Flesh and Stone

Less than 3 years after airport scanner buying spree, TSA removes them

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:58:00 -0700

It seems like only yesterday that the U.S. government rushed headlong into an airport scanner spending spree. It was 2010. Airport scammers or scanners?

Now we learn that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is removing all Rapisan scanners and is seeking to off-load hundreds of Rapiscan scanners on other government agencies that don't have the same need for privacy as airports. (I wonder who they might be.)

To whom do we owe this major spending gaffe? That would be presidents Bush and Obama and Congress who blindly followed the fear-mongering warnings of then U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff. At the time, Chertoff was also a consultant and board member for several security firms, including Rapiscan. It wasn't a secret. Anyone with an Internet connection and curiosity were aware of the connection but corporate media didn't think it was relevant then and doesn't think it's relevant now. No mention of the man and his profitting from scanner sales in today's major media stories.

Conflict-of-interest and government waste -- such quaint, antiquated notions.

Companies Rushed Special Dividend Payments Before Tax Increase

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 07:19:00 -0700

With the fiscal cliff here and higher taxes looming, many corporations, including pharmaceutical companies, are issuing dividend checks to investors early in order to beat the higher tax rates. The Bush dividend tax rates - capped at 15 percent - are set to expire on December 31, 2012. If no changes are made, dividends will be taxed at the same rates as wages.

One analyst said more than $21 billion in special dividends had been promised by the end of November.

What's new in male contraception research?

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:18:00 -0700

An organization called the International Male Contraception Coalition makes a strong case for male contraceptives on its website. Some of the obvious reasons one might pursue male contraception are the risk of cancer associated with female birth control pills, and the lack of efficacy of other forms of contraception. (One might add that men should be able to share in the joy and responsibility of contraceptives with their spouse or partner.)

A male birth contraceptive in injection and pill form is getting some attention from researchers.

Read more about the research underway here and here.

American Psychiatric Association Approves DSM-5

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 07:48:00 -0700

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) board of trustees met Saturday to vote on a controversial new version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, also called the DSM or "the psychiatrists' bible."

The manual defines all mental disorders and plays a significant role in how different disorders are to be managed, including drug treatments and insurance coverage. Read more about it.

FAQs about the DSM-5 - American Psychiatric Association

Iceland shows leadership again with Wikileaks decision

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:36:00 -0600

Is Iceland the only country that is not a corporatacracy? When the global financial crisis hit in 2008, Iceland faced what Greece, Italy, Spain and France are now facing. They were bankrupt with long-term massive debt, much of it attributed to shady banking practices and a failure of government regulators. U.S. and European governments responded to the manufactured crisis by offering hefty bailouts to "save" financial institutions that were "too big to fail" while sentencing their greater societies to failure.

Breaking from the pack, Iceland told its bankers they could pay for their own mistakes and crimes rather than stick citizens with the the bill, enact severe austerity budgets and give up their sovereignty to the IMF, Central Bank and World Bank. It wasn't a painless process to reach that decision. Icelanders took part in massive protests, much like we are seeing in Greece, Spain, Britain, Italy and the United States. The difference is that Iceland's government listened. Today, Iceland has one of the fastest-growing GDPs and among the lowest rates of unemployment. It has repaid its international loans ahead of schedule.

Now Iceland has shown its independence from corporate powerhouses again. Reykjavík District Court ruled July 12 that Valitor, formerly VISA Iceland, violated contract laws by blocking credit card donations to Wikileaks. The court ordered Valitor, which processes transactions for Visa and Mastarcard, to open the donation gateway to Wikileaks within 14 days or it will be assessed a fee of 800 000 ISK ($6,200) each day it fails to comply.

U.S. financial institutions, including VISA, Bank of America, MasterCard and a half dozen other companies, acted outside legal frameworks, almost certainly at the urging of the U.S. government, in creating a banking blockade against WikiLeaks shortly afterr the whistleblower site published embarrassing evidence of U.S. war crimes and dubious activities of certain U.S. embassies in 2010. The blockade effectively froze $20 million in donations from all over the world that were intended for Wikileaks.

People around the world who cheer for Iceland are trying to move their own governments to act in the national interest. Instead, the majority of government leaders have alligned themselves with powerful industrry lobbyists and well-connected heirs apparent.

It's true Iceland is a small country, about the size of Kentucky, with a homogenous population of just 320,000 compared to the extremely diverse United States with 314 million. Still, the tiny nation offers those much greater in size and wealth lessons on how to respond to a crisis with integrity and indepenence.

Injured photographer uses YouTube to request evacuation from Syria

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:51:00 -0700

Paul Conway, a photographer for the Sunday Times who was injured in a rocket attack in the Baba Amr district of Homs, Syria, on Feb. 21, appears in a YouTube video on Feb. 23. The rockets killed his colleagues journalist Marie Colvin, photographer Remi Ochlik, and 24 Syrian civilians.

In the video, Conway says he is being cared for by Free Syrian Army medical staff. A medical team member points to the three wounds Conway received in his leg and asks for assistance evacuating Conway so he can receive proper medical assistance and escape future attacks. Edith Bouvier, a reporter for Le Figaro, also appeared in a video pleading for emergency evacuation due to injuries received during the rocket attack.

Marie Colvin's final article in the Sunday Times, ‘We live in fear of a massacre,' published February 19, is accompanied by Conway's photography.

JSTOR drops charges against Swartz; US government will pursue

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:40:00 -0600

In July, Aaron Swartz, an internet freedom activist and former Harvard Ethics fellow, was arrested and charged with data theft for downloading millions of academic journal articles from MIT’s computer network that were behind a paywall belonging to JSTOR. JSTOR, short for Journal Storage, digitizes academic journals and sells subscriptions to libraries and other institutions.

JSTOR has dropped its data theft charges against Swartz but the U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing wire and computer fraud charges against him. If convicted, he could face up to 35 years and prison and $1 million in fines.

JSTOR announced September 7 that it was giving the public free access to some of its earliest journals, and that it plans to do more to make content accessible or affordable to individuals.

Related article: Selling Secrets

JSTOR also stated that the content taken by Swartz was returned and that it received “confirmation that the content was not and would not be used, copied, transferred, or distributed.”

Swartz is the founder of Demand Progress, an internet freedom advocacy group, which he currently serves as an advisory board director. He also co-founded Reddit.com, watchdog.net, Open Library, Jottit, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and co-authored the RSS 1.0 specification and helped launch Creative Commons.

Demand Progress is raising support for Swartz. The organization states on its website, “We stand with Aaron Swartz and his lifetime of work on ethics in government and academics.”

Swartz isn't the only one critical of intellectual property laws that prevent or severely curtail access to published journal articles, patents and metadata that are necessary to analyze and advance ideas.

His supporters include Greg Maxwell who, in protest of Swartz' prosecution, uploaded (on The Pirate Bay) 18,592 historical academic papers he’d legally obtained from JSTOR's Royal Society collection.

Reaction to Osama bin Laden's death runs deeper than celebration videos

Thu, 05 May 2011 18:07:00 -0600

Video of Americans' first reaction to the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 1, depict young men and women celebrating with joy at Ground Zero in New York and in front of the White House in Washington. Some of the footage looked out of context, like fans reacting to their team winning the Super Bowl instead of a sobering closure to a very bad chapter in history.

This is the image shown to the world. But it isn't the whole picture. Below are some thoughtful responses to the death of America's "Enemy Number 1" as well as American response from a psychiatrist, a Christian ethics scholar and veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

In his short essay, "Celebrating Death," James Knolls, a forensic psychiatrist and editor of Psychiatric Times quotes the 6th Century Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, then asks:

Can this be something to celebrate? Should it be something to celebrate? What can this tell us about ourselves? What is the "proper" reaction?"

His May 4 article includes a photo of little girls with hand-scrawled signs celebrating the death of bin Laden. One can't help drawing a parallel between these images and those we've seen of young children in the Middle East shouting "death to America!" or little girls painting "love from Israel" on bombs that would be dropped on Lebanon.

David Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, asked in a May 2 essay that Americans reflect on their ideas on war and peace.

“Do Not Rejoice When Your Enemies Fall”

“Do not rejoice when your enemies fall,
and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble.”
—Proverbs 24:17

We feel compelled to respond today to the killing of Osama bin Laden by the United States and to the jubilant response across the nation.

A nation has a right to defend itself. From the perspective of the fundamental national security of the United States, this action is legitimately viewed as an expression of self-defense.

But as Christians, we believe that there can no celebrating, no dancing in the streets, no joy, in relation to the death of Osama bin Laden. In obedience to scripture, there can be no rejoicing when our enemies fall.

In that sense, President Obama’s sober announcement was far preferable to the happy celebrations outside the White House, in New York, and around the country, however predictable and even cathartic they may be.

NPR’s On Being program published the essay in its entirety.

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IAVW) issued a public statement on May 3 urging Americans to respond with restraint and think of all the victims of 911.

"While it is right to remember those who died on 9/11, we should also be equally mindful of all those who have died as a result of our misguided wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The number of U.S. troops killed has topped 6,000 and estimates of civilian deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan range in the hundreds of thousands.” -- Jose Vasquez, Executive Director, IVAW

Osama Bin Laden is Dead, What Next?

"Sunday night IVAW learned with the rest of the nation that Osama Bin Laden was killed and his body captured by a team of U.S. Special Forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In light of our resolution condemning the occupation of Afghanistan adopted in 2009, we have followed this important news closely and want to share our perspective with supporters, elected officials, policymakers, the press, and the public at large.

Like many other Americans, IVAW welcomes the news of this weakening blow to Al-Qaeda and its threat to our nation and the world. Our hearts go out to the thousands of survivors and family members of victims of the 9/11 attacks as they search for closure in this event.

As service members and veterans who have experienced the Global War on Terror firsthand, we respectfully encourage the American people to consider the killing of Bin Laden with a measure of restraint. His death is only a symbolic victory. Although there is no doubt Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians, the path chosen by the Bush administration following 9/11 and continued under President Obama’s watch has cost us more than any one terrorist mastermind ever could. While it is right to remember those who died on 9/11, we should also be equally mindful of all those who have died as a result of our misguided wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The number of U.S. troops killed has topped 6,000 and estimates of civilian deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan range in the hundreds of thousands.

The elimination of Bin Laden proves that our nation’s security issues are managed more effectively through political diplomacy and small, targeted attacks than costly mass military action. Our government has spared no expense in carrying out operations with no clear objectives or an end in sight, squandering trillions of dollars in spite of our nation’s economic crisis. Any citizen who is serious about the consequences of our foreign policy, the rule of law, or a true sense of justice needs to ask, has it been worth it? Whether you measure the tremendous costs of these wars in human lives or dollars, our position is that it has not been worth it.

The president claims that, “we can say that justice has been done.’’ But achieving real justice will not happen until the U.S. has removed all occupying forces and returned the right of self-determination to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. The Obama administration now has an opportunity to bring our troops home and scale back our military commitments overseas. Americans must reflect on the injustice of our own actions through violating international law, committing torture, suspending habeas corpus, and not holding our own leaders accountable.

Clearly our attempts to solve all our problems militarily have not worked. It is our sincere hope that President Obama will not conduct business as usual. While the president and his advisors will seek to capitalize politically on Bin Laden’s killing, it remains to be seen whether our foreign policy will change to reflect these new developments. Having removed Bin Laden from the equation, President Obama has lost a major source of rationalization for our continued occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. We reject any plans to extend our commitments elsewhere and want to see a hastening of the time line for withdrawal."

Researchers continue to demonstrate that fish "feel" pain

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 12:54:00 -0600

When a fish is hooked and it fights being hauled into your boat, it’s not just playing with you. It’s more likely reacting to pain and trying to escape it, according to a stream of published research on fish physiology.

Several studies by researchers in Europe and the United States have found that when fish were exposed to pain in their mouth, gills and heads, pain signals are sent to the same region of the brain where birds and mammals process pain.

The study of animal neurobiology, cognition and behavior is still a relatively new field, but some of the research being published by animal biologists and neuroanatomists is of concern to animal rights activists interested in the humane treatment of other mammals, fish and birds.

In an article published last month in Spiegel International, author Günther Stockinger wrote:

“Researchers from Queen's University, in Belfast, have proven that when fish are subjected to pain stimuli, the signals by no means simply ebb away in the spinal cord. Scientists have discovered sensitive skin areas directly behind the gill covers of goldfish and trout. Using implanted electrodes, they have been able to show that the nerve cells located there send signals directly to the fish's brain.

“When researchers poked the animals with needles, a flurry of neuron messages were transmitted to the endbrain -- the very region of the brain where pain signals are also processed by birds and mammals.”

Sport fishermen and other researchers, including zoologist James Rose, have dismissed the fish and pain research as anthropomorphism. While fish might react to pain, they don’t have the neurological ability to mentally process pain like humans do, say detractors. In other words, while fish react to pain, they don’t experience it the same way.

In a paper published in Reviews in Fisheries Science, Rose wrote:

“The literature on the neural basis of consciousness and of pain is reviewed, showing that: 1) behavioral responses to noxious stimuli are separate from the psychological experience of pain, (2) awareness of pain in humans depends on functions of specific regions of cerebral cortex, and (3) fishes lack these essential brain regions or any functional equivalent, making it untenable that they can experience pain.”

Free From Harm -- an international organization focused on helping people understand how global food choices impact climate change, environmental degradation, poverty and animal suffering -- believes the studies are important. "We shouldn't be surprised that the scientific study of animals is proving more and more that animals have far greater cognitive ability than we ever understood,” according to the group. “Since animals suffer mostly in silence and even hide their pain, this is not a surprising discovery."

So far, the research into fish and pain has included only goldfish, trout, carp and zebra fish. That’s too limited to conclude that all fish species feel or react to pain the same way, according to an EU panel that is reviewing the research.

For the obvious reason, (we're not fish!) we’ll never know exactly how fish process pain. It’s precisely because we can’t know that gentle and respectful handling of a caught fish, part of our circle of life, is always in order.

Japan awaits word on possible nuclear reactor leak

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 11:44:00 -0700

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has issued an emergency decree regarding the possibility of leaking radiation from the damaged Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCo) multi-reactor Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. The 3,000 residents near the Fukushima No. 1 plant were told to evacuate, according to the Kyoto News Service.

TEPCo officials said rising pressure inside one of its reactors had elevated the risk of a radiation leak. The U.S. Air Force in Japan flew coolant to a nuclear power plant that suffered severe damage from the quake, according to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, but it wasn't immediately clear if it was the Fukushima plant. Nuclear fuel must be continuously cooled for 24 to 48 hours even after being shut down, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Kan told citizens there were no confirmed reports of leaked nuclear radiation. "I ask the public to continue to stay fully vigilant and to keep abreast of TV and radio reports, and I ask everyone to act calmly," Kan said in a released statement.

''We have a situation where one of the reactors cannot be cooled down," said Yukio Edano, a government spokesman, at a late Friday press briefing. ''No radiation has leaked outside the reactor. The incident poses no danger to the environment at the moment.''

Eleven of Japan's 50 nuclear reactors shut down automatically following the quake.

The Tohoku district was the epicenter for the 8.8 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan beginning at at 2:46 pm. One of three Onagawa nuclear power plants near Sengai, less thn 50 miles from the epicenter, broke out in a fire, but was later extinguished.

Kyodo News said at least 200 bodies had been found near the epicenter and that 88,000 people are reported as missing. The massive tsunami that followed the quake washed away numerous homes, autos and planes and submerged entire towns.