The American Academy of Pediatrics has urged CBS Outdoor to take down the advertisement funded by anti-vaccine groups For 17 days, every hour for 15 seconds, a controversial message is being sold to the American public via a CBS billboard in Times Square, New York. A photograph of a mother cradling her naked baby is accompanied by the words: “Vaccines: Know the risks.” This image is faded out, and replaced by the Statue of Liberty and “Vaccination. Your Health. Your Family. Your Choice.” The advert is paid for and endorsed by the non-profit National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) and Mercola.com (self-proclaimed World’s Number 1 Natural Health Website), and will be shown until 28 April. CBS Outdoor has faced a massive backlash for its choice of clientele: both NVIC and Mercola are viewed by many as anti-vaccine propagandists. In particular, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) , one of the many organisations responsible for testing the safety of vaccinations, is urging the company to remove the ad. It accuses CBS of putting the lives of children at risk by encouraging parents to delay or skip vaccination. Mercola and the NVIC use the ad to endorse their websites, linking the public to what the AAP deems “misinformation” – a barrage of articles blaming common ingredients in vaccines for a number of health problems from breast cancer to infertility. The NVIC publishes a disclaimer on almost every article, assuring readers that it is not anti-vaccination – despite the fact its spokesperson, Playboy model Jenny McCarthy, has publicly described vaccinations as “a product that’s shit” . For Mercola, NVIC and McCarthy, thimerosal – a mercury-containing preservative – is Public Enemy Number One. All three insist there has been a direct connection between vaccines containing thimerosal and the increasing number of children being diagnosed with autism. McCarthy’s own son has the condition, which she blames on the MMR shot he received before his diagnosis. Her bestselling Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism warns parents of the “dangers” involved in vaccinations. NVIC’s website recommends A Shot in the Dark, one of the first books to link vaccines to autism and, in its words, a “classic”. As a precautionary measure thimerosal has been reduced or eliminated from vaccines in the US and Europe, but in 2010 it was proved that the preservative was not linked to autism and the AAP is keen to defend it . On 13 April, Dr Marion Burton, president of the AAP, wrote to Wally Kelly, CBS Outdoor chairman, describing her organisation as having “worked hard to protect children and their families from unfounded and unscientific misinformation regarding vaccine safety”. It seems the 15-second ad is undoing all its hard work. The letter states: “The AAP’s 60,000 member pediatricians urge you to remove these harmful messages … Please do your part to help reassure parents that vaccinating their children … is the best way to protect them from diseases.” The AAP is not alone in demanding that CBS remove the ad. Blogs are urging readers to sign a petition to get it removed, and there are campaigns such as Stop Jenny against McCarthy’s celebrity endorsement. They describe the ad as “misinformed consent” – linking parents to sites that aren’t scientifically accurate. CBS has yet to comment publicly on the negative attention surrounding the campaign. Would an ad campaign like this be allowed to run in the UK? It seems unlikely given the recent discrediting of Andrew Wakefield’s research linking the MMR vaccine to autism. Interestingly, Wakefield continues to work in America, despite being accused of fraud by the BMJ and struck off by the General Medical Council . Having resigned from the NHS for being (in his words) “unpopular”, he set up the Thoughtful House foundation in Texas, which researches autism. Wakefield’s research continues to be recognised by Thoughtful House and the National Autism Association , despite having been discredited by the AAP and the American Medical Association . In America, it seems, Wakefield, Mercola, NVIC and Jenny McCarthy enjoy the freedom to do and say whatever they please, without fear of being hounded by the media. Perhaps that is why CBS has allowed its Times Square billboard to be used by the campaign: the American media just don’t care enough to kick up a fuss. Immunology Medical research Controversies in science Vaccines and immunisation Autism Health Health & wellbeing guardian.co.uk
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Transport officials say extra hour off will leave staff refreshed but rejects calls to allow controllers to nap during breaks US air traffic controllers will get longer breaks between shifts to prevent fatigue, but transport officials have rejected another proposed remedy – on-the-job napping. The transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, said on Monday that while the government would not pay air traffic controllers to take naps while on duty, federal officials were open to other options to ensure aviation safety. He told CBS television’s The Early Show that officials “take very seriously” their obligation to solve the problem of sleepy controllers, adding: “Controllers have to make sure that they get the right rest and they come to work rested.” LaHood announced previously that the Ferderal Aviation Administration (FAA) would add an hour to the minimum time controllers must be off between shifts. He said under the plan staff should feel more refreshed when they arrive at work. Officials will visit control towers this week to discuss the problems of sleeping on the job. Five instances of sleeping controllers have been reported since late March. The latest incident occurred just before 8am on Saturday at a busy regional radar facility that handles high-altitude traffic for much of Florida, the Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean sea. Several other countries, including Germany and Japan, permit controllers to sleep during breaks and provide quiet rooms with beds for that purpose. Bill Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation of Alexandria, Virginia, said: “Given the body of scientific evidence, that decision clearly demonstrates that politics remain more important than public safety. People are concerned about a political backlash if they allow controllers to have rest periods in their work shifts the same way firefighters and trauma physicians do.” It has been an open secret in the US FAA since at least the early 1990s that controllers sometimes sleep on the job. The toughest are the midnight shifts, between 10pm and 6am. Scientists said it would be surprising if controllers did not doze sometimes because they were trying to stay awake at a time when the body naturally craves sleep. Studies show that 30% to 50% of night-shift workers report falling asleep on the job, according to Dr Charles Czeisler, chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston. Six of eight present and former controllers interviewed by Associated Press admitted they briefly fell asleep while working alone at night at least once in their careers. Most of them did not want to be identified for fear of jeopardising their jobs or their colleagues’. Much more common is taking a nap on purpose, they said. During midnight shifts controllers take it in turns to sleep while the other covers both positions. The unsanctioned arrangements sometimes allow staff to sleep for up to four hours during an eight-hour shift, they said. The FAA does not allow controllers to sleep at work, even during breaks. Controllers who are caught can be suspended or fired. But at many air traffic facilities the sleeping swaps are tolerated as long as they do not affect safety, the controllers said. “It has always been a problem,” said former controller Rick Perl, who retired last year. Air transport United States guardian.co.uk
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As part of the political panel on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, PBS host Tavis Smiley decried the recent budget deal in Congress to fund the government through the rest of 2011: “I believe that budgets are moral documents….And I'm not so sure that this is not anything more than an immoral document where the poor are concerned.” Smiley went on to lament how the budget negotiations “effectively locked out the American people, namely, the poor.” He further ranted: “I don't understand why it is in this town that every debate about money always begins and ends with how we can further reward the rich and more punish the poor. I don't get that.” Following former Michigan Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm describing the possibility of compromise between Democrats and Republicans on the 2012 budget, Smiley went after President Obama for not fighting harder against spending cuts: “…a week ago, the President comes out and congratulates Republicans on the biggest budget cuts ever in the history of this country, then the next week, you're slamming them about their deficit reduction priorities. So I'm not even sure I understand what side of his mouth the President's really speaking out of, respectfully.” Near the end of the program, Smiley shared some concluding thoughts with the rest of the panel: “The only thing I want to add to this conversation, because I would not – I couldn't live with myself if I didn't say this…. this conversation is not disconnected from these wars that we are engaged in. I have to say that. Dr. King said all the time that war is the enemy of the poor. If we're going to get this country back on the right track and get these poor and the underemployed and the unemployed lifted up, we have to understand that war is the enemy of the poor. And I just got to say that.” Here is a transcript of the April 17 exchange: 11:00AM ET (…) JENNIFER GRANHOLM [FMR. GOVERNOR, D-MI]: But here's the great thing, is that this week, the President gave the parameters on the Democratic side, and Congressman Ryan gave the parameters on the Republican side. So, now we know what the arena is, and they agree that the deficit reduction should be about $4 trillion. They agree that everybody should put entitlements on the table. They disagree on how to get there. And they agree on what they're going to do about business taxes, or at least in concept, that we should have a more competitive business tax that doesn't have all these loopholes. I think that is a huge arena for compromise, and I think the President really spoke to a lot of Democrats- DAVID GREGORY: But does that assume, Tavis, that that's really the arena that we're operating in, or is this the land of fantasy, in terms of what's actually going to get passed? TAVIS SMILEY: I think it's the latter, and I'm not even sure what the arena is. I note, with respect to the Governor, that a week ago, the President comes out and congratulates Republicans on the biggest budget cuts ever in the history of this country, then the next week, you're slamming them about their deficit reduction priorities. So I'm not even sure I understand what side of his mouth the President's really speaking out of, respectfully. What I know is this, I believe that budgets are moral documents. Budgets are moral documents. You can say what you say, but you are what you are. And when you put your budget on the table, that's when we learn who you really are. And I'm not so sure that this is not anything more than an immoral document where the poor are concerned. Yes to your point, David, we avoided a shutdown of government, but we effectively locked out the American people, namely, the poor. And I don't understand why it is in this town that every debate about money always begins and ends with how we can further reward the rich and more punish the poor. I don't get that. (…) SMILEY: The only thing I want to add to this conversation, because I would not – I couldn't live with myself if I didn't say this. Because these things seem so disconnected when we're talking about budget policy in this country, but this conversation is not disconnected from these wars that we are engaged in. I have to say that. Dr. King said all the time that war is the enemy of the poor. If we're going to get this country back on the right track and get these poor and the underemployed and the unemployed lifted up, we have to understand that war is the enemy of the poor. And I just got to say that. — Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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Paul Allen doesn’t give many interviews, but Microsoft’s famously eclectic co-founder recently decided to sit down with 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl, to discuss his juicy new memoir , The Idea Man . It’s a book peppered with old stories of Allen’s early days as a programmer, when he and Bill Gates would spend their days searching for discarded code in dumpsters and building software for the original Altair computer. But the memoir’s most intriguing (and controversial) revelations revolve around Allen’s personal and professional relationship with Gates, whom he described to Stahl as a gifted businessman with a penchant for being a total jerk. According to Allen, Gates would regularly engage in testy shouting matches with his Microsoft brethren, and wouldn’t hesitate to sling “personal verbal attacks” against anyone who dared to disagree with him. Allen says he tolerated Gates’ explosions, for the most part, even though he desperately wanted to tell him that “working with you is like being in hell.” The two hit a particularly rough patch after Gates allegedly plotted to squeeze Allen out of the company, not long after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma — an incident that spurred Allen to leave Microsoft, shortly thereafter. Gates, for his part, hasn’t commented on Allen’s tell-all, nor, apparently, has he even discussed it with his former partner. The next time the two men sit down for a chat, however, Allen says he expects a “heated discussion.” Naturally. You can watch the interview after the break, along with a glimpse at some of Allen’s most jaw-dropping toys. Continue reading Paul Allen compares working with Bill Gates to ‘being in hell’ (video) Paul Allen compares working with Bill Gates to ‘being in hell’ (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 09:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Talk about a bad case of the munchies—a 6-year-old boy in Oregon who got hungry yesterday decided to drive to the store in the family van. The tiny driver crashed into several mailboxes then swerved into the oncoming lane and smashed into a pickup. The boy was unharmed, and…
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Most believe government has mishandled nuclear crisis and recovery from earthquake and tsunami, according to Nikkei poll Japanese voters have delivered a damning verdict on the prime minister’s handling of the nuclear crisis, with a majority calling for a new leader to take the helm as the country attempts to recover from last month’s earthquake and tsunami. Naoto Kan, who has been in office for less than a year, can expect little respite even after the operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), said it hoped to effectively end the crisis within the next six to nine months. The government has yet to say when tens of thousands of people evacuated from the area will be allowed to return home, while the rebuilding effort along Japan’s north-east coast has barely begun more than five weeks after the disaster. The government’s chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, has said Tepco’s target of achieving “cold shutdown” of damaged reactors by early next year would only be met if “everything goes smoothly”. Tepco stood by its time frame, despite the release of data showing that radiation levels in two reactor buildings were still too high for workers to enter. The new readings were released after US-made robots entered reactor buildings numbers one and three, the first time machines have been employed since the plant was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. “We expected high radioactivity inside the reactor buildings, which was confirmed by data collected by the robot,” Edano said. “Even I had expected high radioactivity in those areas. I’m sure Tepco and other experts factored in those figures when they compiled the roadmap.” Takeshi Makigami, a Tepco official, said: “The robots can only do so much. Eventually, people will have to enter the buildings.” More than 27,000 people died or are still missing after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami, while 136,000 people are living in shelters. Damages from the natural disasters alone could reach a record $300bn (£184bn). In a poll taken by the Nikkei business newspaper, almost 70% of respondents said Kan should be replaced, while a similar proportion said his government had mishandled the nuclear crisis. The political truce declared in the early days of the crisis has ended. Calls have grown for Kan’s resignation; Masashi Waki, an MP from the opposition Liberal Democratic party (LDP), accused him of dithering from the outset. “The prime minister is working hard and must be experiencing difficulties,” Waki, told the upper house budget committee. “But many people have questions about his leadership.” He then addressed Kan directly: “You should be bowing your head in apology. You clearly have nothing to offer as a leader.” Kan apologised for the turmoil the nuclear accident had created, but said he would strive to bring a quick end to the Fukushima emergency and begin the post-tsunami reconstruction effort. “Japan has experienced many crises in the past,” he said, “But I believe this is the biggest in the 65 years since the second world war. I want to make every effort on both issues.” According to the Nikkei poll, voters would prefer Kan’s Democratic party of Japan (DPJ) administration to co-operate with the LDP to address the myriad economic and social issues confronting Japan. The LDP has turned down offers from Kan to form a grand coalition, however, and called for Kan’s resignation. But colleagues say he is unlikely to step down. “It is impossible to change prime ministers at a time like this,” said Hajime Ishii, a DPJ upper house MP. “Other countries would view that as abnormal. At a time when we must work on rebuilding after the earthquake, it is not possible to have a DPJ leadership vote or a general election.” Japan disaster Natural disasters and extreme weather Nuclear power Japan Energy Nikkei Justin McCurry guardian.co.uk
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European court of human rights has repeatedly challenged France for locking up suspects without charge and denying access to lawyers France was forced to rush in urgent reforms to its treatment of people in police custody this weekend, a move that follows years of international condemnation that it was trampling the most basic human rights. France’s claim to be “the country of human rights” has been repeatedly challenged by the European court of human rights (ECHR), which warned suspects were being locked up without charge and with no access to lawyers. The court said France had an unjust police custody system overseen by state prosecutors who were not independent but in thrall to the government. France was also told it was breaking international law by not telling suspects they had a right to remain silent. Under pressure from the ECHR, the French parliament voted in January for a reform allowing suspects to have a lawyer present during questioning and to be granted the right to remain silent. The change was due to come into force in June, but France’s constitutional council ruled this weekend it must be changed immediately, sparking panic as lawyers descended on police stations and police officers warned of absolute chaos. The French system of holding a suspect for up to 96 hours without charge, denying them lawyers or any chance to organise a defence or prepare for questioning was found to contravene the French constitution itself. The only access to a lawyer was for a 30-minute visit to check the suspect was well, but not for discussing defence. The notoriously tough system, which allowed suspects as young as 13 to be held, became a plank of president Nicolas Sarkozy’s tough-on-crime approach and target-based police culture. Even Sarkozy’s prime minister, Francois Fillon, admitted it was shocking that 800,000 people a year were held in police custody, two thirds more than in 2002. There was a scandal last year over the abuse by police of their powers when four 14-year-olds were detained in police custody over a fight outside a school. One was taken from her home in her nightclothes and locked in a cell for 10 hours. Amnesty International has highlighted cases of deaths in police custody and warned against police brutality. The government wants to reduce the number of people in custody to 500,000 a year. One lawyer called to one of the first cases after the reform was put into action said it was a revolutionary moment, as important “as the storming of the Bastille”. Police complained of a new burden to their workload and one police union criticised the move to allow lawyers to attend the questioning of suspects, accusing some of them of thinking they were appearing in American TV series. France Europe European court of human rights Human rights Nicolas Sarkozy Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk
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enlarge An obscure speech given by Harry Truman on September 11, 1951 at the dedication of the GAO office building is buried deep in the FBI FOIA archives. In it, Truman discusses the budget of 1951-1952, and offers some practical advice to the Paul Ryans of his day and ours. Now, I would like to say a word to comfort and console those who fear that we are spending our way into national bankruptcy. This alarming thought has some currency in certain circles, and it is used to frighten voters — particularly as visions of elections dance through the heads of gentlemen who are politically inclined. I want to say to those gentlemen who are spreading this story, “Don’t be afraid.” This is something that has been worrying you for a number of years now. It’s something you’ve been saying over and over again. It wasn’t true when you began to say it, and it’s has not been true as you have repeated it over and over since then, and now it’s further from the truth than ever. He goes on to talk about why the 40% tax rates are strengthening the economy: The country is stronger economically than it has ever been before. Its people are more prosperous. After paying their taxes, the people have an average per capita income that will buy 40 percent more than it did in 1939, in spite of increases in prices. Corporations are making more money than they ever did and, even after paying taxes at the new high rates, their profits are running at an even higher rate than in any year except the record-breaking 1950. And finally, he discusses the wisdom of the “paygo” approach to spending: One of the benefits of using the pay-as-we-go approach is that it results in a tighter check on expenditures. It is so unpleasant to increase taxes that before doing it we try to hold down on expenditures wherever we can. That is the way it ought to be. All I ask is that we do not cut our expenditures to the point where we lose more than we gain. We must not be penny wise and pound foolish. I don’t want to lose a horse through being too stingy to buy a strong enough rope to tie him with. Take heed, Paul Ryan. Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Low tax rates and income inequality, combined with speculators and irresponsible Wall Street bankers brought on the Great Depression. Here’s a speech from Truman, just at the beginning of what would be one of the most prosperous periods in American history warning you. Buy the rope, boys.
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Kobe Bryant made an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show on Friday and addressed the anti-gay slur he screamed at referee Bennie Adams during Tuesday night’s game against the Spurs. The Lakers star, who was fined $100,000 by the NBA for the remark, said his outburst was “stupid and ignorant.” “It’s about getting that message out there man, to kill that word,” he said. “Just don’t use it, just don’t use it. And hopefully others can learn from the situation that occured and just knock that word out completely.” Bryant went on to say that he hasn’t reached out to Adams because he wasn’t sure if players are allowed to contact officials off the court. It was announced on Friday that the Lakers and the NBA have partnered with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to address anti-gay slurs in basketball.
Continue reading …Tax Day 2011: A Random Collection Of Funny, Educational Or Just Plain Weird Videos
April 18, 2011 No Comment
Just because you pay your taxes every year without complaint, doesn’t mean you don’t cry yourself to sleep instead of eating dinner for the month of April. So to cheer you up, or possibly remind you to eFile before midnight tonight (or actually, before midnight on April 18th), we rounded up this collection of funny, sometimes informative, and sometimes just bizarre tax-related videos. Remember when a young Jon Stewart sat next to a young correspondent named Stephen Colbert on a much cheaper Daily Show set? Where did all the time, and our vacation savings, go?
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