 2003, www.iaea.org.
Compromise floated on enrichment issue in Iran nuclear talks -envoys - chicagotribune.com
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  Louis CharbonneauReuters2:43 p.m. CST,November 22, 2013
  GENEVA (Reuters) - A major sticking point in nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers may have been overcome with compromise language in a draft deal regarding Iran's demand for a "right to enrich" uranium, Western diplomats said on Friday.Iran has insisted that any pact to curb its sensitive nuclear activity explicitly recognize its right to refine uranium, a process that can produce fuel for civilian power plants or atomic bombs. Western powers say there is no such thing as a right to enrich under international law.
  This issue has emerged as one of the most difficult areas of disagreement between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, diplomats close to the Geneva negotiations said.Iranian media quoted unnamed Western officials on Friday as saying that Western powers had agreed to acknowledge Tehran's right to enrich. Western diplomats vehemently denied that. They said a compromise had been proposed that does not explicitly recognize a right to produce nuclear fuel by any country.
  "If you speak about the right to a peaceful nuclear program that's open to interpretation," a diplomat told Reuters without elaborating.
  Earlier this week a senior U.S. administration official told reporters in Geneva that a formula could be found to satisfy all sides.
  "Article Four of the NPT, the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, is silent on the issue. It neither confers a right nor denies a right. So we don't believe it is inherently there. Do I believe this issue can be navigated in an agreement? Yes, I do. And we will see if that can be done or not."
  Another stubborn dispute in the talks has been Iran's insistence on continuing construction of the Arak heavy-water research reactor, which could yield plutonium if completed.
  Western powers want Tehran to scrap the plant as part of an interim deal under which Iran would freeze parts of its nuclear program in exchange for limited relief from international sanctions.
  (Editing by Mark Heinrich)
VIDEO-EXPALINING THE NUKES Secretary Kerry's Video Message on the Geneva Talks With Iran
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 07:15
  SECRETARY KERRY: You'll be hearing a lot about what the United States and our partners just achieved in Geneva so I wanted to take a minute to share with you an inside view of what we really accomplished here and to explain very clearly what it is and what it isn't. First of all, this is a beginning. It's a first step. Over the coming months, we're going to roll up our sleeves and keep working with the parties at the table in order to reach a final, comprehensive agreement that ensures Iran will not acquire a nuclear weapon and that the nuclear program that they do have will be entirely peaceful. And that has to be absolutely verifiable.So let me lay out the main points of what we've already achieved here in this first step agreement. And the reason I want to do that is, it's significant. This agreement that we've just signed is the first in almost a decade to put any kind of meaningful limits on Iran's nuclear program. And we're not just slowing down its progress; we're actually halting it and even rolling it back in some key areas. That's very important. It means that even as we continue to move forward with negotiations, Iran's nuclear program will not move forward, and in some respects it's going to be moving backwards.
  So here's exactly what this agreement does. In order to work, nuclear weapons require either highly enriched uranium or plutonium. Uranium, as I'm sure you know, is found in nature, but it's found in a form, a raw form, that can't be used for a bomb. So to make it useful for nuclear weapons, you need to separate the majority of the uranium that is not useful for nuclear weapons from the small amount that is, and this is a process called enrichment.
  Highly enriched uranium, or HEU, can be produced in a number of ways, but an increasingly common way is through the use of centrifuges because they are low power, very cheap to operate, and easy to hide. Uranium for weapons is about 90% enriched. And uranium for reactors, for instance to give you nuclear power for your electricity in your home, is usually at about 5%. So you see the difference here. Plutonium, on the other hand, is not found in nature. It requires putting uranium into a reactor and then you separate out the plutonium from the uranium. Our proposal addresses both of these paths to nuclear weapons.
  On enrichment, we are eliminating Iran's stockpile of already enriched - 20% enriched - uranium. We are holding their centrifuge program where it is today, and we are stopping them from using their most advanced centrifuges. These are centrifuges that can separate uranium very quickly and do the enrichment very fast so they are very risky and that's why we keep them away from that process for now.
  On plutonium, we're putting on hold the most meaningful parts of their reactor that's currently under construction in a place called Arak, Iran. Now this is their most likely source of plutonium, and that's why it's something we are absolutely determined to stop. On top of this, we're also adding more international inspections so that we know exactly what Iran is doing at these risky places and that is very consistent with our deal and, most importantly, it's so that we can make absolutely certain that they are not using these facilities during the time that we're negotiating the comprehensive deal in order to move towards nuclear weapons. In other words, we're verifying, and for the first time, we will get inspectors into their critical facilities every single day.
  Now let me tell you what this first step does not do, because some people are putting out some misinformation on it and I want it to be clear. It does not lift the current architecture of our sanctions. Our sanctions are basically banking and oil sanctions, and those sanctions will stay in place. All the core sanctions on financial services remain firmly in place, and we do this in exchange for Iran keeping its end of the agreement -- that they will get a small amount of additional money which is totally reversible if we need to, if they don't keep their word, but we give them a small amount of relief. Iran will be allowed to repatriate about $4.2 billion or so in oil revenues and will be allowed to export about $2.5 billion in petrochemicals and vehicles. So believe me, when I say this relief is limited and reversible, I mean it.
  We all know that if the agreement falls apart, Iran is going to quickly face even tougher sanctions. I want you to know these were not easy negotiations. We drove a very hard bargain to achieve what we needed to in terms of our verification and certainty about where they're going. And we drove a hard bargain because we have one unwavering purpose in our goal. President Obama has been absolutely clear that Iran cannot and will not acquire a nuclear weapon. And today, thanks to this effort, we took an important first step towards guaranteeing that that never happens, and I think we did it in the most effective way. We did it through diplomacy.
  So now it's time to get back to work. We are immediately going to work on the final agreement, the comprehensive agreement, and our diplomats and our experts will be at the negotiating table very soon again working to achieve this final comprehensive agreement that addresses all of our concerns and our friends: Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Arab Emirates, others. The whole world has an interest in making sure that this is a peaceful program. We absolutely also have an interest in trying to achieve that through a peaceful, diplomatic means and also to have a total answer to the question that challenges the security of the United States, the Middle East, and the world.
  So we're going to get this done, I hope, but we're not cocky about it. We're not overconfident. It's going to take a lot of work, and in the end, it's really up to Iran to make the choice, to prove that its program is indeed peaceful. They can say it, but saying it doesn't make it happen. It has to be proven. And in the end, they have to be the ones to make the choice to do that. So let's work together, all of us, to try and forge a different future that benefits all of us. Thank you.
TSA Travel Tips Tuesday: Holiday Travel Reminders & How To Increase Your Chances on Being Selected for TSA Pre''''
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: The TSA Blog
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 06:04
  With the busiest travel time of the year upon us, I thought it might be a good idea to offer a few reminders and tips for today's post.First off, if you haven't already, plan ahead and read our Thanksgiving Travel Tips post. It's chocked full o' tips and useful information you might need before your trip.Secondly, keep an eye on the weather. If you think there might be a delay or closure, you can check the My TSA app for airport statuses. If you don't have a smart phone, you can check the statuses here. Remember, this is the busiest travel time of the year. While we plan ahead and fully staff our checkpoints, it's always best to arrive early when you can.Lastly, for all of you using TSA Pre'''', it's very important you enter the correct info when booking your flight or you may not get selected for expedited screening.While some eligible passengers are randomly excluded from expedited screening in TSA Pre'''' lanes, we were surprised to learn that some U.S. and Canadian citizens who are enrolled in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) trusted traveler program have been excluded because of errors made in entering information when they book their reservation. On a given day, some have missed out on expedited screening because of a few simple errors. A few of the basic reasons are as follows:Entered the incorrect Membership Number / PASSID (also known as your known traveler number or trusted traveler number), or entered it in the wrong field when making their airline reservation online. Entered a date of birth (DOB) when making their reservation that did not match the DOB they provided to CBP for Global Entry or another CBP trusted traveler program. Didn't enter their full name: first, middle and last name. These should match:TSA Pre'''' participants who qualify via their membership in a CBP Trusted Traveler program should enter their full name '-- first, middle and last '-- exactly as it appears on their Global Entry card or in their Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) account, along with their date of birth, gender, and nine digit Membership Number / PASS ID when making a reservation for travel. A reservation made with a name that does not exactly match a passenger's Global Entry card or GOES account will result in the passenger not being considered for TSA Pre'''' expedited screening. If you click the ''manage membership'' button when logged into your GOES account, it will direct you to the page in the image below where you'll be able to ensure your account info '-- under the personal information section '-- matches the information in your travel reservation and your frequent flyer program: first, middle and last name fields.You should make sure your airline frequent flyer profile and any current and/or future reservations matches this information. You may have to reach out directly to your carrier to make sure this information is correct and consistent, especially your first, middle and last name. You should ask them to update your profile information and/or saved Secure Flight data.A quick recap: Remember these important tips so that you will be included in TSA Pre'''':Make sure your booking agent/airline has your number and full name stored correctly. The name '-- first, middle and last '-- should match how you applied for a trusted traveler program, as listed above.If you have Global Entry and want to qualify for TSA Pre'''', enter your Membership Number / PASS ID '-- not the GOES ID '-- in the 'Known Traveler/Trusted Traveler' field when booking flight reservations '-- a nine digit. Only enter your Membership Number / PASS ID in the 'Known Traveler/Trusted Traveler' field to ensure TSA Pre'''' eligibility. Don't type ''Opt In'' or ''TSA Pre'''''' or any other text.If you don't know what your PASS ID is, you can find it on the back of your Global Entry card, or you can log in to your GOES account to get the ID number.Open the Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) web site https://GOES-app.cbp.dhs.gov Provide your login information. Click on the Sign In button. Look for your Membership Number / PASS ID on the main screen.You can also watch this helpful video. Have a great holiday, and I'll be back next Tuesday with more travel tips.
  Follow @TSABlogTeam onTwitterandInstagram!
  Bob BurnsTSA Blog Team
  If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us byclicking here.
A list of the National Planning Scenarios:Scenario 1: Nuclear Detonation '' Improvised Nuclear DeviceScenario 2: Biological Attack '' Aerosol AnthraxScenario 3: Biological Disease Outbreak '' Pandemic Influenz
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: BadChad's ThoughtPile
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 06:03
  A list of the National Planning Scenarios:Scenario 1: Nuclear Detonation '' Improvised Nuclear DeviceScenario 2: Biological Attack '' Aerosol AnthraxScenario 3: Biological Disease Outbreak '' Pandemic InfluenzaScenario 4: Biological Attack '' PlagueScenario 5: Chemical Attack '' Blister AgentScenario 6: Chemical Attack '' Toxic Industrial ChemicalScenario 7: Chemical Attack '' Nerve AgentScenario 8: Chemical Attack '' Chlorine Tank ExplosionScenario 9: Natural Disaster '' Major EarthquakeScenario 10: Natural Disaster '' Major HurricaneScenario 11: Radiological Attack '' Radiological Dispersal DeviceScenario 12: Explosives Attack '' Bombing Using Improvised Explosive DeviceScenario 13: Biological Attack '' Food ContaminationScenario 14: Biological Attack '' Foreign Animal DiseaseScenario 15: Cyber Attack
  http://cartusers.curry.com/chad.christiandgk2/arc/2013/11/27/badchad.html?ts=1385513084Link Source: BadChad's ThoughtPile
6-week cycle generator
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 00:14
  Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) 2013
  The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) doctrine consists of fundamental principles that frame a common approach to exercises. Applying these principles to both the management of an exercise program and the execution of individual exercises is critical to the effective examination of capabilities.
  Guided by elected and appointed officials
  Capability-based, objective driven
  Progressive planning approach
  Whole community integration
  Informed by risk
  Common methodology
Techies must nip growing scorn in bud - SFGate
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 05:57
  There's a war brewing in the streets of San Francisco, and a lot of people could get caught up in it if the tech world doesn't start changing its self-centered culture.
  Every day in every way, from rising rents to rising prices at restaurants to its private buses, the tech world is becoming an object of scorn. It's only a matter of time before the techies' youthful lustre fades, and they're seen as just another extension of Wall Street.
  And when that happens, tenant advocates, community activists, labor unions and Occupy types are going to start asking why we're giving away the city to all these white-male-dominated businesses that don't even hire locals.
  At which point, the politicians will do what they always do - count votes. And by my last count, for all of their hype and money, tech types were still a decidedly small part of the vote. If they even vote at all.
  What the tech world needs to do is nip this thorny plant in the bud. They need to come off their high cloud efforts to save Africa or wherever they take adventure vacations and start making things better for folks right here.
  They need to start helping in Hunters Point and in Chinatown.
  Most of all, they need to start hiring locals.
  Otherwise, the next time it comes to a tax measure or a vote at the Planning Commission, they could find themselves getting skinned.
  Mayor Ed Lee, the next ambassador to China? Even Rose Pak was laughing at that rumor.
  If anyone should be offered the Beijing posting, it's Sen. Dianne Feinstein. She was the first mayor to establish a Sister City relationship with Shanghai, and she chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, so she's well aware of the challenges and tensions of our relationship with China.
  It would be a fitting sunset for a great career. Plus, it would give Gov. Jerry Brown the chance to appoint his wife, Anne Gust Brown, as Feinstein's replacement in the Senate.
  It appears that, as I predicted, Nancy Bechtle has taken it upon herself to keep George Lucas and his proposed museum out of the Presidio.
  And from the coverage so far, I'd say The Chronicle agrees with her.
  Bechtle's position has put her at odds with many of her Gold Coast neighbors, including the Gettys, Maryon Lewis, Dede Wilsey and even Dianne Feinstein.
  It's much the same story we saw when the late Donald Fisher wanted to install his modern art collection at the Presidio. At least those works stayed in town, at the Museum of Modern Art. Don't look for Lucas to do the same.
  So California is suddenly swimming in a multibillion-dollar budget surplus. If Gov. Jerry Brown is smart, he'll hold a press conference tomorrow and pledge to use the money to pay down the state's Wall of Debt.
  But he needs to make the call right away, before my fellow Democrats or the teachers or the doctors or the other special interest groups with pull start demanding a cut.
  I'm sitting at the Battery the other night next to three women, all of whom were trying to find their husbands. They started talking about a new app that lets them fix on another cell phone and figure out exactly where it is.
  Then they demonstrated how it works with each other's phones.
  I immediately decided to start leaving my cell phone at home.
  Movie time: "The Book Thief." This is the first movie I can recall that shows what Nazi Germany was like from the perspective of Germans who opposed Hitler. The title character, Sophie N(C)lisse, is terrific. Add in the always-worthwhile Geoffrey Rush, and you have a movie well worth seeing.
  If it's laughs you're looking for, try "The Best Man Holiday," starring a roguish Terrence Howard and a talented supporting cast. Good any time, day or night.
  After writing about the homeless lined up along Mission Street, I received a number of notes from people telling me to visit the Embarcadero BART Station after 11 p.m.
  Sure enough, the homeless encampment in and around the station has gone from bad to worse, and it's somewhat scary for everybody. Even me.
  Maybe we should have a receiver, a person in charge with unlimited powers, run BART for a while. I'm almost certain that would eliminate mistakes in contracts as well as software screwups. So goodbye, elected officials and union leaders.
  I was in Best Buy the other morning looking at the new TV sets. They have one that lets you use your hand as the remote.
  You hold up your hand and a little target flashes up on the screen, and you move the cursor wherever you want with your fingers.
  The salesman said, "Go ahead and do it."
  "Just one problem," I said.
  "What's that?"
  "I can't see where the little dot is."
  If you buy one, I hope you can spot the dot.
  Want to sound off? E-mail wbrown@sfchronicle.com.
Willie Brown Says Techies Have Started A Class War in San Francisco
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 05:57
  S
  Former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown has looked out his 35th floor window at the St. Regis and decided he doesn't like what he sees. In his latest Willie's World column for the San Francisco Chronicle, Brown admonishes local techies for fueling class warfare in the streets.
  Brown argues that the tech sector won't keep benefitting from government perks'--i.e. the "Twitter tax break"'--if startups alienate all the residents with voting power. That seems like a naive reading on how local politics get funded. However, his suggestion that charity work start in your own back yard is well-timed with the news of food bank shortages in Silicon Valley over the holiday.
  There's a war brewing in the streets of San Francisco, and a lot of people could get caught up in it if the tech world doesn't start changing its self-centered culture.
  Every day in every way, from rising rents to rising prices at restaurants to its private buses, the tech world is becoming an object of scorn. It's only a matter of time before the techies' youthful lustre fades, and they're seen as just another extension of Wall Street.
  And when that happens, tenant advocates, community activists, labor unions and Occupy types are going to start asking why we're giving away the city to all these white-male-dominated businesses that don't even hire locals.
  At which point, the politicians will do what they always do - count votes. And by my last count, for all of their hype and money, tech types were still a decidedly small part of the vote. If they even vote at all.
  What the tech world needs to do is nip this thorny plant in the bud. They need to come off their high cloud efforts to save Africa or wherever they take adventure vacations and start making things better for folks right here.
  They need to start helping in Hunters Point and in Chinatown.
  Most of all, they need to start hiring locals.
  Otherwise, the next time it comes to a tax measure or a vote at the Planning Commission, they could find themselves getting skinned.
  That is if there are any non-millionaire locals left in San Franciscoto hire.
  Brown's regular column in the Chronicle forgoes transitions entirely'--jumping from thought-to-thought with only a line break in between. While that's great preparation for talking to your relatives on Thanksgiving, that leaves Brown's peacekeeping mission hanging while he meanders over to talk shit about Mayor Ed Lee.
  Lucky for Brown's readers, a non sequitur buried in the middle of the column actually provides the kind of reality check the industry needs. From inside its private club, no less:
  I'm sitting at the Battery the other night next to three women, all of whom were trying to find their husbands. They started talking about a new app that lets them fix on another cell phone and figure out exactly where it is.
  Then they demonstrated how it works with each other's phones.
  You were saying something about Wall Street in innovator's clothing?
  [Image via Getty]
Technical Support Document: Technical Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive Order No. 12866
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Federal Register Latest Entries
  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 16:41
  Notice Of Availability And Request For Comments.
  The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requests comments on the Technical Support Document entitled Technical Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive Order 12866, available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/inforeg/technical-update-social-cost-of-carbon-for-regulator-impact-analysis.pdf. The Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) is used to estimate the value to society of marginal reductions in carbon emissions. This Technical Support Document explains the derivation of the SCC estimates using three peer reviewed integrated assessment models and provides updated values of the SCC that reflect minor technical corrections to the estimates released in May of this year.
  OMB requests that comments be submitted electronically to OMB by January 27, 2014 through www.regulations.gov.
  To ensure consideration, comments must be in writing and received by January 27, 2014.
  Submit comments by one of the following methods:
  www.regulations.gov: Direct comments to Docket ID OMB-OMB-2013-0007.Email: SCC@omb.gov.Fax: (202) 395-7285.Mail: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Mabel Echols, NEOB, Room 10202, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503. To ensure that your comments are received, we recommend that comments be electronically submitted.All comments and recommendations submitted in response to this notice will be made available to the public. For this reason, please do not include in your comments information of a confidential nature, such as sensitive personal information or proprietary information. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ''anonymous access'' system, which means OMB will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
  For further information, contact: Mabel Echols, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, NEOB, Room 10202, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503. Telephone: (202) 395-3741.
  Rigorous evaluation of costs and benefits is a core tenet of the rulemaking process. It is particularly important in the area of climate change. The current estimate of the social cost of CO 2 emissions (SCC) has been developed over many years, using the best science available, and with input from the public.
  In February 2010, after considering public comments on interim values that agencies used in a number of rules, an interagency group of technical experts, coordinated by OMB and the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), released improved SCC estimates. The interagency group estimated the improved SCC values using the most widely cited climate economic impact models. Those climate impact models, known as integrated assessment models, were developed by outside experts and published in the peer-reviewed literature. Recognizing that the models underlying the SCC estimates would evolve and improve over time as scientific and economic understanding increased, the Administration committed in 2010 to regular updates of these estimates.
  In May of this year, after all three of the underlying models were updated and used in peer-reviewed literature, and agencies received public comments urging them to update their estimates, the interagency group released revised SCC values. The May 2013 estimates reflect values that are similar to those used by other governments, international institutions, and major corporations. Those estimates have been available for public comment in several proposed rulemakings since May, and agencies have already received comments that are under review.
  The revised Technical Support Document that was issued in November, 2013 is based on the best available scientific information on the impacts of climate change. We will continue to refine the SCC estimates to ensure that agencies are appropriately measuring the social cost of carbon emissions as they evaluate the costs and benefits of rules.
  Request for Comment: OMB requests comments on all aspects of the TSD (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/for-agencies/Social-Cost-of-Carbon-for-RIA.pdf) and its use of integrated assessment models (IAMs) to estimate SCC values to support agency regulatory impact analyses. We are particularly interested in comments on the following topics:
  The selection of the three IAMs for use in the analysis and the synthesis of the resulting SCC estimates, as outlined in the 2010 TSD the model inputs used to develop the SCC estimates, including economic growth, emissions trajectories, climate sensitivity and intergenerational discounting;how the distribution of SCC estimates should be represented in regulatory impact analyses; andthe strengths and limitations of the overall approach (see also the February, 2010 TSD available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/for-agencies/Social-Cost-of-Carbon-for-RIA.pdf).OMB is not requesting comments on the three peer reviewed IAMs themselves; rather we are requesting comments on their use in developing the SCC estimates.
  Howard Shelanski,
  Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
  [FR Doc. 2013-28242 Filed 11-25-13; 8:45 am]
  BILLING CODE P
VIDEO-Steve Jobs 1995 Interview NeXT Computer
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 05:51
  In 1995, Steve Jobs was on the cusp of middle age -- 40 years old -- when he sat down for an extensive and revealing one-on-one interview by the Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation as part of an oral history project. The Foundation also produced the Computerworld Honors Program, whose executive director, Daniel Morrow, conducted this interview.
  When Jobs sat down for this interview, which was recorded on videotape, his return to Apple was still two years away -- and his once and future company was struggling to remain relevant. The products that would turn Apple around in the first decade of the 21st century -- Mac OS X, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, the iTunes store -- did not exist.
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Open Government: Use of Genetic Information in Documenting and Evaluating Disability
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Federal Register Latest Entries
  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 16:30
  Notice Of Open Government Forum.
  We will host an online open government comment forum about the use of genetic information in the disability determination process. The forum is open to all members of the public during the dates listed below.
  The forum will be open for your ideas and comments until December 26, 2013.
  Cheryl A. Williams, Office of Medical Listings Improvement, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401, (410) 965-1020. For information on eligibility or filing for benefits, call our national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213, or TTY 1-800-325-0778, or visit our Internet site, Social Security Online, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.
  Under our current, long-standing policy, we do not purchase genetic testing to evaluate disability. However, we do consider all evidence in the record, including genetic testing and other genetic medical evidence, when we make a determination or decision of whether you are disabled. [1] We are requesting information regarding how we should consider genetic information in the disability decision process and what issues we should consider.
  To submit your ideas and comments, please go to http://www.ssa-disabilityideas.ideascale.com and go to the Campaign entitled ''Genetic Information''. You must register at the site before you are able to submit your ideas and comments. Although we will consider all of the ideas and comments we receive, we will not respond to them. Since we will moderate the ideas and comments we receive during regular business hours, your ideas and comments may not be viewable immediately. In most cases, your ideas and comments should be viewable within two business days.
  Include only information that you wish to make publicly available. Please do not include any personal information, such as Social Security numbers or medical information.
  Dated: November 19, 2013.
  Arthur R. Spencer,
  Associate Commissioner, Office of Disability Programs.
  [FR Doc. 2013-28314 Filed 11-25-13; 8:45 am]
  BILLING CODE 4191-02-P
ALERT-Statement by the Press Secretary Regarding Robert Levinson | The White House
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 05:03
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  November 26, 2013
  On March 9, 2007, American citizen and retired FBI Agent Robert Levinson went missing during a business trip to Kish Island, Iran. Today, Mr. Levinson becomes one of the longest held Americans in history.
  As we approach the upcoming holiday season, we reiterate the commitment of the United States Government to locate Mr. Levinson and bring him home safely to his family, friends, and loved ones. We welcome the assistance of our international partners in this investigation, and we respectfully ask the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to assist us in securing Mr. Levinson's health, welfare, and safe return.
Here Comes the Story of No Hurricanes | Mother Jones
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 05:01
  From a PR standpoint, it was surely an ingenious idea: Let's name hurricanes after leading members of Congress who deny that humans are causing global warming! That's the gist of the "Climate Name Change" campaign that launched last month, and the promotional video has already garnered over 2 million YouTube views.
  There's just one problem: Thus far this season, the hurricanes haven't shown up. In fact, the dearth of hurricane-strength Atlantic storms up until now, despite blockbuster pre-season forecasts, counts as downright mysterious. "We've never seen this level of inactivity with the ocean conditions out there now," says meteorologist Jeff Masters, who is co-founder of Weather Underground, a popular meteorological website. There has even been speculation that 2013 might rival 2002, a year in which the first hurricane of the season didn't form until September 11.
  Meanwhile, a new scientific paper suggests that climate change will decrease, rather than increase, the likelihood that Superstorm Sandy-like storms'--atmospheric black swans that take left turns towards the US East Coast'--will strike in the future. And a leaked draft of the UN's forthcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report has significantly downgraded our confidence in the idea that global warming will lead to more intense hurricanes (or, is already doing so).
  It's more than enough to make a reasonable person wonder: What the heck is up these days with hurricanes'--and with global warming's supposed influence upon them? And do scientists know anything for sure about this, or are they just sticking out a finger in the (very fast) wind?
  Why no hurricanes so far this year? It's September, tropics! There's no getting around it. We are very near the seasonal peak of hurricane season, and we have not yet logged a hurricane. That's weird.
  Indeed, the climatological peak for hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean is September 10, as you can see in this helpful image from the National Hurricane Center:
  So what's up with this year?
  There are a variety of factors that are known to make for quiet Atlantic hurricane seasons'--particularly the occurrence of El Nino conditions (as occurred in 2002) in the Pacific Ocean, characterized by very warm tropical ocean waters. But this isn't an El Nino year. Meanwhile, other relevant phenomena currently out there in the atmosphere'--a lot of dry air coming off the Sahara Desert, for instance, and a general sinking of air over the tropical Atlantic'--don't seem as if they, alone, can account for the lack of activity. "As air sinks, it compresses, warms, and dries out," explains Jeff Masters'--and that's not generally conducive to the rising air of hurricanes. "But that doesn't seem like it should be enough to explain why its been so quiet," Masters continues.
  The truth is that scientists and forecasters don't really know what caused the lull during this season'--which underscores the ongoing tentativeness of our understanding of what sparks individual hurricanes, and what causes their seasonal variability in general.
  What does that say for predictions of worse hurricanes due to global warming? Given this uncertainty about a single hurricane season, maybe it's no surprise that while the relationship between hurricanes and global warming has been studied for decades, unambiguous and uncontested scientific answers have been hard to come by. For years, scientists have argued that warmer ocean waters ought to lead to more powerful hurricanes: After all, the oceans are a hurricane's energy source. It seems straightforward enough, but debates have raged nonetheless, particularly about whether we can detect any changes to hurricanes that have happened already.
  And now'--as Andrew Revkin reported'--a leaked draft report of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's forthcoming Fifth Assessment Report seems to have downgraded the level of scientific certainty about global warming and hurricanes in a couple of ways.
  Back in 2007, the IPCC said it was "more likely than not" (meaning, a greater-than-50-percent probability) that human activities'--through global warming'--were contributing to an observed intensification of hurricanes in at least some regions of the globe. Now, by contrast, the IPCC says it has "low confidence" that this is happening. (For the IPCC's extensive explanation of its official terminology for expressing degrees scientific certainty, see here.)
  Also in 2007, the IPCC considered it "likely"'--meaning, more than a 66 percent probability'--that the 21st century would see more intense hurricane activity. Now, it only says that it is "more likely than not"'--or more than 50 percent probability'--that this will be the case, and only for some parts of the world.
  How did the science get less certain? There's an intense scientific debate going on here, and new research conducted since 2007 has given indications that the hurricane picture under climate change may be more complicated than previously supposed. That's because even as warmer oceans provide jet fuel for hurricanes, changes in atmospheric wind patterns can still interfere with their formation by preventing storms from forming or, literally, tearing them apart.
  In particular, the IPCC in its latest round likely took note of a major 2010 paper in the journal Nature Geoscience, authored by no less than 10 hurricane experts, finding that "it remains uncertain whether past changes in tropical cyclone activity have exceeded the variability expected from natural causes." It's also important to keep in mind how the IPCC works: There's a cut-off date for assessing the existing scientific literature to be included in each report, and work published after the deadline just doesn't get taken into account.
  When it comes to hurricanes, that's quite problematic, because several papers have emerged after the deadline that do suggest that global warming will dramatically impact these mega-storms. That includes a new paper by MIT hurricane expert Kerry Emanuel, suggesting that across the globe, hurricanes will be both more numerous and also more intense under global warming. There's also a new paper by another top hurricane-climate expert, Greg Holland of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and one of his colleagues, finding that hurricanes have already shifted toward more Category 4s and 5s (and fewer Category 1s and 2s) under global warming.
  "I do not support the lack of evidence for intense hurricanes in climate changes to date," said Holland in reaction to the IPCC draft. "This view is supported by more recent publications that find a significant relationship directly with human-induced climate change and the most intense hurricanes."
  Fewer Sandys in the Future? Meanwhile, another scientific fog arises as a result of a new paper just out in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggesting that storms like Superstorm Sandy'--which has been widely linked to climate change in popular discourse'--might be less likely, rather than more likely, in the future.
  First, it's important to lay out the case for why global warming may have been linked to the freakishly unusual path taken by Sandy. The argument begins with the work of Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis, whose research suggests that the rapid-fire warming of the Arctic is affecting weather in the mid-latitudes through its influence on the jet stream, the gigantic river of air that flows in waves from west to east. More specifically, Francis says the jet stream is slowing down and growing more loopy and that this, in turn, is leading to what you might call "stuck" weather or blocking patterns. One such blocking pattern, a high pressure ridge over Greenland, shaped Sandy's turn toward the East Coast. (For a detailed presentation by Francis, see our 6/6/13 "Climate Desk Live" event that featured her as a speaker.)
  "It's awfully suspicious that we had a 1-in-700 year event after the summer that we had the record sea ice loss in the Arctic," explains Jeff Masters. "And we have a theory relating Arctic sea ice loss to blocking systems of the kind that steered Hurricane Sandy into the coast."
  Francis's views have been contested by other researchers, however. And the new study uses a suite of climate models to suggest that such atmospheric blocking patterns will be less frequent, rather than more frequent, in the future. Francis, however, questions the latest results. ''The authors acknowledge that the realism of climate models in simulating blocking patterns is uncertain and that most underestimate the frequency of their occurrence in the North Atlantic,'' she commented by email in reaction to the new study.
  What scientists do know. In the 1970s, when Congress was debating the safety of the proposed supersonic transport program, Maine Senator Edmund Muskie had just heard conflicting scientific testimony. ''Will somebody find me a one-handed scientist?'' Muskie allegedly exclaimed. That, at least, would put an end to all the ''on the one hand, on the other hand.''
  But we don't need any amputations to figure out some things that we can indeed say about hurricanes and global warming. Principally this: While scientists sort all this out, sea levels continue to rise due to global warming. The picture here is very clear. And that means that every single hurricane that hits land will push seawater farther inland when it does so. Or as one scientist told me in the wake of Sandy, "There is 100 percent certainty that sea level rise made this worse. Period."
  And then there's the warming of the oceans, which leads to two more clear conclusions, according to Masters. Warmer oceans make hurricane seasons longer, and they also make it possible for storms to travel north. The first idea is supported by published research suggesting an increasing frequency of late-season storms like Sandy (persisting into November or later), and the latter is simply a deduction from principles of physics: If oceans are hotter, hurricanes are more likely to be able to travel north out of the tropics and still have their energy source sustained.
  And that, it seems fair to say, is more than enough to worry about.
NOAA: Slow Atlantic hurricane season coming to a close
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 04:54
  No major hurricanes formed in the Atlantic basin - first time since 1994November 25, 2013
  GOES East satellite tracks Subtropical Storm Melissa, the last storm of the season.
  Download here. (Credit: NOAA)
  The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends on Saturday, Nov. 30, had the fewest number of hurricanes since 1982, thanks in large part to persistent, unfavorable atmospheric conditions over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and tropical Atlantic Ocean. This year is expected to rank as the sixth-least-active Atlantic hurricane season since 1950, in terms of the collective strength and duration of named storms and hurricanes.
  ''A combination of conditions acted to offset several climate patterns that historically have produced active hurricane seasons,'' said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. ''As a result, we did not see the large numbers of hurricanes that typically accompany these climate patterns.''
  Thirteen named storms formed in the Atlantic basin this year. Two, Ingrid and Humberto, became hurricanes, but neither became major hurricanes. Although the number of named storms was above the average of 12, the numbers of hurricanes and major hurricanes were well below their averages of six and three, respectively. Major hurricanes are categories 3 and above.
  Suomi NPP satellite peers into Tropical Storm Andrea, the first storm of the season.
  Download here. (Credit: NOAA/NASA)
  Tropical storm Andrea, the first of the season, was the only named storm to make landfall in the United States this year. Andrea brought tornadoes, heavy rain, and minor flooding to portions of Florida, eastern Georgia and eastern South Carolina, causing one fatality.
  The 2013 hurricane season was only the third below-normal season in the last 19 years, since 1995, when the current high-activity era for Atlantic hurricanes began.
  ''This unexpectedly low activity is linked to an unpredictable atmospheric pattern that prevented the growth of storms by producing exceptionally dry, sinking air and strong vertical wind shear in much of the main hurricane formation region, which spans the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea,'' said Bell. ''Also detrimental to some tropical cyclones this year were several strong outbreaks of dry and stable air that originated over Africa.''
  Unlike the U.S., which was largely spared this year, Mexico was battered by eight storms, including three from the Atlantic basin and five from the eastern North Pacific. Of these eight landfalling systems, five struck as tropical storms and three as hurricanes.
  NOAA and the U.S. Air Force Reserve flew 45 hurricane hunter aircraft reconnaissance missions over the Atlantic basin this season, totaling 435 hours--the fewest number of flight hours since at least 1966.
  NOAA will issue its 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Outlook in late May, prior to the start of the season on June 1.
  NOAA's National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. NOAA's National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. Working with partners, NOAA's National Weather Service is building a Weather-Ready Nation to support community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather. Visit us online at weather.gov and on Facebook.
  NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our other social media channels.
Police: Officer's wife grabbed, fired his gun - WFSB 3 Connecticut
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 04:40
  LAKEVILLE, CT (AP) -Connecticut State Police say they've ended their investigation into charges that the wife of a Newtown police officer grabbed his gun and fired it in the wall of a Salisbury hotel at a police gathering.
  The Register-Citizen reports that State Police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance said Monday that police have concluded the probe into the alleged Nov. 16 incident involving Police Sgt. John Cole and his wife, Ellen.
  The 53-year-old Ellen Cole has been arraigned on misdemeanor charges of illegal discharge of a firearm, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief. It's not known if she's represented by a lawyer.
  Kevin Bousquet, manager of the Interlaken Inn, says the incident took place at about 10:30 p.m. as a dozen Newtown police officers and their spouses were attending a first responders event.
  Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The internet mystery that has the world baffled - Telegraph
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 04:40
  Sleepily '' it was late, and he had work in the morning '' Eriksson thought he'd try his luck decoding the message from "3301''. After only a few minutes work he'd got somewhere: a reference to "Tiberius Claudius Caesar'' and a line of meaningless letters. Joel deduced it might be an embedded "Caesar cipher'' '' an encryption technique named after Julius Caesar, who used it in private correspondence. It replaces characters by a letter a certain number of positions down the alphabet. As Claudius was the fourth emperor, it suggested "four'' might be important '' and lo, within minutes, Eriksson found another web address buried in the image's code.
  Feeling satisfied, he clicked the link.
  It was a picture of a duck with the message: "Woops! Just decoys this way. Looks like you can't guess how to get the message out.''
  "If something is too easy or too routine, I quickly lose interest,'' says Eriksson. "But it seemed like the challenge was a bit harder than a Caesar cipher after all. I was hooked.''
  Eriksson didn't realise it then, but he was embarking on one of the internet's most enduring puzzles; a scavenger hunt that has led thousands of competitors across the web, down telephone lines, out to several physical locations around the globe, and into unchartered areas of the "darknet''. So far, the hunt has required a knowledge of number theory, philosophy and classical music. An interest in both cyberpunk literature and the Victorian occult has also come in handy as has an understanding of Mayan numerology.
  It has also featured a poem, a tuneless guitar ditty, a femme fatale called "Wind'' who may, or may not, exist in real life, and a clue on a lamp post in Hawaii. Only one thing is certain: as it stands, no one is entirely sure what the challenge '' known as Cicada 3301 '' is all about or who is behind it. Depending on who you listen to, it's either a mysterious secret society, a statement by a new political think tank, or an arcane recruitment drive by some quasi-military body. Which means, of course, everyone thinks it's the CIA.
  For some, it's just a fun game, like a more complicated Sudoku; for others, it has become an obsession. Almost two years on, Eriksson is still trying to work out what it means for him. "It is, ultimately, a battle of the brains,'' he says. "And I have always had a hard time resisting a challenge.''
  On the night of January 5 2012, after reading the "decoy'' message from the duck, Eriksson began to tinker with other variables.
  Taking the duck's mockery as a literal clue, Eriksson decided to run it through a decryption program called OutGuess. Success: another hidden message, this time linking to another messageboard on the massively popular news forum Reddit. Here, encrypted lines from a book were being posted every few hours. But there were also strange symbols comprising of several lines and dots '' Mayan numbers, Eriksson realised. And duly translated, they led to another cipher.
  Up until now, Eriksson would admit, none of the puzzles had really required any advanced skills, or suggested anything other than a single anonymous riddle-poser having some fun. "But then it all changed,'' says Eriksson. "And things started getting interesting.''
  Suddenly, the encryption techniques jumped up a gear. And the puzzles themselves mutated in several different directions: hexadecimal characters, reverse-engineering, prime numbers. Pictures of the cicada insect '' reminiscent of the moth imagery in Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs '' became a common motif.
  "I knew cicadas only emerge every prime number of years '' 13, or 17 '' to avoid synchronising with the life cycles of their predators,'' says Eriksson. "It was all starting to fit together.'' The references became more arcane too. The book, for example, turned out to be "The Lady of the Fountain'', a poem about King Arthur taken from The Mabinogion, a collection of pre-Christian medieval Welsh manuscripts.
  Later, the puzzle would lead him to the cyberpunk writer William Gibson '' specifically his 1992 poem "Agrippa'' (a book of the dead), infamous for the fact that it was only published on a 3.5in floppy disk, and was programmed to erase itself after being read once. But as word spread across the web, thousands of amateur codebreakers joined the hunt for clues. Armies of users of 4chan, the anarchic internet forum where the first Cicada message is thought to have appeared, pooled their collective intelligence '' and endless free time '' to crack the puzzles.
  Within hours they'd decoded "The Lady of the Fountain''. The new message, however, was another surprise: "Call us,'' it read, "at telephone number 214-390-9608''. By this point, only a few days after the original image was posted, Eriksson had taken time off work to join the pursuit full time.
  "This was definitely an unexpected turn,'' he recalls. "And the first hint that this might not just be the work of a random internet troll.'' Although now disconnected, the phone line was based in Texas, and led to an answering machine. There, a robotic voice told them to find the prime numbers in the original image. By multiplying them together, the solvers found a new prime and a new website: 845145127.com. A countdown clock and a huge picture of a cicada confirmed they were on the right path.
  "It was thrilling, breathtaking by now,'' says Eriksson. "This shared feeling of discovery was immense. But the plot was about to thicken even more.'' Once the countdown reached zero, at 5pm GMT on January 9, it showed 14 GPS coordinates around the world: locations in Warsaw, Paris, Seattle, Seoul, Arizona, California, New Orleans, Miami, Hawaii and Sydney. Sat in Sweden, Eriksson waited as, around the globe, amateur solvers left their apartments to investigate. And, one by one reported what they'd found: a poster, attached to a lamp post, bearing the cicada image and a QR code (the black-and-white bar code often seen on adverts these days and designed to take you to a website via your smartphone).
  "It was exhilarating,'' said Eriksson. "I was suddenly aware of how much effort they must have been putting into creating this kind of challenge.'' For the growing Cicada community, it was explosive '' proof this wasn't merely some clever neckbeard in a basement winding people up, but actually a global organisation of talented people. But who?
  Speculation had been rife since the image first appeared. Some thought Cicada might merely be a PR stunt; a particularly labyrinthine Alternate Reality Game (ARG) built by a corporation to ultimately '' and disappointingly '' promote a new movie or car.
  Microsoft, for example, had enjoyed huge success with their critically acclaimed "I Love Bees'' ARG campaign. Designed to promote the Xbox game Halo 2 in 2004, it used random payphones worldwide to broadcast a War of the Worlds-style radio drama that players would have to solve.
  But there were complicating factors to Cicada. For one, the organisers were actively working against the participants. One "solver'', a female known only as Wind from Michigan, contributed to the quest on several messageboards before the community spotted she was deliberately disseminating false clues. Other interference was more pointed. One long, cautionary diatribe, left anonymously on the website Pastebin, claimed to be from an ex-Cicada member '' a non-English military officer recruited to the organisation "by a superior''. Cicada, he said, "was a Left-Hand Path religion disguised as a progressive scientific organisation'' '' comprising of "military officers, diplomats, and academics who were dissatisfied with the direction of the world''. Their plan, the writer claimed, was to transform humanity into the Nietzschen 'bermensch.
  "This is a dangerous organisation,'' he concluded, "their ways are nefarious.'' With no other clues, it was also asssumed by many to be a recruitment drive by the CIA, MI6 or America's National Security Agency (NSA), as part of a search for highly talented cryptologists. It wouldn't have been the first time such tactics had been used.
  Back in 2010, for example, Air Force Cyber Command '' the United States' hacking defence force, based at Fort Meade in Maryland '' secretly embedded a complex hexadecimal code in their new logo. Cybercom head Lt Gen Keith Alexander then challenged the world's amateur analysts to crack it (it took them three hours). And in September this year, GCHQ launched the "Can You Find It?'' initiative '' a series of cryptic codes designed to root out the best British cryptographers. As GCHQ's head of resourcing Jane Jones said at the time, "It's a puzzle but it's also a serious test '' the jobs on offer here are vital to protecting national security.''
  GCHQ's 'Can You Find It?' puzzle
  Dr Jim Gillogly, former president of the American Cryptogram Association, has been cracking similar codes for years and says it's a tried and tested recruitment tactic.
  "During the Second World War, the top-secret Government Code and Cypher School used crossword puzzles printed in The Daily Telegraph to identify good candidates for Bletchley Park,'' he says. "But I'm not sure the CIA or NSA is behind Cicada. Both are careful with security, the recent Snowden case notwithstanding. And starting the puzzle on [the anarchic internet forum] 4chan might attract people with less respect for authority than they would want working inside.''
  But that doesn't rule out other organisations. "Computer and data security is more important than ever today,'' says Dr Gillogly. The proliferation of wireless devices, mobile telephones, e-commerce websites like Amazon and chip-and-pin machines, means the demand for cryptologists has never been higher. (Something the UK government acknowledged last year when it announced it was setting up 11 academic "centres of excellence'' in cyber security research.)
  "One of the more important components of security systems is the efficacy of the cryptography being used,'' says Dr Gillogly. "Which means cryptanalysts are in higher demand than ever before - no longer just with the intelligence services. It could just as easily be a bank or software company [behind Cicada].''
  Eriksson himself agrees. As a regular speaker at Black Hat Briefings '' the secretive computer security conferences where government agencies and corporations get advice from hackers '' he knows certain organisations occasionally go "fishing'' for new recruits like this. But to him the signs point to a recruitment drive by a hacker group like Anonymous.
  "I can't help but notice,'' he says, "that the locations in question are all places with some of the most talented hackers and IT security researchers in the world.'' Either way, their identity would prove irrelevant. When the QR codes left on the lamp posts were decoded, a hidden message pointed the solvers towards a TOR address. TOR, short for The Onion Router, is an obscure routing network that allows anonymous access to the "darknet'' '' the vast, murky portion of the internet that cannot be indexed by standard search engines. Estimated to be 5,000 times larger that the "surface" web, it's in these recesses where you'll find human-trafficking rings, black market drug markets and terrorist networks. And it's here where the Cicada path ended.
  After a designated number of solvers visited the address, the website shut down with a terse message: "We want the best, not the followers." The chosen few received personal emails '' detailing what, none have said, although one solver heard they were now being asked to solve puzzles in private. Eriksson, however, was not among them. "It was my biggest anticlimax '' when I was too late to register my email at the TOR hidden service," he says. "If my sleep-wake cycle had been different, I believe I would have been among the first." Regardless, a few weeks later, a new message from Cicada was posted on Reddit. It read: "Hello. We have now found the individuals we sought. Thus our month-long journey ends. For now." All too abruptly for thousands of intrigued solvers, it had gone quiet.
  Except no. On January 4 this year, something new. A fresh image, with a new message in the same white text: "Hello again. Our search for intelligent individuals now continues." Analysis of the image would reveal another poem '' this time from the book Liber Al Vel Legis, a religious doctrine by the English occultist and magician Aleister Crowley. From there, the solvers downloaded a 130Mb file containing thousands of prime numbers. And also an MP3 file: a song called The Instar Emergence by the artist 3301, which begins with the sound of '' guess what '' cicadas.
  Analysis of that has since led to a Twitter account pumping out random numbers, which in turn produced a "gematria": an ancient Hebrew code table, but this time based on Anglo-Saxon runes. This pointed the solvers back into the darknet, where they found seven new physical locations, from Dallas to Moscow to Okinawa, and more clues. But that's where, once again, the trail has gone cold. Another select group of "first solvers" have been accepted into a new "private" puzzle '' this time, say reports, a kind of Myers-Briggs multiple-choice personality test.
  But still, we are no closer to knowing the source, or fundamental purpose, of Cicada 3301. "That's the beauty of it though," says Eriksson. "It is impossible to know for sure until you have solved it all." That is why for him, and thousands of other hooked enthusiasts, January 4 2014 is so important: that's when the next set of riddles is due to begin again. "Maybe all will be revealed then," he grins. "But somehow, I doubt it."
Meritocracy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 04:11
  Meritocracy (merit, from LatinmereÅ: ''earn'' + -cracy, from Ancient GreekÎºÏÎ¬ÏÎÏ‚, kratos: ''strength, power'') is a political philosophy that holds power should be vested in individuals according to merit.[1] Advancement in such a system is based on intellectual talent measured through examination and/or demonstrated achievement in the field where it is implemented.
  Definitions[edit]Early definitions[edit]The "most common definition of meritocracy conceptualizes merit in terms of tested competency and ability, and most likely, as measured by IQ or standardized achievement tests."[2] In government or other administration systems, meritocracy, in an administrative sense, is a system of government or other administration (such as business administration) wherein appointments and responsibilities are assigned to individuals based upon their "merits", namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or examinations.[3]
  Supporters of meritocracies do not necessarily agree on the nature of "merit", however, they do tend to agree that "merit" itself should be a primary consideration during evaluation.
  In a more general sense, meritocracy can refer to any form of government based on achievement. Like "utilitarian" and "pragmatic", the word "meritocratic" has also developed a broader definition, and may be used to refer to any government run by "a ruling or influential class of educated or able people." [4]
  This is in contrast to the term originally coined by Michael Young in 1958, who critically defined it as a system where "merit is equated with intelligence-plus-effort, its possessors are identified at an early age and selected for appropriate intensive education, and there is an obsession with quantification, test-scoring, and qualifications." [5]
  Meritocracy in its wider sense, may be any general act of judgment upon the basis of various demonstrated merits; such acts frequently are described in sociology and psychology. Thus, the merits may extend beyond intelligence and education to any mental or physical talent or to work ethic.
  In rhetoric, the demonstration of one's merit regarding mastery of a particular subject is an essential task most directly related to the Aristotelian term Ethos. The equivalent Aristotelian conception of meritocracy is based upon aristocratic or oligarchical structures, rather than in the context of the modern state.[6][7]
  More recent definitions[edit]Although meritocracy as a term is a relatively recently coined word (1958), the concept of a government based on standardized examinations originates from the works of Confucius, along with other Legalist and Confucian philosophers. The first meritocracy was implemented in the second century BC, by the Han Dynasty, which introduced the world's first civil service exams evaluating the "merit" of officials.[8] Meritocracy as a concept spread from China to British India during the seventeenth century, and then into continental Europe and the United States.[9]
  With the translation of Confucian texts during the Enlightenment, the concept of a meritocracy reached intellectuals in the West, who saw it as an alternative to the traditional ancient regime of Europe.[10] In the United States, the assassination of President Garfield in 1881 prompted the replacement of the American Spoils System with a meritocracy. In 1883, The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was passed, stipulating government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit through competitive exams, rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation.[11]
  The most common form of meritocratic screening found today is the college degree. Higher education is an imperfect meritocratic screening system for various reasons, such as lack of uniform standards worldwide,[12][13] lack of scope (not all occupations and processes are included), and lack of access (some talented people never have an opportunity to participate because of the expense, most especially in developing countries);[14] and the intolerance of the educational systems imposed on students by some with quite high native talents. Nonetheless, academic degrees serve some amount of meritocratic screening purpose in the absence of a more refined methodology. Education alone, however, does not constitute a complete system, as meritocracy must automatically confer power and authority, which a degree does not accomplish independently.
  Etymology[edit]Although the concept has existed for centuries, the term "meritocracy" was first coined in the 1950s. It was used by British politician and sociologist, Michael Young in his 1958 satiricalessay,[3][15][16][17][18]The Rise of the Meritocracy, which pictured the United Kingdom under the rule of a government favouring intelligence and aptitude (merit) above all else, being the combination of the root of Latin origin "merit" (from "mereÅ") and the Ancient Greek suffix "-cracy" (meaning "power", "rule").[19] In this book the term had distinctly negative connotations as Young questioned both the legitimacy of the selection process used to become a member of this elite and the outcomes of being ruled by such a narrowly defined group. The essay, written in the first-person by a fictional historical narrator in 2034, interweaves history from the politics of pre- and post-war Britain with those of fictional future events in the short (1960 onward) and long term (2020 onward).[20]
  The essay was based upon the tendency of the then-current governments, in their striving toward intelligence, to ignore shortcomings and upon the failure of education systems to utilize correctly the gifted and talented members within their societies.[21]
  Young's fictional narrator explains that, on the one hand, the greatest contributor to society is not the "stolid mass" or majority, but the "creative minority" or members of the "restless elite".[22] On the other hand, he claims that there are casualties of progress whose influence is underestimated and that, from such stolid adherence to natural science and intelligence, arises arrogance and complacency.[22] This problem is encapsulated in the phrase "Every selection of one is a rejection of many".[22]
  It was also used by Hannah Arendt in her essay, "Crisis in Education" [23] which was written in 1958 and refers to the use of meritocracy in the English educational system.
  History[edit]Ancient times: China and Greece[edit]According to scholarly consensus, the earliest example of an administrative meritocracy, based on civil service examinations, dates back to Ancient China.[24][25][26][27]a['º] The concept originates, at least by the sixth century BC, when it was advocated by the Chinese philosopher Confucius, who "invented the notion that those who govern should do so because of merit, not of inherited status. This sets in motion the creation of the imperial examinations and bureaucracies open only to those who passed tests."[28]
  As the Qin and Han dynasties developed a meritocratic system in order to maintain power over a large, sprawling empire, it became necessary for the government to maintain a complex network of officials.[29] Prospective officials could come from a rural background and government positions were not restricted to the nobility. Rank was determined by merit, through the civil service examinations, and education became the key for social mobility.[29] After the fall of the Han Dynasty, the nine-rank system was established during the Three Kingdoms period.
  According to the Princeton Encyclopedia on American History:[9]
  One of the oldest examples of a merit-based civil service system existed in the imperial bureaucracy of China. Tracing back to 200 B.C., the Han Dynasty adopted Confucianism as the basis of its political philosophy and structure, which included the revolutionary idea of replacing nobility of blood with one of virtue and honesty, and thereby calling for administrative appointments to be based solely on merit. This system allowed anyone who passed an examination to become a government officer, a position that would bring wealth and honor to the whole family. In part due to Chinese influence, the first European civil service did not originate in Europe, but rather in India by the British-run East India Company... company managers hired and promoted employees based on competitive examinations in order to prevent corruption and favoritism.
  Both Plato and Aristotle advocated meritocracy, Plato in his The Republic, arguing that the most wise should rule, and hence the rulers should be philosopher kings. See Estlund (2003) for a summary and discussion.
  17th century: spread to Europe[edit]The concept of meritocracy spread from China to British India during the seventeenth century, and then into continental Europe and the United States.[9] With the translation of Confucian texts during the Enlightenment, the concept of a meritocracy reached intellectuals in the West, who saw it as an alternative to the traditional ancient regime of Europe.[10]Voltaire and Fran§ois Quesnay wrote favourably of the idea, with Voltaire claiming that the Chinese had "perfected moral science" and Quesnay advocating an economic and political system modeled after that of the Chinese.[10]
  The first European power to implement a successful meritocratic civil service was the British Empire, in their administration of India: "company managers hired and promoted employees based on competitive examinations in order to prevent corruption and favoritism."[9] British colonial administrators advocated the spread of the system to the rest of the commonwealth, the most "persistent" of which was Thomas Taylor Meadows, Britain's consul in Guangzhou, China. Meadows successfully argued in his Desultory Notes on the Government and People of China, published in 1847, that "the long duration of the Chinese empire is solely and altogether owing to the good government which consists in the advancement of men of talent and merit only," and that the British must reform their civil service by making the institution meritocratic.[30] "This practice later was adopted in the late nineteenth century by the British mainland, inspired by "Chinese mandarin system."[31]
  The British philosopher and polymathJohn Stuart Mill advocated meritocracy in his book, Considerations on Representative Government. His model was to give more votes to the more educated voter. His views are explained in Estlund (2003:57-8):
  Mill's proposal of plural voting has two motives. One is to prevent one group or class of people from being able to control the political process even without having to give reasons in order to gain sufficient support. He calls this the problem of class legislation. Since the most numerous class is also at a lower level of education and social rank, this could be partly remedied by giving those at the higher ranks plural votes. A second, and equally prominent motive for plural voting is to avoid giving equal influence to each person without regard to their merit, intelligence, etc. He thinks that it is fundamentally important that political institutions embody, in their spirit, the recognition that some opinions are worth more than others. He does not say that this is a route to producing better political decisions, but it is hard to understand his argument, based on this second motive, in any other way.So, if Aristotle is right that the deliberation is best if participants are numerous (and assuming for simplicity that the voters are the deliberators) then this is a reason for giving all or many citizens a vote, but this does not yet show that the wiser subset should not have, say, two or three; in that way something would be given both to the value of the diverse perspectives, and to the value of the greater wisdom of the few. This combination of the Platonic and Aristotelian points is part of what I think is so formidable about Mill's proposal of plural voting. It is also an advantage of his view that he proposes to privilege not the wise, but the educated. Even if we agreed that the wise should rule, there is a serious problem about how to identify them. This becomes especially important if a successful political justification must be generally acceptable to the ruled. In that case, privileging the wise would require not only their being so wise as to be better rulers, but also, and more demandingly, that their wisdom be something that can be agreed to by all reasonable citizens. I turn to this conception of justification below.Mill's position has great plausibility: good education promotes the ability of citizens to rule more wisely. So, how can we deny that the educated subset would rule more wisely than others. But then why shouldn't they have more votes?Estlund goes on to criticize Mill's education-based meritocracy on various grounds.
  19th century: United States[edit]In the United States, the federal bureaucracy used the Spoils System from 1828 until the assassination of United States President James A. Garfield by a disappointed office seeker in 1881 proved its dangers. Two years later in 1883, the system of appointments to the United States Federal Bureaucracy was revamped by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, partially based on the British meritocratic civil service that had been established years earlier. The act stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit,[11] through competitive exams,[11] rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation. It also made it illegal to fire or demote government employees for political reasons.[11]
  To enforce the merit system and the judicial system, the law also created the United States Civil Service Commission.[11] In the modern American meritocracy, the president may hand out only a certain number of jobs, which must be approved by the Senate.
  Australia[edit]Australia began establishing public universities in the 1850s with the goal of promoting meritocracy by providing advanced training and credentials. The educational system was set up to service urban males of middle-class background, but of diverse social and religious origins. It was increasingly extended to all graduates of the public school system, those of rural and regional background, and then to women and finally to ethnic minorities.[32] Both the middle classes and the working classes have promoted the ideal of meritocracy within a strong commitment to "mateship" and political equality.[33]
  Social Darwinism[edit]Social Darwinism is a social theory which holds that Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is a model, not only for the development of biological traits in a population, but also as an application for human social institutions '-- the existing social institutions being implicitly declared as normative. Social Darwinism shares its roots with early progressivism, and was most popular from the late nineteenth century to the end of World War II. Proponents of Social Darwinism argue that the theory justifies social inequality as being meritocratic. Darwin only ventured to propound his theories in a biological sense, and it is other thinkers and theorists who have applied Darwin's model to unequal endowments of human ambitions. In his book Meritocratic Education and Social Worthlessness (Palgrave, 2012), the philosopher Khen Lampert, argued that educational-meritocracy is nothing but a post-modern version of Social-Darwinism.
  Historical examples[edit]Confucianism[edit]In teaching, there should be no distinction of classes. (Analects XV, 39)
  The main basis of his teachings was to seek knowledge, study, and become a better person.
  Although Confucius claimed that he never invented anything, but was only transmitting ancient knowledge (see Analects VII, 1), he did produce a number of new ideas. Many European and American admirers such as Voltaire and H. G. Creel point to the revolutionary idea of replacing nobility of blood with nobility of virtue. JÅnzÇ (å›å­, lit. "lord's child"), which originally signified the younger, non-inheriting, offspring of a noble, became, in the works of Confucius, an epithet having much the same meaning and evolution as the English term, "gentleman". A virtuous plebeian who cultivates his qualities may be a "gentleman", while a shameless son of the king is only a "small man". That he admitted students of different classes as disciples is a clear demonstration that Confucius fought against the feudal structures that defined pre-imperial Chinese society.
  This new idea, of the meritocracy, led to the introduction of the Imperial examination system in China. The system allowed anyone who passed an examination to become a government officer, a position which would bring wealth and honour to the whole family. The Chinese Imperial examination system seemed to start in 165 BCE, when certain candidates for public office were called to the Chinese capital for examination of their moral excellence by the emperor. Over the following centuries the system grew until, finally, almost anyone who wished to become an official had to prove his worth by passing written government examinations.
  Han Feizi[edit]In addition to Confucius, another ancient Chinese philosopher of the same period (that of the Warring States) advocated a meritocratic system of government and society. This was Han Feizi who was famous as the foremost proponent of the School of Law, otherwise known as the philosophy of Legalism. This had, as its central tenet, the absolute rule of law, but also contained numerous meritocratic elements. Another Legalist, Shang Yang implemented Legalist and meritocratic reforms in the state of Qin by abolishing the aristocracy and promoting individuals based on their skill, intelligence, and initiative.
  This led to the armies of the Qin gaining a critical edge over the other nations that adhered to old aristocratic systems of government. Legalism, along with its pro-meritocratic ideals, remained a key part of Chinese philosophy and politics for another two millennia, although after the Qin Dynasty it was heavily diluted. Meritocratic governance within the bureaucracy, however, remains a nominal keystone of Chinese government all the way to the present. This may be seen most clearly in the use of standardized "imperial examinations" to determine entry into the official class, which began in the Sui Dynasty.
  British India[edit]The first European power to implement a merit-based civil system successfully, was the British Empire, in their administration of India. To avoid corruption, "company managers hired and promoted employees based on competitive examinations in order to prevent corruption and favoritism."[9]
  Napoleon[edit]Napoleonic (Revolutionary) France is considered to have been meritocratic. After the revolution of 1789 most members of the former elite had been removed. When Napoleon rose to power in 1799, there was no ancient base from which to draw his staff and he had to choose the people he thought best for the job. This included officers from his army, revolutionaries who had been in the National Assembly, and even some former aristocrats such as prime minister Talleyrand. This policy was summed up in Bonaparte's often-quoted phrase "La carri¨re ouverte aux talents", careers open to the talented, or as more freely translated by Thomas Carlyle, "the tools to him that can handle them". A clear example is the order of the L(C)gion d'honneur, the first order of merit, admitting men of any class. They were judged not by ancestry or wealth but by military, scientific, or artistic prowess.
  Modern meritocratic states[edit]Singapore[edit]Singapore describes meritocracy as one of its official guiding principles for domestic public policy formulation, placing emphasis on academic credentials as objective measures of merit.[34]
  There is criticism that, under this system, Singaporean society is being increasingly stratified and that an elite class is being created from a narrow segment of the population.[35] Defendants recall the ancient Chinese proverb "Wealth does not pass three generations", suggesting that the nepotism or cronyism of elitists eventually will be, and often are, replaced by those lower down the hierarchy.
  Ecuador[edit]Ecuador Dependency of the Ministry of Labour, the Ecuadorian Meritocracy Institute[36] was created under the technical advice of Singapore government.
  Modern meritocratic movements[edit]Osho[edit]In the mid-1980s, the controversial spiritual teacher Osho suggested that both democracy and communism should be replaced by meritocracy, as an overarching political system. According to Osho, only persons with appropriate qualifications should be allowed to vote. Moreover, all politicians should have appropriate college or university degrees. Only the geniuses of the world should govern. Osho suggested that, first the various nations should become meritocracies, after which they could all be joined to form a global meritocracy.[37]
  Computing[edit]Due to the nature of online interaction, where identity and anonymity are more readily managed than in direct interaction, the effects of offline social inequity often may be discounted in online communities. Intelligence, effort, education, and personality may be readily conveyed in an online interaction, but a person's gender, race, religion, and social standing can be obfuscated easily, or left entirely unaddressed.
  Free / open source software projects[edit]The GNOME Foundation, Apache Software Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, and The Document Foundation are examples of (open source) organizations that officially claim to be meritocracies.[38][39][40][41]
  Criticism[edit]The primary concern with meritocracy is the unclear definition of "merit".[42] Different people often have their own standards of merit, thus raising the question of which "merit" has the best merits'--or in other words'--which standard is the "best" standard.
  Another concern is the reliability of people who measure merit. For e.g. academic grades are given by people who do have opinions, and can be biased or inefficient. If the system is corrupt or non-transparent, decisions on who has merit will be flawed.
  Meritocracy also has been criticized by egalitarians as a mere myth, which serves only to justify the status quo, with its proponents only giving lip service to equality.[43] In the words of sociologist Laurie Taylor:[43]
  The hideous thing about meritocracy is it tells you that if you've given life your all and haven't got to the top you're thick or stupid. Previously, at least, you could always just blame the class system.
  Another concern regards the principle of incompetence, or the "Peter Principle". As people rise in a meritocratic society through the corporate ladder, they reach, and become stuck, at the first level of what they are unable to do.
  Other concerns for the validity of a merit-based system have arisen from studies in psychology, sociology, and neuroscience. Given the proposition that a person's life prospects should not be decided by factors outside of one's control or, for which a person cannot claim personal credit (i.e., social status, inherited wealth, race, and other accidents of birth) a meritocracy proposes a system where people are rewarded based on their efforts, and if everyone can start on equal footing with the same opportunity to advance, then the results are just. However, some studies have shown that even our motivation, work ethic, and conscientious drive is, in fact, outside of our control and can be affected by such arbitrary factors as birth order. Children who are first in birth order tend to aim at goals that reference their own past level of mastery, while secondborns tend to aim at goals based on other-referenced expectations and competence standards.[44] Therefore, a system which rewards effort in this way is not completely just, because effort and hard work is not something we can claim complete credit for.
  By definition, the principle of meritocracy could not be effective in a non-competitive society or environment.[45]
  Degeneration of America's meritocracy[edit]In his book, Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, Chris Hayes has attributed what he calls the "Fail Decade"'--which includes 9/11, the Enron scandal, the invasion of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, the subprime crisis, and the Great Recession'--to the deterioration of America's meritocratic system into one of plutocracy.[46]
  See also[edit]References[edit]^ a: This is the history of the meritocracy in the technical sense. The vaguer definition of a meritocracy as a "rule by intelligence" has been applied to many ancient Greek, Indian, Chinese, and Jewish thinkers and statesmen. For example, the Sanhedrin, the legislature of Ancient Israel and Kingdom of Judah, is sometimes called as an "intellectual meritocracy", in the sense that its members were drawn from religious scribes and not the aristocracy.[47] Appointment was self-perpetuating, however, and new members were chosen personally by existing members.[48] These are not meritocracies in the administrative sense, in which merit is determined objectively as a "tested competency or ability."[49]
  ^"Definition of merit - attribute, positive aspect and score (British & World English)". British & World English. Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 8 December 2012. ^Levinson, David; Sadovnik, Alan R. (2002). Education and Sociology: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 436. "most common definition of meritocracy conceptualizes merit in terms tested competency and ability, and most likely as measured by IQ or standardized achievement tests" ^ abYoung, Michael (1958). The rise of the meritocracy, 1870-2033: An essay on education and inequality. London: Thames & Hudson. OCLC 3943639. ^"Definition of Meritocracy". Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 12 September 2011. ^Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought. Fontana Press. 1988. p. 521. ^Aristot. Pol. 2.1261b^Aristotle, (351 BCE) Politics. Book Three Part IV. (Jowett, B., Trans)^Casey, Wilson (2009). Firsts: Origins of Everyday Things That Changed the World. Penguin USA. ISBN 978-1-59257-924-2. ^ abcdeKazin, Edwards, and Rothman (2010), 142.^ abcSchwarz (1996), 229^ abcdehttp://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=145^What's College For?: The Struggle To Define American Higher Education; Zachary Karabell; ISBN 978-0-465-09152-2^Journal of College Teaching & Learning '' May 2008 Volume 5, Number 5 AACSB Accreditation^Furlong, Andy; Cartmel, Fred. Higher education and social justice. Maidenhead: Open University Press. ISBN 978-0-335-22362-6. ^Young, Michael (29 June 2001). "Down with meritocracy: The man who coined the word four decades ago wishes Tony Blair would stop using it". The Guardian (London). ^Ford, Boris (1992). The Cambridge cultural history of Britain. Cambridge University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-521-42889-7. ^Kamolnick, Paul (2005). The just meritocracy: IQ, class mobility, and American social policy. Westport CT: Praeger. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-275-97922-5. ^Best, Shaun (2005). Understanding Social Divisions. London: Sage. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-7619-4296-2. ^""meritocracy" in the Online Etymology Dictionary". Retrieved 3 July 2013. ^Young, Michael (1958). p. 11.^Young, Michael (1958). p. 13.^ abcYoung, Michael (1958). p. 15.^"Crisis in Education" (p. 4).^Kazin, Edwards, and Rothman (2010), 142. One of the oldest examples of a merit-based civil service system existed in the imperial bureaucracy of China.^Tan, Chung; Geng, Yinzheng (2005). India and China: twenty centuries of civilization interaction and vibrations. University of Michigan Press. p. 128. "China not only produced the world's first "bureaucracy", but also the world's first "meritocracy"" ^Konner, Melvin (2003). Unsettled: an anthropology of the Jews. Viking Compass. p. 217. "China is the world's oldest meritocracy" ^Tucker, Mary Evelyn (2009). "Touching the Depths of Things: Cultivating Nature in East Asia". Ecology and the environment: perspectives from the humanities (Harvard Divinity School): 51. "To staff these institutions, they created the oldest meritocracy in the world, in which government appointments were based on civil service examinations that drew on the values of the Confucian Classics" ^Sienkewicz, Thomas J. (2003). Encyclopedia of the Ancient World:. Salem Press. p. 434. "Confucius invented the notion that those who govern should so because of merit and not inherited status, setting in motion the creation of the imperial examinations and bureaucracies open only to those who passed tests" ^ abBurbank and Cooper (2010), 51.^Bodde,, Derke. "China: A Teaching Workbook". Columbia University. ^Huddleston, Mark W. Boyer, William W.The higher civil service in the United States: quest for reform. (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996), 9-10.^Julia Horne, and Geoffrey Sherington, "Extending the educational franchise: the social contract of Australia's public universities, 1850-1890," Paedagogica Historica (2010) 46#1 pp 207-227^Miriam Henry (1988). Understanding Schooling: An Introductory Sociology of Australian Education. Psychology Press. p. 81. ^Speech by Singapore Ambassador to France[dead link], 28 August 2008.^Ngiam Tong Dow (28 October 2006). "Singapore's elites". Little Speck. ^Web page of "Instituto Nacional de Meritocracia de Ecuador" , 12 March 2013.^"Meritocracy: Beyond Democracy '' and Mobocracy!". ^GNOME Foundation - Charter^How the ASF works - The Apache Software Foundation^Mozilla Governance^Welcome - The Document Foundation^Arrow, Bowles and Durlauf '-- Meritocracy and Economic Inequality, (Princeton,1999)^ abDuffy, Jonathan (23 November 2004). "The rise of the meritocracy". BBC News. ^Academia.edu | Born to learn or born to win? Birth order effects on achievement goals | Nico W. Van Yperen^Khen Lampert, Meritocratic Education and Social Worthlessness, Palgrave-Macmillan, UK, December 24, 2012,; ISBN 1137324880^Julian Brookes. "Chris Hayes on the Twilight of the Elites and the End of Meritocracy". Rolling Stone. ^Elazar, Daniel Judah (1985). The Jewish polity: Jewish political organization from Biblical times to the present. Indiana University Press. p. 127. ^Novak, David (2005). The Jewish social contract: an essay in political theology. Princeton University Press. p. 134. "The Sanhedrin were appointed by those who were members when there was a vacancy" ^Levinson, David; Sadovnik, lan R. (2002). Education and sociology: an encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 436. Further reading[edit]Burbank, Jane and Cooper, Frederick. (2010). Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-12708-5.Estlund, David. (2003). Why Not Epistocracy?.Kazin, Michael, Edwards, Rebecca, and Rothman, Adam. (2010). The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History Volume 2. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-12971-1.Kett, Joseph F. Merit: The History of a Founding Ideal From the American Revolution to the Twenty-First Century (Cornell University Press; 2012) 344 pages; Considers how Americans have reconciled notions of merit with equal rights and other cultural ideals.Schwarz, Bill. (1996). The expansion of England: race, ethnicity and cultural history. Psychology Pres. ISBN 0-415-06025-7.Khen Lampert, Meritocratic Education and Social Worthlessness, Palgrave-Macmillan, UK, December 24, 2012,; ISBN 1137324880[××¨××›×--]
  External links[edit]
VIDEO- Dangerous Diet Trend The Cotton Ball Diet - YouTube
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VIDEO-Ministry of Defense Report: Mysterious 'Fireball' That Streaked Across The Oregon Sky A Chinese Missile - The Freedom Report | The Freedom Report
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  by THETOTALCOLLAPSE.COM on NOVEMBER 23, 2013
  The Ministry of Defense (MoD) is reporting today that the Vityaz early-warning radar system deployed along the entire Russian border has confirmed the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) launching from their Type 092 Xia-class nuclear ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN) of two atomic JL-2 missiles off the Northwest American coastline near the State of Oregon on Wednesday 30 October and Wednesday 20 November.
  According to this report, these two latest sub-launched nuclear ballistic tests by China off the west coast of the United States were preceded by a similar test conducted on Monday 10 November 2010 when a Chinese Navy Jin class ballistic missile nuclear submarine, deployed secretly from its underground home base on the south coast of Hainan island, launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from international waters off the southern California coast in full view of Los Angeles.
  As the Pentagon and their US mainstream media sycophants covered up the 10 November 2010 China missile launch, this MoD report continues, they have likewise labeled the 30 October missile launch as a fireball-meteor and the 20 November one as 'maybe'another fireball-meteor or contrail.
  Important to note, Russian intelligence analysts in this report say, was that China ''cryptically warned'' the US about its planned 30 October launch test when on Sunday 27 October the world was given a rare glimpse into China's nuclear-powered submarine fleet, with State-owned media carrying extensive coverage of the previously mysterious strategic deterrence force.
  The unprecedented revealing of the underwater fleet was a demonstration of China's confidence in its sea-based nuclear strike capability and serves as a deterrent to any attempted provocation amid the changing geopolitical situation, said military observers.
  Starting on Sunday 27 October, China Central Television carried serial coverage two days in a row on the submarine force of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's Beihai fleet in its flagship news program Xinwen Lianbo.
  The People's Daily, the PLA Daily and the China Youth Daily on Monday all carried front-page stories, features and commentaries on the submarine force, applauding its achievements since the launch of China's first nuclear-powered submarine in December 1970.
  To the most chilling warning to the Obama regime from China regarding these missile tests the Washington Times News Service further reports:
  ''Chinese calculations for nuclear attacks on the U.S. are chillingly macabre.
  ''Because the Midwest states of the U.S. are sparsely populated, in order to increase the lethality, [our] nuclear attacks should mainly target the key cities on the West Coast of the United States, such as Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego,'' the Global Times said.
  ''The 12 JL-2 nuclear warheads carried by one single Type 094 SSBN can kill and wound 5 million to 12 million Americans,'' the Global Times reported.
  China also has developed land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles '-- notably the DF-31A, which has a range of 7,000 to 7,500 miles.
  ''If we launch our DF 31A ICBMs over the North Pole, we can easily destroy a whole list of metropolises on the East Coast and the New England region of the U.S., including Annapolis, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Portland, Baltimore and Norfolk, whose population accounts for about one-eighth of America's total residents.''
  All the state-run press reports stressed the point that the PLA's missile submarines are now on routine strategic patrol, ''which means that China for the first time has acquired the strategic deterrence and second strike capability against the United States.''
  Though the American people themselves have been kept in near total ignorance of the coming war between them and China, the same cannot be said of the rest of the world, including Doug Saunders of The Globe and Mail, Canada's leading newspaper, who reported in its 15 July edition that the United States and China have been preparing for an all-out war and which we, in part, quote from The Nation News Service:
  ''Both the Pentagon and the People's Liberation Army are building up their military strategies. It appears that a global war is in the making.
  Saunders wrote that the Pentagon is proceeding with war preparations without oversight from the White House or Congress. This gives the impression that the Pentagon is operating as an independent state within the state. The Pentagon is relying on the AirSea Battle strategy, in which the US Army and Air Force will stand ready to support 320,000 military personnel in a simultaneous land and air attack against China in the event of a spillover war in the South China Sea or surrounding areas.
  President Obama has spoken of a pivot to Asia, followed by the US Defence Department's plan to move most of the US naval capability to the Asia Pacific to counter the rise of China. We can feel that the US military, in spite of the turmoil in Syria, Egypt and the Middle East, is re-asserting its influence in the Asia-Pacific. The US and China are now engaging in a full-scale currency war. A physical war could be the inevitable course. A rise of China threatens the US dollar as the world's reserve currency and the US supremacy.
  On China's side, we can assume that the Chinese leadership has ordered a full preparation for a war with the United States. China has secretly built up its military capability, with modern weapons and sophisticated technology. China said it is ready to develop an anti-AirSea Battle strategy. China's President has urged the military to prepare for the war and to fight to win.''
  To how soon open warfare between China and the US will break out this report doesn't say. However, it does note that China's ''bombshell move'' against the US Dollar this week makes its likelihood much sooner than later.
  Keep on reading @ thetotalcollapse.com
  '--'--'--'--'---
  The Huffington Post | By Sara GatesPosted: 11/21/2013 2:00 pm EST | Updated: 11/21/2013 2:04 pm EST
  Sorry, extraterrestrial fanatics. That ''fireball'' that streaked across the Oregon sky Wednesday morning probably wasn't alien in nature.
  Local KOIN meteorologist Bruce Sussman said that the unknown object, which some took for a UFO, was most likely a contrail left in the wake of an aircraft. Sussman ''solved'' the mystery by analyzing the station's time-lapse footage of the sky.
  Previously, the U.S. Strategic Command ruled out the possibility the fireball was a man-made object re-entering the atmosphere, KATU News reported.
  Some early morning skywatchers were stumped by the unusual sight, since the object appeared as a bright streak across the sky over east Portland.
  Flaming 'Fireball' Mistakenly Seen Over Portland If Sussman is correct, it seems sun rays caused the vapor trail to appear ablaze.
  But Jim Todd of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry has his doubts. While the director of space science education does not believe the fireball is space junk or anything man-made, he couldn't confirm the origin of the object.
  ''The verdict is still out whether it was a fireball or a contrail,'' he told local FOX affiliate KPTV.
  Keep on reading @ huffingtonpost.com
CBS Puts Laura Logan On Leave After Review Of Flawed Benghazi Report : NPR
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  MediaCBS Puts Laura Logan On Leave After Review Of Flawed Benghazi Report
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  MediaAfter Internal Review On Benghazi Report, CBS Puts Logan On Leave
Lara Logan's Mystery Man
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  Nobody at 60 Minutes has been fired or even publicly disciplined for its odd, inflammatory and dead-wrong October 27 story on the Islamist assault in Benghazi that killed U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. But it has apologized. That mea culpa, however, left some large and troubling questions unanswered; the most important one is how CBS's superstar correspondent, Lara Logan, her producer and other network news executives let security contractor Dylan Davies on the air with his explosive tale about what he did and saw during that attack.
  While Davies was the central on-camera personality in that report, the most interesting figure in this mystery was never on screen, nor listed as a contributor to the piece. It is Logan's husband, Joseph W. Burkett, a former Army sergeant and onetime employee of a private intelligence outfit hired by the Pentagon to plant pro-U.S. stories in the Iraqi media in 2005.
  One recent account implied that Burkett, 42, was the Svengali behind the now infamous story that pinned responsibility for the Benghazi attack on al Qaeda, without citing any sources.
  ''He was an employee of the Lincoln Group, a now-shuttered 'strategic communications and public relations firm' hired by the Department of Defense in 2005 to plant positive stories written by American soldiers in Baghdad newspapers during the Iraq War,'' the website Gawker reported.
  The Gawker account also implied Burkett was a key operator in the covert action. A source intimately familiar with Burkett's family told Newsweek that he regularly suggested he was some sort of super-spook.
  According to an internal company document obtained by Newsweek, the Lincoln Group specialized in producing films, news clips, and print stories in Baghdad that would be fed to the media through cutouts on an unattributed basis, making them appear as originating from legitimate news organizations.
  During the 2006 battle for Fallujah, ''Our development of documentaries of the Fallujah campaign and our ability to develop non-Coalition attributable messages enabled us to reach out to the Iraqi audience,'' the document says. ''This multifaceted project produced content for Western, Arab, and Iraqi audiences and is still ongoing. For each audience we have identified content and formatting that is appropriate and non-attributable to the actual source.'' (Italics added.)
  But others who claim to have known Burkett in Baghdad paint a starkly different portrait of the former enlisted man, one more akin to the role Steve McQueen played as a gofer for army supply sergeant Jackie Gleason in Soldier in the Rain.
  According to a source intimately familiar with his family, Burkett routinely implied, without foundation, that he was a key player in classified operations in Iraq.
  ''He's what we call a puffer '' he puffs himself up,'' said the source, on condition of anonymity. ''He alluded to top-secret work, but he didn't make as much money as a truck driver over there. He had some kind of minuscule position.'... He was kind of an errand person or something like that.''
  Besides, the source says, ''People who are spies don't really tell people they're spies.''
  When Logan and Burkett began their affair in Baghdad, he was married and she was in a relationship. They were married in 2008. ''I knew him for about six years before we got together,'' she told The New York Times in a soft-focus feature in 2012. ''He had a very secretive job, and I always respected that. I know tons of people in that world, and I never ask them questions because it's a violation right there.''
  ''He never crossed my boundaries,'' Logan said of Burkett. ''I never crossed his.''
  After Logan was named CBS's chief foreign correspondent, she purchased a $1.5 million home in D.C., which she now shares with Burkett and their two children. When asked for comment on Wednesday at the couple's Cleveland Park home, Burkett angrily ushered me out the door. (CBS also declined to comment.)
  Since returning from Iraq, Burkett appears to have cut ties with Lincoln and its various corporate permutations, but he has clearly kept a hand in the world of security contractors. In 2011, according to Texas public records, he was listed as ''managing member'' of Janus Lares Associates, an Austin-based ammunition dealer. (Burkett is from a prominent family in Kerrville.) In 2011, he was also named as the ''governing person'' of Sakom Services LLC in San Marcos, Texas, which lists an office in the UAE, whose owner-director is Justin Penfold, a U.K.-based ''subject matter expert in the security industry'' with experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Whatever Burkett is doing now, it doesn't appear to be a full-time job. When New York Times reporter Sally Singer interviewed Logan at her home last year, she identified Burkett as a ''work-at-home Congressional liaison,'' without noting his employer. When I spoke to him midday on Wednesday, Burkett was home in jeans and a T-shirt, having just emerged from the shower, helping take care of the couple's two kids with paid helpers in the kitchen and the backyard.
  ''Congressional liaison'' is another way of saying lobbyist, but a search of public records did not reveal Burkett's name. Nor did his name pop up in a search of the Justice Department's registered foreign agents.
  None of this would matter or even be a topic of conversation had Logan's Benghazi story not included so many errors, documented most thoroughly by McClatchy Newspaper's Cairo correspondent Nancy A. Youssef.
  The unmasking of security contractor Davies as a fabricator was the starting point for Youssef and other critics, but what stood out for them was Logan's unsourced allegations pinning responsibility for the attack solely on al Qaeda, and in particular, operatives with close ties to Osama Bin Laden. The effect of such allegations is to once again undermine the Obama administration's position that the attack had local origins and came as a surprise, and that all that made rescuing the besieged Americans very difficult, if not impossible. And the 60 Minutes broadcast was hardly off the air when South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, a persistent critic of the administration for its handling of the Benghazi attack, declared he would block all of Obama's nominations for government posts until he got more answers.
  The State Department and CIA have conducted extensive internal investigations that, to unbiased observers, persuasively debunk charges of an orchestrated cover-up of the events in Benghazi.
  Asked about the 60 Minutes report this week, a senior U.S. intelligence official told Newsweek that, based on what U.S. intelligence has learned, ''members of several militia groups and al Qaeda linked affiliates participated in the attack.'' However, he added on the condition of anonymity, since he was discussing a still-sensitive matter, ''even though it has yet to be determined who called the shots, I have not seen any credible information that it was core al Qaeda.''
  So why did Logan put that story on the air? Her pro-military bias is as well known, but so is her mettle '' she's worked in some of those most dangerous parts of war-ravaged Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt, where she was sexually assaulted by a mob. She won an Emmy for one of her Iraq reports.
  In other words, she's a smart, tough, experienced reporter. And the producer and writers and reporters who helped her put this Benghazi story together are honored, respected professionals, many of whom have been covering the region for years. Whoever fooled them, whoever convinced them that al Qaeda orchestrated that attack on the U.S. embassy, had to be smart, incredibly persuasive and savvy about the media. And unquotable.
  In other words, an intelligence source. And the person closest to Logan with those credentials is her husband. But he's not talking.
  Jeff Stein is a Newsweek contributing editor in Washington.
  This story has been corrected to reflect that the original 60 Minutes report aired on October 27.
MIC me out to the Movies
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  Archived Version
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 01:21
  Interesting what not eh? Someone does not like the pet critters being film kill............yes that is my word and if PETA or other terrorists use this word I will require a million dollar royalty.
  NYC SECRET: 1 million bodies buried in mass graves...
  Invisible island for poor and unidentified...
  So...........................
  We do not care about the dead people during the regimes, as this is really important in dead critters and the culprits being blamed.
  Interesting that Mockingbird is now using the bun huggers to expose a direct attack upon the Obama voters who are the direct cause of Birther Hussein's occupation of a doomsday freezer.
  HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: 'LIFE OF PI' tiger 'damn near drowned'...27 animal deaths on 'THE HOBBIT'...Dog punched repeatedly in popular DISNEY movie...Secret emails, documents exposed...Spielberg protected by cover-up of 'WAR HORSE' death... MORE...
  What is interesting in this is the pissy pissing in all of this. Alec Baldwin gets canned. Steven Spielberg gets nailed for dead nags. Someone was at the glam parties and did not get bent at the waist proper.
  MIC is having an interesting effect in all of this as more and more of this money flow is being strangled and the MIC is taking things back. It should be interesting in that little nuclear war the Obama regime just staged in the Middle East.Yes give Iran full nuclear development and nuclear Saudi Arabia and Israel are just going to wait to be vaporized.
  Well enough of this.........as animals which are not machines, but break down and die like machines when in use are now the dead horse being whipped to attack Obama liberal movie patrons.
  Think of it all you hobbit fans on the left in your enjoyment came from killing poor critters.
  Wars kill animals and abuse them, just like all the Scott Hennen types of North Dakota abuse their puppies by neglect as they have lives just like the Obama's never look at that Teddy Kennedy pooch who is neglected.
  I am all for this MIC coup though. Nothing like smearing Hollywood for not bending at the waist properly for the real lords who rule the world. Nice the aristocrats are back and demanding more than Paris Hilton.
  Yes there is road kill and now the Lame Cherry exposing all of this in FILM KILL>>>>>
  agtG
Animals Were Harmed: Hollywood's Nightmare of Death, Injury, and Secrecy Exposed | Hollywood Reporter Exclusive
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 01:20
  The result of the flaws in the AHA's process '-- from its selection of monitors to the restrictions on their work and the organization's resistance to aggressively investigate alleged animal mistreatment '-- calls into question the film ratings published on the organization's website, which assess the quality and scope of animal welfare on productions, and the ''No Animals Were Harmed'' credit itself.
  Given the end credit's blunt declarative statement, there would not appear to be much wiggle room. But interviews with AHA sources, along with internal documents, suggest that the AHA repeatedly has presented a more positive picture of what transpired on productions than its own monitors' internal logs would justify. Sources say that the end credit disclaimers are adjudicated, and film-rating reviews composed, without the input of the monitors who were actually on set during production, and sometimes without even reviewing their reports. (The AHA denies this.) Indeed, they say there is no set formula governing such findings, which in the end have in certain cases been determined by executives who are overly concerned with how such decisions may affect the organization's industry relationships.
  ''The AHA does not explain why the films get the ratings they do to hide the fact that they do not give them accurately across the board and that special relationships may be taken into account,'' says one staffer. ''Management pressures postproduction [its department responsible for the assessments] to give good reviews. Even relationships that aren't special yet might be in the future, and they don't want to rock the boat.''
  For example, Disney's Eight Below was awarded the end credit despite a March 21, 2005, incident report that noted: ''The hero dog seriously got into a fight with two other dogs. The trainer beat the dog harshly, which included five punches to its diaphragm. Our rep spoke to him about this, and he expressed that he had no choice. The office instructed [the rep] to pull the dog.'' In its statement to THR, the AHA says, ''The trainer had to use force to break up the fight. As a result, the dogs were not injured.'' The AHA rep also asked for more trainers to be on set.
  On another Disney project, 2008's The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, horses repeatedly were pulled from production for lameness and injuries '-- AHA internal database notes from June 23, 2007, show that 14 were out of commission at once '-- with problems ranging from a sore tail and a sore back to a ''wound on nose.'' Yet the production still received the ''No Animals Were Harmed'' disclaimer. According to AHA's statement to THR, the end credit was justified because ''none of the injuries were serious and none were due to intentional harm.''
  In another incident, 2005's Son of the Mask, from New Line, received the end credit, though a Feb. 2, 2004, incident filing reveals that ''most of the fish died today that were under the care and control of the prop department. [Rep] said they died when the prop department totally changed the water in the tank and replaced it with town tap water.'' Again, the AHA says in its statement, the credit was bestowed because ''we believed this was not an intentional act of cruelty,'' though it also added that the organization ''today would not evaluate it in the same way.''
  In an interview with THR, Candy Spelling, a national AHA board member, defends the organization's intent behind the ''No Animals Were Harmed'' end credit. ''I think what people think [it means] is that when a horse dies in the movies, it didn't really die,'' she says. ''I think that people think [the AHA's monitoring] is just when the cameras are rolling.'' As for her interpretation of the end credit, she says, ''I assume that no animals were harmed during the shooting.''
The invisible island where New York buries its poor and unidentified - The Week
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 01:19
  Nearly one million people are buried in mass graves off of the Bronx. But the city prefers you know nothing about it.
  Hart Island does not appear on the MTA's subway map or the Department of Transportation's bicycling maps. The AAA map in my car shows the blue dotted line of a public ferry from City Island to Hart Island, but the ferry closed to the public in 1976. Panorama, the room-sized Robert Moses-commissioned sculpture at the Queens Museum of Art '-- which displays every street and nearly every building in New York City '-- excludes the island entirely.
  From an airplane at night, Hart Island is invisible from the west. It can be seen only on clear nights, only from the east and by inference, when lights from the city bounce off the water of the Sound and leave the island backlit. It appears as negative space, the darkest ink spot on a page of black.
  Hart Island can be found on Google Maps, which labels the northern half of the island "Potter's Field," a term commonly used to refer to a place where unknown or unclaimed bodies are buried. The location is no longer accurate, and the name never was. When the city bought Hart Island for $75,000 in 1868, the new potter's field was set on 45 acres at the island's northern tip. Administration was handed over to what was then called the Department of Charities and Correction, which operated a prison and a technical school for delinquent boys on the island. Inmates were given the job of burying the dead, a practice that continues to this day. The Department of Correction estimates that more than 850,000 people are now buried on Hart Island, noting that the actual number may be somewhere between 750,000 and a million, a standard deviation that is jarring when you think about it.
  (More from Narratively: Reinventing the 'oldest profession')
  In the last few years the old cemetery filled up, so the burials moved to Hart Island's south side. In 2010, there were 695 adults and 504 babies buried there. Four days a week, prisoners from Riker's Island lay plain pine boxes into two mass graves. In the adult grave, coffins are stacked three high. It will be filled with between 150 and 165 bodies (depending on the number of extra-wide coffins), plus separate coffins for body parts, and covered with 36 inches of dirt. The other grave, for fetuses and stillborn babies, will be loaded with 1,000 miniature coffins buried five deep. Both trenches are already open, dug by a yellow Caterpillar backhoe.
  And then there is the name. In Matthew 27:3-10, Judas cast the 30 silver pieces he received for betraying Jesus onto the temple floor, and then hung himself in shame. The priests, concerned that adding blood money to the temple's treasury would violate church law, "bought with them the potter's field to bury strangers. Therefore that field has been called the 'Field of Blood' to this very day." We are lucky the name "potter's field" stuck, since printing the alternative on maps would be rather purple.
  Lots of unidentified people are buried on Hart Island, and lots of poor people, too. But not everyone interred there is unknown and destitute. The first person buried in the potter's field died in Charity Hospital on Roosevelt Island '-- then called Blackwell's Island '-- with no relatives or friends to claim her body, but we do know her name: Louisa Van Slyke, and she was 24. It's reasonable to assume that Slyke was laid in the ground by inmates because the wife of Fred Bartels, the island's first warden, recorded the burial on April 20, 1869. Since then, Hart Island's dead have included victims of yellow and typhoid fever; veterans who died in Veterans Administration hospitals (whose names were known, and who should have been buried in individual graves in a national cemetery); and the first child to die of AIDS in New York, who received the field's only private grave and the only personal gravestone, reading "SC B1 1985" [Special Child, Baby 1, and the year of death]; well-known writers and actors including Bobby Driscoll, who played Peter Pan in the 1953 Disney movie; and Lewis Haggins, who founded an advocacy group called Picture the Homeless. Haggins was buried as an unidentified body in 2004 even though he had received food stamps, spent time in prison, and lived in city shelters, which meant at least three government agencies held his fingerprints on file. His friends later had him disinterred and buried elsewhere.
  (Narratively/Luke Rafferty)
  "Sometimes people wind up in city cemetery when they shouldn't be there at all," says Amy Koplow, executive director of the Hebrew Free Burial Association, which works to arrange burials for indigent Jews and keep them out of the potter's field. "They're not indigent. They're not unknown. Sometimes they just slip through the system."
  One person who is buried on Hart Island who should not be is Laurie Grant's daughter. Grant was an obstetrician and gynecologist with a successful private practice in Westchester County. Her pregnancy in 1993 was hard. She felt nauseous for months, became dehydrated and malnourished, and required a feeding tube. At 33 weeks she was admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital. Tests on July 12, 1993 found the fetus had no heartbeat.
  (More from Narratively: How a woman from Queens became a man)
  Grant's stillborn baby was delivered by Caesarian section. Grant nearly died. The epidural numbed only one side of her body, leaving the other half in stabbing pain. A few days later, a nurse asked what she wanted to do with the body.
  "The city can arrange it," Grant remembers the nurse saying.
  "How?" Grant asked.
  The city could take care of the burial, the nurse said. Grant would be able to visit the grave, which would be marked with a number instead of a name. Grant was grieving, malnourished and delirious with pain. She was on so much medication she was barely conscious.
  "I don't remember signing any papers. I was really out of it," says Grant, who is now 59.
  As a doctor, Grant easily could have afforded private burial in the cemetery plot her family already owned in the Valhalla area of Westchester County, a few minutes' drive from her current home. Grant was too sick to think if it, however, and hospital staff did not ask her relatives about other burial options. So the baby's body was placed in a pine coffin and buried in a mass grave on Hart Island.
  (AP Photo/Claire Yaffa)
  Grant's experience was typical, says Melinda Hunt, an artist who has been fascinated with Hart Island since the early 1990s, and went on to publish a book and produce a film about it. In 2011 she founded the Hart Island Project, a charity that helps families around the world search for relatives who went missing in New York, and who may be buried in the potter's field. Many families were told by hospital nurses or social workers to "Let the city handle it," Hunt says, maybe to smooth the ordeal's jagged edges, and possibly to speed things along. Parents are commonly assured that the grave will be marked (which is sometimes true, but not always), and that parents will be allowed to visit the graves (which is almost never true)."It's not explained that this is a mass grave and you can't go visit it," Hunt says. "If families were made aware of that, I think most would opt for a private burial."
  (More from Narratively: Sexless in the city)
  Sometimes it's adults who get buried on Hart Island by mistake. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the police department's missing persons unit use personal records, prescription bottles and fingerprints to identify people who die in hospitals, nursing homes and on the street without identification. They do a good job. Of the nearly 1,200 people buried on Hart Island last year, only about fifteen were unidentified, says Dan Stevelman, deputy commissioner for operations at the medical examiner's office.
  But some advocates doubt whether officials are as diligent about tracking down next of kin as they are about identifying the deceased. Hunt regularly receives emails from family members who can easily afford an individual grave in a private cemetery, but who never received word that a loved one was dead. Leonard Melfi, an influential playwright in the 1960s, was buried on Hart Island by mistake when he died in 2001. His family had the body disinterred and re-buried in a private grave. Amy Koplow remembers a man who was buried on Hart Island despite his sizable pension from his career as a backstage technician at CBS television studios. The man had the misfortune of dying on Presidents' Day weekend; that meant city employees responsible for locating his family did not get to his case until the man was already buried on Hart Island.
  "His case got lost in the shuffle," Koplow says. "There's all kinds of rotten stuff that happens."
  Elaine Joseph's daughter Tomika was born premature at Beth Israel Hospital during the blizzard of 1978. The baby suffered Tetralogy of Fallot, a heart deformation. Joseph was sent home to Brooklyn, and her baby was transferred to Mt. Sinai Hospital for surgery. There, the baby died. With the subways closed and all transportation to Manhattan shut down, Joseph called the hospital morgue for four days, getting no response. When someone finally answered, Joseph was told that she had signed papers allowing Tomika to be buried in the potter's field.
  This was impossible, since the storm had prevented Joseph from ever getting to the hospital.
  "People say, 'Who cares about the potter's field? It's just a bunch of bums,'" says Joseph, 58, who went on to serve 23 years in the Navy and retire as a lieutenant commander. "Well, I'm no bum. My daughter was not a bum."
  Read the rest of this story at Narratively.
  Narrativelyis an online magazine devoted to original, in-depth and untold stories. Each week, Narratively explores a different theme and publishes just one story a day. It was one of TIME's 50 Best Websites of 2013.
Rs9332964(A;A) - SNPedia micropenis
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  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 01:07
  User:Lennon answers questions for NPR's On The Media
  From SNPedia
  Jump to: navigation, searchmicropenisIs agenotypeofrs9332964GeneSRD5A2Chromosome2Position31,754,395mentionedbyMagnitude4ReputeBadGenoMagSummary(A;A)4micropenis(A;G)2.5carrier for mutations linked to micropenis(G;G)0averageRetrieved from "http://www.snpedia.com/index.php?title=Rs9332964(A;A)&oldid=464283"Category:Is a genotype
rlister/org-present · GitHub
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 27 Nov 2013 01:00
  README.mdThis is meant to be an extremely minimalist presentation tool for Emacs org-mode. Simply layout your presentation with each slide under a top-level header, start the minor mode with 'org-present', and page through each slide with left/right keys.
  PhilosophyMost of the time I'm giving a talk, it is a work in progress and I want to be be able to edit as I go along. Also, to split my frame and work on code examples with my slides still visible.
  ConfigurationAdd something like this to your emacs config:
  (add-to-list'load-path"~/path/to/org-present")(autoload'org-present"org-present"nilt)(add-hook'org-present-mode-hook(lambda()(org-present-big)(org-display-inline-images)))(add-hook'org-present-mode-quit-hook(lambda()(org-present-small)(org-remove-inline-images)))Then start the minor mode with:
  M-x org-presentKeys are left/right for movement, C-c C-= for large txt, C-c C-- for small text, and C-c C-q for quit (which will return you back to vanilla org-mode).
  BeautificationThis works well with hide-mode-line, which hides the mode-line when only one frame and buffer are open.
  If you're on a Mac you might also want to look at the fullscreen patch.
  == Copyright
  Copyright (c) 2012 Richard Lister.
Holding Foreign Visitors to Their Promises | National Review Online
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 23:28
  Yesterday's heckler at Obama's pro-amnesty speech in San Francisco was Ju Hong, an approved guest of the White House and an illegal alien from South Korea who recently graduated from UC Berkeley. People who still say illegal aliens ''live in the shadows'' obviously don't know this guy: He's on Twitter and LinkedIn, was a member of student government, has lobbied for taxpayer subsidies for illegal-alien students, and has been the subject of so much fawning news coverage he has his own topic page at the Cal student paper.
  The salient fact here for immigration policy is that he came with his family on a tourist visa, and never left. Visa overstayers are believed to represent between a third and a half of the 12 million illegal aliens in the United States '-- and with improvements in border enforcement it's possible the majority of new illegal aliens are overstayers. That translates to 4 to 6 million liars, people who swore they'd leave when their visit was over but didn't, something at least as contemptible as sneaking into someone else's country. Hong came as a child, so he wasn't doing the lying, but he's no more entitled to stay than the child of someone who lied on a mortgage application and later lost his home.
  There are also more Korean illegal aliens than you might think. For instance, nearly 7,000 South Korean illegal aliens have been amnestied by Obama's unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (a.k.a. the administrative Dream Act) through the end of August, making it the No. 5 country after Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.
  The reason we have 4 to 6 million illegal-alien visa overstayers is that we have no effective way of tracking the departure of foreign visitors. This despite the fact that Congress has mandated the development of an exit-tracking system eight separate times, starting in 1996. As Homeland Security secretary, Janet Napolitano dismissed the importance of exit-tracking. At a 2009 hearing, she told Senator Dianne Feinstein the ''value of that system to security is dubious.'' While the Schumer-Rubio amnesty bill passed by the Senate in June made development of such a system a sort-of prerequisite before amnestied former illegal aliens upgrade to full green-card status, the ten-year deadline would mean that exit-tracking wouldn't be in place until more than a quarter-century after Congress's original mandate.
  Exacerbating this problem with regard to South Korea and other countries is the Visa Waiver Program. As the name suggests, people from the 37 countries on the list don't have to get visas for short tourist or business trips. Only those countries whose citizens are very unlikely to overstay are supposed to be included in the program. Unfortunately, the main force expanding the list of participating countries has been lobbying pressure from the travel industry and foreign governments. South Korea was added in 2008 and Greece '-- Greece '-- in 2010. This has been a significant driver of illegal immigration; the GAO reported earlier this year that, of a very large sample of apparent overstays, nearly half were people who entered under the Visa Waiver Program.
  With a proper exit-tracking system, and guaranteed follow-up arrests of all those who overstay more than a couple of weeks, we could afford to make our visa process more flexible. But as it is, we grant visas to people who shouldn't get them, waive visas for countries that send large number of illegal aliens, don't have any comprehensive way of knowing whether visitors have left when they were supposed to, and don't bother even to send a notification postcard to people we do know overstayed. It's no surprise, then, that there are millions of illegals like Ju Hong. But until we've fixed these problems, there can be no justification for amnesty; otherwise, we'll just have millions more Ju Hongs that the Democrats, and their GOP enablers, will insist have to be amnestied.
  UPDATE: Politicoreports that Hong was ''an approved guest of the White House,'' and the post has been updated to reflect that.
NSA may have penetrated internet cable links
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 22:45
  The recent revelation that the National Security Agency was able to eavesdrop on the communications of Google and Yahoo users without breaking into either companies' data centers sounded like something pulled from a Robert Ludlum spy thriller.
  How on earth, the companies asked, did the N.S.A. get their data without them knowing about it?
  The most likely answer is a modern spin on a century-old eavesdropping tradition.
  (Read more:A brief history of big data, the Noam Chomsky way)
  People knowledgeable about Google and Yahoo's infrastructure say they believe that government spies bypassed the big Internet companies and hit them at a weak spot '-- the fiber-optic cables that connect data centers around the world that are owned by companies like Verizon Communications, the BT Group, the Vodafone Group and Level 3 Communications. In particular, fingers have been pointed at Level 3, the world's largest so-called Internet backbone provider, whose cables are used by Google and Yahoo.
  The Internet companies' data centers are locked down with full-time security and state-of-the-art surveillance, including heat sensors and iris scanners. But between the data centers '-- on Level 3's fiber-optic cables that connected those massive computer farms '-- information was unencrypted and an easier target for government intercept efforts, according to three people with knowledge of Google's and Yahoo's systems who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
  It is impossible to say for certain how the N.S.A.managed to get Google and Yahoo's data without the companies' knowledge. But both companies, in response to concerns over those vulnerabilities, recently said they were now encrypting data that runs on the cables between their data centers. Microsoft is considering a similar move.
  "Everyone was so focused on the N.S.A. secretly getting access to the front door that there was an assumption they weren't going behind the companies' backs and tapping data through the back door, too," said Kevin Werbach, an associate professor at the Wharton School.
  (Read more:Hail Edward Snowden, Public Servant: Economist)
  Data transmission lines have a long history of being tapped.
  As far back as the days of the telegraph, spy agencies have located their operations in proximity to communications companies. Indeed, before the advent of the Internet, the N.S.A. and its predecessors for decades operated listening posts next to the long-distance lines of phone companies to monitor all international voice traffic.
  Beginning in the 1960s, a spy operation code-named Echelon targeted the Soviet Union and its allies' voice, fax and data traffic via satellite, microwave and fiber-optic cables.
  In the 1990s, the emergence of the Internet both complicated the task of the intelligence agencies and presented powerful new spying opportunities based on the ability to process vast amounts of computer data.
  In 2002, John M. Poindexter, former national security adviser under President Ronald Reagan, proposed the Total Information Awareness plan an effort to scan the world's electronic information '-- including phone calls, emails and financial and travel records.That effort was scrapped in 2003 after a public outcry over potential privacy violations.
  The technologies Mr. Poindexter proposed are similar to what became reality years later in N.S.A. surveillance programs like Prism and Bullrun.
  (Read more: Is a Snowden effect stalking US telecom sales?)
  The Internet effectively mingled domestic and international communications, erasing the bright line that had been erected to protect against domestic surveillance. Although the Internet is designed to be a highly decentralized system, in practice a small group of backbone providers carry almost all of the network's data.
  The consequences of the centralization and its value for surveillance was revealed in 2006 by Mark Klein, an AT&T technician who described an N.S.A. listening post inside a room at an AT&T switching facility.
  The agency was capturing a copy of all the data passing over the telecommunications links and then filtering it in AT&T facilities that housed systems that were able to filter data packets at high speed.
  Documents taken by Edward J. Snowden and reported by the Washington Post indicate that, seven years after Mr. Kleinfirst described the N.S.A.'s surveillance technologies, they have been refined and modernized.
VIDEO-BBC News - Undercover soldiers 'killed unarmed civilians in Belfast'
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  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 22:17
  21 November 2013Last updated at 05:50 ET Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
  Watch extracts from the BBC's Panorama programme
  Soldiers from an undercover unit used by the British army in Northern Ireland killed unarmed civilians, former members have told BBC One's Panorama.
  Speaking publicly for the first time, the ex-members of the Military Reaction Force (MRF), which was disbanded in 1973, said they had been tasked with "hunting down" IRA members in Belfast.
  The former soldiers said they believed the unit had saved many lives.
  The Ministry of Defence said it had referred the disclosures to police.
  The details have emerged a day after Northern Ireland's attorney general, John Larkin, suggested ending any prosecutions over Troubles-related killings that took place before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
  The proposal has been criticised by groups representing relatives of victims.
  Panorama has been told the MRF consisted of about 40 men handpicked from across the British army.
  Before it was disbanded 40 years ago, after 18 months, plain-clothes soldiers carried out round-the-clock patrols of west Belfast - the heartland of the IRA - in unmarked cars.
  Three former members of the unit, who agreed to be interviewed on condition their identities were disguised, said they had posed as Belfast City Council road sweepers, dustmen and even "meths drinkers", carrying out surveillance from street gutters.
  But surveillance was just one part of their work.
  One of the soldiers said they had also fired on suspected IRA members.
  He described their mission as "to draw out the IRA and to minimise their activities... if they needed shooting, they'd be shot".
  Continue reading the main storyAnalysisJohn WareReporter, BBC Panorama
  For 15 years, Northern Ireland has been divided about how to deal with the legacy of three decades of conflict.
  The compromise has been the establishment of the Historical Enquiries Team, a group of former detectives, who are reviewing all deaths in Northern Ireland during the conflict, primarily to answer questions from their relatives.
  But now the Northern Ireland attorney general has reignited the vexed issue of whether truth recovery through a virtual amnesty is preferable to prosecution.
  John Larkin has called for an end to all prosecutions and inquiries in relation to Troubles-related killings.
  The disclosures by Panorama are bound to add to this debate.
  The closest former MRF soldiers have previously come to breaking cover is as the pseudonymous authors of two semi-fictionalised paperbacks, one of whom has referred to the MRF as a "legalised death squad".
  The factual account of the MRF may not be quite as colourful. Nonetheless, the evidence gleaned from seven former members, declassified files and witnesses, does point to a central truth - that MRF tactics did sometimes mirror the IRA's.
  'Targets taken down'Another former member of the unit said: "We never wore uniform - very few people knew what rank anyone was anyway.
  "We were hunting down hardcore baby-killers, terrorists, people that would kill you without even thinking about it."
  A third former MRF soldier said: "If you had a player who was a well-known shooter who carried out quite a lot of assassinations... then he had to be taken out.
  "[They were] killers themselves, and they had no mercy for anybody."
  In 1972 there were more than 10,600 shootings in Northern Ireland. It is not possible to say how many the unit was involved in.
  The MRF's operational records have been destroyed and its former members refused to incriminate themselves or their comrades in specific incidents when interviewed by Panorama.
  But they admitted shooting and killing unarmed civilians.
  When asked if on occasion the MRF would make an assumption that someone had a weapon, even if they could not see one, one of the former soldiers replied "occasionally".
  "We didn't go around town blasting, shooting all over the place like you see on the TV, we were going down there and finding, looking for our targets, finding them and taking them down," he said.
  "We may not have seen a weapon, but there more than likely would have been weapons there in a vigilante patrol."
  Panorama has identified 10 unarmed civilians shot, according to witnesses, by the MRF:
  Brothers John and Gerry Conway, on the way to their fruit stall in Belfast city centre on 15 April 1972 Aiden McAloon and Eugene Devlin, in a taxi taking them home from a disco on 12 May 1972 Joe Smith, Hugh Kenny, Patrick Murray and Tommy Shaw, on Glen Road on 22 June 1972 Daniel Rooney and Brendan Brennan, on the Falls Road on 27 September 1972 Patricia McVeigh told the BBC she believed her father, Patrick McVeigh, had been shot in the back and killed by plain clothes soldiers on 12 May 1972 and said she wanted justice for him.
  "He was an innocent man, he had every right to be on the street walking home. He didn't deserve to die like this," she said.
  Her solicitor Padraig O'Muirigh said he was considering civil action against the Ministry of Defence in light of Panorama's revelations.
  The MoD refused to say whether soldiers involved in specific shootings had been members of the MRF.
  Continue reading the main storyTroubles in Northern IrelandThe conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century is known as the Troubles.
  More than 3,600 people were killed and thousands more injured.
  During a period of 30 years, many acts of violence were carried out by paramilitaries and the security forces.
  'Pretty gruesome'It said it had referred allegations that MRF soldiers shot unarmed men to police in Northern Ireland.
  But the members of the MRF who Panorama interviewed said their actions had ultimately helped bring about the IRA's decision to lay down arms.
  Gen Sir Mike Jackson, the former head of the British army, and a young paratrooper captain in 1972, said he had known little of the unit's activities at the time, but admired the bravery of soldiers involved in undercover work.
  He said: "That takes a lot of courage and it's a cold courage. It's not the courage of hot blood [used by] soldiers in a firefight.
  "You know if you are discovered, a pretty gruesome fate may well await you - torture followed by murder."
  Col Richard Kemp, who carried out 10 tours of Northern Ireland between 1979 and 2001, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme charges could be brought if there was new evidence unarmed civilians had been killed.
  But he added: "Soldiers often speak with bravado and I wonder how many of those soldiers are saying that they themselves shot and killed unarmed civilians."
  Panorama has learnt a Ministry of Defence review concluded the MRF had "no provision for detailed command and control".
  Forty years later and families and victims are still looking for answers as to who carried out shootings.
  Former detectives are reviewing all of the deaths in Northern Ireland during the conflict as part of the Historical Enquiries Team set up following the peace process.
  Around 11% of the 3,260 deaths being reviewed were the responsibility of the state.
  Panorama: Britain's Secret Terror Force, BBC One, Thursday 21 November at 21:00 GMT and then available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.
Leaked European Commission PR strategy: "Communicating on TTIP" | Corporate Europe Observatory
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  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 21:49
  CEO has today published a leaked version of the European Commission's communication strategy for overcoming public skepticism about the controversial EU-US trade negotiations, the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The document was discussed at a meeting with EU member states on Friday 22 November. In order to "reduce fears and avoid a mushrooming of doubts", the Commission proposes to "further localise our communication effort at Member State level in a radically different way to what has been done for past trade initiatives".
  7 November 2013
  Issues paper Communicating on TTIP '' Areas for cooperation between the Commission services and Member States
  On 22 November 2013 in Brussels, the Commission is organising an informal meeting with Member States representatives to discuss issues related to communication on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The meeting is intended to explore possibilities for greater cooperation and coordination of respective communication activities around TTIP. The present paper provides additional background for this discussion. It highlights a number of key issues to be discussed at the meeting.
  I. ContextStrong political communication will be essential to the success of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), both in terms of achieving EU negotiating objectives and of making sure that the agreement is eventually ratified. So far, the negotiations have experienced an unprecedented level of public and media interest. No other negotiation has been subject to a similar level of public scrutiny. Communicating on TTIP and engaging with stakeholders is therefore crucial when taking the negotiations forward.
  There are three main communication challenges:
  Making sure that the broad public in each of the EU Member States has a general understanding of what TTIP is (i.e. an initiative that aims at delivering growth and jobs) and what it is not (i.e. an effort to undermine regulation and existing levels of protection in areas like health, safety and the environment).Managing relations with third countries, as the agreement will affect also our other trading partners, in particular the multilateral level, our neighbourhood and major partners like China.Supporting our negotiating objectives vis- -vis the US negotiators, in particular in areas not falling under the direct responsibility of USTR. This may be the case with federal regulatory agencies and state-level authorities where there will be a need for the EU to help persuade these decision makers to also engage.In order to be successful in these areas, the Commission services and the Member States will need to work closely together and to collectively manage and coordinate our communication and outreach strategies.
  The Commission, on its side, has put in place a dedicated TTIP communications operation, an approach that has already delivered results. However, the negotiations are just beginning and considerable challenges lie ahead. The communications effort is led by a Head of Communications in DG Trade with support of other Commission services, namely DG Communications and the Spokespersons Service. It is coordinated across the Commission, with Commission representatives in Member States and, through the EEAS, with EU Delegations.
  II. The current approachThe overall approach is holistic, uniting media relations, outreach and management of stakeholders, social media and transparency. The approach will need to further localise our communication effort at Member State level in a radically different way to what has been done for past trade initiatives, in addition to deploying efforts in Brussels, in the US and around the world, providing clear, factual and convincing arguments on all aspects of the negotiations.
  The aim is to define, at this early stage in the negotiations, the terms of the debate by communicating positively about what the TTIP is about (i.e. economic gains and global leadership on trade issues), rather than being drawn reactively into defensive communication about what TTIP is not about (e.g. not about negotiating data privacy, not about lowering EU regulatory standards etc.). For the approach to be successful it needs to be both proactive and quickly reactive, involving monitoring of public debate, producing targeted communications material and deploying that material through all channels including online and social media.
  So far, this has allowed us to:
  produce and disseminate communication materials on the narrative of the negotiations as a whole, as well as more focused material on specific issues: e.g the strategic, third country impact, the regulatory cooperation/convergence element, a detailed defence of the economic analysis behind the TTIP and a detailed rebuttal document on why the agreement is not ACTA.make clear that transparency will be a key part of the EU approach to the negotiations by publishing the EU's initial position papers on key aspects of the negotiations, holding early stakeholder engagement meetings, committing to closer than usual consultation with the European Parliament, communicating directly with members of the public through a dedicated TTIP Twitter account with a considerable message-multiplying effect.keep a handle on the mainstream media narrative on the negotiations, where there is broad support for the logic and intended substance of the agreement.achieve traction in national media, at least in some Member States,reach out to influential third parties to secure their public support for the negotiations.With the substance of the TTIP negotiations still to come, and an intensive ratification debate to follow, there is much more work to be done but the systems and approach we have now put in place provide a firm basis for future action. This needs support from and coordination with the Member States.
  III. Key issues to watch1. Anxiety around the potential impact on the European social model and approach to regulation: We need proactive, early and widespread communication on the reality of what is under discussion in sensitive areas and on the EU's strong record in international negotiations. While still respecting the confidentiality required for the negotiations to succeed, the process also needs to be transparent enough to reduce fears and avoid a mushrooming of doubts before the deal is even concluded. This messaging needs to be accompanied by clear communication about the benefits of the TTIP.
  2. Challenges arising from the institutional characteristics of the EU: The huge interest in the process means that there will be many moments of intense public pressure around the negotiations. At such moments, and indeed throughout the process, it is vital that the EU speaks as much as possible with one voice. The election campaign for the European Parliament will be an important factor in this context. It seems clear that given the salience of the negotiation political groups in several Member States will position themselves around different aspects of the negotiations.
  3. The strategic dimension of TTIP (impact on third countries and multilateral): We need to provide a clear, reasonable definition of the real strategic potential of TTIP. This is obviously more than just another FTA, if only because its scale. It's bigger, broader and potentially deeper. As a result it will allow the EU and the US to show leadership on world trade, setting global precedents (e.g. in regulatory areas) that can help form the basis for future global trade negotiations in new areas. Single transatlantic rules, where possible, also offer benefits to third countries, whose exporters will find compliance less burdensome.
  4. Making clear that this is a negotiation between equals: Many of the fears about what TTIP may represent are linked to a perception that the EU is not in a sufficiently strong position to engage with the United States. Some of this also stems from the fact that the EU is currently in a weaker economic position than the US and that therefore we need TTIP more than they do. We need to make clear that this is not the case, that despite the crisis the EU remains the world's largest market and is as such an indispensable partner for any trading economy (i.e. both sides have major economic interests in these negotiations). We must also make clear that we have as strong a track record as the US in trade and other negotiations, including with the US itself.
  5. Transparency & stakeholder communication: Given the breadth of the issues under discussion, which cover much broader elements of policy-making than traditional trade agreements, expectations of transparency from stakeholders are higher than in previous trade negotiations. The complexity of the potential deal also means that negotiators have a greater need for stakeholder input during the process to make sure that proposed solutions to difficult issues are effective. At the same time negotiations demand a degree of confidentiality if they are to succeed.
  IV. Possible questionsWhat are the key communication challenges for TTIP in respective Member States?
  What activities are currently undertaken at Member State level to communicate about TTIP?
  Who are the main stakeholders to be addressed? Do we have adequate tools?
  In which areas could Commission services and Member States work closer together?"
Antelope's Center High School trains students to handle emergency calls - Education - The Sacramento Bee
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 21:36
  ''Ring, ring.''
  Taylor Andreasen took the call. Someone had found a decomposing body. She flipped through her police protocol cards asking question after question.
  Tiara Graves took a call about 15 ''middle-age'' loiterers in red vests. Emily Utterback took a call from a man hiding from burglars in a closet.
  They are part of the Center High School Dispatch Program, a unique two-year track that turns students into certified emergency dispatchers by the time they graduate high school. It is perhaps the most comprehensive such program available at any high school or community college, said Shawn Messinger, a police consultant at Priority Dispatch Corp.
  ''These kids are getting access to a level of training that professional 911 centers have been using for almost 34 years,'' he said.
  The Center High School students hunched over their computers Thursday under a banner that declared, ''What we learn today will save lives.'' Each student diligently typed in the information given by each caller.
  Students train specifically for fast-paced, higher-stress 911 dispatching, said teacher Holland Myers, 58. But the program also prepares students for jobs at lower-stress call centers like those used for retail sales, the electric or gas company, or automobile services like AAA.
  Messinger, whose company offers products and training to dispatch centers, arranged for the donation of curriculum, manuals and flip-card sets to the class through the nonprofit International Academies of Emergency Dispatch. He said students in the Center High program are less likely to ''drop out or wash out'' when they take a job as a dispatcher.
  The program is an anomaly in an era of reductions that have severely impacted high school vocational education programs across the state. Center High School has shuttered its auto shop, culinary arts program and all but one class of wood shop, according to Myers. The lack of vocational education is particularly dire at a school where Myers said only about 20 percent of students go on to graduate from college.
  ''If they want to go to college, they have to have something to make money, and it's not McDonald's,'' he said.
  Dispatchers can earn $38,000 to $47,000 a year before overtime, as well as retirement, health benefits and paid vacation, Myers said. He said the amount often approaches $62,000 because of overtime.
  ''For someone out of high school, that's remarkable money,'' he said.
  Word of the program is spreading, resulting in the transfer of 10 new students to the Antelope school since last school year '' a feat usually reserved for schools with Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate college-prep tracks. The Center High School dispatcher program currently has 60 juniors and seniors in two classes.
  Students graduating from the Center High School program can receive certification in CPR, use of an automated external defibrillator and emergency technician work. They also can receive emergency, police, fire and medical certifications and are prepared to take the general aptitude test necessary to obtain jobs at dispatch centers. Applicants usually are also required to take psychological and drug tests and go through a background check.
  Utterback is excited about the prospect of earning the certifications, which she says will give her an upper hand when competing for jobs. Although the senior ultimately wants to be a probation officer, Utterback said she needs a part-time dispatching job to help pay her way through college.
  Myers decided to start the program three years ago after listening to his wife, Janice Parker, complain about how difficult it was to train and keep new dispatchers at the Sacramento Regional Fire communications center, where she works in human resources.
  The Center High School Dispatch Program graduated its first 40 students in June. Since then, one student has taken a job as a dispatcher. Others received offers from Bay Area call centers but declined them, Myers said.
  Recruiters from the San Mateo County Office of Public Safety and Communications have asked to come to the school in April to recruit students. ''They were salivating when they heard about somebody with a program,'' Myers said.
  Senior Lorena Valenzuela wants to sign on with San Mateo County after she graduates. Valenzuela says she will attend college to become a veterinarian while working as a dispatcher. ''It will help a lot, having this job,'' she said. ''It's better than $8 an hour.''
  Other students want to go into careers in criminal justice or law enforcement and don't have any way to pay for the training. A large number of students were recommended to the program by counselors because they lacked direction, Myers said. ''The biggest group are students with no purpose or goal before now, because they never had a feeling that they could do anything important,'' he said.
  Now students in the class talk about saving lives and helping others. ''You get adrenaline when you take a call,'' Utterback said. ''It's a rush when you help.''
  Call The Bee's Diana Lambert, (916) 321-1090. Follow her on Twitter @dianalambert.
  ' Read more articles by Diana Lambert
23andMe, GoldieBlox, and Silicon Valley Arrogance | News & Opinion | PCMag.com
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  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 21:17
  This week, DNA-testing firm 23AndMe and toymakers GoldieBlox showed off the worst in Silicon Valley arrogance, the idea that because you're "disruptive" you don't have to play by anyone else's rules or consider anyone else's feelings.
  The 23AndMe and GoldieBlox controversies just promote the view of Silicon Valley as Ayn Randville, a heartless, cutthroat culture of entitled, self-absorbed people for whom "disruption" is the highest goal. While this sort of attitude clearly spurs innovation, it's time to put the brakes on and show some heart.
  GoldieBlox: Engineers Without HeartsA maker of tech toys for girls, GoldieBlox clearly thought it had a smart idea when they turned the Beastie Boys' already-sarcastic song "Girls" into a cheery but humorless girl-power tune. They also didn't think they had to ask permission.
  The company's "parody" is much less witty than it appears. One of rap's more politically and socially conscious groups, the Beastie Boys have always been pretty pro-woman. The original lyrics to "Girls" feature a girl with her own mind and sexual agency, who turns down one of the Boys in favor of another. Does he call her names, threaten violence, posture, or rage? Does he act entitled? Nope. He just expresses his "dismay" and laughs it off, with no disrespect.
  Who are these boys' types of girls? Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and Kate Schellenbach of Luscious Jackson - not exactly the kinds of women who will put up with being stuck with household chores. Yes, Rick Rubin made them ditch Schellenbach, but after a few years, they ditched Rubin in turn, and recorded an apology to anyone who might have thought them disrespectful towards women on "Sure Shot."
  I could probably go on about the Beastie Boys for another several pages, but I won't.
  Okay. Back to GoldieBlox. The Beastie Boys have long had a policy of not allowing their music to be used in product advertisements, a policy written into now-deceased member Adam Yauch's will. This isn't about money, it's about principle. According to a statement from the band, when the Beasties sent GoldieBlox a letter saying, "hey, what's up?" GoldieBlox sued them with a speed that clearly showed GoldieBlox was raring for a fight. In a follow-up letter, the Beasties made it clear that they approve of GoldieBlox's social mission, and politely asked them to stop using the song.
  Who's in the legal right here? You shouldn't care. The point is, the Beasties asked politely to respect their dead member's wishes, and GoldieBlox said, basically, screw you. GoldieBlox isn't just raising engineers. They're raising selfish, cutthroat engineers who succeed by ignoring other people's feelings.
  23AndMe: Technology Above the LawAt least Anne Wojcicki's 23AndMe isn't disrespecting a dead artist and philanthropist. It's just ignoring the government.
  23AndMe lives at the junction of technology, medicine, and consumerism, which is a tough place to hang out. Because medical decisions can be life-or-death, the FDA tends to try to keep a handle on the efficacy of products that make health claims.
  Testing your DNA for your ancestry is one thing, but testing for tendency towards cancers is another. As Angelina Jolie recently showed, some genes are so dangerous that they can lead people to get preventative mastectomies. With that on the table, the FDA just wanted some scientific proof that 23AndMe's tests work - and the agency gave the company years to figure it out.
  But 23AndMe, apparently, just hasn't bothered. Petty government regulators just get in the way of disruption, right? Shouldn't the free market be able to determine the difference between real medicine and snake oil? I really hope that's not a world you want to live in - or if it is, you're the one who ends up consuming the snake oil.
  23AndMe is acting humble enough right now, saying that the company is "committed to fully engaging with [the FDA.]" Well, of course; the FDA has the power to shut them down. This couldn't have occurred to them in the past five years?
  The bold innovators of Silicon Valley clearly aim to innovate and drag the rest of society behind them into a glorious future, making money along the way. But an attitude that entitled is obviously going to raise some hackles. Technologists need to remember that they aren't above society - they're part of it.
Hollywood film producer confirms he was Israeli spy - Telegraph
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  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 20:54
  According to an unauthorised biography published two years ago, Mr Milchan worked for Israel's now-defunct Bureau of Scientific Relations, known as Lekem, which worked to obtain information for secret defense programs. The bureau was disbanded in 1987 after it was implicated in the spying affair for which Jonathan Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the US Navy, was sentenced to life in prison.
  Mr Milchan also says other big Hollywood names were connected to his covert affairs.
  "When I came to Hollywood I detached myself completely from my physical activities to dedicate myself to what I really wanted - filmmaking," he said. "(But) sometimes it gets mixed up."
  The 68-year-old founded the New Regency film company and has produced more than 120 movies since the 1970s, working closely with directors such as Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, Sergio Leone and Oliver Stone. He forged an especially close relationship with Robert De Niro, who along with actors Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck, is featured in Uvda's broadcast.
  "I had heard but I wasn't sure," De Niro said, of Mr Milchan's activities. "I did ask him once and he told me that he was an Israeli and of course he would do these things for his country."
  Edited by Bonnie Malkin
U.S. challenges China air defense zone over disputed island
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 20:52
  UPI11/26/2013 5:19:31 PM
  WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) --Two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers flew over a disputed island in the East China Sea, challenging China's expanded defense zone, The Wall Street Journal reported.The bombers were not accompanied by jet fighters.
  China said during the weekend it was expanding its Air Defense Identification Zone. The Journal said U.S. Defense Department officials earlier said the United States would challenge the zone and not comply with China's requirements to file a flight plan, transponder information or radio frequency.
  A U.S. official said the planes flew out of Guam and penetrated the air defense zone at 7 p.m. EST, and the flight was part of a planned military exercise called Coral Lightning.
  The island is part of a group that is a growing source of friction between China and Japan. The Chinese claim the islands, which they call the Diaoyu Islands. Japan claims the same group, calling them the Senkaku Islands.
Improve health, fitness, wellness through blood tests, doctors, nutrition - WellnessFX
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  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 06:51
  How It Works
  Get a Simple Blood TestGaining access to deep insights into your health has never been easier. With WellnessFX, you'll receive advanced biomarker data within a week of your blood test, uploaded into your secure, personalized dashboard. Simply sign up, print your lab order, and find a lab location near you!
  Most tests require you to fast for 12 hours, so we recommend scheduling your blood test for the morningBlood draws typically only take about 10 minutesLab results are automatically uploaded to your account in 3-10 daysAdd Your Own Lab RecordsCreate a free account to upload previous lab results into your WellnessFX dashboard. Visualize your past results, see how your health has changed, and learn how you can improve your numbers through diet and exercise.
  Add a personalized phone consultation with a licensed practitioner to better understand how to improve your resultsUnderstand Your Health Like Never BeforeVisualized DataYour WellnessFX dashboard offers a streamlined visualization of your blood test results over time, plus detailed descriptions of each biomarker for an easy interpretation of your overall health.
  View Trends Over TimeYour blood regenerates every 120 days, so it's easy to see the differences that diet, supplement, and lifestyle changes can make on your health. Check in on your biomarkers over time and make strong correlations between what you're doing to stay healthy and how it's affecting your numbers.
  Access Your Data From AnywhereWellnessFX offers personalized consultations with licensed health practitioners for even more insight into your health. Talk to a nutritionist, registered dietitian or physician to get recommendations based on your unique biomarkers. From women's health to endurance training to weight loss, our practitioners will help you identify potential health risks or areas of improvement. Access your unique dietary, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations anytime, anywhere through your WellnessFX dashboard.
  Add a Personalized ConsultationWellnessFX offers one-on-one telehealth consultations with licensed health practitioners for even more insight into your health. Talk to a nutritionist, registered dietitian or physician and get recommendations based on your unique biomarkers. From women's health to endurance training to weight loss, our practitioners will help you identify potential health risks or areas of improvement.
  Learn more about Consultations
  Make Adjustments and Watch Your Health ImproveKnowledge is powerful medicine. And you don't have to wait until you feel sick to take charge of your health. Once you know your numbers, it's easier to see what you're doing right so you can focus on areas of improvement. The WellnessFX dashboard lets you see your progress over time, giving you the insight you need to make big changes in the right direction.
Startup Will Soon Offer Kit for Telomere Testing at Home | phase2minds
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  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 06:49
  Posted by David Korsunsky on May 25, 2013 in Health | 2 commentsIn this post I'll cover an exciting new company I discovered at the recent Quantified Self Silicon Valley Meetup Group. The company is called ''Telome Health'' and they are close to launching a service that will offer high quality testing for individuals who want to measure their telomere length. This is an extremely exciting service because telomere length is considered to be the most accurate predictor of an individual's disease risk and life expectancy. According to the Telome Health website:
  ''Telomere length is one of the best biomarkers of overall health status. It is a major ''integrator'' of current and lifelong factors that impact health, including genetics, diet, fitness, toxins, and chronic stress. Knowing your telomere length (and monitoring changes over time) can provide valuable information on your disease risk '' or even the rate at which you are aging. With this information, you have the knowledge to change the quality of your life and health status at a cellular level.''
  Telomeres are the protective caps at the end of our DNA and they protect cells from the diseases of aging, much like the plastic tips at the end of a shoelace protect the lace from fraying. As we age, our telomeres gradually shorten and eventually reach a point where they are no longer able to protect the cell. While this is a natural part of the aging process, there are many ways that our telomeres may shrink prematurely, thereby putting us at increased risk for disease and posing a threat to our longevity. With the testing from Telome Health, an individual will theoretically be able to easily measure their telomere length using a saliva test at home, which can be sent in for analysis. With regular testing a person will be able to assess whether their lifestyle choices are having a positive or negative impact on their telomere length and make adjustments as appropriate. This information could become even more powerful when combined with biomarker data from companies like WellnessFX and genetic data from companies like 23andme.
  Not surprisingly, one of the most common sources of premature telomere damage is emotional stress. This can take the form of a serious, traumatic event or in the form of prolonged, low grade stress over many years that is left unchecked. However we do have some control over telomere length and we can reverse the effects of stress and other lifestyle choices. One highly effective method is through mindfulness meditation, and one of the most comprehensive studies on the effects of mindfulness meditation on the brain to date, including effects on telomere length, has been the Shamatha Project out of UC Davis. In this study, sixty participants were randomly assigned to participate in a three-month silent meditation retreat or to a control group. Blood samples obtained at the end of the retreat revealed that telomerase activity was significantly greater in retreat participants (vs. controls) and that telomerase activity was related to meditation-induced changes in well-being.
  One of the company founders is Elizabeth Blackburn from UCSF, who is credited with discovering the molecular features and mechanisms of telomerase maintenance and the enzyme telomerase and was listed by Time Magazine as one the ''100 Most Influential People in the World'' in 2007. Blackburn and her colleagues also received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for ''the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.''
  Telome Health plans to offer a saliva kit that can be ordered and used at home to collect samples, much like the 23andme DNA test. This should be an exciting tool to add to our repertoire of services that we can employ for our own health management.
  Additional resources:
San Ysidro McDonald's massacre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 04:45
  Coordinates: 32°33'²22'"N117°03'²15'"W>> / >>32.556119°N 117.054189°W>> / 32.556119; -117.054189
  The San Ysidro McDonald's massacre was a mass murder that occurred on July 18, 1984 in San Ysidro, California. James Oliver Huberty entered a McDonald's restaurant, fatally shot 21 people, including five children, and injured 19 others, before he was eventually shot dead by a police sniper. It was the deadliest shooting rampage in the United States until the 1991 Luby's massacre. It remains, however, the deadliest shooting rampage in the United States for a mass shooting in which the perpetrator didn't commit suicide.
  Killings[edit]Fatalities
  Elsa Herlinda Borboa-Firro, 19Neva Denise Caine, 22Michelle Deanne Carncross, 18Mar­a Elena Colmenero-Silva, 19David Flores Delgado, 11Gloria L"pez Gonzlez, 23Omar Alonso Hernndez, 11Blythe Regan Herrera, 31Matao Herrera, 11Paulina Aquino L"pez, 21Margarita Padilla, 18Claudia P(C)rez, 9Jose Rub(C)n Lozano P(C)rez, 19Carlos Reyes, 8 monthsJackie Lynn Wright Reyes, 18Victor Maxmillian Rivera, 25Arisdelsi Vuelvas Vargas, 31Hugo Luis Velazquez Vasquez, 45Laurence Herman Versluis, 62Aida Velazquez Victoria, 69Miguel Victoria Ulloa, 74On July 17, 1984, the day before the massacre, James Oliver Huberty had called a mental health center. The receptionist misspelled his name on intake as Shouberty. Since he had not claimed there was an immediate emergency, his call was not returned. He and his family went to the San Diego Zoo on the morning of July 18. They ate at a McDonald's restaurant in the Clairemont neighborhood in north-central San Diego a few hours before the massacre, then returned home. When Huberty left home that afternoon, his wife Etna asked him where he was going. Huberty responded that he was "hunting humans".[1] Earlier that day he had commented to her, "Society had its chance."[2][3] When questioned by police, she gave no explanation as to why she failed to report this bizarre behavior. A witness who spotted him as he left his apartment and proceeded down San Ysidro Boulevard with two firearms phoned the police, but the dispatcher gave the responding officers the wrong address.
  At 3:59 p.m. on July 18, Huberty entered the McDonald's in San Ysidro, a neighborhood in southern San Diego, California. He carried with him a 9 mm Uzisemi-automatic (the primary weapon fired in the massacre), a Winchester pump-action 12-gauge shotgun, and a 9 mm Browning HP pistol. The massacre lasted for 77 minutes, during which time Huberty shot to death 21 people and wounded 19 others. The victims were predominantly Mexican and Mexican-American and ranged in age from 8 months to 74 years, with the average age being 26 years old. Huberty fired 257 rounds of ammunition before he was fatally shot by a SWAT team sniper, Chuck Foster, perched on the roof of the post office adjacent to the restaurant.[4][5]
  Although Huberty stated during the massacre that he had killed thousands in Vietnam, he had never actually served in any military branch. Eyewitnesses stated that he had previously been seen at the Big Bear supermarket and later at the U.S. Post Office. It was believed that he found the McDonald's to be a better target.
  Aftermath[edit]Due to the number of victims, local funeral homes had to use the San Ysidro Civic Center to hold all the wakes. The local parish, Mount Carmel Church, resorted to holding back-to-back funeral masses to accommodate all the dead.
  After razing the building at the site of the massacre, McDonald's built another restaurant nearby[5] and gave the former property to the city, which established the Education Center on the site as part of Southwestern Community College. This location was built in 1988 as an expansion of its off-campus locations. In front of the school is a memorial to the massacre victims, designed by Roberto Valdes, consisting of 21 hexagonal white marble pillars ranging in height from one to six feet and each bearing the name of one of the victims.[6] Valdes, a former student at Southwestern, said of the sculpture "The 21 hexagons represent each person that died, and they are different heights, representing the variety of ages and races of the people involved in the massacre. They are bonded together in the hopes that the community, in a tragedy like this, will stick together, like they did."[6] Every anniversary, the monument is decorated with flowers and on the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead, candles and offerings are brought on behalf of the victims.[7] The location of the monument and the former McDonald's is at 460 West San Ysidro Boulevard.[5]
  In response to the incident, the city of San Diego increased training for special units, and purchased more powerful firearms to counteract future situations.[4] The San Ysidro incident also led police departments across the United States to provide their officers with higher power firearms and training for stopping violent criminals and keeping all those around them safe.[4]
  The families of the deceased victims along with the surviving victims together tried (unsuccessfully) to sue the McDonald's Corporation and the local franchisee. The cases were in San Diego Superior Court and were consolidated. The court ultimately dismissed before trial on defendants' motion for summary judgment, but the plaintiffs appealed. On July 25, 1987, the California Court of Appeal (Fourth District, Division One) affirmed summary judgment for the defendants because (1) McDonald's or any other business has no duty of care to protect patrons from an unforeseeable assault by a murderous madman; and (2) plaintiffs could not prove causation because the standard reasonable measures normally used by restaurants to deter criminals, like guards and closed-circuit television cameras, could not possibly have deterred the perpetrator because he did not care about his own survival.[8]
  In 1986, Etna Huberty, the widow of James Huberty, unsuccessfully attempted to sue McDonald's and Babcock and Wilcox, his longtime former employer, in an Ohio state court for $5 million. She claimed that the massacre was triggered by the combined mixture of eating too many of their chicken nuggets and working around highly poisonous metals. She alleged that monosodium glutamate in the food, combined with the high levels of lead and cadmium in his body, induced delusions and uncontrollable rage. An autopsy did reveal high levels of the metals,[2] most likely built up from fumes inhaled during 14 years of welding. Autopsy results also revealed there were no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of the killings. Etna Huberty died in 2003.[1]
  James Huberty[edit]James HubertyPerpetrator James O. Huberty
  Born(1942-10-11)October 11, 1942Canton, Ohio, U.S.DiedJuly 18, 1984(1984-07-18) (aged 41)San Diego, California, U.S.Cause of deathFatally shot by Chuck Foster, a San Diego Police DepartmentSWAT team sniperOccupationFormer welder and security guardSpouse(s)Etna HubertyKillingsDateJuly 18, 19844:00 pm '' 5:17pm (PST)Location(s)San Ysidro, San DiegoKilled21Injured19Weapon(s)Uzi carbine, Browning HP, 12-gauge Winchester 1200James Oliver Huberty was born in Canton, Ohio on October 11, 1942. When he was three he contracted polio,[9] and even though he made a progressive recovery, the disease caused him to suffer permanent walking difficulties. In the early 1950s, his father bought a farm in the Pennsylvania Amish Country. His mother refused to live in the Amish country, and soon abandoned her family to do sidewalk preaching for a Southern Baptist organization.
  In 1962, Huberty enrolled at a Jesuitcommunity college and earned a degree in sociology. He would later receive a license for embalming at the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[10] In 1965, he married Etna, a woman he met while attending mortuary school. They had two daughters, Zelia and Cassandra. The Huberty family settled in Massillon, Ohio near Canton, where James worked as an undertaker at the Don Williams Funeral Home. They were forced to relocate to Canton in 1971 after their house in Massillon was set ablaze.
  Huberty found work as a welder for Union Metal Inc. while living in Canton. He and Etna had a history of domestic violence, with Etna filing a report with the Canton Department of Children and Family Services that her husband had "messed up" her jaw. She would produce tarot cards and pretend to read his future to pacify him and his bouts of violence, thus producing a temporary calming effect. Etna instructed her daughter Zelia to physically assault one of her classmates at a neighbor's daughter's birthday party.[citation needed] In a related altercation with the child's mother, Etna threatened the woman with a 9 mm pistol; the Canton police arrested her but failed to confiscate the weapon. Huberty shot his dog, a German Shepherd, in the head when a neighbor complained about the dog damaging his car.[citation needed]
  Huberty, a survivalist,[11] saw signs of what he thought was growing trouble in America, and believed that government regulations were the cause of business failures, including his own. He believed that international bankers were purposefully manipulating the Federal Reserve System and bankrupting the nation. Convinced that Soviet aggression was everywhere, he believed that the breakdown of society was near, perhaps through economic collapse or nuclear war. He committed himself to prepare to survive this coming collapse and, while in Canton, provisioned his house with thousands of dollars of non-perishable food and six guns that he intended to use to defend his home during what he believed was the coming chaos. When he moved from Ohio he left the food behind but brought the guns with him.[12]
  Huberty had an uncontrollable twitch in his right arm as a result of a motorcycle accident, a condition that made it impossible to continue as a welder. He was the builder-owner of a six-unit apartment complex in Canton which he had to sell before he could relocate from Canton. A real estate brokerage made a generous offer on the property and came to some sort of agreement with Huberty. Then, much to Huberty's dismay, the real estate company reneged on its part of the deal or at least Huberty thought so. This triggered a series of legal wranglings including lawsuits and disciplinary filings against the brokerage as a response to his having to settle for a lower sales price of $115,000.00 for the building that he had thought he had sold for $144,000.00.
  The Huberty family left Canton in January 1984 and briefly stayed in Tijuana, Mexico. They then returned to the United States and settled in San Diego's San Ysidro neighborhood. Huberty was able to find work as a security guard. He was dismissed from this position two weeks before the shooting. His apartment was three blocks away from the site of the massacre. After the massacre, his wife cited the failed Ohio real estate deal as a principal motivating factor for his behavior as she claimed he still sulked over the episode.
  See also[edit]References[edit]^ abGresko, Jessica (July 18, 2004), "20 Years later, San Ysidro McDonald's massacre remembered", North County Times (Escondido, CA), Associated Press, archived from the original on August 31, 2009 ^ ab"The Chemistry of Violence", Popular Mechanics, March 1998, archived from the original on March 6, 2008 ^http://books.google.com/books?id=7fItEy725CMC&pg=PT13&lpg=PT13&dq=Society+had+its+chance.+I%27m+going+hunting.+Hunting+humans&source=bl&ots=Z85Rp6EOCX&sig=XVfozynKbFHLDgyC4nWUcfgisVU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7bGyUZOQDcfD4AOJ9oCIAw&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAw^ abcKavanagh, Jim (July 24, 2009), "Slaughter at McDonald's changed how police operate", CNN, retrieved June 3, 2010 ^ abc"A massacre in San Ysidro", The San Diego Union-Tribune, retrieved August 11, 2011 ^ abBen-Ali, Russell (December 14, 1990), "After a Long Wait, Monument Is Dedicated at Massacre Site", Los Angeles Times, retrieved June 3, 2010 ^http://www.kogo.com/pages/dark_side.html?article=9291107^Lopez v. McDonald's Corp., 193 Cal. App. 3d 495 (1987).^The Evil 100 at Google Books^Encyclopedia of murder & violent crime at Google Books^http://books.google.com/books?id=HOrcw8zPmboC&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=James+Huberty+survivalist&source=bl&ots=zGnLHH2C0n&sig=SYDw_KoYVZVBaN4dxW2xk1uZCFk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=b4B0UovzFdWrsAT4voDYBQ&ved=0CGEQ6AEwDA#v=onepage&q=James%20Huberty%20survivalist&f=false^Mitchell, Richard Sheppard (2002). Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. [page needed]. ISBN 978-0-226-53244-8.
N.Y. school principals write letter of concern about Common Core tests
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  Here's what we know:1) NYS Testing Has Increased Dramatically: We know that our students are spending more time taking State tests than ever before. Since 2010, the amount of time spent on average taking the 3-8 ELA and Math tests has increased by a whopping 128%! The increase has been particularly hard on our younger students, with third graders seeing an increase of 163%!2) The Tests were Too Long: We know that many students were unable to complete the tests in the allotted time. Not only were the tests lengthy and challenging, but embedded field test questions extended the length of the tests and caused mental exhaustion, often before students reached the questions that counted toward their scores. For our Special Education students who receive additional time, these tests have become more a measure of endurance than anything else.
  3) Ambiguous Questions Appeared throughout the Exams: We know that many teachers and principals could not agree on the correct answers to ambiguous questions in both ELA and Math. In some schools, identical passages and questions appeared on more than one test and at more than one grade level. One school reported that on one day of the ELA Assessment, the same passage with identical questions was included in the third, fourth AND fifth grade ELA Assessments.
  4) Children Have Reacted Viscerally to the Tests: We know that many children cried during or after testing, and others vomited or lost control of their bowels or bladders. Others simply gave up. One teacher reported that a student kept banging his head on the desk, and wrote, ''This is too hard,'' and ''I can't do this,'' throughout his test booklet.
  5) The Low Passing Rate was Predicted: We know that in his ''Implementation of the Common Core Learning Standards'' memo of March 2013, Deputy Commissioner Slentz stated that proficiency scores (i.e., passing rate) on the new assessments would range between 30%-37% statewide. When scores were released in August 2013, the statewide proficiency rate was announced as 31%.
  6) The College Readiness Benchmark is Irresponsibly Inflated: We know that the New York State Education Department used SAT scores of 560 in Reading, 540 in Writing and 530 in mathematics, as the college readiness benchmarks to help set the ''passing'' cut scores on the 3-8 New York State exams. These NYSED scores, totaling 1630, are far higher than the College Board's own college readiness benchmark score of 1550. By doing this, NYSED has carelessly inflated the ''college readiness'' proficiency cut scores for students as young as nine years of age.
  7) State Measures are Contradictory: We know that many children are receiving scores that are not commensurate with the abilities they demonstrate on other measures, particularly the New York State Integrated Algebra Regents examination. Across New York, many accelerated eighth-graders scored below proficiency on the eighth grade test only to go on and excel on the Regents examination one month later. One district reports that 58% of the students who scored below proficiency on the NYS Math 8 examination earned a mastery score on the Integrated Algebra Regents.
  8) Students Labeled as Failures are Forced Out of Classes: We know that many students who never needed Academic Intervention Services (AIS) in the past, are now receiving mandated AIS as a result of the failing scores. As a result, these students are forced to forgo enrichment classes. For example, in one district, some middle school students had to give up instrumental music, computer or other special classes in order to fit AIS into their schedules.
  9) The Achievement Gap is Widening: We know that the tests have caused the achievement gap to widen as the scores of economically disadvantaged students plummeted, and that parents are reporting that low-scoring children feel like failures.
  10) The Tests are Putting Financial Strains on Schools: We know that many schools are spending precious dollars on test prep materials, and that instructional time formerly dedicated to field trips, special projects, the arts and enrichment, has been reallocated to test prep, testing, and AIS services.
  11) The Tests are Threatening Other State Initiatives: Without a doubt, the emphasis on testing is threatening other important State initiatives, most notably the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Parents who see the impact of the testing on their children are blaming the CCSS, rather than the unwise decision to implement high stakes testing before proper capacity had been developed. As long as these tests remain, it will be nearly impossible to have honest conversations about the impact of the CCSS on our schools.
  Here's what we do not know:
  1) How these Tests will Help our Students: With the exception of select questions released by the state, we do not have access to the test questions. Without access to the questions, it is nearly impossible to use the tests to help improve student learning.
  2) How to Use these Tests to Improve Student Skills or Understanding: Tests should serve as a tool for assessing student skills and understanding. Since we are not informed of the make-up of the tests, we do not know, with any level of specificity, the content or skills for which children require additional support. We do not even know how many points were allotted for each question.
  3) The Underlying Cause of Low Test Scores: We do not know if children's low test scores are actually due to lack of skills in that area or simply a case of not finishing the test '-- a problem that plagued many students.
  4) What to Expect Next Year: We do not know what to expect for next year. Our students are overwhelmed by rapidly changing standards, curriculum and assessments. It is nearly impossible to serve and protect the students in our care when expectations are in constant flux and put in place rapidly in a manner that is not reflective of sound educational practice.
  5) How Much this is Costing Already-Strained Taxpayers: We don't know how much public money is being paid to vendors and corporations that the NYSED contracts to design assessments, nor do we know if the actual designers are educationally qualified.
  Please know that we, your school principals, care about your children and will continue to do everything in our power to fill their school days with learning that is creative, engaging, challenging, rewarding and joyous. We encourage you to dialogue with your child's teachers so that you have real knowledge of his skills and abilities across all areas. If your child scored poorly on the test, please make sure that he does not internalize feelings of failure. We believe that the failure was not on the part of our children, but rather with the officials of the New York State Education Department. These are the individuals who chose to recklessly implement numerous major initiatives without proper dialogue, public engagement or capacity building. They are the individuals who have failed.
  As principals of New York schools, it is always our goal to move forward in a constant state of improvement. Under current conditions, we fear that the hasty implementation of unpiloted assessments will continue to cause more harm than good. Please work with us to preserve a healthy learning environment for our children and to protect all of the unique varieties of intelligence that are not reducible to scores on standardized tests. Your child is so much more than a test score, and we know it.
  Warmly,
  Sharon FougnerPrincipal, E.M. Baker ElementaryCarol Burris, Ed.D.Principal, South Side High SchoolPeter DeWitt, Ed.D.Principal, Poestenkill ElementaryTim FarleyPrincipal, Ichabod Crane Middle SchoolSean C. Feeney, Ph.D.Principal, The Wheatley SchoolAndrew GreenePrincipal, Candlewood Middle SchoolElizabeth PhillipsPrincipal, P.S. 321Katie Zahedi, Ph.D.Principal, Linden Avenue Middle School
VIDEO- 1) The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto (Intro + Hour 1 of 5) - YouTube
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John Taylor Gatto - Challenging the Myths of Modern Schooling
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  Tue, 26 Nov 2013 04:05
  If you like John's books, you're going to love the film.We need your support and advice getting this film made.John Taylor Gatto's new bookWeapons of Mass Instruction, will be available to ship startingDecember 10, 2008We apologize for the short delay.
  Click Here to Preorder Now!
  John Taylor Gatto, film director Roland Legiardi-Laura, and The Odysseus Group welcome you to our Web site, which will offer you a new way to look at institutional schooling.Perhaps the greatest of school's illusions is that the institution was launched by a group of kindly men and women who wanted to help the children of ordinary families'--to level the playing field, so to speak.
  Let's read a few words from John Gatto about what's really behind these illusions...
  Read John's latest essay: "Against School" in the September 2003 issue of Harper's Magazine.New Third PrintingNow Available!
  (C) 2000-2003 The Odysseus GroupSuite 3W 295 East 8th Street NY, NY 10009Phone Toll Free: 888 211-7164 Fax: 212 529-3555E-mail:info@johntaylorgatto.comSite design by Exploded ViewOriginal Site Development by Booknote
Northern Illinois University shooting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  The Northern Illinois University shooting was a school shooting that took place on February 14, 2008. Steven Kazmierczak shot multiple people on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, killing five people and injuring another twenty-one, before committing suicide.
  The incident happened at the campus's Cole Hall at approximately 3:05 p.m. local time.[3] The school placed the campus on lockdown; students and teachers were advised to head to a secure location, take cover, and avoid the scene and all buildings in the vicinity of the area.[4] Six people died in the incident, including the perpetrator, tying it with the University of Iowa shooting as the fifth-deadliest university shooting in United States history.[5][6]
  After the incident, the university administration cancelled classes for the rest of the week as well as the following week.
  Shooting[edit]At approximately 3:05 p.m. CST, Steven Kazmierczak entered a large auditorium-style lecture hall in Cole Hall (Auditorium 101) with approximately 120 students, where an oceanography class was in session.[7] Kazmierczak was wearing dark brown boots with laces, jeans, a black t-shirt with the word "Terrorist" written across the chest imposed over an image of an assault rifle; a coat; a black knit hat; and a black utility belt with two magazine holsters, a holster for a handgun, three handguns (a 9x19mmGlock 19, a .380 ACPSig Sauer P232, and a .380 ACPHi-Point CF380),[2] eight loaded magazines, and a knife. He also carried in a 12 gaugeRemington Sportsman 48shotgun concealed in a guitar case.[8][9][10][11][12] Once he armed himself, he went to the auditorium, where he entered at the extreme southwest corner of the room. This led directly to the stage in front of the classroom; Kazmierczak used that position to fire into the crowd of students. He opened the door with such extreme force that many witnesses described him as "kicking the door in".[8]
  He next shot at the instructor, who was standing on the east side of the stage. The instructor tried to run out the exit at the southeast corner but that door was locked. The instructor ran toward the east end of the classroom out the main exits, in which the students were trying to exit. Some students who were not able to immediately escape hid under or in between the seats. When Kazmericzak paused to reload after firing three rounds, some students shouted "He's reloading" and began to escape. Others continued to hide or were too shocked to react.[8]
  After shooting all six shotgun rounds, Kazmierczak fired on the room's remaining occupants with the 9mm Glock pistol, firing a total of approximately 50 rounds. He was reported to have walked up and down the west aisle and directly in front of or on the stage, firing at people as he went. He shot and killed himself before police reached the room. The police recovered 55 unexpended rounds of ammunition from the scene, including two fully loaded magazines containing rounds for a .380 semi-automatic pistol.[8]
  A total of 25 people were shot, six of whom died (including the perpetrator, who shot himself before police arrived).[9][13][14] One witness reported that the gunman shot at least 30 rounds; police later collected 48 shell casings and 6 shotgun shells.[15]
  At the time of the shootings, Kazmierczak was a graduate student in the school of social work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[10][13][16] He was a former NIU Sociology graduate student. NIU Police Chief Donald Grady described him as "an outstanding student," who reportedly had stopped taking psychiatric medication recently and became "somewhat erratic".[17]
  Emergency response[edit]The first 9-1-1 call of an active shooter was reported at 3:06 p.m. Seven seconds later, NIU police officers were notified by the dispatcher.[7] At 3:06:33, NIU police officers Ayala and Zimberoff responded and told dispatchers that they were in the area. Driving northbound on Normal Road near Swen Parson Hall, they encountered students running east from the Martin Luther King Commons area. One student shouted, "He's shooting over there", pointing west towards the MLK Commons area. Officer Hodder was also driving in the area and encountered the same frenzy.
  The officers proceeded in their vehicles, then on foot, joining Chief Grady, Lieutenant Mitchell, and Lieutenant Henert, who had reached the west side of the Commons area after coming directly from the Police Station. Also racing to Cole Hall from the Police Station were Sergeant Ellington and Officer Wright. Sergeant Holland was on patrol just south of the area along Lincoln Highway when he heard the call come in, and approached the area. In the MLK Commons, Chief Grady advised the officers to immediately begin attending to victims and identify witnesses and direct them to a room in Holmes Student Center, where they could be interviewed. Some of the officers began attending to injured students who were running from the scene.[18]
  While Henert established perimeters around Cole Hall, Mitchell and Grady entered the building, where they met with Holland, Ellington, and Wright. Ellington, the first officer to arrive on the scene, evacuated the adjacent auditorium, and met with the other officers in the front walkway. Holland was instructed to remain in the hallway to ensure no one came into the auditorium and that the shooter did not come out. Grady, Mitchell, Ellington, and Wright entered the south auditorium, discovering a body on the stage, surrounded by guns, with a pool of blood coming from the head. Victims with varying injuries lay on the floor or were propped up against the seats. Confirming there were no immediate threats, Grady and Mitchell began attending to victims, while Ellington and Wright confirmed that the shooter was dead.[19] At 3:11:42 (five minutes after the first 911 call), Ellington reported to the dispatcher, "Shooter's down. Shotgun's secure. We need an ambulance and the coroner at Cole Hall."[7]
  At the same time that officers arrived at Cole Hall, Sergeant Rodman, who had left a meeting at the Holmes Student Center, arrived at the west entrance of that building to find a shooting victim who had been shot in the back and the head, along with another victim who had blood on the face, seeking help for his injured friend. Rodman attended to most severely wounded victim.[19]
  By 3:11 p.m., a DeKalb Fire Department ambulance was the first to arrive on the scene and was staged in a nearby parking lot. The parking lots near the Field House were used as a staging area for ambulances and fire trucks that arrived from throughout the region.[20] At 3:13 p.m., Sergeant Ellington advised that there were at least two deaths.[21] Officers encountered several problems, including a piercing fire alarm that had been pulled, as well as very high radio traffic and static that made it hard to hear radio calls come in.[22] In addition, due to conflicting reports (including the presence of a shooter at Founders Memorial Library) and the multitude of injured victims at various buildings around campus, officers needed to check multiple sites to rule out the possibility of multiple shooters and multiple shooting sites. Injured victims began appearing at Neptune Hall (just north of Cole Hall) and at DuSable Hall (west of Cole).[23] At 3:21 p.m., as personnel arrived from the DeKalb Fire Department, DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, DeKalb Police Department, and Sycamore Police Department, officers advised that the scene and perimeter of Cole Hall were secure, and that it was safe for emergency personnel to proceed to the shooting site and to the sites of the injured victims.[22]
  At 3:34 p.m., after a sweep of Founders Library was conducted and officers determined that Neptune and DuSable were not shooting sites, they declared the area safe. Police officers established a reception area for law enforcement personnel at Wirtz Hall, and an investigative command center at Holmes Student Center.[24] By 4:00 pm CST, school officials announced that there was no further danger. They said that counselors would be made available in all residence halls.[9]
  Deceased[edit]A total of six people, all residents of Illinois, were killed in the incident:[17][25]
  Catalina Garcia, Juliana Gehant, Ryanne Mace, and shooter Steven Kazmierczak were declared dead on the scene at Cole Hall, while Daniel Parmenter was pronounced dead shortly after arrival to Kishwaukee Hospital at 4:00 p.m. Gayle Dubowski was flown to the nearest trauma center, St. Anthony Hospital in Rockford, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at 4:14 p.m.[26]
  Injured[edit]A total of 21 people survived the incident with injuries. 17 sustained gunshot or buckshot wounds, while three injured their knee or back escaping the scene; one injury was undetermined. Of the injured, three remained in Cole Hall, five had fled to Neptune Hall or its parking lots, one to DuSable Hall, two to the Holmes Student Center Bookstore, two to the Holmes Student Center's Sandburg Auditorium, three to the Health Services Building, and five returned home to seek treatment.[27]
  16 of the injured victims were transported to DeKalb's Kishwaukee Community Hospital.[26] Of the 16, one of the wounded was transferred by helicopter to Rockford's Saint Anthony Medical Center, three to Downers Grove'sGood Samaritan Hospital, and one to Rockford Memorial Hospital.[9][28]
  On February 15, 2008, an additional victim sought treatment at Kishwaukee Hospital, bringing the total of hospitalized injured victims to 17. On February 15, 2008, seven of the victims were in critical condition, one in good condition, one in stable, and eight discharged, according to Kishwaukee Community Hospital.[28]
  Like those killed, all who were injured were from Illinois.[29] Some of the injured include:
  [30]
  Perpetrator[edit]Steven Phillip Kazmierczak (August 26, 1980 '' February 14, 2008) was a former student of NIU.[31][32][33] He graduated from Elk Grove High School in 1998, during which he was treated temporarily for mental illness at the Elk Grove Village Thresholds-Mary Hill House psychiatric center,[34] for being "unruly" at home, according to his parents Gail and Robert Kazmierczak. He later went on to study sociology at Northern Illinois University (NIU). Though his family moved to Florida in 2004, Kazmierczak continued his education in Illinois.[35][36] He enlisted in the United States Army in September 2001, and was discharged before completing basic training in February 2002 for lying on his application about his mental illness.[37][38] His mother died in Lakeland, Florida in September 2006 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).[39][40][41] At the time of Steven's death, his father was living in a retirement community in Lakeland.
  Kazmierczak graduated from NIU in 2006[35] where he received the Dean's award in 2006 and was considered a stand-out, well-regarded student.[35] Campus police describe him as a "fairly normal" and "unstressed person."[42] Faculty, students, and staff "revered" him and there was no indication of any trouble.[43] NIU President John G. Peters said that he had "a very good academic record, no record of trouble."[36] Kazmierczak was Vice-President of the NIU chapter of the American Correctional Association; he had also written about the U.S. correctional system, specifically prisons.[44]
  In 2006, Kazmierczak, along with two other graduate students and under the lead authorship of a sociology professor, co-authored an academic paper entitled, "Self-injury in Correctional Settings: 'Pathology' of Prisons or of Prisoners?"; it was published in the academic journalCriminology & Public Policy.[45]
  He was enrolled at NIU in the spring of 2007,[35] where he took two courses in Arabic and a course called Politics of the Middle East. His research paper was on the subject of Hamas and its social service projects.[46] He left to begin graduate work in the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where he intended to study mental health issues. He was enrolled part-time at UIUC during the fall of 2007 and worked from September 24 through October 10 at the Rockville Correctional Facility for Women near the Illinois-Indiana border. His reasons for leaving were unclear; he simply, "did not come back to work," according to Doug Garrison of the Indiana Department of Correction. By early 2008, he was again enrolled full-time at UIUC.[38]
  He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound during this shooting event.[12][47]ABC News reports that his behavior seemed to become more erratic in the weeks leading up to the shooting, and that it is believed he stopped taking medication beforehand.[38] His girlfriend, Jessica Baty, confirmed that Kazmierczak was taking Xanax (anti-anxiety), Ambien (sleep aid), and Prozac (antidepressant), all of which were prescribed to him by a psychiatrist. She said that he stopped taking Prozac about three weeks prior to the February 14 shooting. She also said that, during their two-year courtship, she had never seen him display violent tendencies and she expressed bewilderment over the cause of the rampage. "He was anything but a monster," Baty said. "He was probably the nicest, most caring person ever."[48] After the shooting, authorities intercepted a number of packages he sent to her, which included such items as a gun holster and ammunition, a textbook on serial killers for her class, the book The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche, and a final note written for her, signed with his given name and family name.[49] The shooting was baffling to those who knew him, as he appeared outgoing and never appeared to have social problems. This has also confused investigators, who have not found a suicide note.[50] Some of Kazmierczak's former NIU roommates described him as a quiet man who usually stayed to himself. They stated that, while fairly normal, they did not see him spend much time with other students.[51]
  Kazmierczak described himself as a sensitive person in his personal statement for UIUC graduate school. He also felt victimized during his adolescent years. He expressed interest in helping people with mental problems, and wanted to work with people "in need of direction."[52] Although initial reports said there were no signs, he was considered troubled. A story published by Esquire stated that he allegedly had a history of mental illness and attempted suicides, was bullied in high school, and had shown an interest in previous school shootings, particularly those that occurred at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech.[53] He also took interest in Hamas and even sympathized with the group.[53]
  According to a report published by the United States Fire Administration, Kazmierczak is believed to have studied Cho's actions and used a similar MO.[54]
  Reaction[edit]The university's official website reported the possibility of a gunman on campus at 3:20,[3] within 20 minutes of the shooting.[55] The website then warned students, "There has been a report of a possible gunman on campus. Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear. Avoid the King Commons and all buildings in that vicinity." By 3:40 p.m., all NIU classes were canceled for the remainder of the day and the campus was closed by NIU officials as part of a new security plan devised after the Virginia Tech shooting 10 months earlier.[55] Students were asked to contact their parents as soon as possible.[3] All NIU Huskie sporting events, home and away, through Sunday were canceled.[17] Most students left campus for the weekend.[56] A spokesman for the ATF stated that agents were dispatched to the scene to assist and to help trace the weapons used. The FBI also sent agents to assist.[9] According to police, Steven Kazmierczak removed the hard drive from his laptop computer and a computer chip from his cell phone and did not leave a note that could help explain why he chose a geology class on Valentine's Day to open fire. Investigators were expected to spend at least three more weeks until releasing a report on the incident.[57]
  Vigils and memorial services[edit]Approximately 2,000 gathered on campus on the evening of Friday, February 15, for a candlelight vigil to commemorate the victims; among other public figures, Jesse Jackson and Robert W. Pritchard spoke. In the days after the shooting, the Lutheran Campus Ministry held nightly candlelight vigils.[58] All classes and athletic events were canceled through February 24, 2008. Faculty and staff returned to work on Tuesday, February 19, and for the remainder of that week received special information and training to help students upon their return to classes the following week. On February 21, exactly a week after the shooting happened, five minutes of silence were observed from 3:06-3:11 pm CST, accompanied by the tolling of bells throughout the community, at a special ceremony attended by thousands in memory of the victims which was held at the MLK Commons. Moments of silence were also held elsewhere throughout the DeKalb community.[59] There was a special memorial service held in the NIU Convocation Center on February 24, the day before classes resumed, in honor of the victims that initiated a set of activities and services aimed at community recovery. Due to the loss of one week of instructional time in the middle of the semester, an extra week was added in May.[60]
  Condolences and tributes[edit]United States PresidentGeorge W. Bush, Illinois GovernorRod Blagojevich, U.S. SenatorsBarack Obama and Dick Durbin, and U.S. CongressmanDonald Manzullo offered their personal condolences to NIU President John Peters and the University community in wake of the tragedy, as did many local communities and school districts, and a plethora of universities across the United States.[61][62] The Chicago BlackhawksNHL franchise wore NIU Huskies decals on their helmets during their game on Sunday, February 17, 2008, versus the Colorado Avalanche. A moment of silence was also observed before the national anthem at the game, and the team wore the same decal during its next two games at the St. Louis Blues and at home against the Minnesota Wild.[63] The Chicago Wolves of the AHL held an NIU night during which there was a moment of silence and NIU students were given the opportunity to participate during in game promotions. The Rockford Icehogs, also of the AHL, wore their red jerseys on the following Friday and Saturday night during the team's two home games at the Rockford MetroCentre, distributed red and black ribbons, had a 5' by 16' sign for people to sign, as well as encouraged fans to wear red to the game.[64] During spring training, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guill(C)n and general manager Ken Williams sported NIU caps in tribute to the victims.[65] For their 2008 season, the Chicago Cubs flew an NIU flag over the grandstands in the out field.[66]Virginia Tech had a tribute with students wearing shirts saying "Hokies for Huskies". Students wore these shirts during their basketball game against Georgia Tech on February 23, 2008.[67]Jon Bon Jovi offered his condolonces in a Billboard magazine article, after his band Bon Jovi was forced to cancel rehearsals slated to begin on February 14, 2008 at the NIU Convocation Center in preparation for the North American leg of the Lost Highway Tour.[68] The Chicago based Jam/Prog Rock band Umphrey's McGee played a benefit show at the Egyptian Theater on April 8, 2008 for the NIU Memorial Fund. The incident was also immortalized as the subject of a David Bowie song called 'Valentine's Day' on the long awaited comeback album of 2013 'The Next Day'.
  Future of Cole Hall[edit]Since February 14, 2008, Cole Hall had remained closed to the public. Classes that were held in the building's two large auditoriums were relocated.[69] On February 25, 2008 then-Governor Rod Blagojevich and University President John G. Peters proposed the demolition of the current Cole Hall. The proposal came as a response to the "bad" memories of the students who have to attend classes in the building. The proposal would tear down Cole Hall, leave the Cole Hall site as a memorial site, and erect a new building called "Memorial Hall" nearby, at a cost of approximately $40 million.[70]
  However, due to mixed emotions on the decision, President Peters sent out a message to all NIU students via their student email accounts, soliciting comments from students and the extended NIU family. In addition, a committee was established to help reach a consensus on the future of Cole Hall.[71]
  On May 8, 2008 it was announced that Cole Hall would be remodeled inside and out pending $7.7 million in state funding. This decision was made based on conversations between Dr. Peters and members of the campus community as well as the results of an online survey taken by students and faculty. The lecture hall where the shooting happened will be no longer be used as classroom space and another lecture hall will be built elsewhere on campus.[72]
  On August 27, 2009, the NIU Board of Trustees approved a $9.5 million budget on the Cole Hall renovation project, approximately $8 million of which will come from the aforementioned state funding, and the rest from student fees. The East auditorium, which was the scene of the incident, will no longer be used for classes, and a replacement lecture hall will be built elsewhere on campus.[73] On January 27, 2010, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn came to the NIU campus to release the funds for the renovation of Cole Hall.
  On January 14, 2011, the reconstruction at Cole Hall officially commenced. The building re-opened on January 17, 2012.[69]
  Memorial garden and sculpture[edit]On October 2, 2009, a metal sculpture designed by artist Bruce Niemi entitled Remembered was unveiled at Northern Illinois University.[70] The sculpture is part of a garden built in remembrance of the victims of the NIU shooting, located directly across from Cole Hall. The memorial area also features five red granite walls erected in a half-circle pattern which read "Forward Together Forward Together Forward." The phrase "Forward Together Forward", borrowed from the university's fight song, became a motto and theme used in the healing of the NIU community after the shooting. Each wall features the name of one of the students who died in the shooting. A walking path with benches is also included. The memorial is flanked by trees and shrubbery. The memorial was funded entirely by private donations.[74]
  Earlier incident and possible threats[edit]The campus was shut down on December 10, 2007, the first day during exam week, after graffiti was found on a restroom wall warning of a possible shooting. A university spokesman said that the warning, which was discovered December 10, made reference to the Virginia Tech massacre, in which 32 people were killed, but it could not be immediately determined whether the threat was related to the shootings on February 14, 2008. The Chicago Sun-Times reported at that time that an unknown person posted the graffiti in the Grant Towers D residence hall, which included a racial slur and the notation "What time? The VA tech shooters [sic] messed up w/ having only one shooter."[10] However, NIU President John Peters stated that he did not believe that the December incident is connected to the February 14 shootings.[75]
  See also[edit]^Authorities release information on Cole Hall shooter^ ab"Authorities release information on Cole Hall shooter". Northern Star. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-12-02. [dead link]^ abc"Campus Alert Updates." Northern Illinois University. Retrieved on February 20, 2008.^"Six Dead After University Shooting". CityNews. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14. ^"FGCU pays tribute to Northern Illinois team". Scott Hotard (Naples News). 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2008-04-11. ^"3 p.m. update: Gunman identified in NIU shootings; 6 dead". DeKalb Daily Chronicle. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-04-11. ^ abcNorthern Illinois University 2010, p. 1.^ abcdNorthern Illinois University 2010, p. 2.^ abcde"18 shot, six dead including gunman, at Northern Illinois University". CNN. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14. ^ abcStaff Writer (2008-02-14). "Gunman opens fire on Illinois campus". MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-02-14. ^"7 Dead in N. Illinois U. Hall Shooting". Associated Press. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. [dead link]^ ab"Source IDs alleged campus gunman who killed 6, himself". CNN. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^ ab"Gunman Dead; More Than a Dozen Injured at Northern Illinois University". Fox News. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14. ^Meisner, Jason (2008-02-14). "NIU shooting leaves 6 dead". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-02-14. ^"Illinois School Gunman Named; Toll Corrected". National Public Radio. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^"NIU noted gunman's scholarship". Chicago Tribune. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^ abc"NIU sporting events cancelled in wake of shooting". CNN.com. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^Northern Illinois University 2010, p. 12.^ abNorthern Illinois University 2010, p. 13.^Northern Illinois University 2010, p. 4.^Northern Illinois University 2010, p. 5.^ abNorthern Illinois University 2010, p. 6.^Northern Illinois University 2010, p. 8.^Northern Illinois University 2010, p. 14.^"Gunman in Illinois campus shooting identified". CNN.com. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^ abNorthern Illinois University 2010, p. 15.^Northern Illinois University 2010, p. 16.^ ab"Kishwaukee Community Hospital update." Retrieved on February 15, 2008.^Faiwell, Sara; Peterson, Eric; Malik, Nadia; Pohl, Kim. "Update on wounded NIU students." Daily Herald. February 19, 2008. Retrieved on February 19, 2008.^"Events Sunday to honor second anniversary of NIU campus shooting". WREX. 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2011-01-31. ^The Suicide Memorial Wall^Pallasch, Abdon K.; Fusco, Chris; Main, Frank; McKinney, Dave; Esposito, Stefano. "Portrait of a killer." Chicago Sun Times. February 16, 2008. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.^Nizza, Mike; Saulny, Susan; Davey, Monica; Johnson, Dirk; Einhorn, Catrin; Bowley, Graham; Holusha, John. "Suspect in Campus Attack Is Identified." New York Times. February 15, 2008. Retrieved on February 15, 2008.^"NIU Shooter Described As "Gentle, Quiet"." CBS News. February 16, 2008. Retrieved on September 11, 2008.^ abcdDavid Heinzmann and Stacy St. Clair (2008-02-14). "NIU noted gunman's scholarship". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^ abHeinzmann, David; St. Clair, Stacy. "Illinois gunman was honored student." Los Angeles Times. February 15, 2008. Retrieved on February 15, 2008.^"CNN exclusive: Secret files reveal NIU killer's past." CNN. February 13, 2009. Retrieved on February 13, 2009.^ abcFriedman, Emily. "Who Was the Illinois School Shooter?." ABC News. February 15, 2008. Retrieved on February 15, 2008.^Social Security Death Index maintained by Ancestry.Com. Retrieved February 15, 2008.^Gunman previously honored by school, February 15, 2008, Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 15, 2008.^Staff Writer. "A Killer Who Fit In: Kazmierczak Profiled." nbc5.com/. February 15, 2008. Retrieved on February 19, 2008.^Friedman, Emily (2008-02-15). "Who Was the Illinois School Shooter?". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^Bohn, Kevin. "Company: Gunman, Virginia Tech shooter used same Web dealer." CNN. February 15, 2008. Retrieved on February 15, 2008.^David Heinzmann, David; Smith, Gerry; Zorn, Eric. "NIU gunman's baffling trail reveals no motive." Chicago Tribune. February 16, 2008. Retrieved on February 20, 2008.^Thomas, Jim; Leaf, Margaret; Kazmierczak, Steve; Stone, Josh. "Self-Injury In Correctional Settings: 'Pathology' of Prisons or of Prisoners?." Criminology & Public Policy, February 2006, Vol. 5, Iss. 1, 192-202. Retrieved on February 15, 2008. (doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2006.00111.x)^Abdelnabi, Rasmieyh. "NIU grad recalls shooter as inquisitive, smart, nice." Chicago Sun-Times. February 20, 2008. Retrieved on March 13, 2008.^"Gunman Planned Campus Shooting For At Least Six Days". ABC. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^Boudreau, Abbie; Zamost, Scott. "Girlfriend: Shooter was taking cocktail of 3 drugs." CNN. February 20, 2008. Retrieved on February 20, 2008.^"University shooter's girlfriend: 'I couldn't believe it'". CNN. 2008-02-18. Retrieved 2008-02-18. ^Pallasch, Abdon K.; Korecki, Natasha; Herrmann, Andrew. "Gunman 'somewhat erratic'." Chicago Sun Times. February 16, 2008. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.^Cramer, Kevin P.; Foster, Regan. "Killer was 'a quiet, smarter kid'." Northwest Herald. February 16, 2008. Retrieved on February 21, 2008.^"NIU Gunman's Essays Reveal His Alienation". CBS 2 Chicago. April 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-21. [dead link]^ abVann, David. "Portrait of the School Shooter as a Young Man." Esquire. July 16, 2008. 1.^"U.S. Fire Administration/Technical Report Series Northern Illinois University Shooting". USFA. Retrieved 2013-03-29. ^ abJohnson, Carla K. (2008-02-15). "NIU Shooting Tests New Security Plan". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-02-19. [dead link]^Gross, Ben. "Campus empties for weekend." Northern Star Online. February 15, 2008. Retrieved on February 17, 2008.^"Police: Northern Illinois University Gunman Destroyed Evidence to Mislead Investigators." Retrieved on February 26, 2008.^"Vigils and Services". Northern Illinois University. Retrieved on February 22, 2008.^Daily Chronicle. "Listening Together: NIU and the community share moments of silence." Daily Chronicle Online. February 22, 2008. Retrieved on February 22, 2008.^Peters, John. "A message from NIU President John Peters." Northern Star Online. February 16, 2008. Retrieved on February 17, 2008.^"Authorities Identify Former Student Who Killed 5 in Attack at Northern Illinois University". Fox News. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^"Condolences: Messages from Other Universities". Retrieved 2008-02-15. ^Staff Writer (February 16, 2008). "NIU shooting victims to be honored". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2008-02-17. ^Mike Peck (February 15, 2008). "Huskies On Our Mind". Retrieved 2012-04-17. ^"Guillen, Williams pay tribute to NIU victims". Sun-Times Media Group. 2008-02-17. Retrieved 2008-02-19. [dead link]^"Chicago Cubs to remember NIU throughout season". Northern Star. 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2008-04-18. ^"Hokies United: Hokies For Huskies". Virginia Tech. 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2008-02-20. ^"Bon Jovi Tour Begins In Shadow of Shootings". Billboard. 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2010-09-26. ^ ab"Construction on Cole Hall is underway". Northern Star. 2011-01-18. Retrieved 2011-01-26. ^ ab"Blagojevich, Peters propose $40M to replace Cole". Northern Star. 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2008-03-15. ^"Peters announces three-phase process for Cole Hall decision". Northern Star. 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2008-03-15. [dead link]^Schott, Kate. "NIU seeks $7.7M to remodel Cole Hall ", Daily Chronicle (DeKalb, Illinois), May 8, 2008, accessed May 8, 2008.^Schott, Kate. "NIU approves $9.5M for Cole Hall renovations", Daily Chronicle (DeKalb, Illinois), August 27, 2009, accessed August 29, 2009.^"NIU unveils plans for 'Memorial Garden' - NIU - Office of Public Affairs". Niu.edu. Retrieved 2013-03-29. ^Underwood, Melissa. "Shooting Reminds Students of Earlier Threat on Campus." Fox News. February 15, 2008. Retrieved on February 15, 2008.References[edit]External links[edit]Northern Star, NIU's campus newspaper with ongoing coverage of shooting"In pictures: Illinois university shooting". BBC News. 2008-02-15. Northwest Herald's "Tragedy on Campus", with a repository for stories, video, audio, timeline, and photographs in the aftermath of the Northern Illinois University (NIU) shootingsDaily Chronicle's "Campus Loss", with a repository for stories, video, audio, timeline, and photographs in the aftermath of the Northern Illinois University (NIU) shootingsNIU Remembers, NIU students, friends, family and the public mourn on this dedicated forumCoordinates: 41°56'²03'"N88°46'²08'"W>> / >>41.93417°N 88.76889°W>> / 41.93417; -88.76889
Spies worry over doomsday cache stashed by ex-NSA contractor Snowden | Reuters
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 22:36
  By Mark Hosenball
  WASHINGTONMon Nov 25, 2013 3:58pm EST
  A woman holds a portrait of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden in front of her face as she stands in front of the U.S. embassy during a protest in Berlin, in this file photo from July 4, 2013.
  Credit: Reuters/Thomas Peter/Files
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - British and U.S. intelligence officials say they are worried about a "doomsday" cache of highly classified, heavily encrypted material they believe former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has stored on a data cloud.
  The cache contains documents generated by the NSA and other agencies and includes names of U.S. and allied intelligence personnel, seven current and former U.S. officials and other sources briefed on the matter said.
  The data is protected with sophisticated encryption, and multiple passwords are needed to open it, said two of the sources, who like the others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
  The passwords are in the possession of at least three different people and are valid for only a brief time window each day, they said. The identities of persons who might have the passwords are unknown.
  Spokespeople for both NSA and the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
  One source described the cache of still unpublished material as Snowden's "insurance policy" against arrest or physical harm.
  U.S. officials and other sources said only a small proportion of the classified material Snowden downloaded during stints as a contract systems administrator for NSA has been made public. Some Obama Administration officials have said privately that Snowden downloaded enough material to fuel two more years of news stories.
  "The worst is yet to come," said one former U.S. official who follows the investigation closely.
  Snowden, who is believed to have downloaded between 50,000 and 200,000 classified NSA and British government documents, is living in Russia under temporary asylum, where he fled after traveling to Hong Kong. He has been charged in the United States under the Espionage Act.
  Cryptome, a website which started publishing leaked secret documents years before the group WikiLeaks or Snowden surfaced, estimated that the total number of Snowden documents made public so far is over 500.
  Given Snowden's presence in Moscow, and the low likelihood that he will return to the United States anytime soon, U.S. and British authorities say they are focused more on dealing with the consequences of the material he has released than trying to apprehend him.
  It is unclear whether U.S. or allied intelligence agencies - or those of adversary services such as Russia's and China's -
  know where the material is stored and, if so, have tried to unlock it.
  One former senior U.S. official said that the Chinese and Russians have cryptographers skilled enough to open the cache if they find it.
  Snowden's revelations of government secrets have brought to light extensive and previously unknown surveillance of phone, email and social media communications by the NSA and allied agencies. That has sparked several diplomatic rows between Washington and its allies, along with civil liberties debates in Europe, the United States and elsewhere.
  Among the material which Snowden acquired from classified government computer servers, but which has not been published by media outlets known to have had access to it, are documents containing names and resumes of employees working for NSA's British counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), sources familiar with the matter said.
  The sources said Snowden started downloading some of it from a classified GCHQ website, known as GC-Wiki, when he was employed by Dell and assigned to NSA in 2012.
  Snowden made a calculated decision to move from Dell Inc to another NSA contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton, because he would have wide-ranging access to NSA data at the latter firm, one source with knowledge of the matter said.
  "EXTREME PRECAUTIONS"
  Glenn Greenwald, who met with Snowden in Hong Kong and was among the first to report on the leaked documents for the Guardian newspaper, said the former NSA contractor had "taken extreme precautions to make sure many different people around the world have these archives to insure the stories will inevitably be published."
  "If anything happens at all to Edward Snowden, he has arranged for them to get access to the full archives," Greenwald said in a June interview with the Daily Beast website. He added: "I don't know for sure whether has more documents than the ones he has given me... I believe he does."
  In an email exchange with Reuters, Greenwald, who has said he remains in contact with Snowden, affirmed his statements about Snowden's "precautions" but said he had nothing to add.
  Officials believe that the "doomsday" cache is stored and encrypted separately from any material that Snowden has provided to media outlets.
  Conservative British politicians, including Louise Mensch, a former member of parliament, have accused the Guardian, one of two media outlets to first publish stories based on Snowden's leaks, of "trafficking of GCHQ agents' names abroad."
  No names of British intelligence personnel have been published by any media outlet. After U.K. officials informed the Guardian it could face legal action, the newspaper disclosed it had destroyed computers containing Snowden material on GCHQ, but had provided copies of the data to the New York Times and the U.S. nonprofit group ProPublica.
  Sources familiar with unpublished material Snowden downloaded said it also contains information about the CIA - possibly including personnel names - as well as other U.S. spy agencies such as the National Reconnaissance Office and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which operate U.S. image-producing satellites and analyze their data.
  U.S. security officials have indicated in briefings they do not know what, if any, of the material is still in Snowden's personal possession. Snowden himself has been quoted as saying he took no such materials with him to Russia.
  (Editing by Warren Strobel and Tim Dobbyn)
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India's Nuclear Scientists Keep Dying Mysteriously | VICE United States
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 22:21
  (Photo via)
  Indian nuclear scientists haven't had an easy time of it over the past decade. Not only has the scientific community been plagued by "suicides," unexplained deaths, and sabotage, but those incidents have gone mostly underreported in the country'--diluting public interest and leaving the cases quickly cast off by police.
  Last month, two high-ranking engineers'--KK Josh and Abhish Shivam'--on India's first nuclear-powered submarine were found on railway tracks by workers. They were pulled from the line before a train could crush them, but were already dead. No marks were found on the bodies, so it was clear they hadn't been hit by a moving train, and reports allege they were poisoned elsewhere before being placed on the tracks to make the deaths look either accidental or like a suicide. The media and the Ministry of Defence, however, described the incident as a routine accident and didn't investigate any further.
  This is the latest in a long list of suspicious deaths. When nuclear scientist Lokanathan Mahalingam's body turned up in June of 2009, it was palmed off as a suicide and largely ignored by the Indian media. However, Pakistani outlets, perhaps unsurprisingly, given relations between the two countries, kept the story going, noting how quick authorities were to label the death a suicide considering no note was left.
  Five years earlier, in the same forest where Mahalingham's body was eventually discovered, an armed group with sophisticated weaponry allegedly tried to abduct an official from India's Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC). He, however, managed to escape. Another NPC employee, Ravi Mule, had been murdered weeks before, with police failing to "make any headway" into his case and effectively leaving his family to investigate the crime. A couple of years later, in April of 2011, when the body of former scientist Uma Rao was found, investigators ruled the death as suicide, but family members contested the verdict, saying there had been no signs that Rao was suicidal.
  Trombay, the site of India's first atomic reactor. (Photo via)
  This seems to be a recurring theme with deaths in the community. Madhav Nalapat, one of the few journalists in India giving the cases any real attention, has been in close contact with the families of the recently deceased scientists left on the train tracks. "There was absolutely no kind of depression or any family problems that would lead to suicide," he told me over the phone.
  If the deaths of those in the community aren't classed as suicide, they're generally labeled as "unexplained." A good example is the case of M Iyer, who was found with internal haemorrhaging to his skull'--possibly the result of a "kinky experiment," according to a police officer. After a preliminary look-in, the police couldn't work out how Iyer had suffered internal injuries while not displaying any cuts or bruises, and investigations fizzled out.
  This label is essentially admission of defeat on the police force's part. Once the "unexplained" rubber stamp has been approved, government bodies don't tend to task the authorities with investigating further. This may be a necessity due to the stark lack of evidence available at the scene of the deaths'--a feature that some suggest could indicate the work of professional killers'--but if this is the case, why not bring in better trained detectives to investigate the cases? A spate of deaths in the nuclear scientific community would create a media storm and highly publicised police investigation in other countries, so why not India?
  This inertia has led to great public dissatisfaction with the Indian police. "[The police] say it's an unsolved murder, that's all. Why doesn't it go higher? Perhaps to a specialist investigations unit?" Madhav asked. "These people were working on the submarine program, creating a reactor, and have either 'committed suicide' or been murdered. It's astonishing that this hasn't been seen as suspicious."
  Perhaps, I suggested, this series of deaths is just the latest chapter in a long campaign aiming to derail India's nuclear and technological capabilities. Madhav agreed, "There is a clear pattern of this type of activity going on," he said.
  INS Sindhurakshak (Photo via)
  The explosions that sunk INS Sindhurakshak '' a submarine docked in Mumbai '' in August of this year could have been deliberate, according to unnamed intelligence sources. And some have alleged that the CIA was behind the sabotage of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
  Of course, the deaths have caused fear and tension among those currently working on India's various nuclear projects. "[Whistleblowers] are getting scared of being involved in the nuclear industry in India," Madhav relayed to me. Their "families are getting very nervous about this" and "many of them leave for foreign countries and get other jobs."
  There are parallels here with the numerous attacks on the Iranian nuclear scientist community. Five people associated with the country's nuclear programme have been targeted in the same way: men on motorcycles sticking magnetic bombs on to their cars and detonating them as they drive off. However, the Iranian government are incredibly vocal in condemning these acts'--blaming the US and Israel'--and at least give the appearance that they are actively investigating.
  The same cannot be said for the Indian government. "India is not making any noise about the whole thing," Madhav explained. "People have just accepted the police version, [which describes these incidents] as normal kinds of death."
  If the deaths do, in fact, turn out to be premeditated murders, deciding who's responsible is pure speculation at this point. Two authors have alleged that the US have dabbled in sabotaging the country's technological efforts in the past; China is in a constant soft-power battle with India; and the volatile relationship with Pakistan makes the country a prime suspect. "It could be any of them," Madhav said.
  But the most pressing issue isn't who might be behind the murders, but that the Indian government's apathy is potentially putting their high-value staff at even greater risk. Currently, these scientists, who are crucial to the development of India's nuclear programes, whether for energy or security, have "absolutely no protection at all. Nothing, zero," Madhav told me. "Which is amazing for people who are in a such a sensitive program."
  @josephfcox
  More nuclear stories:
  We Asked a Military Expert if All the World's Armies Could Shut Down the US
  Geriatric Nuclear Reactors Could Kill Us All
  They Weren't Joking, North Korea Tested Another Nuclear Bomb
23andMe - Genetic Testing for Health, Disease & Ancestry; DNA Test
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  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 20:42
  We provide both established and preliminary research reports to ensure that you have the latest information about a disease or condition.
  Established reports are defined by genetic associations supported by multiple, large, peer- reviewed studies. Preliminary reports are based on peer-reviewed, published research with findings that still need to be confirmed by the scientific community.
  New discoveries in genetics are published all the time, and we're constantly updating our reports to give you the latest information on genetics and health.
2013 > 23andMe, Inc. 11/22/13
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 19:48
  23andMe, Inc.
  Dear Ms. Wojcicki,
  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is sending you this letter because you are marketing the 23andMe Saliva Collection Kit and Personal Genome Service (PGS) without marketing clearance or approval in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act).
  This product is a device within the meaning of section 201(h) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 321(h), because it is intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or is intended to affect the structure or function of the body. For example, your company's website at www.23andme.com/health (most recently viewed on November 6, 2013) markets the PGS for providing ''health reports on 254 diseases and conditions,'' including categories such as ''carrier status,'' ''health risks,'' and ''drug response,'' and specifically as a ''first step in prevention'' that enables users to ''take steps toward mitigating serious diseases'' such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, and breast cancer. Most of the intended uses for PGS listed on your website, a list that has grown over time, are medical device uses under section 201(h) of the FD&C Act. Most of these uses have not been classified and thus require premarket approval or de novo classification, as FDA has explained to you on numerous occasions.
  Some of the uses for which PGS is intended are particularly concerning, such as assessments for BRCA-related genetic risk and drug responses (e.g., warfarin sensitivity, clopidogrel response, and 5-fluorouracil toxicity) because of the potential health consequences that could result from false positive or false negative assessments for high-risk indications such as these. For instance, if the BRCA-related risk assessment for breast or ovarian cancer reports a false positive, it could lead a patient to undergo prophylactic surgery, chemoprevention, intensive screening, or other morbidity-inducing actions, while a false negative could result in a failure to recognize an actual risk that may exist. Assessments for drug responses carry the risks that patients relying on such tests may begin to self-manage their treatments through dose changes or even abandon certain therapies depending on the outcome of the assessment. For example, false genotype results for your warfarin drug response test could have significant unreasonable risk of illness, injury, or death to the patient due to thrombosis or bleeding events that occur from treatment with a drug at a dose that does not provide the appropriately calibrated anticoagulant effect. These risks are typically mitigated by International Normalized Ratio (INR) management under a physician's care. The risk of serious injury or death is known to be high when patients are either non-compliant or not properly dosed; combined with the risk that a direct-to-consumer test result may be used by a patient to self-manage, serious concerns are raised if test results are not adequately understood by patients or if incorrect test results are reported.
  Your company submitted 510(k)s for PGS on July 2, 2012 and September 4, 2012, for several of these indications for use. However, to date, your company has failed to address the issues described during previous interactions with the Agency or provide the additional information identified in our September 13, 2012 letter for (b)(4) and in our November 20, 2012 letter for (b)(4), as required under 21 CFR 807.87(1). Consequently, the 510(k)s are considered withdrawn, see 21 C.F.R. 807.87(1), as we explained in our letters to you on March 12, 2013 and May 21, 2013. To date, 23andMe has failed to provide adequate information to support a determination that the PGS is substantially equivalent to a legally marketed predicate for any of the uses for which you are marketing it; no other submission for the PGS device that you are marketing has been provided under section 510(k) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360(k).
  The Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health (OIR) has a long history of working with companies to help them come into compliance with the FD&C Act. Since July of 2009, we have been diligently working to help you comply with regulatory requirements regarding safety and effectiveness and obtain marketing authorization for your PGS device. FDA has spent significant time evaluating the intended uses of the PGS to determine whether certain uses might be appropriately classified into class II, thus requiring only 510(k) clearance or de novo classification and not PMA approval, and we have proposed modifications to the device's labeling that could mitigate risks and render certain intended uses appropriate for de novo classification. Further, we provided ample detailed feedback to 23andMe regarding the types of data it needs to submit for the intended uses of the PGS. As part of our interactions with you, including more than 14 face-to-face and teleconference meetings, hundreds of email exchanges, and dozens of written communications, we provided you with specific feedback on study protocols and clinical and analytical validation requirements, discussed potential classifications and regulatory pathways (including reasonable submission timelines), provided statistical advice, and discussed potential risk mitigation strategies. As discussed above, FDA is concerned about the public health consequences of inaccurate results from the PGS device; the main purpose of compliance with FDA's regulatory requirements is to ensure that the tests work.
  However, even after these many interactions with 23andMe, we still do not have any assurance that the firm has analytically or clinically validated the PGS for its intended uses, which have expanded from the uses that the firm identified in its submissions. In your letter dated January 9, 2013, you stated that the firm is ''completing the additional analytical and clinical validations for the tests that have been submitted'' and is ''planning extensive labeling studies that will take several months to complete.'' Thus, months after you submitted your 510(k)s and more than 5 years after you began marketing, you still had not completed some of the studies and had not even started other studies necessary to support a marketing submission for the PGS. It is now eleven months later, and you have yet to provide FDA with any new information about these tests. You have not worked with us toward de novo classification, did not provide the additional information we requested necessary to complete review of your 510(k)s, and FDA has not received any communication from 23andMe since May. Instead, we have become aware that you have initiated new marketing campaigns, including television commercials that, together with an increasing list of indications, show that you plan to expand the PGS's uses and consumer base without obtaining marketing authorization from FDA.
  Therefore, 23andMe must immediately discontinue marketing the PGS until such time as it receives FDA marketing authorization for the device. The PGS is in class III under section 513(f) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 360c(f). Because there is no approved application for premarket approval in effect pursuant to section 515(a) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 360e(a), or an approved application for an investigational device exemption (IDE) under section 520(g) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 360j(g), the PGS is adulterated under section 501(f)(1)(B) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 351(f)(1)(B). Additionally, the PGS is misbranded under section 502(o) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 352(o), because notice or other information respecting the device was not provided to FDA as required by section 510(k) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360(k).
  Please notify this office in writing within fifteen (15) working days from the date you receive this letter of the specific actions you have taken to address all issues noted above. Include documentation of the corrective actions you have taken. If your actions will occur over time, please include a timetable for implementation of those actions. If corrective actions cannot be completed within 15 working days, state the reason for the delay and the time within which the actions will be completed. Failure to take adequate corrective action may result in regulatory action being initiated by the Food and Drug Administration without further notice. These actions include, but are not limited to, seizure, injunction, and civil money penalties.
  We have assigned a unique document number that is cited above. The requested information should reference this document number and should be submitted to:
  James L. Woods, WO66-5688
  Deputy Director
  Patient Safety and Product Quality
  Office of In vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health
  10903 New Hampshire Avenue
  Silver Spring, MD 20993
  If you have questions relating to this matter, please feel free to call Courtney Lias, Ph.D. at 301-796-5458, or log onto our web site at www.fda.govfor general information relating to FDA device requirements.
FDA Tells 23andMe to Halt Sales of Genetic Test - ABC News
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 19:47
  The Food and Drug Administration has ordered Google-backed genetic test maker 23andMe to halt sales of its personalized DNA test kits, saying the company has failed to show that the technology is supported by science.
  In a warning letter posted online Monday, FDA regulators say that the Silicon Valley has not shown that its tests are safe or effective despite "more than 14 face-to-face and teleconference meetings" and "hundreds of email exchanges." The agency orders 23andMe to stop marketing its test immediately, warning that erroneous results could cause customers to seek unnecessary or ineffective medical care.
  23andMe's saliva-based test kit, launched more than 5 years ago, claims to tell customers if they are at risk for more than 250 diseases and health conditions. The FDA says only medical tests that have been cleared by the government are permitted to make such claims.
  The letter follows years of back-and-forth between the government and 23andMe, the most visible company among a new field of startups selling personal genetic information. The spread of consumer-marketed DNA tests has troubled doctors and health officials who worry that the products are built on flimsy science.
  For years, 23andMe resisted government regulation, arguing that it simply provides consumers with information, not a medical service. But last year the company changed course, submitting several of the disease-specific tests included in its test kit.
  A spokeswoman for the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said 23andMe recognizes it has been late responding to FDA questions about the application.
  "Our relationship with the FDA is extremely important to us and we are committed to fully engaging with them to address their concerns," said Kendra Cassillo in a statement.
  The FDA letter suggests that regulators have gone to great lengths to try and work with the company, citing months of meetings and dozens of letters between the two parties.
  "However, even after these many interactions with 23andMe, we still do not have any assurance that the firm has analytically or clinically validated" its technology, states the letter.
  The FDA warning, dated Nov. 22, takes issue with a number of claims the company makes for its test kit, particularly calling it a "first step in prevention" against diseases like diabetes, heart disease and breast cancer. Regulators worry that false results from the test could cause patients to receive inadequate or inappropriate medical care. For instance, 23andMe says its test can identify women who carry the BRCA gene mutation that significantly increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. But a false result could lead women to undergo unnecessary screening, chemotherapy and surgery.
  The FDA gives the company 15 days to respond in writing to the letter's concerns. Warning letters are not legally binding, but the government can take companies to court if they are ignored.
  23andMe was co-founded by Anne Wojcicki, who recently separated from her husband, Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Both Google and Brin have invested millions in the privately held company over the years.
  Company executives previously said that they first contacted the FDA in 2007, before launching their product. The agency did not take an interest in the technology until 2010, when it issued letters to several testing companies, warning that their products must be approved as safe and effective.
  The FDA already regulates a variety of genetic tests administered by health care providers. The FDA's concern with 23andMe appears to center on its marketing approach, which sidesteps doctors and health professionals.
  Consumers order the company's $99 product online. Once the kit arrives by mail they are instructed to spit into a small tube, providing a saliva sample which is sent back to the company for analysis. 23andMe says the customer's DNA is analyzed to determine their likelihood of developing various diseases and responding to various drugs. The test also claims to provide information about ancestral background, though this information is not regulated by the FDA.
Christine Furstoss: Adding the Next Layer to Additive Manufacturing | Ideas Lab
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 15:34
  The promise of additive is palpable; realizing its full potential will require us to address gaps and enable new capabilities.
  Additive manufacturing has begun to generate real excitement within the larger manufacturing community. For a long time in many industrial sectors, additive has been known as a great tool for rapidly prototyping new design concepts. But today the technology is on the cusp of reaching a new, critical level of innovation'--so long as industry is there to help it along.
  GE has been developing additive technologies since the early 1990s, but within GE's research labs, the first signs that additive was about to take off appeared about five years ago. It was not so much a Eureka moment, but rather a natural reaction to helping our industrial businesses address a more competitive manufacturing landscape. GE's served industries were experiencing much greater pressures to go faster and push design concepts to levels that conventional manufacturing processes could not easily meet.
  Over the next few years, for example, GE's Aviation business will introduce more new engine platforms than it has in the last few decades. This requires a whole new level of capability in the speed of innovation and design of new parts and components. Increasingly, we have turned to a new toolkit of additive technologies to help address these challenges.
  Most often when you hear about additive, it's synonymous with 3D printing. But for GE and many industry insiders, we know 3D printing is one of a broad suite of creative tools that you can work with in additive manufacturing. Laser sintering, coating processes like cold spray and electron beam technology are all other additive processes GE scientists and engineers work with as well.
  Without a doubt, additive technologies will help us go faster and meet shorter cycles for new product lines. But they give us something else. Additive technologies give us the ability to develop advanced materials concurrently with design. This is radically changing how manufacturing is done. It no longer has to be a sequential process where you wait for the design to be completed before determining your material selection and manufacturing approach. It will be a non-linear world that is more flexible and moves at faster speeds. For example, if you are not happy with the design of a part, tools exist to change the parameters of your CAD model and reprint it. With conventional manufacturing, that flexibility and ease of performing iteration after iteration just doesn't exist.
  Additive manufacturing in and of itself is exciting and transformational, not only for the process technology toolkit it encompasses, but also for the mindset it requires to succeed. New, concurrent interactions and interdependencies among design, materials, and manufacturing will be required. This is imperative not only because we can create structures at a pace and with features never before seen, but additive manufacturing also allows us to concurrently create new material properties. This opens up a whole new paradigm, but also requires new analytical and design tools, special materials, and a whole new way of managing innovation.
  Late last year, GE's Aviation business acquired additive developer and manufacturer Morris Technologies. It will help us begin to address what is a key challenge for industry going forward: bringing it to scale. With the Morris acquisition, we will have a full-scale additive manufacturing production facility'... and we will need it.
  In 2016, GE will enter a new jet engine into service called the CFM LEAP'--the first in GE's line to incorporate 3D-printed parts. Specifically, it will be a combustion component that would not be possible to make using conventional processes. By 2020, more than 100,000 additive parts are expected to be in service. GE also has plans to produce a low-cost ultrasound transducer for Healthcare through additive manufacturing, and expects to find more applications through other businesses, which will add significantly to the workload within our production facility.
  The promise of additive is palpable; realizing its full potential will require us to address gaps and enable new capabilities.
  As an industry, we have to find ways to go faster. For all of the time you can save in the design phase, the actual printing or production of parts using additive technologies is still too slow. To help address this challenge we have a joint technology development agreement with Sigma Labs Inc., to develop in-process inspection technologies of additive components with the goal of reducing production time up to 25 percent.
  Ultimately, we need a global ecosystem of collaborators working together to advance the industry and drive new innovation models. For companies like GE to maximize the full opportunity with additive, we know we have to help others in the supply chain grow in scale and capability. Toward that end, GE convened a summit on additive manufacturing last year that brought together key industry players and experts from around the world to discuss the current and future state of the industry. We will continue to engage the additive community to foster and bring about more collaboration and advancements going forward.
  This past June, GE had a strong presence at the RAPID 3D Printing Conference in Pittsburgh. At the conference, we launched two additive manufacturing quests that have invited the participation of external innovators and entrepreneurs. One of the quests is a design challenge for the design of new metal brackets for our jet engines; the second is a production challenge to facilitate new ideas for improving production capabilities. The end goal for both of these is to foster a community of experts and new ideas to advance additive manufacturing.
  Following the Summit, scientists and engineers in our Additive Manufacturing Lab hosted a Topology Optimization Summit at our Research Lab in Upstate New York. Again, the goal here was to understand how we could new software enabled tools could help strengthen capabilities and what we can create with this amazing technology.
  As we look the future, it's clear that additive's role in manufacturing will only grow. It won't entirely replace conventional manufacturing, but its footprint will continue to build layer by layer in the manufacturing of new parts and products.
  Christine Furstoss is Technical Director for Manufacturing and Materials Technologies at GE, based at GE's Global Research Center.This piece first appeared on the Digital Manufacturing report. She's also hosted a Google+ Hangout on ''The Future of Additive Manufacturing''.
Joseph Kony peace talks may be just another tactic
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: The Conversation
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 07:46
  A former child soldier following his rescue from the LRA. InmediahkThe government of the Central African Republic claims to be in talks with one of the world's most enigmatic African guerrilla leaders, Joseph Kony. But Kony has entered talks before with no intention of backing down. This latest announcement follows all the same patterns and should be treated with scepticism.
  This is the first official set of meetings with Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, since talks in Uganda were aborted in 2008. Those talks were ostensibly unsuccessful because Kony feared that he would be turned over to the International Criminal Court, which has a warrent out for his arrest. Since then, he has fled his homeland of Northern Uganda and has cut a bloody swathe across the Northern Democratic Republic of Congo, eventually settling in an area of dense forest straddling the DRC, Sudan and the CAR.
  The current leader of the CAR, Michel Djotodia, himself the leader of a rebel group that seized power earlier this year, says Kony has asked for food supplies and support for his followers around the town of Nzako. The CAR itself is in no position to do anything about the hardened rebels of the LRA. The country has just 200 police officers for its population of around 4.6 million people. It is a relatively lawless country, which makes it a perfect sanctuary for a group that sets itself beyond the conventional rule of law.
  Mystical originsThe LRA is a semi-mystical group that grew out of the ruins of the Holy Spirit Movement in Uganda, which was led by Alice Lakwena, a reputed witch. Lakwena, who died in Kenya in 2007, was said to be possessed by several spirits, including various dead Italians. Her violent millennial movement came in reaction to the end of Acholi power in Uganda when Yoweri Museveni became president in 1986.
  Kony claimed kinship to Lakwena and adopted several mystical devices to manage the LRA. This includes citing the Ten Commandments in its plans, spirit possession and the adoption of different spirits into a very specific cosmology, including both Allah and Jesus.
  The emphasis on cosmology has been an integral part of the violence and brainwashing that has been the hallmark of the LRA itself. The group operates a regime of kidnapping of children and is reported to have taken up to 70,000 in its history. These children are then brutalised and become loyal followers.
  The most common method of binding the children to the LRA cause is reportedly to wait until one child tries to escape and is captured. Former rebels report that the others are forced to kill the escapee, sometimes in extremely brutal ways, such as by biting them to death. These young children are then told that they cannot go back to their original homes and that the LRA is now their family.
  Whilst the LRA itself was chased across the Nile in 2005 and effectively exiled from Uganda in 2008, they have continued to terrorise local communities in the DRC and Sudan and to poach elephants for ivory.
  Unusual tacticsAs well as being a somewhat bizarre entity itself, the LRA has also been subject to several unconventional attempts to end its existence. The hunt for Joseph Kony hit the mainstream last year as a result of a campaign by the NGO Invisible Children and the subsequent very public meltdown of its leader. The group used crowdsourcing to support its work and sought to recruit high-profile supporters for its cause.
  But before the Kony 2012 campaign, a US millionaire funded a hunt for Kony organised by the former mercenary Eeben Barlow. More recently, African Union troops supported by around 100 US Special Forces have been flying over the jungle in helicopters broadcasting ''go home'' messages to the LRA rank and file.
  Why we should be scepticalThe AU and US military intervention appears to have had a significant effect and Kony has been pushed into Nzako. And it is this success that casts doubt on the future of the latest peace talks.
  Kony has form when it comes to using peace talks to buy time to regroup. The timing of these latest talks is very similar to the abortive talks in 2008 when the LRA had again been under military pressure. He is using the same tactics, notably greatly exaggerating the strength of the LRA, in order to increase supplies. Whilst the CAR estimates the strength of the LRA given by Kony as around 2,000, a more realistic estimate is a few hundred.
  On top of the pressure from outside forces, the LRA has reportedly been subject to an internal purge by the increasingly unstable Kony. He has a history of executing leadership rivals and an internal purge has reportedly led him to demote several LRA commanders and murder others. This has clearly contributed to the high desertion rate amongst LRA troops as many seek to go home.
  Finally, the purported peace offer comes from an approach from one of Kony's commanders, Otto Ladeere, who commands an LRA satellite group, rather than from Kony himself. It is possible that Ladeere is using Kony's name to give himself legitimacy, but even if Kony is involved, the history of the LRA and particularly of Kony would emphasise that extreme caution is required whenever he talks about peace.
  Sign in to Favourite Post a CommentTagsAfrica, Conflict, Kony 2012, Uganda, Joseph Kony
  Related articles 9 November 2013 The Ivory War: militarised tactics won't work 29 October 2013 Tigers, elephants ask: what have royals ever done for us? 17 October 2013 Think long term to address world's biggest problems: report 14 October 2013 Elephants get the point when it comes to making gestures 14 October 2013 South Africa: what does the future hold for the 'rainbow nation'?
Media briefs: ABC leak '... Greenwald-WikiLeaks spat '...
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Crikey
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 07:12
  Crikey has obtained an email from ABC chief Mark Scott explaining how ABC journalists' salaries ended up in print.
  How the ABC salaries got leaked. ABC chief Mark Scott has written an email to staff (obtained byCrikey) detailing exactly how those ABC salaries wound up in News Corp papers. The salary details were accidentally released to South Australian Family First MP Robert Brokenshire who had requested different information through Freedom of Information. Salary details
Walkouts, roadblocks and compromise: Warsaw's legacy
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  Archived Version
  Source: The Conversation
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 07:11
  That's a wrap: despite a backdrop of Typhoon Haiyan, COP19 saw significant industry influence to stymie climate action. EPA/BARTLOMIEJ ZBOROWSKIThe UN climate change talks, held from November 11 until November 22 in Warsaw, were more disappointing than expected.
  During the two weeks, Japan and Australia back-flipped on their previous emissions reduction targets, and developed countries' financial commitments for adaptation were far too modest. Pledges totalled US$100 million to sustain the Adaptation Fund, which is a far cry from the US$100 billion per year by 2020 that was promised in Copenhagen four years ago.
  Midway through the Warsaw meeting, the president of the conference, Marcin Korolec, was sacked as the Polish environment minister because he hadn't pushed new shale gas legislation through fast enough.
  There was also limited resolve concerning future greenhouse gas targets for countries. This is critical in mapping out a path to Paris in 2015, which is supposed to be where countries will sign up for a new global climate deal.
  Despite this, one positive ray of light emerged: the Warsaw Framework for REDD+was established. This is funding to end deforestation and promote conservation, and is supported by the US, Norway and UK to the tune of US$280 million.
  Arguing over ''loss and damage''The Warsaw meeting '' known as COP19, because it's the 19th global ''Conference of the Parties'' meeting on climate change '' took place against the backdrop of the recent super typhoon Haiyan, which affected over 11 million people in the Philippines and other nearby nations.
  Early on in the first week of the talks, the G-77 block of developing countries tabled a proposal to all countries for a ''loss and damage'' mechanism as a third separate pillar alongside mitigation and adaptation.
  The idea would be to have funds available to provide critical assistance to countries hit by severe rapid-onset weather events and gradual climate change.
  This was always going to be a highly contentious and emotionally fuelled issue to resolve. But as the talks progressed into the second week '' and the negotiations reached a stage of confidentiality behind closed doors '' developing countries became increasingly frustrated. They were sick of how developed countries, particularly Australia, continued to block a new global body on loss and damage.
  The consistent opposition to a new stand-alone mechanism by developed countries reached a climax at 4am on Wednesday last week, when lead negotiators from the G-77 walked out of the negotiations.
  Talks resumed later in the day but two areas of disagreement still loomed: developed countries' reluctance to support a new body for loss and damage (they wanted the issue to sit within the existing adaptation framework), and finance and the much-needed means for implementation.
  As ministers arrived in Warsaw during the second week to take hold of the reigns in these heated debates, so too did an outcome on loss and damage. This came about on Saturday November 23 as the talks ran over time.
  Governments agreed to the ''Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage associated with climate change impacts''. This was a compromised agreement, with the mechanism remaining under the Cancun Adaptation Framework, rather than as a third pillar as insisted by developing countries.
  Walkouts for some, red carpets for othersWalkouts were a common theme of these climate talks. A consortium of organisations from civil society staged a walkout on the second Thursday of the talks, disillusioned and frustrated over slow progress and commitments. And many considered that a key reason for that lack of progress was the increasing level of corporate sponsorship by highly energy-intensive businesses.
  Red carpet access was provided to big business and industry at the talks. Such extensive corporate involvement in the official process is a first for the 19 years of international climate change talks and is likely to become the new norm.
  Fuelling the fire was the provocative decision by the World Coal Association to hold a two-day International Coal and Climate Summit in Warsaw during the second week of the climate change talks. That summit yielded resounding support from the Polish government.
  The 12,000-odd participants at the Warsaw talks have now headed home to prepare for next year's meeting in Lima.
  If COP19 tells us anything, it is that the road to Paris and a new legally binding climate deal in 2015 will be arduous.
  For me, the message from Warsaw is this: multilateralism is utopian in theory but can also sideline the views of those most vulnerable to, and least responsible for, the devastating impacts of a changing climate.
  Sign in to Favourite17 CommentsTagsWarsaw COP 19
  Related articles 25 November 2013 Russia's silence on climate change helps no one 21 November 2013 Migration is a solution to climate change, not a threat to security 20 November 2013 Climate targets are the fallout from Japan's nuclear disaster 19 November 2013 How tree huggers can save forests with science 19 November 2013 Australia and Canada are leading the wreckers at Warsaw
Massachusetts Votes To Delay Implementation Of Common Core
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  Archived Version
  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 07:10
  Via Heritage:
  This week, the Massachusetts Board of Education voted to slow the transition to Common Core.
  The board decided to delay implementation for two years while it compares the Common Core aligned Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests to their existing'--and widely praised'--Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam.
  Commissioner Mitchell Chester, who also chairs the governing board for the PARCC consortium, says that adopting the Common Core by the 2014''2015 deadline would cause Massachusetts ''too precipitous a transition.''
  Keep reading'...
DIRTY GAMES OF KARZAI AND WARLORDS OF AFGHANISTAN NARCOSTATE
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  Archived Version
  Source: VENITISM
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 07:03
  By Ron Paul
  After a year of talks over the post-2014 US military presence in Afghanistan, the US administration announced last week that a new agreement had finally been reached. Under the deal worked out with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the US would keep thousands of troops on nine military bases for at least the next ten years.
  It is clear that the Obama Administration badly wants this deal. Karzai, sensing this, even demanded that the US president send a personal letter promising that the US would respect the dignity of the Afghan people if it were allowed to remain in the country. It was strange to see the US president go to such lengths for a deal that would mean billions more US dollars to Karzai and his cronies, and a US military that would continue to prop up the regime in Kabul.
  Just as the deal was announced by Secretary of State John Kerry and ready to sign, however, Karzai did an abrupt about-face. No signed deal until after the next presidential elections in the spring, he announced to a gathering of tribal elders, much to the further embarrassment and dismay of the US side. The US administration had demanded a signed deal by December. What may happen next is anybody's guess. The US threatens to pull out completely if the deal is not signed by the end of this year.
  Karzai should be wary of his actions. It may become unhealthy for him. The US has a bad reputation for not looking kindly on puppet dictators who demand independence from us.
  Yet Karzai's behavior may have the unintended benefit of saving the US government from its own worst interventionist instincts. The US desire to continue its military presence in Afghanistan '' with up to 10,000 troops '' is largely about keeping up the false impression that the Afghan war, the longest in US history, has not been a total, catastrophic failure. Maintaining a heavy US presence delays that realization, and with it the inevitable conclusion that so many lives have been lost and wasted in vain. It is a bitter pill that this president, who called Afghanistan ''the good war,'' would rather not have to swallow.
  The administration has argued that US troops must remain in Afghanistan to continue the fight against al-Qaeda. But al-Qaeda has virtually disappeared from Afghanistan. What remains is the Taliban and the various tribes that have been involved in a power struggle ever since the Soviets left almost a quarter of a century ago. In other words, twelve years later we are back to the starting point in Afghanistan.
  Where has al-Qaeda gone if not in Afghanistan? They have branched out to other areas where opportunity has been provided by US intervention. Iraq had no al-Qaeda presence before the 2003 US invasion. Now al-Qaeda and its affiliates have turned Iraq into a bloodbath, where thousands are killed and wounded every month. The latest fertile ground for al-Qaeda and its allies is Syria, where they have found that US support, weapons, and intelligence is going to their side in the ongoing war to overthrow the Syrian government.
  In fact, much of the US government's desire for an ongoing military presence in Afghanistan has to do with keeping money flowing to the military industrial complex. Maintaining nine US military bases in Afghanistan and providing military aid and training to Afghan forces will consume billions of dollars over the next decade. The military contractors are all too willing to continue to enrich themselves at the expense of the productive sectors of the US economy.
  Addressing Afghan tribal elders last week, Karzai is reported to have expressed disappointment with US assistance thus far: ''I demand tanks from them, and they give us pickup trucks, which I can get myself from Japan'... I don't trust the U.S., and the U.S. doesn't trust me.''
  Let us hope that Karzai sticks to his game with Washington. Let the Obama administration have no choice but to walk away from this twelve-year nightmare. Then we can finally just march out.
  NATO intervention in Afghanistan has drastically increased its opium production. Afghanistan is a poppyland that now produces ninety percent of all the opium consumed worldwide, and kleptocrats profit from its trade. Most ministers of the government, including the president, are narcotics dealers! Nevertheless, not a single kleptocrat has yet to be convicted. Overzealous police chiefs are replaced before they can track down narcotics dealers. Kabul Airport is like a heavily protected mosque at the main entrance, but there are three open doors out back.Afghanistan has become a narcostate. Occidental diplomats just shrug. After all, the fight against the narcostate isn't part of the UN mandate, and embassies and military bases are not law-enforcement agencies. There is no lack of knowledge about what is going on, but who wants to get back into it with re-strengthened warlords? Almost all of these criminals have ultimately gotten what they wanted.The mission in Afghanistan has just replaced the Taliban government with a narcotics mafia. A state with a security apparatus that might be strong enough to at best hold the Taliban halfway in check. A country whose order will be guaranteed by brutal warlords. A president drug dealer who will play the kingmaker and wait until the last moment to reveal the drug dealer he will back as his puppet successor! Occidentals declare victory, and then they leave!
AFP, Getty Images Ordered to Pay $1.2 Million for Using Twitter Photos without Permission
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: WTF RLY REPORT
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 07:01
  IB Times
  A US district court has ordered news agencies Agence France-Presse and Getty Images Inc to pay $1.2 million for using images from micro-blogging site Twitter, without the photographer's permission.
  AFP and Getty Images reportedly violated the Copyright Act and downloaded images of the destruction caused by an earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010, taken by photographer Daniel Morel. Morel had put the pictures up on Twitter to raise awareness about the situation in the Caribbean nation.
  Soon after the images were put up on Twitter, AFP is said to have downloaded them and even circulated them to Getty Images without taking Morel's permission, reported The Daily Dot. Additionally, another Twitter user from Dominican Republic also uploaded Morel's images and even claimed its copyright.
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Why Have 10 Major Volcanoes Along The Ring Of Fire Suddenly Roared To Life?
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  Archived Version
  Source: WTF RLY REPORT
  Mon, 25 Nov 2013 07:00
  The Truth Winsby Michael Snyder
  Ten major volcanoes have erupted along the Ring of Fire during the past few months, and the mainstream media in the United States has been strangely silent about this. But this is a very big deal. We are seeing eruptions at some volcanoes that have been dormant for decades. Yes, it is certainly not unusual for two or three major volcanoes along the Ring of Fire to be active at the same time, but what we are witnessing right now is highly unusual. And if the U.S. media is not concerned about this yet, the truth is that they should be. Approximately 90 percent of all earthquakes and approximately 80 percent of all volcanic eruptions occur along the Ring of Fire, and it runs directly up the west coast of the United States. Perhaps if Mt. Rainier in Washington state suddenly exploded or a massive earthquake flattened Los Angeles the mainstream media would wake up. Most Americans have grown very complacent about these things, but right now we are witnessing volcanic activity almost everywhere else along the Ring of Fire. It is only a matter of time before it happens here too.
  Sadly, most Americans cannot even tell you what the Ring of Fire is. The following is how Wikipedia defines the ''Ring of Fire'''...
  The Ring of Fire is an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. In a 40,000 km (25,000 mi) horseshoe shape, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements. It has 452 volcanoes and is home to over 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes.
  An easy way to think about the Ring of Fire is to imagine a giant red band stretching along the perimeter of the Pacific Ocean.
  And yes, that includes the entire west coast of the United States and the entire southern coast of Alaska.
  10 major volcanoes along the Ring of Fire have suddenly roared to life in recent months. The following are short excerpts from news reports about those eruptions'...
  Volcano creates new island off the coast of Japan: A dramatic volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean has created a tiny new islet in Japan's territorial waters, officials said Thursday, the first time in decades the nation has seen the phenomenon.
  The navy spotted smoke about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) south of Tokyo on Wednesday and Japan's coastguard later verified the birth of the islet around the Ogasawara island chain.
  Video footage showed plumes of smoke and ash billowing from the 200-metre island, and Japan's coastguard said it was warning vessels to use caution in the area until the eruption cools off.
  Mount Sinabung in Indonesia: A volcano in western Indonesia has erupted eight times in just a few hours, ''raining down rocks'' over a large area and forcing thousands to flee their homes, officials said Sunday.
  Mount Sinabung has been erupting on and off since September, but went into overdrive late Saturday and early Sunday, repeatedly spewing out red-hot ash and rocks up to eight kilometres (five miles) into the air.
  Colima in Mexico: On Monday night and Tuesday morning, the Colima volcano showed two strong exhalations; ejecting lava down its slopes and ash skyward, that has reached several villages. Since last Sunday, the Volcan de Fuego de Colima was reactivated after several weeks of apparent calm and until Tuesday registered between 30 and 35 puffs per day, spewing lava down its slopes and ash that reached the people of Cheese, municipality of Cuauht(C)moc, Colima, and some towns in the state of Jalisco.
  Sakurajima in Japan: After a short phase of weaker activity, the volcano began to erupt more violently yesterday with a series of powerful explosions that sent ash plumes up to 15,000 ft (4,5 km). Near-constant ash emissions have been taking place from the Showa crater.
  Fuego in Guatemala: Two lava flows are active on the upper slopes of the volcano at the moment, to the Taniluya (south) and Ceniza canyon (SE). The effusive activity started on 11 Nov and increased on 18 November, reaching a length of 600 m. Constant avalanches detach from the flow fronts. At the same time, explosive activity at the summit crater remained at low to moderate levels, with strombolian explosions that produce ash plumes of up to 800 m height and incandescent jets visible from distance.
  Santa Mar­a/Santiaguito in Guatemala: A phreatomagmatic (water-magma interaction driven) explosion yesterday morning produced a plume of fine ash rising to 3.2 km altitude (700 m above the lava dome) and drifted SE, causing ash fall in Finca La Florida.
  Yaser in Vanuatu: Geohazards reports that the volcano continues to produce near-continuous ash emissions while explosions are relatively weak. This phase of ash emissions began on 3 November and are likely to continue into the coming days and weeks.
  Popocatepetl in Mexico: The Popocatepetl volcano showcased with a layer of snow was observed throughout the morning and mid-day from the city of Puebla and columns generated by medium-intensity exhalations. According to the monitoring system of the National Center for Disaster Prevention (Cenapred) in the last 24 hours, the colossus presented 57 exhalations of low intensity, probably accompanied by emissions of steam and gas.
  Mount Marapi in Indonesia: Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia, erupted earlier Monday, shooting a cloud of black ash about 2,000 meter high, officials said.
  Kliuchevskoi on the Kamchatka Peninsula: Kliuchevskoi on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia had a busy weekend after its busy week '-- and a lot of the action was caught on the webcams pointed at the volcano or by satellite. For much of Friday and into Saturday (October 18-19), the volcano continued to produce some vigorous lava fountains and lava flows, mixed in with Strombolian explosions that sent bombs down the slopes of the volcano. This activity was significant enough to cause some aviation alerts even over the western Aleutian Islands.
  So why is this happening?
  Why is the Ring of Fire suddenly roaring to life?
  And what could this mean for the United States?
  The Truth Wins