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State kept secret guidelines on safe cell phone use
2017-03-03, San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco's leading newspaper)
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Judge-may-order-release-of-state-health-re...

For years, state health officials kept secret a set of guidelines meant to inform the public about the risks associated with cell phone use and the best practices to avoid potential harm. On Thursday, the California Department of Public Health released the guidelines, which advise cell phone users to keep the devices away from their bodies, keep calls short and to use the speaker phone on lengthy calls. The guidelines were released only after a Sacramento Superior Court judge indicated she would order them to be disclosed, and after The Chronicle told the state it was publishing a news story about the case. The two-page suggestions ... are based on studies that suggest that long-term cell phone use may increase the risk of brain cancer and other health problems, according to the document, which includes a stamp saying it is a draft and not for public release. The guidelines detail the effect of electromagnetic fields, or EMFs, put out by cell phones. Cell phones, according to the guidelines, release about the same relatively weak EMFs as microwave ovens, but because they are used more frequently and kept close to the body, they can affect nearby cells and tissues. The guidelines suggest limiting cell phone use by children and teens to texting, important calls and emergencies. People can lower their exposure by using speaker phone or a headset and not sleeping with the device or carrying it in a pocket unless it is turned off.

Note: The medical community has long been aware that cell phone use negatively impacts human health. Despite the American Academy of Pediatrics urging the US to reassess cell phone safety standards for children in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control backed away from warning the public about the risks of cell phone radiation to kids. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on cell phone dangers from reliable major media sources.


Long-overdue release of information about cell phone risks
2017-03-03, San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco's leading newspaper)
http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Long-overdue-release-of...

It took years of public pressure and a lawsuit, but the California Department of Public Health has finally released a set of guidelines for the public about the risks associated with cell phone use and the best ways for cell phone users to reduce their exposure to potential dangers. What on earth took so long? We asked the department for an answer to this question. It didnt offer us a direct response but wrote, [This] project was discontinued when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued national guidance on the same subject. However, the states document, dated April 2014 and stamped draft and not for public release ... paints a very clear picture of the potential dangers of cell phone use. Health officials are concerned about possible health effects from cell phone EMFs (electromagnetic fields) because some recent studies suggest that long-term cell phone use may increase the risk of brain cancer and other health problems, the guidelines read. The two-page document goes on to suggest ways to lower your exposure, including using speaker phone and headsets, keeping the phone away from your body when its not being used, and sending text messages instead of voice calls. Californias public health department released the document only after a judge said she would order the guidelines to be disclosed. Joel Moskowitz, a public health researcher at UC Berkeley, sued the department last year after repeatedly requesting them.

Note: The medical community has long been aware that cell phone use negatively impacts human health. Despite the American Academy of Pediatrics urging the US to reassess to cell phone safety standards for children in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control backed away from warning the public about the risks of cell phone radiation to kids. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing health news articles from reliable major media sources.


Jane Fonda reveals rape and child abuse
2017-03-03, BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39151842

Oscar-winning actress Jane Fonda has revealed she is a rape survivor and suffered sexual abuse as a child. In an interview with fellow Oscar winner Brie Larson ... the 79-year-old also said she had once lost a job because she refused her boss's sexual advances. The star added she thought being a young actress now was "terrifying" because of female sexualisation. "You have to get naked so much. There is even more emphasis on how you look." Fonda said she "felt diminished" growing up because the men in her life were "victims of a [patriarchal] belief system". "To show you the extent to which a patriarchy takes a toll on females - I've been raped, I've been sexually abused as a child and I've been fired because I wouldn't sleep with my boss and I always thought it was my fault; that I didn't do or say the right thing. "I know young girls who've been raped and didn't even know it was rape. They think, 'It must have been because I said no the wrong way'. "One of the great things the women's movement has done is to make us realise that [rape and abuse is] not our fault. We were violated and it's not right." Fonda has been a long-time activist and advocate for women's rights and supporter of the Rape Foundation and Rape Treatment Centre in Los Angeles. She revealed at a benefit in 2014 that her mother, Frances Ford Seymour, was sexually abused as a child aged eight. She eventually took her own life at 42, when Fonda was 12.

Note: Jane Fonda's revelations about sexual abuse in Hollywood highlight a longstanding problem. Other well-known actors have suggested that organized abuse networks operate freely in the entertainment industry. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing sexual abuse scandal news articles from reliable major media sources.


'It is devastating': abuse survivor quits Vatican child protection body
2017-03-01, The Guardian (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/01/abuse-victim-marie-collins-quit...

A prominent survivor of clerical sex abuse has resigned from a special Vatican commission that was created by Pope Francis to tackle the problem, saying the churchs most senior clerics continue to put other concerns before the safety of children and vulnerable adults. Marie Collins, who was molested by a priest when she was 13 years old, said in a written statement she had made a final decision to resign after she learned that a Vatican department was failing to comply with a basic new recommendation that all correspondence from victims and survivors should receive a response. I learned in a letter from this particular [congregation] last month that they are refusing to do so, Collins wrote in a searing statement to the National Catholic Reporter. I find it impossible to listen to public statements about the deep concern in the church for the care of those whose lives have been blighted by abuse, yet to watch privately as a congregation in the Vatican refuses to even acknowledge their letters. She added: It is a reflection of how this whole abuse crisis in the church has been handled: with fine words in public and contrary actions behind closed doors. Collinss decision to leave the commission comes one year after the only other abuse survivor who was appointed to the commission, Peter Saunders, was forced to take a leave of absence after he complained the commission was doing far too little to tackle abuse.

Note: Watch an excellent segment by Australia's "60-Minutes" team "Spies, Lords and Predators" on a pedophile ring in the UK which leads directly to the highest levels of government. A second suppressed documentary, "Conspiracy of Silence," goes even deeper into this topic in the US. For more, see concise summaries of sexual abuse scandal news articles.


Berta Cceres court papers show murder suspects' links to US-trained elite troops
2017-02-28, The Guardian (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/28/berta-caceres-honduras-military...

Leaked court documents raise concerns that the murder of the Honduran environmentalist Berta Cceres was an extrajudicial killing planned by military intelligence specialists linked to the countrys UStrained special forces. Cceres was shot dead a year ago while supposedly under state protection after receiving death threats over her opposition to a hydroelectric dam. The murder of Cceres, winner of the prestigious Goldman environmental prize in 2015, prompted international outcry and calls for the US to revoke military aid to Honduras, a key ally in its war on drugs. Eight men have been arrested in connection with the murder, including one serving and two retired military officers. Officials have denied state involvement in the activists murder, and downplayed the arrest of the serving officer Maj Mariano Daz. But ... Daz, a decorated special forces veteran, was appointed chief of army intelligence in 2015. Another suspect, Lt Douglas Giovanny Bustillo joined the military on the same day as Daz. Daz and Bustillo both received military training in the US. A third suspect, Sgt Henry Javier Hernndez, was a former special forces sniper, who had worked under the direct command of Daz. Last year, the Guardian reported that a former Honduran soldier said he had seen Cceress name on a hitlist that was passed to US-trained units. Sgt Rodrigo Cruz said that two elite units were given lists featuring the names and photographs of activists and ordered to eliminate each target.

Note: The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas, reportedly graduated more than 500 human rights abusers. The identities of many other US-trained troops operating in other countries remain hidden by US courts. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing military corruption news articles from reliable major media sources.


Denmark reduces food waste by 25% in five years with the help of one woman
2017-02-28, The Independent (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/denmark-reduce-food-waste-25-...

Never underestimate the power of one dedicated individual. A woman has been credited by the Danish Government for single-handedly helping the country reduce its food waste by 25 per cent in just five years. Selina Juul, who moved from Russian to Denmark when she was 13 years old, was shocked by the amount of food available and wasted at supermarkets. She told the BBC: I come from a country where there were food shortages, we had the collapse of infrastructure, communism collapsed, we were not sure we could get food on the table. Her organisation, Stop Spild Af Mad which translates as Stop Wasting Food made all the difference and is recognised as one of the key drivers behind the governments focus to tackle food waste. Ms Juul convinced Rema 1000, the countrys biggest low-cost supermarket chain, to replace all its quantity discounts with single item discounts to minimise food waste. The retailer wasted about 80 to 100 bananas every day. However, after the supermarket put up a sign saying "take me Im single", it reduced the waste on bananas by 90 per cent. In the past five years Denmark has become one of the leading European countries in the fight against food waste. Last year, a charity in Copenhagen opened Denmarks first ever food surplus supermarket, which sells products at prices 30 to 50 per cent cheaper than usual retailers. Wefood is hoping to help reduce the 700,000 tonnes of food waste Denmark produces every year.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Sick, dying and raped in America's nursing homes
2017-02-27, CNN News
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/02/health/nursing-home-sex-abuse-investig...

The unthinkable is happening at facilities throughout the country: Vulnerable seniors are being raped and sexually abused by the very people paid to care for them. It's impossible to know just how many victims are out there. But through an exclusive analysis of state and federal data and interviews with experts, regulators and the families of victims, CNN has found that this little-discussed issue is more widespread than anyone would imagine. In cases reviewed by CNN, victims and their families were failed at every stage. Nursing homes were slow to investigate and report allegations because of a reluctance to believe the accusations - or a desire to hide them. Police viewed the claims as unlikely at the outset, dismissing potential victims because of failing memories or jumbled allegations. State regulators failed to flag patterns of repeated allegations against a single caregiver. It's these systemic failures that make it especially hard for victims to get justice - and even easier for perpetrators to get away with their crimes. Using inspection reports filed between 2013 and 2016 [a CNN analysis] found that the federal government has cited more than 1,000 nursing homes for mishandling or failing to prevent alleged cases of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse at their facilities during this period. And nearly 100 of these facilities have been cited multiple times during the same period. These numbers likely represent only a fraction of the alleged sexual abuse incidents in nursing homes nationwide.

Note: For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing sexual abuse scandal news articles from reliable major media sources.


Robert Mercer: the big data billionaire waging war on mainstream media
2017-02-26, The Guardian (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/26/robert-mercer-breitbart-war-...

I Googled mainstream media is And there it was. Googles autocomplete suggestions: mainstream media is dead, dying, fake news, fake, finished. Googles first suggested link ... leads to a website called CNSnews.com and an article: The Mainstream media are dead. How had it, an obscure site Id never heard of, dominated Googles search algorithm on the topic? In the About us tab, I learn CNSnews is owned by the Media Research Center. It receives a large bulk of its funding more than $10m in the past decade from a single source, the hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer. Robert Mercer is the money behind an awful lot of things. He was Trumps single biggest donor. Since 2010, Mercer has donated $45m to different political campaigns all Republican and another $50m to non-profits all rightwing, ultra-conservative. This is a billionaire who is ... trying to reshape the world according to his personal beliefs. He is reported to have a $10m stake in the [Cambridge Analytica], which was spun out of a bigger British company called SCL Group. It specialises in election management strategies and messaging and information operations, refined over 25 years. In military circles this is known as psyops psychological operations. Cambridge Analytica makes the astonishing boast that it has psychological profiles based on 5,000 separate pieces of data on 220 million American voters. With this, a computer ... can predict and potentially control human behaviour. Its incredibly dangerous.

Note: The above article provides a detailed look at how mass media is being combined with Big Data to produce powerful new forms of mind control.


The child abuse scandal of the British children sent abroad
2017-02-26, BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39078652

For several decades, the UK sent children across the world to new lives in institutions where many were abused and used as forced labour. It happened to thousands of British children ... following World War Two. The astonishing scandal of the British child migrants will be the first subject for which the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will hold full public hearings. It's first because the migrants are now nearing the end of their lives. Sources close to the current public inquiry have told the BBC it will produce new and startling revelations about the scale of sexual abuse abroad, and attempts by British and Australian institutions to cover it up. This will include an examination of the claims of some child migrants that they were sent abroad weeks after reporting sexual abuse at their children's home in the UK. The allegation is that they were hand-picked. Either to get them out of the way, or because they were of interest to paedophiles. Three former Fairbridge boys have claimed that the then-Australian Governor General, Lord Slim, sexually molested them during rides in his chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce while visiting the home. It is understood these allegations could be considered by the inquiry. The inquiry could also definitively answer a crucial historical question. Did the British government know it was sending children to be mistreated in a foreign country?

Note: Watch an excellent segment by Australia's "60-Minutes" team "Spies, Lords and Predators" on a pedophile ring in the UK which leads to the highest levels of government. A second suppressed documentary, "Conspiracy of Silence," goes even deeper into this topic in the US. For more, see concise summaries of deeply revealing sexual abuse scandal news articles from reliable major media sources.


Trump vows to fight epidemic of human trafficking
2017-02-23, San Francisco Chronicle/Associated Press
http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/politics/article/Trump-vows-to-fight-epidemic...

President Donald Trump says he will bring the "full force and weight" of the U.S. government to combat an "epidemic" of human trafficking. The president is meeting at the White House with senior advisers and representatives of organizations that deal with trafficking. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, is among those in attendance. Trump calls human trafficking a problem that is "not talked about enough." He says he will order the departments of Justice and Homeland Security to take a hard look at the resources they are devoting to addressing the issue.

Note: Many believe Trump is aware of the pedophilia rings leading to the highest levels of government, as has been exposed in the suppressed documentary "Conspiracy of Silence." In this CNN video, Trump calls the problem "an epidemic." Immediately after his swearing in ceremony, Attorney General Jeff Sessions' first act was to sign an executive order on stopping and preventing international trafficking, including "trafficking and smuggling of human beings." 9/11 hero Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has also exposed this major problem.


China's zombie factories and unborn cities
2017-02-23, BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170223-chinas-zombie-factories-and-unborn-c...

Between 1984 and 2010, the amount of built-up areas in China increased nearly fivefold. To construct these new urban zones, China used more concrete in the three years between 2011 and 2013 than the whole of the United States used in the 20th Century. Yet even in the worlds second largest economy, the rate of development has overtaken demand. The shift from industries like steel production to electronics, telecommunications and biotechnology has happened very quickly. Europe and the United States underwent a similar shift over the course of several decades. Chinas high-tech revolution took just a few years. [Some] factories that have been unable to survive these changes lie empty. This shifting industrial landscape has also left its mark on the cities built for the migrant workers. Large urban areas have become ghost cities [as] developers have gone bankrupt, leaving housing developments empty. A study by Chinese search giant Baidu identified 50 huge regions across the country where newly built residential housing was largely uninhabited. Photographer Kai Caemmerer has been documenting some of the empty cities in China for the past two years. He does not think the label ghost town is accurate. These places are built in anticipation of a need. In fact, an enormous relocation could soon be underway. The Chinese government has said it intends to move 100 million people from rural parts of the country into cities by 2020.

Note: The article above features many pictures of China's unique manufactured landscapes. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles about corruption in government and in the corporate world.


This Town Adopted Trauma-Informed Care - And Saw a Decrease in Crime and Suspension Rates
2017-02-22, Yes! Magazine
http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/this-town-adopted-trauma-informed-car...

There was a time at Lincoln, a school once known as a last resort for those who were expelled from the areas other high schools, when fights often ended in out-of-school suspensions or arrests. But Principal Jim Sporleder ... created an environment built on empathy and redemption through a framework called trauma-informed care, which acknowledges the presence of childhood trauma in addressing behavioral issues. The practices ... begin with the understanding that childhood trauma can cause adulthood struggles like lack of focus, alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and suicide. At Lincoln ... the graduation rate increased by about 30 percent and suspensions decreased by almost 85 percent a year after implementing the framework. Sporleder first arrived at the school in April 2007. The building was in a constant state of chaos. Sporleder took a hard line by handing out ... three-day out-of-school suspensions. Then, in the spring of 2010, he attended a workshop ... on the impacts of stressful childhood experiences. Keynote speaker John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist, explained how toxic stress overfills the brain with cortisol, also known as the stress hormone. Sporleder suddenly understood that his students behavior wasnt completely in their control; their brains were affected by toxic stress. It just hit me like a bolt of lightning that my discipline was punitive and it was not teaching kids, he said. So he set out on a mission to bring trauma-informed care to his students.

Note: In the article above, students and educators share many personal success stories made possible by Lincoln's adoption of trauma-informed care. Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Trump's First Terror Arrest: A Broke Stoner The FBI Threatened at Knifepoint
2017-02-22, The Intercept
https://theintercept.com/2017/02/22/trumps-first-terror-arrest-a-broke-stoner...

The Department of Justice proudly announced the first FBI terror arrest of the Trump administration on Tuesday: an elaborate sting operation that snared a 25-year-old Missouri man who had no terrorism contacts besides the two undercover FBI agents who paid him to buy hardware supplies they said was for a bomb - and who at one point pulled a knife on him and threatened his family. Robert Lorenzo Hester of Columbia, Missouri, didnt have the $20 he needed to buy the 9-volt batteries, duct tape, and roofing nails his new FBI friends wanted him to get, so they gave him the money. The agents noted in a criminal complaint that Hester, who at one point brought his two small children to a meeting because he didnt have child care, continued smoking marijuana despite professing to be a devout Muslim. But according to the DOJ press release, Hester had plans to conduct an ISIS-sponsored terrorist attack on Presidents Day that would have resulted in mass casualties had it succeeded. News reports breathlessly echoed the governments depiction of Hester as a foiled would-be terrorist. But the only contact Hester had with ISIS was with the two undercover agents. There appears to be little to suggest that [Hester] had the wherewithal or capacity to carry out a terrorist attack. His case is similar to many others in which individuals in financial, legal, or psychological distress have been befriended by undercover FBI agents or government informants and coaxed into developing a terrorist plot.

Note: The FBI has been stepping up its use of stings in ISIS cases. Read how an FBI mole posing as a potential lover recently convinced a man to become a terrorist. If terrorism is such a grave threat in the US, why does the FBI have to manufacture "terrorist" plots and then exaggerate its anti-terrorism success?


Muslim activists raise over $70,000 to aid vandalized Jewish cemetery
2017-02-22, ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/US/muslim-activists-raise-60000-aid-vandalized-jewish-c...

As of early Wednesday morning, a crowdfunding campaign started by Muslim activists had raised over $70,000 in an effort to help repair a vandalized Jewish cemetery. "Muslim Americans stand in solidarity with the Jewish-American community to condemn this horrific act of desecration against the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery," read the crowdfunding campaign's website, which was spearheaded by Muslim-American activists Linda Sarsour and Tarek El-Messidi. The effort comes after more than 170 headstones were damaged late Sunday or early Monday at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, located in the St. Louis suburb of University City. The incident at the cemetery comes amid a spate of threats directed at Jewish centers across the nation this year. The FBI and the Justice Department announced earlier this week that they would investigate the multiple bomb threats directed toward at least 60 Jewish centers, including 11 threats made on Monday alone. The fundraisers for the "Muslims Unite to Repair Jewish Cemetery" campaign said they launched the campaign in an effort to "send a united message from the Jewish and Muslim communities" and to condemn "hate, desecration, and violence." The campaign said the proceeds would go directly to the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, and that any additional funds leftover after the cost of restoration would "assist other vandalized Jewish centers nationwide.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Chicago-based organization helps people leave hate groups
2017-02-21, Chicago Tribune/Associated Press
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-based-organizati...

The tattoo on Shannon Martinez's leg gives away her past. By 16, she was a skinhead spouting white supremacist rhetoric, giving stiff-armed Nazi salutes and tagging public property with swastikas. Fortified by the love of an adopted family, Martinez left the skinheads behind. Today she's helping others do the same as part of an emerging U.S. movement that helps people quit hate organizations. Modeled loosely upon organizations that formed in Europe years ago to combat extremism, groups and individuals are offering counseling, education and understanding to extremists seeking a way out. Now a 42-year-old mom who homeschools her kids at their house in Georgia, Martinez volunteers with Life After Hate, a leading organization dedicated to helping people leave white supremacy. On Facebook, she shares her story with others who've left or are looking to leave extremism. Founded in 2009, Life After Hate was awarded a $400,000 Justice Department grant in the closing days of the Obama administration. While several other grant recipients are dedicated to countering radical Muslim ideology, Life After Hate concentrates specifically on showing white extremists there's another way. The group operates a website where people who want to explore leaving white extremism can submit contact information. It also conducts educational and counseling programs including the Facebook group where members sometimes chat with extremists trying to change their lives.

Note: The Life after Hate website provides inspiring stories and great resources for healing extremism with loving community.


Police chief 120 per cent convinced Edward Heath was a paedophile
2017-02-19, The Independent (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/mike-veale-convinced-edward-heath-...

The head of the police force investigating reports of child sexual abuse by [former U.K. Prime Minister] Sir Edward Heath reportedly believes in the allegations 120 per cent. Chief Constable Mike Veale, of Wiltshire Police, is reportedly convinced by testimony from alleged victims of the former Conservative Prime Minister because they have given similar accounts to investigators. Sir Edward, who was Prime Minister between 1970 and 1974, died in 2005. Wiltshire Police appealed for information about claims he was involved in abusing children after the Independent Police Complaints Commission began investigating whether a similar claim, made in the 1990s, had been handled properly. A retired senior officer alleged that Wiltshire Police deliberately caused a criminal prosecution to fail in 1994 after the defendant, a brothel owner, threatened to tell the press she supplied Sir Edward with underage boys for sex if the trial went ahead. But the trial was dropped because witnesses refused to testify, the IPCC said, and it found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Note: Watch an excellent segment by Australia's "60-Minutes" team "Spies, Lords and Predators" on a pedophile ring in the UK which leads to the highest levels of government. A second suppressed documentary, "Conspiracy of Silence," goes even deeper into this topic in the US. For more, see concise summaries of deeply revealing sexual abuse scandal news articles from reliable major media sources.


Scientists develop 'proof of principle' that memories can be erased
2017-02-18, The Independent (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/memories-erased-mind-eternal-sunshi...

Scientists have demonstrated proof of principle that traumatic memories can be erased from the brain as seen in the science fiction film Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Studies in mice demonstrated that fearful memories prompted by a sound associated with an electric shock could be turned off and on. The researchers said attempting to do this in humans was full of ethical problems. But their studies suggest it will be possible at some point in the future. Professor Sheena Josselyn said they had been able to discover the specific brain cells where a particular memory was stored. So we can target where in the brain a memory has gone, she said. We can then decrease the activity in these cells And it is as if we erase the memory. After this was done, the mice were unperturbed when they heard the sound they had previously learned to associate with the shock. Increasing the cells activity restored the memory. We can turn memory on and turn memory off, Professor Josselyn said. We can erase a fearful memory in mice, suggesting in people there might be a way of targeting just those cells that are important in just this traumatic memory, perhaps getting rid of this traumatic memory. Asked about the ethical considerations, Professor Josselyn said ... that she did not see a future in which brain cells would be killed off to remove memories. But she added: For something that really interferes with your everyday life ... a treatment that targets just those cells could be appropriate.

Note: Remember that secret military and intelligence projects are usually 10 to 20 years ahead of anything being done in the public. Could some groups already have refined the ability to erase, and possibly even implant memories? For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on mind control and microchip implants.


Banned In Germany: Kids' Doll Is Labeled An Espionage Device
2017-02-17, NPR
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/17/515775874/banned-in-germany...

A doll called My Friend Cayla listens a little too well, according to German regulators who say the toy is essentially a stealthy espionage device that shares what it hears and is also vulnerable to takeover by third parties. "Cayla ist verboten in Deutschland," says Jochen Homann, the president of Germany's Federal Network Agency (the Bundessnetzagentur), announcing a ban on the doll in Germany on Friday. His agency oversees electronic privacy as part of its telecommunications mandate. Cayla looks like an everyday doll and gives no notice that it collects and transmits everything it hears - in this case, to [Nuance], a voice-recognition company in the U.S. whose other customers include intelligence agencies. The My Friend Cayla doll remains for sale in the U.S., including via Amazon. Much of what the German agency says echoes the concerns of privacy and consumer advocates in the U.S., who filed a complaint against Cayla during the recent Christmas shopping season. They criticized the scope of what the Internet-connected toy captures, as well as the vulnerabilities it poses for users who link the doll with their smartphones. Consumer groups have also criticized the doll for its habit of praising commercial products, in what's often seen as a stealth marketing campaign that targets children. "For example, Cayla will happily talk about how much she loves different Disney movies," Norway's Consumer Council says. "Meanwhile, the app-provider has a commercial relationship with Disney."

Note: The use of artificial intelligence in a new Barbie doll generated controversy in 2015, while a New York Times article from that same year called "smart objects" a "train wreck in privacy and security". For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on corporate corruption and the disappearance of privacy.


Big Pharma really, really doesn't want you to know the true value of its drugs
2017-02-17, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-drug-pricing-evzio-2017...

The latest poster child for cruel and inhuman drug pricing is Kaleo Pharma, maker of an emergency injector for a med called naloxone, which is used as an antidote to save the lives of people who overdose on painkillers. As Americas opioid crisis reaches epidemic levels, Kaleo has jacked up the list price for its Evzio auto-injector by 600%, soaring from $690 several years ago to $4,500, according to lawmakers. Nearly three dozen senators wrote to Kaleos chief executive, Spencer Williamson, last week to say they were deeply concerned about the price hike and to note that it threatens to price out families and communities that depend on naloxone to save lives." But thats not what caught my attention. Rather, I was struck by the companys answers to me about lawmakers concerns. In response to emailed questions, Williamson said that although the list price for Evzio is more than $4,000, thats not a true net price to anyone due to numerous discounts and rebates that are negotiated in the supply chain that make up our healthcare system. In other words, even though the price tag for his companys easy-to-use, lifesaving device is ridiculous and indefensible, theres no need to worry because backroom deals by assorted players in the healthcare food chain make that price tag meaningless. And that, in a nutshell, illustrates the lunacy of the U.S. healthcare system.

Note: For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on Big Pharma corruption and income inequality.


The price of loyalty to Trump is high and rising
2017-02-17, Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/02/17/dai...

Last week, Trump blocked Rex Tillerson from hiring Elliott Abrams as his deputy at the State Department after someone brought to his attention critical comments he had made during the campaign. That happened despite a job interview that had gone well. Last night, Robert Harward turned down Trumps offer to replace Michael Flynn as national security adviser. One key factor in Harward's decision to turn down the job was that he couldn't get a guarantee that he could select his own staff. Specifically ... Harward wanted commitments that the National Security Council would be fully in charge of security matters, not Trump's political advisers. Just yesterday, Secretary of State Rex Tillersons enforcers at the State Department laid off staff at Foggy Bottom while the secretary traveled in Europe. Much of seventh-floor staff, who work for the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources and the Counselor offices, were told ... that their services were no longer needed. These staffers in particular are often the conduit between the secretarys office to the country bureaus, where the regional expertise is centered. Inside the State Department, some officials fear that this is a politically-minded purge that cuts out much-needed expertise from the policy-making, rather than simply reorganizing the bureaucracy. Ambassador Kristie Kenney, the Counselor of the State Department and one of the last remaining senior officials, was [also] informed that she will be let go. Also noteworthy: Not a single State Department official was included in the White House meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.

Note: While simple politics or government corruption may be responsible for this high-level reshuffling, this video interview with former CIA agent Robert David Steele suggests there is much more going on behind the scenes.


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