Odd Stories: Tunneling Burglars Steal ATM

Manchester, England - Bad timing has cost some hard working thieves $20,000 following a successful ATM theft at a British Blockbuster last week. The thieves probably believed it was full of money; however, due to the high volume of withdrawals between the holidays and the theft it actually held about 6,000 British pounds (approximately 9,200 USD).

After discovering the ATM missing, employees called the police. It wasn't until investigators arrived that the tunnel was discovered. The tunnel led to a lot 100 feet from the Blockbuster store. It appeared that the 'mole gang' used a railway embankment to get the tunnel started.

Detective Sargent Ian Shore from Longsight Crime Investigation Department said, "These people had obviously spent a long time plotting this crime and I doubt they would have been able to keep their plans secret for all that time, without telling others about their scheme."

Although tunneling appears a bit unusual for a burglary attempt, the Fallowfield district Blockbuster had a previous run-in with human moles in 2007. The tunnel reportedly went under a car park and had been given lights and roof supports. Electrical workers discovered the tunnel and subsequently, it was filled with cement, thwarting any possibility of the burglary occurring.

Det. Sgt Shore stated, "In all my years of service, I've never seen anything as elaborate."

Odd Stories: Sweden Gives File-sharers Sanctuary

Stockholm – There is now a safe-haven for those of you who love to download your media. The only catch isthat you have to move to Sweden.

The home of the famous file-sharing site PirateBay has recognized the Church of Kopimism, Swedish for “Copy me”. It's website makes it clear it supports downloading and uploading in all forms and sees copyright laws as a violation of freedom of information.

The spiritual leader of the group, Isak Gerson, says about Kopimism “"We believe that information is holy. We do not think that copying is stealing or can ever be stealing.".

The head of the Swedish recording industry International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Ludvig Werner, didn't have anything to say but did mention 1.5 million people out of the country's population of nine-million are file-sharers.

"This means Sweden is one of the most active countries in Europe for file-sharing. So we still have a problem, even if the legal streaming of music has helped limit it,” he added.

Odd Stories: Russian Villager Buys Arms Suppy for 15 Dollars

Sovkhozny, Russia - He only wanted to get some firewood for his stove for the winter. Instead a villager found himself in possession of almost 80 guns and more than 250 cartridges.

The man said he bought the 60 crates for 15 dollars (500 rubles) from an unidentified truck driver who said he was on the way to a recycling plant from one of Russia's oldest arms manufacturing plants. All of the guns are in working order and were made around 1959.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said he's going to launch a probe into the mysterious appearance of the rifles.

Due to cost-cutting measures and negligence on the part of the country's defense two decades ago, so many weapons pour out of the country that it's the second-highest exporter in the world.

Pollution Increaseds Disease Risk in Black Women

I would like to preface this by saying this goes for all people, but as black women usually have to deal with more health issues than other groups - given they need to deal with not just the health issues that go along with being black, but disproportionately being a poor single mother too - this is an issue of utmost importance.

Reuters Health - In a study of more than 4,000 black women in Los Angeles, those who lived in areas with higher levels of traffic-related air pollution were at increased risk of developing diabetes and high blood pressure.

The researchers, led by Patricia Coogan at Boston University, found that black women living in neighborhoods with high levels of nitrogen oxides, pollutants found in traffic exhaust, were 25 percent more likely to develop diabetes and 14 percent more likely to develop hypertension than those living in sections with cleaner air.

Previous research has linked air pollution to health problems such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease and even higher rates of death.

"The public health implications are huge," said Dr. Jiu-Chiuan Chen, who studies the effects of air pollution at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, especially for black women, who have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure than white women. He was not involved in the current work.

Forty-four percent of all black women in the U.S. have high blood pressure and about 11 percent have diabetes compared with 28 percent and roughly seven percent, respectively, of white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Black Americans also experience higher levels of air pollution than white Americans, according to the study authors.

For their investigation, published in Circulation, the researchers followed participants in the ongoing Black Women's Health Study for 10 years. The women were mainly recruited from subscribers to Essence magazine, and none had diabetes or high blood pressure when the study began in 1995.

Over the course of a decade, 531 women developed high blood pressure and 183 women were diagnosed with diabetes.

The findings on their relative risks for those conditions take into account several other potential influences, including how heavy the women were, whether they smoked and other stressors, including noise levels at participants' homes.

Although researchers measured average pollution levels near participants' homes for only one year of the ten-year study, Coogan told Reuters Health that air pollution patterns remained relatively constant over the entire study period.

While Coogan and her colleagues estimated nitrogen oxide concentrations near participants' homes, they did not account for commuting habits or exposure to air pollution at work. According to the researchers, Americans, on average, spend about 70 percent of their time at home.

In addition to measuring nitrogen oxides, a proxy for traffic pollution, the researchers evaluated levels of fine particulate matter. Many sources contribute to this type of air pollution, including traffic, power plants and industrial processes.

Women who lived in areas with higher fine particulate exposures also faced an increased risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, although statistically the link was weak and could have been due to chance.

Previous reports have suggested that air pollution particles small enough to make their way into the blood stream may contribute to a narrowing of blood vessels, which can lead to high blood pressure and reduce sensitivity to insulin.

More research needs to be done before these results can be generalized to all women or even all black women living in the U.S., Coogan cautions. Earlier studies did not find a link between air pollution and increased incidence of diabetes or high blood pressure in men, she said.

Because people don't always have control over where they live, policy makers must recognize the dangers of living and working in areas with high air pollution, Chen said.

To reduce the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes, he added, individuals can take steps, such as exercising, losing excess weight, quitting smoking and limiting salt intake.

Study Shows Doctors Over-treat Urine Bacteria

By Genevra Pittman

Reuters Health - In a new study of patients with bacteria in their urine, doctors prescribed antibiotics to one in three who had no symptoms and no evidence of a urinary tract infection.

In those cases, the bacteria probably would have disappeared on their own without causing any problems, researchers said, and treating those patients with drugs goes against guidelines -- because it increases the risk of antibiotic resistance without any real benefit.

"When the average physician sees a positive (for bacteria) urine culture, they automatically think of treating," said Dr. Peter Gross, an infectious diseases specialist at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey who was not involved in the new study.

Gross told Reuters Health that many doctors are afraid of the consequences -- such as getting sued -- if they decide not to treat bacteria in the urine and it does develop into something more serious. Others, he added, might equate a positive test for bacteria with a urinary tract infection, or UTI, without thinking about other options.

In the new study, researchers from the Houston, Texas, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the MD Anderson Cancer Center analyzed the medical records of patients at their hospitals whose urine had tested positive for a specific type of bacteria in late 2009.

That included 339 specific cases. Most patients were older and male, and being treated in the hospital or emergency room when their urine was tested.

Based on information from the lab tests and notes on patient symptoms characteristic of a UTI -- such as fever and pain while urinating -- the researchers determined that 156 patients had an infection, while 183 had cases of so-called colonization, with no sign of infection.

In patients with UTI symptoms, doctors were almost 12 times more likely to prescribe antibiotics as in symptom-free cases, Dr. Barbara Trautner, of the VA, and her colleagues reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine this week.

Still, 60 patients out of the 183 without evidence of a UTI were treated with antibiotics, against guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Only in specific cases, such as in pregnant women, do guidelines recommend treating bacterial colonization in symptom-free people using antibiotics.

Hospital patients who need a catheter are especially likely to develop bacteria in the urine. If it's not a full-on infection, Gross said, those patients will probably clear any bacteria within a week after getting the catheter taken out -- without the help of antibiotics.

Trautner's team found few side effects associated with the antibiotics used in patients with or without a UTI.
That doesn't change the fact, they note, that using antibiotics when they're not called for contributes to drug resistance -- when bacteria no longer respond to one or more types of antibiotics and infections get more difficult to treat.

What's more, the most commonly used antibiotics in all patients with bacteria in their urine were quinolones, which are known as "broad-spectrum" antibiotics. Those drugs work against the widest range of bacteria, which means that resistance is a bigger concern with their overuse.

Many hospitals already have efforts in place to limit the unnecessary use of antibiotics, but Gross said the decision of when to use drugs still often requires a fair amount of judgment on the part of doctors. So patients' knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate use matters too, he said.

"There's nothing like an educated patient," Gross said. "Patients need to know that not every positive urine culture indicates infection, it could just indicate colonization."

When it comes to using antibiotics, he said, "I agree with, 'less is more.'"

Cincinnati Commission Rules Against Racist Woman

Cincinnati - A landlord lost her appeal with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission January 12^th when she was found to be violating state anti-discrimination laws. Theincident happened on Memorial Day of 2011.

The woman, Jamie Hein, hung a “Public swimming pool. White only” sign outside her swimming pool and may have to pay for compensation and punitive costs. She argued the sign was an antique decoration but the commission dismissed the argument citing witnesses who said the landlord posted the sign because the chemicals in the girl's hair “would make the pool cloudy.” The sign is old, and Ronnell Tomlinson, the commission's housing enforcement director noted the sign read “Selma, Ala. 14 July 31.”

The commission voted 4-0 against reconsidering their decision and concluded posting the sign "restricts the social interaction between Caucasians and African-Americans and reinforces discriminatory actions aimed at oppressing people of color."

The commission pursued the case after a complaint was filed by a former tenant by the name of Michael Gunn for a weekend pool party. His daughter was the only black person at the otherwise all-white pool. Gunn said Hein questioned him about the "chemicals" his daughter uses in her hair and accused her for making the pool water "cloudy." Next week Gunn saw the sign in question and made the decision to move immediately "as not to expose my daughter to the sign and humiliation."

Gunn also gave commission officials copies of texts he claims Hein sent him shortly after he and his family moved blaming the grease in her hair for the cloudy condition of the pool.

Homeless Teen Becomes Science Semifinalist

Brentwood, New York - A teenager and her family, who became homeless at the beginning of the year, will soon be able to live in a home again in ten days.

After Samantha Garvey won a semifinalist position in a national Intel science competition, her family was offered a home for rent that will be subsidized by officials in Long Island county.

She says about the event "I never expected this much attention. This is amazing!"

An anonymous donor offered to take care of kenneling and vaccination her dog, a pit bull named Pulga. Initially she feared Pulga would be euthanized in a shelter.

Samantha is one of 61 students from Long Island and one of 300 national semifinalists who have a chance to win the prize of 100-thousand dollars. Her project was about the effects of predators on ribbed mussels.

Update:

California Teen Catches Break-in on Cell Phone

Ander Breivik to Have Mental State Re-evaluated

Oslo - Two psychiatrists were called upon by Norwegian Judge Wenche Elizabeth Amtzen to re-evaluate Anders Breivik's mental state.

The statement was released following statements by several survivors and others, including a mental health specialist who treated the gunman, that state he couldn't be psychotic. They say his actions could only be done by someone who is in full control of himself.

Amtzen seemed to agree and added “It seldom hurts to have more light shed on a case.”

If he is found guilty it will be up to a panel of trial judges to decide if he should be placed in prison for the maximum sentence in the country – 21 years – or be held in a psychiatric facility.

Assange Extradition Fact Sheet

 

15 Overlooked Facts About the Assange Extradition Case 

1)  Julian Assange is not charged with anything in Sweden or any other country.

[Source: @wikileaks]

2)  Julian Assange did not flee Sweden to avoid questioning. He was given permission to leave the country on the 15th September 2010, after remaining 5 weeks in Sweden for the purpose of answering the allegations made against him.

[Source: Undue delay for Julian Assange’s interrogation]

3)  The case against Julian Assange was initially dropped, and deemed so weak it could not warrant investigation. After the intervention of a Swedish politician close to American diplomats, it was revived by a different prosecutor. [Source: Why is Julian Assange in jail?]

4)  In all instances, the 2 plaintiffs consented to sexual intercourse, which they did not take the initiative to stop: they never expressed non-consent and afterwards declared to not have felt threatened by Julian Assange. [Sources: Swedish Police Report and The offences described in the EAW are not extradition offences]

5)  A condom submitted as evidence by complainant AA, who claimed it had been deliberately torn by Julian Assange during sexual intercourse, contains no chromosomal DNA from either the complainant or Julian. [Source: Overlooked evidence in the Assange trial]

6)  Text messages exchanged between complainants and their friends contradict the factual allegations in the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued for Julian Assange and cast doubt on the allegations.

[Source: Brief to Canberra Meeting of MPs]

7)  After the date of the alleged sexual misconduct: a) Complainant AA created then deleted evidence (tweets) indicating she was enjoying Julian Assange’s company; b) AA went as far as suggesting one of her friends (Witness C) should be intimate with Julian as well.

[Sources: AA: The Twitter Trail, Göran Rudling Witness Statement and Police Statement of Witness C]

8)  The law firm hired in the Assange investigation is ran by Claes Borgström (politician and legal representative for both plaintiffs) and by former minister Thomas Bodström. Both are members of the Social Democrat Party in Sweden. Bodström is a friend of police interrogator Irmeli Krans, who interrogated complainant SW.  [Source: Irmeli Krans: The Facebook Trail]

9)  Police interrogator Irmeli Krans is, in turn, friends with the other plaintiff, complainant AA, with whom she has political ties (Social Democrat Party). Krans also breached protocol by commenting negatively about Julian Assange on social media. [Source: Irmeli Krans: The Facebook Trail]

10)  Swedish prosecutor, Marianne Ny, refused to provide Julian Assange or his lawyers with information on the allegations against him in writing. This violates the Swedish Code of Procedure (RB 23:18) and the European Convention of Human Rights (article 5), and the EU Fundamental Charter on Human Rights.

Prosecution also refused all voluntary offers for cooperation that fit under Mutual Legal Assistance protocol, such as making use of alternative methods to interview Julian Assange.

[Sources: Fair Trial for Julian Assange? and Abuse of Process: Disproportionate use of EAW and INTERPOL Red Notice]

11)  Both the EAW and the Interpol red notice were issued for Julian by Sweden just before WikiLeaks began to publish Cablegate. [Source: Brief to Canberra Meeting of MPs]

12)  The allegations against Julian Assange do not constitute an offense in Australia or in the UK. [Source: The offences described in the EAW are not extradition offences]

13)  If extradited to Sweden: still without charge, Julian Assange would be held incommunicado and placed under solitary confinement. Pre-trial detention would last for an indefinite period. Trial in Sweden would be held in secret. [Source: Fair Trial for Julian Assange?]

14)  The Swedish legal system features lay judges who are appointed because of their political affiliations. They have no formal legal training. [Source: Lay Judges]

15)  Sweden has the highest per capita rate of cases brought to the European Court of Human Rights relating to article 6.1 (right to a fair trial). [Source: Fair Trial for Julian Assange?]

Conclusion and References 

Julian Assange is wanted in Sweden for questioning. According to the law, Julian is not required to be present in the country for the interview to take place. It could instead be conducted using alternative methods, such as a simple phonecall.
On the 13th July 2011, during an extradition appeal hearing, Judges on the case asked why this did not happen:

”Why go through all of this if Mr. Assange offered to be interviewed?”
”Why does judicial corporation not entail… sensible steps to get on with it?”
[Source: 2011-07-13 WikiLeaks Notes]

Prosecution, however, continuously refuses to interview Julian in the UK, insisting he must be extradited to Sweden for interrogation. For this purpose an European Arrest Warrant was issued by Sweden, in disregard for one of its basic restrictions: an EAW is for prosecution purposes only.

The extradition to Sweden insisted upon by prosecution would facilitate subsequent extradition to the US, as Sweden never once denied a US extradition request since 2000. Therefore, the Swedish case against Julian Assange cannot be dissociated from the ongoing US Grand Jury investigation on WikiLeaks. As such, it is extremely important any opinion formed on this specific subject be based on facts.

This list of 15 facts is mostly based on information originally put together by Christine Assange (twitter account: @AssangeC), and it covers crucial aspects about irregularities and political interest in Sweden’s extradition case against Julian Assange. These important details are often ignored or misrepresented by the media.
Another reference document you might wish to read is the briefing note written by WikiLeaks’ legal advisor Jennifer Robinson, a detailed overview of Human Rights concerns regarding Julian Assange’s extradition to Sweden: http://wlcentral.org/node/1418

And over at Justice4Assange.com you will find a lot more information on this case.

Visit the Action page to know what you can do to support Julian Assange:

http://www.Justice4Assange.com/Action.html

To make a donation to the Julian Assange Defence Fund:

http://www.Justice4Assange.com/Donate.html

India Marks One Year of Being Polio-Free

New Delhi - Today marks the one-year anniversary of the last known case of polio in India, officials proudly but cautiously announced. This leaves the countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria as the only ones with major cases of polio.

Health advocates, who hoped the disease would be destroyed by the year 2000, feel elated about the news, though they are still cautious. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad warned that India needed to push forward with its vaccination campaign to ensure the elimination of any residual virus.

"We are excited and hopeful. At the same time, vigilant and alert," he said in a statement.

Through Nata Menabde, the head of India's World Health Organization, the organization stated "We are all subject to relaxing a bit when we have achieved some goal but we simply cannot allow that to happen with polio. The important point is that while India may have stopped transmission of wild polio virus, it does not prevent such a virus from being re-imported or in fact the virus could be around and it has just not been detected.”

Overall however the 2.4-billion dollar plan has proven to be a large success. In 2010 there were 42 cases throughout the country, down from 742 in 2009. In 2011 there was only one case of the disease, a two-year-old girl named Ruksana Khatun on January 13^th of last year.

Although it's been a year, India won't be declared certified as polio free for about three years due to the possibility it may be transferred through human waste.

The Keystone Pipeline and Obama's Missteps

The Proposed Keystone XL pipeline runs through six states

United States - While Republicans are saying the Keystone XL pipeline needs to be approved as soon as possible, the Obama Administration is still questioning if an alternate route would be a better solution.  Sadly the Obama's White House is seeing this project in the completely wrong light.

Republicans have announced, however, their game plan.  If Obama rejects it - and chances are he won't given he caves in to pressure - they will force it through Congress' power to regulate commerce with other countries.

Ryan Bernstein, energy adviser to Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, said in an interview "We believe that express authority in the Constitution gives Congress the ability to approve and move forward on such a project." While Tom Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce states, falsely, the pipeline will create about 20-thousand jobs the day it's approved.  It will create about six-thousand menial jobs which are temporary until its completion, upon which only 20 people will have a permanent job.

If this happens this could put the State Department at odds with Congress, as it holds authority when it comes to cross-border pipeline permits.

What Obama needs to do is to look at the facts and go with them.  While labor organizations are supportive of the pipeline, believing the Republican lie about how many jobs will be created, the fact is it will not only create less of them, but actually take away jobs from people.  He also has to deal with the few environmentalists who are left on his side.  Moving forward with thi idea will cause almost all of them to abandon him completely and he needs every single bit of support he can hold for the election.  The only way to solve this issue is to work on genuine energy alternatives and leave the Keystone XL pipeline idea where it's sitting.  He then needs to get the Democrats who are supporting this project in line with him and state the actual facts about the pipeline.  It's supported by Republicans and Democrats who are in the pockets of oil interests, that it harms the environment in a devastating way, and if a spill happens it could destroy the Midwest for an untold period of time.  All the people who live there will get is a dirty life, 10 to 20 cents more per gallon  added to the price at the pump and dirty water.  Nobody wants any of that stuff.

Occupy Wall Street is Back

New York - For those who don't know, Zuccotti Park has been liberated again, once more falling into the hands of Occupy Wall Street.  Thanks to the lawyers at the New York Civil Liberties Union. the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the National Lawyers Guild’s New York City chapter, barricades meant to keep the protestors out were found to be unconstitutional as well a violation of zoning laws.  Here is the letter responsible for it.

Unfortunately erecting a tent is not allowed but thankfully the charges against two dozen of them were dropped. 

Florida Mayor Seeks to Privatize Water

Tampa - Does anybody remember the movie “Tank Girl” starring Lorrie Petty? The movie is about a woman who is looking for water in a world where it's the most precious thing in the world. If you haven't seen it I don't recommend you buy it, as it's pretty bad. Instead I suggest the graphic novel, which is hilarious on many levels. If it helps any the animation was done by the same guy who animates The Gorrillaz.

Now that you're hyped up it's time for me to bring bad news. It seems Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn and state representative Dana Young want to privatize water under the guise of expanding its reclaimed water system. Buckhorn claims doing so would help lower water rates without a regulation agency taking away the water, but it seems like it's really just going to send the water down a one-way street to whichever company is picked to clean and then sell it at whatever price they choose. The process is named “toilet to tap” by some, which is probably as disgusting to say as it is to swallow.

Charles Van Zant, a Florida state representative, says about the process “Day by day by day this will destroy the Florida aquifer. ”

Not to say probably destroy you from the inside. It's not like you can just go without water, especially if you're poor.

So far water privatization hasn't worked well for Texas residents. The Stateman reports:

“Across the state, a growing number of suburban Texans are getting their water from large, private corporations owned by investors seeking to profit off the sale of an essential resource. State figures show private companies are seeking more price increases every year, and many are substantial. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which regulates water and sewer rates for nonmunicipal customers, doesn't keep numbers, but "their rate increases tend to be 40 and 60 percent," said Doug Holcomb, who oversees the agency's water utilities division. “

This is sure to be step one in privatizing water across the nation. If it can happen in Texas and Florida with hardly a peep, how far do you think it will go before a huge amount of people wake up to contaminated water flowing from their sinks unless they pay an obscenely high water bill.

Haley Barbour Pardons Murders, Robbers, and More

Mississippi - While he seems to be okay with trying to save fetuses by giving them personhood rights, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour doesn't mind releasing convicted murderers who worked at his state-funded mansion.

The five men, who were supposed to serve life sentences, instead got a pardon from him during his last days in office.  Four of them were murderers and the fifth was convicted of burglary and robbery.

One of the inmates who were pardoned is David Glenn Gatlin, who shot his wife to death while she held their baby in 1993. Her family found out on the seventh that the previous day he was free thanks to a victims' advocate group.

The other people who were pardoned and their crimes are:

Mmiddle school teacher Charles Hooker - Convicted in 1993 of killing the school's principal.
Anthony McCray - Convicted of murdering his wife in 2001.
Joseph Ozment - Convicted of murder in 1993 of murder, conspiracy, and armed robbery.
Nathan Kern - Convicted for burglary and robbery.

Some of the work the men did for the governor were kitchen duty, waiting tables, cleaning, and washing  vehicles.

They aren't the only ones to be pardoned.

Governor Barbour wasn't available at the moment for any comment.

Here is a complete list of people who were granted a pardon by Haley Barbour. If anyone else has anymore information, please contact me here by email, Facebook or  Twitter

Internet Domain Names to Be Bid on in a Few Days

Several new domain address will be bid on starting January 12^th at 12:01 a.m. GMT. A thousand of them to be exact.

The domain names, which include ".sport", ''.NYC", ".bank", and “.Vegas", will then be added to the current internet system starting spring of 2013. Any challenges to the names may push back the requested name until as late as 2014.

Companies are seeing this move as possibly a way to gain more money from people and groups which wish to use their domain name for a website.

Some other companies however are worried about its efficiency. Dan Jaffe of the lobbying group Association of National Advertisers likened the expansion to a sinking ship. “You don't want a ship to have holes... and ask everybody to come on board. You should close the holes, then run a pilot project to see if the systems you put in place are actually effective."

Others however worry it will open the internet to many more scams by using names that seem alike such as “Amazom” instead of “Amazon”.

Another concern is about the possibility it will be able to be used to spread hate groups or have domain names that end in profanities.

However don't get excited about getting something like “.Coolname” just yet. At the moment it seems only those who have a vast amount of wealth will be able to take part in the bids. Just to apply for the name requires the purchaser to pay 185-thousand dollars and a ten-year commitment totaling 250-thousand dollars. Those prices are without things like the cost to run the site, computers, or staff.

The bidding is set to end in April.

What I want to know is what will prevent this from creating a two-tier internet? Anyone with enough money to get one of these domain names would also have enough money to ensure their part of the internet is never slowed down or yanked off the internet completely.

Ireland Takes Steps Against Puppy Mills

Ireland - After years of campaigning by animal rights groups the country has decided to make a step forward and stop unsanitary puppy mills.

Formerly known as the Puppy Farm of Europe, the country passed two laws known as the Dog Breeding Establishment Act and the Welfare of Greyhounds Act.

The legislation doesn't shut down all puppy mills, just the ones that are unregistered or have the dogs produced in horrible conditions not fit for a rat much less any animal bigger than one.  Veterinarians near puppy mills are required to inspect all of the ones currently in operation and if they find a place where the sanitary conditions are not met they are able to immediately shut down the kennels.

Breeders must also have all of their dogs microchipped so if the authorities trace the dog back to whoever bred them and prosecute them if needed.

The NDAA and SOPA Will Turn Us Into the Maldives

This is likely the future if the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the Stop Online PiracyAct (SOPA) were to be used together.

Blogger Ismail Kilath “Hilath” Rasheed's blog was shut down based on the accusation it contained material that was determined to be anti-Islamic. He was then thrown in jail for taking part in a demonstration in favor of religious tolerance for four weeks.  His blog is still offline, probably permanently, and Reporters Without Borders has called it "A threat to the Maldives' young democracy."

All it took for Rasheed's blog to be shut down and Rasheed himself to be thrown in jail for a month was criticizing religion.  What do you think this kind of thing, now an actual nightmare thanks to the NDAA and SOPA have been passed, will mean for American citizens? Anyone who still thinks the American people are protected thanks to the Constitution doesn't seem to know that right was lost at the end of last year thanks to President Obama signing the NDAA.

To say that what Rasheed's going through is the same as what Americans may suffer is laughable.  American citizens haven't yet been driven so far to the right that they are willing to kill mass amounts of people for religious or political reasons - yet at least - but they are willing to let two laws that can be used to censor people either virtually or physically go by without a second glance or a mass uprising.  If this was any other country the United States would be ready to declare sanctions against the government responsible for it.  However on its own soil this kind of bill passes without a peep from almost anyone short of alternative media and blogs.

Currently there are several ways one could wind up being a victim of this legislation and you barely need to do anything.  First is the law in several states that if you cause "economic damage" to a company you could be considered a terrorist.  This one is pointed toward, but not exclusively, animal rights activists who reveal the horrid conditions animals face in factory farms.  Another is if you release something the government or military doesn't want to be known, such as the case with Bradley Manning.  The government didn't want the tape, known as "Collateral Murder" to get out to the public, especially the American people.  For leaking the information, which needed to be done, Manning faced a long time in jail and after horrific treatment at the hands of the military, is getting a trial at Fort Meade.  These are just some of the more famous cases of the government or those in the higher commands of power overstep their bounds when it comes to detention or censorship of ordinary citizens.  The longer the NDAA and SOPA last, the higher the chances for people to be abused.  All it takes is a matter of time.

Rasheed would probably love to live in this country at this moment and that's a sad thing considering we are blindly and proudly walking into the same kind of regime under which he is presently suppressed. 

Andrew Cuomo Expands DNA Database

New York - It's not just graffiti artists in New York who have something to worry about when it comes to criminal prosecutions.  Now it's the average citizen.

On January fourth Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed expanding the state's DNA database, which was created in 1996.  Wanting it to include anyone convicted of any crime under the state's Penal Law no matter how big or small, will provide police officials with the widest DNA database in the country.

Supporters hailed the measure, stating it would help to go after criminals as well as let innocent people out of jail. Critics however claim those who support it are blinded by “the CSI Effect”, the named after television show that portrays DNA technology as infallible.

Legislative director for the New York Civil Liberties Union Robert Perry said this is like being “under surveillance 24/7. If your DNA ends up matching DNA at a crime scene, you now become subject to criminal suspicion, but there are plenty of innocent reasons for DNA to turn up at a crime scene."

Perry said DNA evidence is given great weight by police investigators and prosecutors, meaning they may often overlook traditional police work that points to a different suspect.

College Graduate Unemployment Depends on Your Major

 

 

By Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Students who decided four or more years ago to major in nursing or teaching have fared a lot better in the job market than those who focused on computers, liberal arts or social sciences.

 

A new study by researchers at Georgetown University found that unemployment rates are relatively low (5.4%) for recent college graduates who majored in healthcare or education. The authors of the study say these former students have done better because their industries have been more stable or even growing during the lean economic times.

 

Psychology and social work grads also are doing okay, with unemployment rates of 7.3%, as are young people who majored in the life and physical sciences (7.7%).

 

The absolute lowest unemployment rates were all for health-related degrees, specifically treatment therapy professions (1.8%), nursing (1.9%), pharmaceutical sciences and administration (2.1%) and medical technology technicians (2.1%).

 

At the other end of the scale are architecture graduates, who have really suffered (13.9% unemployment) because of the collapse of the construction and home building industry. Things have been bad as well for information systems (11.7%), the arts (11.1%), humanities and liberal arts (9.4%), social science (8.9%) law and public policy (8.1%). Linguistics and comparative language graduates had an unemployment rate of 10.5%.

 

But even the worst-off college grads are better off than those who didn’t go to college. Those with only a high school diploma are enduring 22.9% unemployment, and high school dropouts are at 31.5%.

Anonymous Exposes Intelligence Gap

 Bu Loz Kaye

Over Christmas a busy, secretive group were at work, with their own views on who had been naughty and nice. However it was not Santa's elves, but the amorphous "Anonymous" collective making the decisions. This group of hackers released a vast trove of email addresses, passwords and credit card information belonging to subscribers of the US intelligence company Stratfor – and the hangover has carried on into the new year, with the release of MoD and Nato officials' details.

Stratfor, an authority on strategic and tactical intelligence issues, is considered by some to be a "shadow CIA", and provides intelligence analysis and both private and public briefings on all manner of issues. The release by Anonymous kicked off discussion about how such a breach was possible at a high-profile company specialising in all things security, as well as why it had attracted the attention of Anonymous.

 Many of the thousands of email addresses and personal details belonged to people in sensitive posts within the defence and intelligence communities. Although the publication of email addresses (hardly state secrets) is not a threat in itself, their disclosure can only be extremely embarrassing for a company selling itself as an expert on security, while the release of passwords adds to the alarm.

But it is a mistake to talk of Anonymous's motives as if it were a cohesive whole. The group is a loose collection of people with different aims, involving themselves in different "operations" as they see fit. It is leaderless, it doesn't have a manifesto, it doesn't have a particular direction, nor does it go in only one direction at any one time. Given that membership of Anonymous is based entirely on self-identification, it seems that the only real way of assessing the group as a whole is on the basis of the kinds of actions it carries out. It is essentially a banner under which hacktivists and tech-savvy individuals with a political or social agenda can rally.

So why attack Stratfor? Well, as Anonymous put it, "to wreak unholy havok [sic] upon the systems and personal email accounts of these rich and powerful oppressors. Kill, kitties, kill and burn them down … peacefully. XD XD." Yet, despite the mischievous way it expresses itself, a significant portion of Anonymous's focus is political. It's not just about lulz or showing off any more. The point of these actions is to draw attention to how companies such as Stratfor, or organisations such as Nato are, in its view, "holders of power in a world that has long been governed in accordance with the dictate that might makes right".
The various Anonymous communication channels, and supporters, would point to what they see as moves in the US to restrict liberty, from the Bradley Manning case to the so-called Stop Online Piracy Act, which will give unprecedented web censorship powers; from the treatment of Occupy protesters to the National Defence Authorisation Act opening up indefinite detention without trial. You don't need to be a hacker to think that the US is more deserving of a restraining order than a special relationship.

On this side of the Atlantic a recent government report on what it insists on calling "cyber" security, names hacktivism explicitly as a threat to national security. Yet nowhere is it made clear in the objectives of that report what the Ministry of Defence or Home Office are actually supposed to do about it. The omission may be sinister or merely incompetent. But as the Nato and MoD leaks highlight the porous nature of our online defences, taxpayers are entitled to ask what we are getting for the £650m the national cyber security programme costs. Or maybe not – after all, the lion's share of the spending is going to GCHQ and is secret. For now.

I have pointed out before that if people feel that the usual democratic routes are pointless they will find means of direct action and protest. Many balk at Anonymous's apparent disregard for the potential human collateral in their methods – but there is no denying that its mix of satire and activism is a powerful combination.

As I am writing this, Stratfor's website reads: "Stratfor Global Intelligence. As you may know, an unauthorised party illegally obtained and disclosed personally identifiable information … of some of our subscribers." It looks laughably unintelligent. In one fell swoop it exposes an uncomfortable truth that cyber-security experts would have us pay through the nose to ignore: as long as western governments fail to live up to their ideals and ours, there will always remain those who are equally determined and able to expose their secrets and embarrass those in power. The lulz just got serious.

Early Talking Doll Recording Discovered

ScienceDaily (July 17, 2011) — On May 11, 2011, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California recovered sound from an artifact that historians believe is the earliest surviving talking doll record. The artifact is a ring-shaped cylinder phonograph record made of solid metal, preserved by the National Park Service at Thomas Edison National Historical Park. Phonograph inventor Thomas Edison made the record during the fall or winter of 1888 in West Orange, New Jersey.

 
On the recording, an unidentified woman recites one verse of the nursery rhyme "Twinkle, twinkle, little star." The voice captured on the 123-year-old record had been unheard since Edison's lifetime. The recording represents a significant milestone in the early history of recorded sound technology.

Recovering and Identifying the Sound
The metal record is significantly bent out of its original round, cylindrical shape. For this reason, curators at Thomas Edison National Historical Park were unable to play the recording using conventional methods. At the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Senior Scientist Carl Haber and Computer Systems Engineer Earl Cornell used a three-dimensional optical scanning technology developed during 2007-2009, in collaboration with the Library of Congress, to create a digital model of the surface of the record. With this digital model, they used modern image analysis methods to reproduce the audio stored on the record, saving it as a WAV-format digital audio file. They were able to recover all but the first syllable of the first word of the recording. Once the recording could be heard, historian Patrick Feaster of Indiana University played a key role in identifying and dating the recording by finding relevant references among archival documents. Researcher René Rondeau of Corte Madera, California provided additional fact-checking assistance.

Talking Doll Records Made of Tin
In search of a market for his invention the phonograph, Edison first attempted to make talking dolls during 1888. The prototype model described in laboratory notes and newspaper articles between September and December of that year was distinctive for using a record made of solid tin. In November 1888, the New York Evening Sun announced that Edison's talking dolls had just been "perfected," and that "nothing remains but to manufacture them in large quantities." No commercially viable method of duplicating sound recordings had yet been developed, so Edison hired women with suitable voices to make as many records as he thought would be needed once his talking dolls were put on the market: "There were two young ladies in the room...who were continually talking to the tiny speaking machines, which a skilled workman was turning out in great numbers."

Significance of the Recording
According to Feaster, this New York Evening Sun report marks the first time anyone is known to have been employed specifically to perform for the phonograph, so these women were arguably the world's first professional recording artists. If the goal was to stockpile these tin records "in large quantities" to supply the eventual demand for talking dolls, as the New York Evening Sun suggests, then they may also have been the first phonograph recordings ever manufactured for sale to the public, even though they were never actually sold.

It was more than a year later, in April 1890, when Edison placed a talking doll on the market. By that time, however, he had switched the design to use records made of wax rather than tin. The dolls failed to sell because they broke too easily -- due in part to the fragility of the records. It is unclear why Edison switched from tin to wax records for the talking doll.

Provenance of the Artifact
National Park Service museum curators first cataloged the object in 1967, found among items left in the desk of Edison's secretary William H. Meadowcroft, located in the library of the Edison Laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey. A paper tag found tied to the cylinder reads: "Tin Phonograph Cylinder […]l Record." The artifact is the only example of a talking doll record from 1888 known to survive today.

Update: I've been asked if I could upload the audio, so here it is.

Nigerian President Admits Islamists Have Secret Backers in Government

By Monica Mark

The Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, has confirmed for the first time that the Islamist group Boko Haram has secret backers among government and security officials.

Jonathan said Boko Haram presents Nigeria's greatest security challenge since the 1967 Biafra civil war, when a three-year campaign by the Igbo people to secede from the country's 150 other tribes left a million dead.

The organisation, whose name means "non-Islamic education is sacrilege", is fighting to impose a strict interpretation of sharia law across Africa's most populous country. A simmering low-level insurgency erupted on Christmas Day with four co-ordinated attacks that killed at least 30 people as they poured out of church services. Since then, a spree of violence at churches has claimed dozens of lives, prompting a state of emergency in the group's northern homebase states and threatening to ignite a sectarian conflict in a country split evenly between Muslims and Christians.

"During the civil war we knew and we could even predict where the enemy was coming from. But the challenge we have today is more complicated," Jonathan said.

Now, Boko Haram backers and sympathisers are "in the executive arm of the government; some of them are in the parliamentary/legislative arm of the government, while some are even in the legislative arm. Some are also in the armed forces, the police and other security agencies," he said at a three-day literary service attended by authors Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka.

Achebe and Soyinka, both giants of the Nigerian literary scene, urged the population to refrain from retaliatory attacks amid reports of Christians fleeing the north, where Muslims are a majority, and vice-versa.
But less than a day later, they took to the streets along with tens of thousands of ordinary citizens to protest at the end to fuel subsidies in the oil-rich state – highlighting the other key challenge faced by state officials.
As a labour union strike and huge protests paralysed much of the country, analysts said Jonathan's admission was worrying given the size of the security budget, which this year was $5.7bn.

"The security angle explains why the group are often one step ahead of the government. It is also one of the reasons why members of the group have been floating around freely. The population are afraid to step forward as they think their security can't be guaranteed by security officials," said Shehu Sani, who heads the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria and maintains close contact with the group.

In December, the US Congress said the group had morphed from homegrown criminals into terrorists capable of forging international links. Members of the group claim to have travelled to Somalia to share techniques and funding with al-Shabaab militants.

Jamaica Cutting Ties with British Monarchy

From Al-Jazeera

Jamaica's new prime minister has said that it is time for her country to cut ties with the British monarchy and declare itself an independent republic.

Speaking at her inaugural address on Friday, Portia Simpson Miller, said her government would "initiate the process of detachment from the monarchy", establishing a republic with a president as head of state, and breaking off links with the former colonial power.

Jamaica is a constitutional parliamentary democracy and also a Commonwealth realm.
"I love the Queen. She's a beautiful lady and apart from being a beautiful lady a wise lady and a wonderful lady. But I think time come," Simpson Miller said.

Currently under Jamaica's constitution, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state, and the prime minister is formally appointed by the governor-general, who represents the queen.

The announcement comes ahead of celebrations to mark 50 years of the country's independence from the UK.

Economic crisis
Simpson Miller, taking over for her second term as prime minister, won a landslide victory in an election last week that largely pivoted on public discontent with Jamaica's ailing economy and massive debt.

The unemployment rate currently stands at about 13 per cent, up from under 10 per cent in 2007, when the centre-right Jamaica Labour Party, the previous ruling party, won power.

Its public debt stands at $18.6bn of gross domestic product.
"In the short and medium term, we will use all state resources to stimulate employment through the Jamaica Emergency Employment Program," Simpson Miller said after taking the oath of office.

"We will do so in a transparent and non-partisan manner."

Nearly half of all Jamaicans (43 per cent) live under the poverty line of $2.50 per day, according to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report.

Reaching a new agreement with the IMF on Jamaica's debt is one of the new government's top priorities, Omar Davies, the official in charge of the transition, told reporters on Wednesday.

New talks with the global lender are set to begin on Monday, with Jamaica represented by Peter Phillips, the country's new finance minister. Phillips has held several cabinet posts in previous administrations.

In the December 28 election, Simpson Miller's People's National Party secured 41 seats, two-thirds of the total, in the House of Representatives.

She succeeds Andrew Holness, 39, the youngest-ever prime minister of the country.

EPA Backpedals on Water Delivery to Dimock

Dimock, Pennsylvania - The Environmental Protection Agency has decided not to ship out water to the residents of Dimock after all despite the fact at least 18 wells were ruined by fracking facilities.

The news hit the town just a day after the EPA announced they would give the townspeople water, but failed to give a reason for the change.  Instead EPA spokeswoman Betsaida Alcantara stated in an email "We are actively filling information gaps and determining next steps in Dimock. We have made no decision at this time to provide water."

Thankfully not all hope is lost, at least not at the moment.  Actor Mark Ruffalo, though his environmentalist group Water Defense, is planning to sent a tanker filled with water to the town.

The best questions asked, and yet to be answered, come from Wendy Seymour, one of residents and an organic garlic farmer.

"What happened? Who had the power here? Who had the power to change their minds? Was it the governor? Was it somebody from Washington? Was it Cabot? What happened? We don't know. We're really confused."

Someone definitely needs to be held accountable.  This is bigger than profits,, power, or politics.  It's about the lives of an entire town of people.

Australian's Bungie Cord Snaps

Victoria Falls, Africa - What wasn't mentioned is that she fell into crocodile-infested waters.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Fort Benning Soldier Charged With First-degree Child Cruelty

Columbus, GA- Army Sergeant Shane Hinkson, a 3rd Brigade soldier stationed at Fort Benning, was arrested Jan. 1st while on post for first-degree child cruelty following a New Year's Day incident in which he violently shook his eight-month-old son.

The baby, Alexander Cabanayan, was found unresponsive by his mother who rushed him to St. Francis Hospital in Columbus where it was determined that Alexander was in critical condition and had suffered brain swelling and other injuries. Shortly after being admitted into St. Francis', Alexander was flown to Egleston Children's Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, was monitored by 9 doctors and placed in stable but critical condition. Sadly, the eight-month-old passed away at around 10:15 p.m. Friday, January 6, 2012, turning Hinkson's charge of cruelty to children into a murder charge.

Police and investigators stated that the incident occurred at 1534 Antietam Drive where Hinkson lived with his fiancee, the child's mother. It was there, that Hinkson allegedly shook the baby boy for reasons not yet known to the public. The injuries sustained by the young child were very similar to those of a Shaken Baby Syndrome victim.

Columbus Police Department Lieutenant Lynn Joiner stated, "We don't feel it's accidental," when questioned on whether the Army Sergeant Hinkson had released a statement since his arrest.

Lt. Joiner also stated that investigators weren't positive on what happened that horrible afternoon, but have "developed enough information to be able to charge (Hinkson) with murder."

A police report stated Hinkson as the "primary aggressor" through physical and testimonial evidence.

Hinkson waived his preliminary hearing Saturday and was ordered to be held without bond in the Muscogee County Jail where his previous bond for cruelty charges was $100,000.