from the oklohoman: Oklahomans may be surprised to learn the state shares a dark past with Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Eugenics, the wonder science of the early 1900s, hailed by academics worldwide as a means to improve a race by sterilizing those who possessed serious heredity defects, was also embraced by Gov. Alfalfa Bill Murray. This book, In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics (W.W. Norton, $24.95) by Victoria F. Nourse, examines how a scientific theory about nature was transformed into the basis of social policy ordained by the power of the state of Oklahoma.
The case's backdrop began in 1927 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a forced sterilization of a feeble-minded girl in the case of Buck v. Bell. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, "Three generations of imbeciles [were] enough.” The law deferred to the state of Virginia's right to regulate health and safety.
The book's title comes from a line in the 1942 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Skinner v. Oklahoma striking down this Oklahoma law, warning that "in reckless hands” an entire "race or types” might "wither and disappear.” Not coincidentally, this was the year Nazis were trying to eradicate the Jewish race on the theory of natural inferiority. Ideas have consequences, and bad ideas can produce horrible consequences. Yet, as late as the 1960s, more than 100,000 people had been sterilized under U.S. federal health and welfare programs, the author writes.
Nourse, a law college professor at Emory University, provides a fascinating story of gritty and determined Oklahoma lawyers who took Skinner's case to the nation's highest court. This book should appeal to general readers of Oklahoma history and those interested in the modern science of genetics, which likewise promises a better future through the selection of desirable genetic traits. Will the history of human engineering repeat itself?
from kgw: Don't worry - Portland is not under attack. Low flying military helicopters buzzing downtown Portland looked like a scene out of a movie. Monday night’s drama was all part of a military exercise. Newschannel8 has learned, the Army and Navy are conducting Urban Military Training in Portland and Salem from August 17-30.
The training will include “low visibility movement, military operations in urban terrain, manual and low weight explosive breaching, fast-rope insertion, live fire” and other exercises according to a memo from Portland Mayor Tom Potter to the Navy’s Special Warfare Development Group.
Monday’s exercise involved helicopters hopping from one downtown skyscraper to another. Many residents and downtown workers were concerned by the low flying helicopters. The Department of Defense provided no advance warning of the exercise.
Drills involving helicopters are expected to resume on Wednesday evening in Portland. The Urban Military Training is expected to take place in Salem on Tuesday and Thursday. It is not clear what type of training will take place in Salem.
military choppers to train again on wednesday from oregonian: In The Oregonian's news podcast, Today in Oregon, for Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008: A spokesman for the Department of Defense says the black military helicopters will train again on Portland on Wednesday evening. But he says they are not armed.download mp3 here. (8.3mb)
last night's surprise navy seal training (may have) included live fire & training ammo from willamette week: Here's the text of an April letter from Mayor Tom Potter to the U.S. Navy authorizing last night's helicopter training exercises downtown, which caught Portlanders by surprise and scared a good number of them.
Potter spokesman John Doussard says the city's central dispatch line got about 50 concerned calls last night as the military helicopters buzzed over the Park Blocks.
"I think next time we would handle it differently," Doussard says.
Potter's letter says, in part:
"I understand that this training will include low visibility movement, military operations in urban terrain, manual and low weight explosive breaching, fast rope insertion, live fire,"
—which the Naval Safety Center calls "a hazardous but necessary part of combat training"—"
low power training ammunition, simmunitions, flash bang, surveillance and counter surveillance ."
As war geeks know, the Naval Special Warfare Development Group is a real hot-shit bunch.
The Oregonianreports today that the training will continue.
Again, here's the full text of Potter's letter:
April 7, 2008
Captain Scott P. Moore
Commanander [sic], Naval Special Warfare Development Group
1636 Regulus Avenue
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23461
Dear Captain Moore
I am pleased to extend you an invitation to conduct Urban Military Training in our City from August 17 to 30, 2008.
In a letter from your command, dated November 14, 2007 requesting permission to conduct training, you stated that members of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group and Army Special Operations Aviation Regiment would utilize buildings in the jurisdiction of the City of Portland for this training exercise. I understand that this training will include low visibility movement, military operations in urban terrain, manual and low weight explosive breaching, fast rope insertion, live fire, low power training ammunition, simmunitions, flash bang, surveillance and counter surveillance.
I have been informed that all training has been coordinated through and approved by all involved government entities, as well as the representatives/owners of each property, and that all liability for your personnel and their actions during training rests with the Navy. I have also been informed that extensive planning and coordination has already been conducted and that Sergeant Mike Lieb of the Tactical Operations Division will act as liaison for this exercise.
I welcome the opportunity to support the United States Navy as you develop the techniques and tactics necessary to protect our country. We look forward to your group having a safe and productive training exercise in our City.
update2: police state of mind - black helicopters over portland from clyde lewis: "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." --Robert Anton Wilson
On Monday, August 25th, 2008, I presented a Ground Zero Lounge about the possibility of a police state being declared in Denver if protesters rioted at the Democratic National Convention. It featured the Denver International Airport and the Masonic, religious and apocalyptic symbolism throughout the huge mural on the wall there and on other artwork throughout the building.
As I was preparing to go on stage at Dante's, I was called out of the bar by security guards. I wondered what was wrong.
"Come outside, Mr. Lewis. There is something that you should see."
I stepped out into the street, where, all along the curb, people scanned the sky with alarmed expressions. I thought that perhaps they were seeing some anomaly or UFO in the sky. "What's up?" I asked. "I don't see anything."
One security guard said, "Shhhh, listen!"
I heard a faint sound, rather like a lawn mower. As the sound got closer it drowned out the sounds of the downtown Portland streets.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were two low-flying black helicopters buzzing rooftops and dropping armed soldiers on top of buildings. The only time I had seen anything like this before was in an Alex Jones documentary...
update3: portland to black helicopters: stick to jantzen beach from oregonian: The black helicopters that buzzed downtown Monday are expected to fly in a much smaller footprint tonight, according to the city. Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer requested that the U.S. Department of Defense restrict any helicopter-training activities to the Jantzen Beach area tonight. The military is "cooperative," said John Doussard, the mayor's spokesman. A spokesman for the military said he was checking into the report, but added that the military does not like to publicize its flight plans for safety reasons. Learn more about the helicopters that swooped through Portland as part of a military exercise.
black helicopters swarm downtown portland from alex ansary: Like a scene from an action film, it looked as if some major event was taking place in the air and on the streets of Portland, Oregon this last Monday evening. The notorious black helicopters have been making more regular appearances in major American cities, including Portland. Only this time, we are hearing more about the possibility of live fire being used as military personnel practice jumping from the helicopters onto rooftops in downtown. The Army and Navy are conducting Urban Military Training in Portland and Salem from August 17-30, 2008 according to KGW NewsChannel 8. The training will include “low visibility movement, military operations in urban terrain, manual and low weight explosive breaching, fast-rope insertion, live fire” and other exercises according to a memo from Portland Mayor Tom Potter to the Navy’s Special Warfare Development Group.
update: obama plot wasn't credible threat, police say from ap: Authorities are investigating whether a man arrested with rifles, ammunition and drugs in his truck made statements threatening Barack Obama, but emphasize he never posed a "credible threat" to the candidate or the Democratic National Convention.
Federal and local authorities had scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon, but U.S. Attorney Troy Eid downplayed the case.
and now, a word from zbigniew brzezinski's daughter...
possible obama assassination plot gets little US coverage from global research: Oddly, an apparent plot to assassinate Barack Obama during his acceptance speech in Denver that led to four arrests on Sunday is getting very little coverage in the US MSM. It would appear that a blackout is now in force on this story in the US MSM. BothHa'aretz and the Jerusalem Postcovered the story detailing the FBI arrests of four subjects now in custody.
Unsubstantiated reports from Moscow allege that the plot was foiled after the FSB intercepted documents in Georgia describing a project code-named: "Operation Drago" -- an assassination plot that was allegedly engineered by a rogue element of high-ranking Israeli military officials.
The Russian report described the plot that involved a disinformation ploy to set up the members of an outlaw motorcycle gang, the 'Sons of Silence,' as expendables to mislead investigators from the actual perpetrators of the operation. The outlaw bikers arrested by the FBI are described as Neo-Nazis.
Ironically, Obama's opponent, John McCain, made a blatant appeal to the racist right by appearing at the massive outlaw biker rally at Sturgis, South Dakota, an annual convention of Neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-semites.
Lebanese television is now covering the story of the Denver assassination plot.
Some of the international reports describe the confessions of one the suspects to his part in the plot to assassinate Obama that was scheduled to take place during his acceptance speech at Invesco Field this Thursday by using a high-powered rifle from a high vantage point that would have provided a clear and unobstructed shot at the podium.
Yahoo has covered the story, but its reports do not contain the rich detail of the accounts published by foreign news agencies.
update: obama ‘murder plot suspect’ interviewed from raw replay: A gunman who allegedly threatened Barack Obama was never a “credible threat” to the White House hopeful, US authorities have said. This video is from ITN, broadcast August 27, 2008.
update: nazi link in plot to assassinate obama from scotsman: The three men arrested over a reported plot to kill the US Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, have ties to the white supremacist group Aryan Nations, police said last night.
Shawn Robert Adolf, 33, Nathan Johnson and Tharin Gartrell are all said to have links to the group. Adolf – his real name according to police – and the others were arrested on weapons charges after an apparent move to assassinate Mr Obama during his party's convention in Denver this week.
All three belong to Aryan Nations, according to Victor Ross, the police chief in Glendale, a suburb of Denver where one of the suspects was arrested. The other two were held in Aurora, another suburb. "We don't usually have that number of Aryan Nations people here," Mr Ross said. "It was suspicious to us. We turned everything over to the federal authorities."
get ready for provocateured violence, grandstanding & all the bread & circus bullshit you can handle!
will authorities stage riots in denver? from paul joseph watson: The major question hanging over the Democratic National Convention, which starts in Denver today, is whether or not authorities will follow the lead of previous mass protest events, and actively stage violence to justify a brutal crackdown on legitimate demonstrators. Last year after an incident during the SPP summit in Montebello Canada, Quebec provincial authorities were forced to admit that three rock-wielding mask-wearing “anarchists” were in fact police infiltrators used to gather information on protesters.
fuck fox news: reporter gets heckled by crowd from youtube: Griff Jenkins in the middle of the Denver protests.
mccain & obama tied in polls as dems open convention from dpa: The scramble for the White House was dead even between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, according to two separate polls released late Sunday, the eve of the opening of the Democratic nominating convention. The Gallup Poll showed each candidate with 45 per cent support from registered voters, while a CNN/Opinion Research Corp poll showed a 47-per-cent stalemate.
aclu: denver cops ‘amped up’ by anti-protester memo from raw replay: CNN’s Joe Johns reported on security at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. John reported that the ACLU is “irate” at a memo that they say is causing police to get “amped up” to deal with protesters. This video is from CNN’s American Morning, broadcast August 25, 2008.
from raw replay: As Democrats prepare for the Democratic National Convention, anti-war protesters took to the streets of Denver to call for an end to the Iraq war. This video is from The Associated Press, broadcast August 24, 2008.
beijing closes olympic games with another spectacle from mcclatchy: The most expensive and lavish Olympic Games in history came to a close Sunday as Beijing officially passed the Olympic flame to London, and the countdown started for 2012 games that the British say will be frugal but fun. To the deafening roar of fireworks, Beijing marked the end of Summer Games that brought it a record bounty of 51 gold medals and seized global sports supremacy from the United States.
A little more than an hour into the ceremony, Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong handed the Olympic flag to International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge, who immediately passed it on to Boris Johnson, London’s beaming mop-haired mayor.
Then it was London's turn.
As British Prime Minister Gordon Brown watched from the stadium gallery, British designers took over a portion of the evening ceremony, and brought with them a legendary figure in rock music history, a sporting icon and some wry British humor.
A red double-decker London bus drove into the Bird's Nest Stadium, peeling open like a blossoming flower to reveal a stage. On it was Jimmy Page, the Led Zeppelin guitarist, playing the classic "Whole Lotta Love." Moments later, David Beckham, the soccer icon, arrived to kick a soccer ball into a crowd of athletes. Beckham scored a huge ovation.
Tens of thousands of Britons watched the ceremony in live broadcasts on 30 giant screens around the British Isles, including in London's Trafalgar Square.
(sorry, this was all just too ridiculous not to post... 2012, jimmy page, the masses watching telescreens... how could i not?)
from upi: Say whatever you want about Blackwater Worldwide - and hardly a day goes by when something isn't being said about it - it does not put all its eggs in one basket. Long before the company's recent announcement that it would seek to de-emphasize its personal security work in the future, it had created a diversified corporate structure. To use military terminology, it is a combined arms operation. While most attention is focused on Blackwater Security Consulting, the unit that provides contractors for work in Iraq and elsewhere, there is far more to it than that. Blackwater has long sought to be a one-stop shopping center, a sort of Wal-Mart for all the U.S. government's military outsourcing needs, and a review of its business units shows it has gone a long way toward meeting that goal.
from collateral news: (This is a rerun) Our addiction to single-use plastic is creating havoc in the oceans, graphically illustrated by the 'great garbage patch' in the Pacific - an area of floating trash twice the size of Texas.
from washington times: With only eight takers since the program's creation this month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has decided to scrap itsself-deportation program for illegal immigrants who previously had ignored court orders to leave the country. The pilot program, which began Aug. 5 in five cities, officially ended Friday. It had been offered to the more than 457,000 illegal immigrants nationwide who ignored judicial orders to leave the country. Known as “Scheduled Departure,” the plan gave illegal immigrants facing deportation a total of 90 days to turn themselves into ICE, allowing them to plan their departure date and to coordinate their travel plans with relatives instead of facing the prospect of being arrested, detained and deported.
illegal immigrants returning to mexico in record numbers from fox news: Illegal immigrants are returning home to Mexico in numbers not seen for decades — and the Mexican government may have to deal with a crush on its social services and lower wages once the immigrants arrive. The Mexican Consulate's office in Dallas is seeing increasing numbers of Mexican nationals requesting paperwork to go home for good, especially parents who want to know what documentation they'll need to enroll their children in Mexican schools.
"Those numbers have increased percentage-wise tremendously," said Enrique Hubbard, the Mexican consul general in Dallas. "In fact, it's almost 100 percent more this year than it was the previous two years."
The illegal immigrant population in the U.S. has dropped 11 percent since August of last year, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. Its research shows 1.3 million illegal immigrants have returned to their home countries.
Some say illegal immigrants are leaving because a soft economy has led to fewer jobs, causing many laborers to seek work elsewhere. Others argue that a tough stance on immigration through law enforcement has spread fear throughout the illegal population.
ice: nearly 600 detained in mississippi plant raid from austin american-statesman: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement updated the tally of people arrested at a large immigration raid in Laurel, Miss. The raid, at an electric transformer manufacturing facility, netted 595 illegal immigrants, ICE said Tuesday. Of those, 106 were offered “an alternative to detention based on humanitarian reasons.” According to various press reports, most of the 106 were parents of small children and were given ankle bracelets and told to appear in court at a later date.
from alex ansary: Alex discusses the next steps the elite are taking to move our global population towards a full scale planetary war. Later, he welcomes the return of clairvoyantLeon Legant & his eye opening predictions about how World War Three will be playing out which includes a Chinese invasion. The discussion of demonic entities working through leaders and people came up as well.
obama selects joseph biden as his running mate from thinkprogress: CNN’s John King is reporting that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has selected Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) as his running mate. King said the Obama campaign will officially reveal the selection in a text message to over three million people soon. Obama is scheduled to appear with Biden at a rally this afternoon in Springfield, IL.
Biden, who ran as a presidential candidate in 1987 and 2007, has served in the Senate since 1972 and is currently the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Last week, New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks urged the selection of Biden, writing that he “provides what Obama needs.” Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter wrote, “The main task now for Obama is reassurance that he could handle the job, especially commander in chief. Biden provides it.”
Taking aim at McCain’s foreign policy approach earlier this year, Biden said:
"John McCain remains wedded to the Bush Administration’s myopic view of a world defined by terrorism… He would continue to allow a tiny minority to set the agenda for the overwhelming majority. It is time for a total change in Washington’s world view."
obama announces biden as running mate via text message from wikinews: SenatorBarack Obama from Illinois, the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party, announced his choice for Vice President as Joe Biden. The announcement came via text message early Saturday morning, to people who had signed up to receive the announcement on the official Barack Obama campaign website. Friday afternoon, several campaign officials had informed the media that the text message announcement would be distributed Saturday morning. Reportedly, the announcement would come a few hours ahead of a scheduled rally at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois, where Obama and and whoever the VP candidate would be would appear together for the first time as the Democratic ticket. On August 19th, Biden while leaving his house reportedly said to some reporters, "hey guys, I'm not the guy."
obama leaves texters at altar, runs off w/ dinosaur press from threat level: The best line in the coverage of Barack Obama's choice of Sen. Joe Biden as running mate is this nugget from the AP story.
"The official who spoke did so on condition of anonymity, preferring not to pre-empt a text-message announcement the Obama campaign promised for Saturday morning," the AP wrote.
If the official didn't want to pre-empt the much-anticipated text message announcement, shouldn't it have been Biden's name that was kept secret?
At the DailyKos, Marcos Moulitsas was fairly gloating Friday night - before the Biden story broke - that the planned direct-to-supporters announcement was proof "that old media is getting left out in the cold." And Twitter was buzzing with anticipation - Obama fans described their hearts jumping into their throats every time their phones buzzed, thinking it might be the Text Message From On High. Now you have to feel sorry for them. They're still waiting, while the old-timers watching the boob-tube have the scoop.
After all the talk about how the Obama campaign was blazing a bold new trail in filterless netroots communication, in the end, it behaved just like any other political campaign and went to CNN, AP, Fox News, ABC, NBC and CBS with its news. It turns out the revolution will be televised, it just won't be a revolution.
secret service on their way to biden's house from abcnews: The United States Secret Service has dispatched a protective detail to assume the immediate protection of Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., a source tells ABC News, indicating in all likelihood that Biden has been officially notified that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, has selected him to be his running mate.
obama's & mccain's vp picks won't matter in november from usnews: While vice-presidential mania hits its peak, can we take a deep breath and remember something: In November, it won't matter whom Barack Obama and John McCain select. Remember two names: Lyndon B. Johnson and J. Danforth Quayle.
obama selects biden to reassure the US ruling elite from global research: The selection of Senator Joseph Biden as the vice-presidential candidate of the Democratic Party underscores the fraudulent character of the Democratic primary campaign and the undemocratic character of the entire two-party electoral system. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the supposed protagonist of “change,” has picked as his running-mate a fixture of the Washington establishment, a six-term US senator who is a proven defender of American imperialism and the interests of big business. The rollout of the Biden selection over three days of escalating media attention, culminating in the text-message announcement early Saturday and a kickoff rally in Springfield, Illinois, is a metaphor for the entire Obama campaign. His presidential candidacy represents not an insurgency from below, but an effort to manipulate mass sentiments, using Internet technology and slick marketing techniques, aided by a compliant media, to produce a political result that is utterly conventional and in keeping with the requirements of the US ruling elite.
1992 biden speech: “on the threshold of the new world order: a rebirth for the united nations” from cryptogon/university of delaware: In his speech in Clayton Hall, “On the Threshold of the New World Order: A Rebirth for the United Nations,” Biden said the world’s leaders must adopt a new understanding of security. “Collective security today must encompass not only the security of nations,” he said, “but also mankind’s security in a global environment that has proven vulnerable to debilitating changes wrought by man’s own endeavors. Thus, in setting an American agenda for a new world order, we must begin with a profound alteration in traditional thought,” he said.
a few questions for joe biden that should be answered, preferably under oath from 9/11 blogger: The following question was submitted to the 9/11 Commission by the 9/11 Family Steering Committee.
Why did Mahmood Ahmed, Director of Pakistan's secret service, the (ISI) order Saeed Sheikh to wire $100,000 to hijacker Mohamed Atta?
What was Mahmood Ahmed's relationship with Al Qaeda?
Where did the money come from?
Did officials in Pakistan know in advance about the terrorist attack?
On September 11 th , Mahmood Ahmed had a breakfast meeting in Washington, D.C., with House and Senate Intelligence Committee chairmen, Rep. Porter Goss and Senator Bob Graham. What were they discussing?
The 9/11 Commission also presumably heard about Lt. Gen. Ahmed from FBI Whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds during her 3 1/2 hours of testimony. At the insistence of the families. They may have also heard of Lt. Gen. Ahmed during a meeting with the Pakistani ISI. The 9/11 Commission did not answer the families' question, and did not mention Lt. General Mahmood Ahmed in their report even though they were mandated to give a "full and complete accounting" of the 9/11 attacks.
Were you aware of his alleged activities? If you weren't aware of these activities at the time of your meeting, did you hear of them afterwards? Did you make any effort to expose them? If so, who did you inform of your intention to expose these activities?
biden on 9/10: the ‘real threat’ may come in ‘the belly of a plane’ from thinkprogress: Before 9/11, the Bush administration’s national security focus was on missile defense, not terrorism. In fact, on 9/11, then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice was set to deliver a speech that focused “largely on missile defense.” Writing at the Huffington Post, Joe Cirincione — president of the Ploughshares Fund — recalls this quote from Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) on Sept. 10, 2001, warning against the Bush administration’s approach:
We will have diverted all that money to address the least likely threat while the real threats come into this country in the hold of a ship, or the belly of a plane, or are smuggled into a city in the middle of the night in a vial in a backpack.
Cirincione writes, “If George Bush had listened to Joe Biden instead of Donald Rumsfeld, the history of the past seven years would have been very different. We might have prevented 9/11.”
media monarchy is originally broadcast on the portland radio authorityevery friday at 10am pacific/1pm eastern and can also be heard on the revere radio networkevery sunday at 4pm pacific/7pm eastern...
from washington times: Two of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign offices were evacuated Thursday after receiving suspicious letters, one of which contained an unidentified white powder. A government official said a letter sent to the office of the presumptive Republican presidential nomineenear Denver contained powder, but was being treated as a hoax and was thought to have been sent by an inmate at a nearby jail in Arapahoe County.A letter sent to the office in New Hampshire did not contain powder, but aroused suspicions of staffers who were jittery after the Denver-area office received its letter. Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said the two letters are unrelated. Despite the likelihood of a hoax, staffers at all the Arizona Republican's campaign offices nationwide were told not to open letters. "Let's be cautious and not open mail tomorrow unless we clearly know the source," according to a campaign e-mail that was sent to staff members and obtained by The Washington Times. "Let's see what comes of this."
nader says obama will pick hillary from conservative pulse: According to the Politico, Ralph Nader is telling people that he fully expects that Barack Obama will name Hillary Clinton as his running-mate in the next few days. Nader suggests that Obama can’t really pick anyone else, as all other available choices are uninspiring empty suits. “I don’t think he’s that dumb,” said Nader, commenting on widespread speculation that Obama’s choices are down to Sens. Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, or Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. The smart pick, according to Nader, is Hillary Rodham Clinton. Nader phoned into Politico Tuesday afternoon to offer his prediction that a surprise nod to Clinton is actually what Obama has in store—never mind the talk of mistrust between the Clintons and Obama. “He just has to swallow hard and do what JFK did” in picking rival Lyndon Johnson in 1960, said the liberal activist and maverick presidential candidate.
many states abandoning touch screen voting from raw replay: CBS’ Tony Guida reported that as the U.S. prepares for the upcoming presidential election, many states are abandoning the electronic touch screen ballots that have caused significant problems in the past. Rep. Rush Holt said that one third of ballots cast will be unverifiable. This video is from CBS’ Evening News, broadcast August 17, 2008.
bacteria played a role in 1918 pandemic flu deaths from los angeles times: Most deaths in the 1918 influenza pandemic were due not to the virus alone but to common bacterial infections that took advantage of victims' weakened immune systems, according to two new studies that could change the nation's strategy against the next pandemic. "We have to realize that it isn't just antivirals that we need," said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and coauthor of one study. "We need to make sure that we're prepared to treat people with antibiotics," said Fauci, whose study will be released online this month by the Journal of Infectious Diseases. In both studies, scientists analyzed a trove of historical documents from around the world, examining firsthand accounts, medical records and autopsy reports. Writing about the 1918 influenza outbreak in the August issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers reported that few deaths were swift, which is what scientists believed characterized a viral pandemic. Instead, they found most deaths occurred a week to two weeks later - indicating the deaths were the result of opportunistic bacterial infections.
carolina group backs away from new lab from fcw: A North Carolina group is backing away from actively supporting siting the proposed $450 million National Bio-and Agro-Defense Facility in that state. Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi and Texas are also in the competition... “We want the DHS to still consider us,” Green said, “But we will no longer do outreach and public education on the program.” Consortium members are concerned that members of the Butner, N.C. community claim that their worries about environmental effects and about the potential risk of pathogen release from the lab are not being adequately addressed, Green said.
labs that perform bioterrorism research proliferating from courant: The number of individuals performing bioterrorism research on deadly pathogens across the country has jumped to nearly 15,000, and most of them are authorized to work with anthrax, federal records obtained by The Courant reveal. The proliferation of labs working on vaccines for potential biological weapons — which started after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent anthrax mailings — has drawn heavy criticism from experts worried that too many people have access to dangerous materials. The recent revelation that an American scientist, Bruce Ivins, was about to be charged as the anthrax mailer has only increased those concerns. "We just went tearing down this road without thinking about the potential risks, including who was going to have access to all of these biological weapons," said Elisa Harris, a senior research scholar at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland.
US food prices to post biggest rise since '90 from reuters: U.S. consumers should brace for the biggest increase in food prices in nearly 20 years in 2008 and even more pain next year due to surging meat and produce prices, the Agriculture Department said on Wednesday. Food prices are forecast to rise by 5 percent to 6 percent this year, making it the largest annual increase since 1990. Just last month, USDA forecast food prices would climb between 4.5 and 5.5 percent in 2008. “It’s a little bit of a surprise how strong some of the numbers were in July,” USDA economist Ephraim Leibtag, who prepared the forecast, said in an interview. “We’ve been waiting for some moderation, but especially with some of the meat prices and how much has come through relatively recently (at the retail level) leads me to believe the overall number may be a little bit higher for the year,” he added.
reactor shut down after fire at california nuke plant from ap: Authorities are investigating a fire at a California nuclear plant that forced a reactor to be shut down. Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant spokeswoman Sharon Gavin said Monday that there was no danger of a radiation leak after a fire the day before. The blaze was in a non-nuclear part of the plant. Gavin says one of two reactors was shut down as part of standard safety procedures. She doesn't know when it will be restarted. The plant started supplying electricity in 1985 and generates power for about 3 million homes in northern and central California.
49 babies die during clinical trials at 'all india institute of medical sciences' from china view: As many as 49 babies, many of whom had not even celebrated their first birthday, have died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) while being subjected to clinical trials for testing new drugs and therapies over the last two and a half years. Responding to a Right to Information (RTI) query on clinical trials on babies, the AIIMS administration admitted on Monday that of the 4,142 babies -- 2,728 of whom were below the age of one -- who were enrolled for clinical trials by the institute's department of pediatrics, 49 had died since Jan. 1, 2006. The department conducted 42 sets of trials on babies during this period.
fda says bisphenol is ok for young & old from ap: Despite ongoing safety concerns from parents, consumer groups and politicians, a chemical used in baby bottles, canned food and other items is not dangerous, federal regulators said Friday. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists said the trace amounts of bisphenol A that leach out of food containers are not a threat to infants or adults. The plastic-hardening chemical is used to seal canned food and make shatterproof bottles. It also is used in hundreds of household items, ranging from sunglasses to CDs.
uk: fat children ‘should be taken from parents’ to curb obesity epidemic from times online: Grossly overweight children may be taken from their families and put into care if Britain’s obesity epidemic continues to escalate, council chiefs said yesterday. The Local Government Association argued that parents who allowed their children to eat too much could be as guilty of neglect as those who did not feed their children at all. The association said that until now there had been only a few cases when social services had intervened in obesity cases. But it gave warning that local councils may have to take action much more often and, if necessary, put obese children on “at risk” registers or take them into care. It called for new guidelines to be drawn up to help authorities deal with the issue.
nist & cnn say wtc7 'mystery solved': minor fires brought a 47-story steel skyscraper down in seconds from jones report: NIST’s wizards of balderdash have now officially concluded that fire caused the swift, symmetrical collapse of WTC Building 7 – offering essentially no explanation at all, other than ruling out alternative explanations (which were not scientifically tested in their research) as not credible. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer reports that the WTC7 building collapse is “mystery solved” – showing footage of head NIST ‘investigator’ Dr. Shyam Sunder making claim that the 47-story steel skycraper is the first in history of its kind to collapse ‘mainly due to fire’ despite the fact that NIST’s own report – previously leaked – shows that the visible fires had all died out hours before the collapse, making it impossible for fire to be the cause.
scott forbes: wtc 'power down' & 'elephant in the room' from 9/11 blogger: Scott Forbes reported a "power down" for approximately 36 hours in the South Tower of the World Trade Center the weekend (8th to 9th) prior to September 11th 2001. The "power down" conditions meant that for the floors his company Fiduciary Trust operated in (floors 90 and 94-97) there was no electricity - meaning CCTV cameras were out of operation and security doors were unlocked. Despite contacting the 9/11 Commission through their website and by mail, Scott was never acknowledged or contacted. Watch him here in his first ever video interview, an excerpt from the new feature-length documentary - 'The Elephant In The Room'
ntsb flight data: 77 couldn't have crashed into pentagon from existentialist cowboy: NTSB data indicates Flight 77 never dropped below 273 feet! Therefore, Flight 77 could not have crashed into the Pentagon. The Pentagon is only 71 feet tall. Secondly, according to the black box data, Flight 77 could not have damaged the light poles. 77 was much too high (the poles are only 40 feet) and on the wrong trajectory. Dare we hope that this is the wooden stake driven into the heart of vile, evil, official lies about 9/11? Data released by the NTSB in response to an FOIA request by Pilots for 9/11 Truth are nothing less than the raw "block box' file, the official 'flight data' recorded from Flight 77. It's a digital record of everything that happened on that flight from take off. Additionally, altitude and position are confirmed by the beacon at nearby Reagan National Airport. The data proves that the US government is lying to us about 9/11.
dan rather announces giuliani has 'flight data recorder' from 9/11 blogger: Observations:
- Rather’s language suggests he has knowledge of a news clip in custody of CBS in which Giuliani “holds up” what he claims is a “flight data recorder” from the WTC wreckage.
- Rather introduces this clip, but immediately a BBC-style “technical problem” prevents its being aired.
- Giuliani would not make such an announcement to the national media casually–much less “hold up” the object in question–without confirmation that what had been found was indeed a “flight data recorder” and not the remains of some other electronic appliance from the debris.
This episode supports claims by FDNY personnel and an NTSB “insider” that the WTC “black boxes” were in fact found, and suggests the actual moment the blackout curtain descends on this matter in the corporate media.
wtc7’s oem bunker unmanned on 9/11 from 9/11 blogger: In 1999, NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani constructed a $13 million emergency command retreat on the 23rd floor of World Trade Center Building 7—an armored, self-contained facility designed to provide a safe haven for leadership in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. But several first responders interviewed after 9/11 claim that the Office of Emergency Management’s Emergency Operations Center (OEMEOC) was empty and “deactivated” as early as 9AM on the morning of September 11th, a time when just such an emergency was in full swing.
9/11 memorial 'shanks' town’s name from free-lance star: The Pennsylvania Department of Highways Web site notes that the Sept. 11, 2001, crash of United Flight 93 "put Shanksville on the international map of terrorism." Unfortunately, that worldwide reputation hasn't been enough to keep the southwestern Pennsylvania borough's name from being misspelled. Media outlets have done it. Bloggers have done it. Even the Justice Department did it in a news release eight days after the terrorist attacks - adding an extra 'e.' Now that mistake literally is carved in stone.
neo’s passport in the matrix expired on 9/11/2001 from truthnews: Insiders love bragging to one another about being on the inside– perhaps that’s one explanation for an abundance of illuminati symbolism in mainstream media and corporate logos. Among the interesting references to 9/11 that have been uncovered in media released before 9/11 is a passport for ‘Neo’ in blockbuster film The Matrix, released in 1999. The passport– in Neo’s file– shows an expiration date of ‘11 SEP 01,’ seemingly now an eerie coincidence found in the smallest of details.
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from the oklohoman: Oklahomans may be surprised to learn the state shares a dark past with Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Eugenics, the wonder science of the early 1900s, hailed by academics worldwide as a means to improve a race by sterilizing those who possessed serious heredity defects, was also embraced by Gov. Alfalfa Bill Murray. This book, In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics (W.W. Norton, $24.95) by Victoria F. Nourse, examines how a scientific theory about nature was transformed into the basis of social policy ordained by the power of the state of Oklahoma.
