Poul Thorsen, CDC Autism Researcher, Indicted for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering
April 25th, 2011Just another day at the office… *woops*
Via: Age of Autism:
We have a pdf of the indictment of Dr. Poul Thorsen the Danish researcher held in highest esteem for having “debunked” the autism vaccine connection many years ago. As Dr. Max Wiznitzer said about another doctor recently, “If you can’t trust the researcher, you can’t trust the research.”
—
Danish Scientist Indicted in U.S.
Via: Copenhagen Post:
Thorsen’s research on autism is widely known in academic circles, where he was until this week a highly respected figure. A paper of his on the subject, which is known as ‘The Danish Study’, is quoted extensively to refute the autism vaccine connection.
Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and each count of money laundering a maximum of 10 years in prison, with a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. The federal government will also seeks forfeiture of all property derived from the alleged offenses.
Related: Federal Indictment of Poul Thorsen (.pdf)
Research Credit: anothernut
4 Years of Factor e Farm in 4 Minutes
April 25th, 2011More:
TED: Marcin Jakubowski: Open-Sourced Blueprints for Civilization
Research Credit: applecidervinegar
Gold and Silver: New Record Highs
April 25th, 2011Via: Bloomberg:
Silver climbed to an all-time high as investors sought to protect their wealth against accelerating inflation and a weaker dollar. Gold also rose to a record.
Immediate-delivery silver jumped as much as 5.4 percent to $49.79 an ounce, beating the previous peak of $49.45 in 1980, according to research company GFMS Ltd. Gold futures in New York climbed to a record for a sixth consecutive session.
Precious metals have rallied on investor speculation that central-bank programs to revive economic growth with low interest rates and increased supply of money will ignite inflation and devalue currencies including the dollar. Silver is the best performer over the past year on the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 commodities, ahead of cotton, coffee and sugar.
Apple: We ‘Must Have’ Comprehensive User Location Data On You
April 25th, 2011Via: International Business Times:
In June 2010, Congressmen Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Joe Barton, R-Texas wrote a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs inquiring about Apple’s privacy policy and location-based services
In response the company’s general counsel Bruce Sewall wrote a letter explaining its practice, and shedding light on the rationale the company uses to monitor users.
“To provide the high quality products and services that its customers demand, Apple must have access to the comprehensive location-based information,” Sewall told Congress in the letter.
After emphasizing Apple’s commitment to users’ privacy, Sewall said that to provide these location-based services, Apple, its partners and licensees, may collect, use and share customers’ precise location data, including GPS information, nearby cell towers and neighboring Wi-Fi networks.
While the security researchers Allan and Warden did not confirm whether the devices were actively sending data back to Apple, Sewall said that it was within Apple’s right to do so.
“By using any location-based services on your iPhone, you agree and consent to Apple’s and its partners’ and licensees’ transmission, collection, maintenance, processing and use of your location data to provide such products and services,” Sewall’s letter reads, citing Apple’s End User Agreement.
NSA Building New Supercomputing Center
April 25th, 2011Via: Information Week:
The National Security Agency is designing a new $895.6 million supercomputing center that will be constructed at its Fort Meade, Md., headquarters over the next several years, Department of Defense budget documents reveal.
Amazon.de Kindle Store Opens
April 25th, 2011
Cryptogon Readers Send Contributions
April 25th, 2011Thank you.
$25 Phantom Report
$20 MW
USDA Moves to Let Monsanto Perform Its Own Environmental Impact Studies on GMOs
April 24th, 2011Via: Grist:
In early April, the USDA made what I’m reading as a second response to Judge White, this one even more craven. To satisfy the legal system’s pesky demand for environmental impact studies of novel GMO crops, the USDA has settled upon a brilliant solution: let the GMO industry conduct its own environmental impact studies, or pay other researchers to. The USDA announced the program in the Federal Register for April 7, 2011 [PDF].
The biotech/agrichemical industry has applauded the new plan. Karen Batra of the Biotechnology Industry Organization told the Oregon-based ag journal Capital Press that the program will likely speed up the registration process for GMO crops and make the USDA’s approach less vulnerable to legal challenges like the rebuke from Judge White. Capital Press summed up Batra’s assessment of the plan like this: “The pilot program will not only help move crops through the process more quickly, but the added resources will also help the documents hold up in court.”
Research Credit: midnightagain
Obama on Manning: “He Broke the Law.” So Much for that Trial?
April 24th, 2011Via: Firedog Lake:
President Barack Obama made stunning accusations about accused Wikileaks whistleblower PFC Bradley Manning, directly asserting that Manning “broke the law.” Apparently the President of the United States of America and a self-described Constitutional scholar does not care that Manning has yet to be tried or convicted for any crime.
—
More: President Obama Speaks on Manning and the Rule of Law
Via: Salon:
The impropriety of Obama’s public pre-trial declaration of Manning’s guilt (“He broke the law”) is both gross and manifest. How can Manning possibly expect to receive a fair hearing from military officers when their Commander-in-Chief has already decreed his guilt?
Research Credit: anothernut
More Drivers Running Out Of Gas
April 23rd, 2011Wow. Some people are in so much denial about gas prices, and not wanting to think about filling up, that they are simply driving until they run out of gas. This is a fantastic lesson in cognitive dissonance.
Think about this for a minute. If increasing numbers of people are in denial about their fuel gauges being on ‘E’, and ignoring the warning lights that come on during the final miles before their engines cut out, what else are they in denial about?
Via: CBS:
With gas prices pushing $4 a gallon, a lot of people are trying to stretch their dollar at the gas pump, but some of them are trying to stretch it a little too far.
Since the beginning of March, AAA has seen an 18 percent increase in the number of roadside calls for people running out of gas.
Related: U.S. Dollar
