Google Data Breach Investigation Dropped By FTC
October 28, 2010
Financial Times
By: Stephanie Kierchgaessner and Richard Waters
The top US consumer protection agency has dropped an inquiry into data collection breaches by Google, even as regulators in Europe and Canada have stepped up their scrutiny of the internet giant’s privacy policies.
David Vladeck, the director of the bureau of consumer protection at the Federal Trade Commission, said the FTC had decided to drop its investigation into Google’s allegedly inadvertent collection of consumer data in 2007 because it was satisfied that Google had adequately addressed the issue internally.
The FTC decision marks the end of at least one major probe into the most damaging privacy breach to hit the company to date. But the company is still facing ongoing investigations by individual state attorneys general in the US, and regulators in Spain and Canada both last week concluded that Google had broken local laws while investigations are underway in other countries.
Google admitted for the first time last week that the cars it had used to photograph residential streets for its Street View mapping service had illicitly collected some personal e-mails and passwords from the homes it passed. The breach was first announced in May.
At that time, however, the company said it had only collected “fragments” of information. Mr Vladeck said the revelation had caused “concern” among FTC staff because Google had only discovered the 2007 breach in response to a request from data protection authorities in Germany.
But in a letter to a Google attorney posted on the commission’s website, Mr Vladeck said Google’s decision to improve its internal processes to address the FTC’s concerns, including the appointment of a new director of privacy for engineering, gave staff enough assurances that the company had addressed the issue. FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz declined to comment on the decision.
“Google has made assurances to the FTC that the company has not used and will not use any of the payload data collected in any Google product or service, now or in the future,” Mr Vladeck said. “The assurance is critical to mitigate the potential harm to consumers from the collection of payload data.”
Google said it was pleased by the news. But the decision was met by outrage from privacy advocates.
Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, accused the FTC of making its decision based solely on Google’s own representations, without making any “independent” determination on whether the company had broken privacy rules.
Jeffrey Chester, another privacy watchdog, said he believed the FTC was giving Google a pass in part because of the White House’s close relationship with the company. Even though the FTC is the top consumer protection agency in the US, it has limited statutory authority to take enforcement action against companies.
The commission is due to unveil a new set of voluntary privacy guidelines in coming weeks. Mr Leibowitz has said that addressing the rampant collection of personal data by internet companies is a top priority.
Click here for the full report from Financial Times
US Not Tracking Afghan Spending
October 28, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under Government
October 28th, 2010
BBC News
The US government has spent about $55bn on rebuilding in Afghanistan since 2001 but cannot easily show how the money was spent, a government watchdog says.
The special inspector general’s office for Afghanistan reconstruction talked of a “confusing labyrinth” of spending.
It said some 7,000 contractors received $17.7bn from 2007-09 but data prior to 2007 was too poor to be analysed.
It is the first comprehensive audit of US spending in Afghanistan since US-led troops ousted the Taliban in 2001.
According to the report, US government agencies are not tracking Afghan contracts in a shared database and cannot easily show where the money went.
The BBC’s Quentin Sommerville in Kabul says record-keeping has been so poor that most of the money has not been properly recorded.
The Pentagon, state department and USAID “are unable to readily report on how much money they spend on contracting for reconstruction activities in Afghanistan”, said the report from the special inspector general’s office, which was set up by Congress.
It was also not clear who had received money disbursed by the three agencies, which are the biggest US spenders on Afghan reconstruction.
‘Oversight impossible’
Pentagon contracts worth $11.5bn for construction, supplies and logistics in Afghanistan went to more than 6,615 contractors between 2007 and 2009, the audit found. Half of that money went to just 41 contractors.
USAID spent $3.8bn during that time and the state department $2.4bn.
“The audit shows that navigating the confusing labyrinth of government contracting is difficult, at best,” according to the watchdog.
It said there had been little co-ordination within and between US government agencies. The three agencies mentioned above, for example, do not separate their spending in Afghanistan from other US-funded projects around the world.
“If we don’t even know who we’re giving money to, it is nearly impossible to conduct systemwide oversight,” the inspector general, Arnold Fields, said.
US special envoy Richard Holbrooke has voiced similar concerns in the past, talking of an “ununified” effort by the US, the UN and hundreds of other countries and aid agencies in Afghanistan.
According to the inspector general’s audit, the largest contract between 2007 and 2009 was with US company DynCorp. It received about $1.8bn for police training and counter-narcotics work in Afghanistan.
A Kabul construction company received nearly $700m to build offices and barracks.
In a separate report, the inspector general found that six buildings constructed for the Afghan national police – which cost the US taxpayer $5.5m – were unusable.
The quality of construction was so bad that the sites in Helmand and Kandahar could collapse in an earthquake, it reported.
Click here for the full report from BBC News
Whistle Blower Wins $96M For Exposing Drug Giant
October 27th, 2010
AOL News
By: Lisa Flam
Whistle-blower Cheryl Eckard has won $96 million as part of a $750 million penalty against GlaxoSmithKline over faulty drug manufacturing in a case she says was driven by worries about consumer safety.
“This is not something I ever wanted to do, but because of patient safety issues, it was necessary,” she told reporters in Boston after the British drug giant’s settlement was announced Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.
Eckard, 51, was the company’s quality control manager. She discovered violations at the company’s plant in Puerto Rico in 2002 and reported them to her bosses, her lawyers said. She was fired in 2003 after repeatedly reporting problems to the company, and she later filed a lawsuit.
GlaxoSmithKline agreed to pay the millions in fines, penalties and settlements to resolve claims that it knowingly made and sold adulterated drugs, including Paxil, a popular antidepressant. Other problems include the failure to guarantee that Bactroban, an ointment, and an anti-nausea drug, Kytril, were not contaminated, according to reports. No patients seem to have been harmed by the problems at the plant, a prosecutor said.
Eckard, who worked in North Carolina, is to receive $96 million as a whistle-blower under the federal False Claims Act. The law offers a cut of the money recovered as incentive for people with knowledge of false claims to come forward.
She said going ahead with the lawsuit wasn’t easy.
“I think it’s very, very difficult to survive this,” Eckard said, according to New England Cable News. “It’s difficult to survive this financially, emotionally, you lose all your friends, because all your friends are people you have at work.”
Still, she said, “You really do have to understand that it’s a very difficult process, but very well worth it.”
Her lawyers, Neil Getnick and Leslie Ann Skillen, believe her share is the single-biggest whistle-blower award in the U.S., NECN reported.
“This case will change the way drugmakers run their factories,” Getnick said, according to The New York Times.
Eckard was sent to the plant in Cidra, Puerto Rico, to fix problems the Food and Drug Administration had cited in a warning letter, according to the Times. She found that the company’s premier manufacturing facility had a contaminated water system, an air system that allowed products to be cross-contaminated and pills of different strengths mixed in the same bottles, among other problems, the newspaper said.
She complained to top company officials, but nothing was done, even after she threatened to call the FDA, the Times said. She filed her lawsuit, and the FDA began a criminal investigation. The plant was closed in 2009 because the company was unable to fix it, according to the newspaper.
Eckard hopes she’ll inspire others who see something wrong to speak up.
“You have to believe in your heart [that] this is the right thing,” she said, according to NECN. “In my case, I was very, very concerned about patient safety.”
Click here for the full report from AOL
GlaxoSmithKline to Pay $750M Fine for Sale of Bad Drugs
October 26th, 2010
AOL News
By: David Knowles
Another day, another hard pill to swallow for GlaxoSmithKline.
On Tuesday, the pharmaceutical giant agreed to pay $750 million to settle a government lawsuit alleging that the company sold defective and potentially dangerous medication.
The U.S. Justice Department brought suit against GSK after finding that the company’s Cidra, Puerto Rico, factory produced drugs sold to consumers that were often mislabeled, of the wrong dosage and contaminated with micro-organisms.
“Today’s settlement reminds the pharmaceutical industry that they must observe those standards and reflects the commitment of Federal law enforcement organizations to pursue improper and illegal conduct that places health care consumers at risk,” Patrick E. McFarland, inspector general of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, said in a statement.
It’s a sharp turn south for the company from earlier this year, when the Food and Drug Administration initially ruled to keep the drug Avandia on the U.S. market and stop studying it before later withdrawing it from store shelves. GSK, which closed the Cidra factory in 2009, issued its own statement to as much affect about today’s settlement:
“We regret that we operated the Cidra facility in a manner that was inconsistent with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) requirements and with GSK’s commitment to manufacturing quality,” said PD Villarreal, GSK’s senior vice president and head of global litigation. “GSK worked hard to resolve fully the manufacturing issues at the Cidra facility prior to its closure in 2009 and we are committed to continuous improvement in our manufacturing processes.”
According to the Justice Department, the drugs found to be adulterated included Bactroban, Kytril, Paxil CR and Avandamet.
The federal government will receive $436,440,000, and GSK will pay $163,560,000 to states participating in the agreement, the Justice Department said.
In September, the FDA announced it was implementing new restrictions on rosiglitazone, the main ingredient in Avandia, Avandamet and Avandaryl, which are used to help control type 2 diabetes, and which earn GlaxoSmithKline billions in profit annually. The European Medicines Agency, meanwhile, recommended that Avandia be taken off the market altogether after studies indicated a sharp increase in heart attack risk associated with the drug.
Click here for the full report from AOL
Corn Syrup More High In Fructose Than Originally Thought
October 27th, 2010
AOL News
By: Dave Thier
For years, nutritionists and industry officials alike have considered the merits of high-fructose corn syrup with one key fact in mind: At a chemical level, it has nearly equal levels of fructose and glucose.
As it turns out, that may not be true after all.
A new study published in the journal Obesity measured the amounts of different types of sugars in 23 kinds of drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. And they found that several brands contained corn syrup made up of 65 percent fructose, not 55 percent, which has been the commonly cited statistic until now. The average percentage of fructose in the drinks is 59.
Because fructose has been proved to be worse for your health than glucose, these findings will likely only further damage the already faltering brand of high-fructose corn syrup, which the Corn Refiners Association has attempted to rescue with a series of television ads and a name change to “corn sugar.”
Several experts, however, including but not limited to the Corn Refiners Association, have pointed out serious problems with the “obesity” study, suggesting that more samples were required and that the very high-fructose drinks could have been mixed differently at a stage in their process that does not reflect on HFCS generally.
Click here for the full report from AOL
Ice On Injuries Could Slow Healing
October 26th, 2010
The Telegraph
By: Richard Alleyne
For years, people have been told to freeze torn, bruised or sprained muscles to reduce the swelling.
But now for the first time, researchers have found that it could slow down the healing as it prevents the release of a key repair hormone.
This discovery turns the conventional wisdom that swelling must be controlled in order to encourage healing and prevent pain.
It could also lead to new therapies for acute muscle injuries that lead to inflammation.
The study, published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology journal, suggests muscle inflammation after acute injury is essential to repair.
Professor Lan Zhou and colleagues at the Neuroinflammation Research Centre at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio discovered inflamed cells produce a high level of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) which significantly increases the rate of muscle regeneration.
During the study, scientists studied two groups of mice. The first group was genetically altered so they could not form an inflammatory response to injury.
The second group was normal.
All mice were then injected with barium chloride to cause muscle injury.
The first group of mice did not heal, but the bodies of the second group repaired the injury.
When they studied the muscle tissue they saw the healthy mice produced a high level of IGF-1 in their inflamed tissue.
Prof Zhou, said: “We hope that our findings stimulate further research to dissect different roles played by tissue inflammation in clinical settings, so we can utilise the positive effects and control the negative effects of tissue inflammation.”
This discovery could change how much patient monitoring is required when potent anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed over a long period.
Gerald Weissmann, editor of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology journal, said: “For wounds to heal we need controlled inflammation, not too much, and not too little.
“It’s been known for a long time that excess anti-inflammatory medication, such as cortisone, slows wound healing.
“This study goes a long way to telling us why – insulin-like growth factor and other materials released by inflammatory cells helps wound to heal.”
Click here for the full report from the Telegraph
High BPA Levels May Hurt Sperm Quality
October 28th, 2010
MSNBC
By: Natasha Allen
Exposure to a chemical found in food packaging and other plastics, BPA, can reduce the quality of men’s semen, according to the findings of a five-year study and one of the few involving humans rather than animal models.
“This study counters the argument that only highly exposed populations are affected,” said study author Dr. De-Kun Li, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.
“You can be exposed from the workplace. You can be exposed from consumer products. It doesn’t really matter. Ultimately it will reflect in your urine,” he said.
The researchers suggest findings should apply to Americans since even low levels of BPA exposurecomparable to men in the general U.S. population were found to have an adverse effect on sperm quality and quantity.
Urine BPA
The study, based on measurements from 218 Chinese workers, found a link between high concentrations of BPA, or Bisphenol A, in men’s urine and lower sperm counts, as well as poor-functioning sperm cells.
The study began with 514 workers recruited from epoxy resin factories in China in 2004. Only 218 of the participants ended up submitting both urine and semen specimens for the final assessment. Researchers measured semen quality by examining factors like concentration, vitality, motility (movement), total sperm count and morphology (size and shape).
Men exposed to BPA at work and who showed detectable urine BPA had more than three times the risk of lower sperm concentration and vitality than men with no detectable urine BPA. The former group also had more than four times the risk of lower sperm count and more than twice the risk of lower sperm motility.
Li and his team discovered a similar association between men with low BPA exposure from environmental sources and raised urine BPA levels and decreased semen quality.
No correlation was shown between urine BPA and semen volume or shape.
Animal studies already have shown that BPA is a hormone disruptor that can affect male reproductive organs, including the epididymis (coiled structure in the scrotum) and testes. However, there have been few findings regarding the chemical’s influence on humans, including a recent study on male sexual dysfunction by Li and his researchers.
“Our study shows that BPA could lead to pathological changes to human organs — semen quality, in this case,” Li told LiveScience. “In addition, this new finding of the detrimental effect of BPA exposure on semen quality raises the bar of BPA toxicity.”
How this affects Americans
Bisphenol A can be found in food packaging (the primary source of human exposure), DVDs, paper coatings, and automotive equipment, among other products. Releases of the chemical to the environment exceed 1 million pounds per year, according to a recent report by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Gail Prins, a reproductive physiologist at University of Illinois College of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, said the finding is important though unsurprising and that it emphasizes the importance of animal model research in predicting outcomes in human populations.
“Evidence has indicated that for the past few decades, sperm counts have been declining in some human populations — and that this might be related to exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as BPA is very reasonable,” Prins said. “I strongly believe that the U.S. should take measures to reduce the use of this chemical, since levels build over time.”
Current regulations should reflect more recent findings, said John Meeker, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan, who was not involved in Li’s study.
“We know that the majority of Americans have measurable levels of BPA in their bodies,” Meeker said. “Since new research results in both humans and animals are currently being published nearly every day, policies should be re-evaluated using the most up-to-date information available.”
The findings suggest semen quality and male sexual dysfunction could be used as early indicators of for harmful BPA effects than other diseases, such as cancer, the researchers say.
Li and colleagues plan to examine the effects of BPA exposure during pregnancy. Though Li warned that further research is needed, he advised individuals to make informed decisions regarding products that may contain BPA.
“As average consumers, we do not need to wait for regulatory agencies’ decision. We can take precautionary steps to avoid the exposure to BPA in our daily life,” he said. “Besides, there is no downside to avoiding BPA.”
The study was published in the Oct. 28 issue of the journal of Fertility and Sterility. The work was funded by the U.S. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
Click here for the full report from MSNBC
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 10-27-10
Today, Kevin reveals the secrets of surviving the looming economic catastrophe that they don’t want you to know about!
Self Help:
Nontoxic Make Up
Pure Beauty Products
Heal Yourself
Information Is Key
Natural Solutions
Health:
Cleaning Products Cause Asthma
Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners
7 Year Old Dies From Botox Injections
FDA OKs Pig Virus In Vaccine
Skinniest People Shop At Whole Foods
8 Foods To Help You Lose Weight
Mammograms Cause Breast Cancer
Common Pain Relievers Raise Heart Risk
Top 10 Riskiest Foods
Government:
FDA Declares War Against Ozone Generators
NWO:
Obama’s Aunt Allowed To Stay In US
WHO Scandal Exposed
Wealth:
Teens Face Worst Summer Job Market In 41 Years
Everything Kevin:
Become An Insider!
Support Kevin!
Kevin is on YouTube!
Sign Up For Kevin’s FREE Podcast
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Kevin’s Film Club
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The Kevin Trudeau Show: 10-26-10
Today, Kevin reveals the real reason why everything is censored in America and what the drug companies are doing to keep you hooked on their drugs. Plus, get the truth behind crop circles and secret society rituals.
Self Help:
Increase Testosterone Levels
Improve Your Education
Further Your Training
Ask And It Is Given
The Only Answer To Cancer
Health:
McDonald’s Burger 14 Years Later
Hair Growth Drug Confirmed To Have Sexual Side Effects
Nestle Unveils New Health-Oriented Strategy
Dad’s High Fat Diet May Cause Diabetes In Daughters
Idiot Researchers Suggest Viagra For Young Boys
Wealth:
Top U.S. Incomes Grew to a $519 Million Average
New Antidepressant Maker Has Wall Street Excited
Google Using Income Shifting Techniques
NWO:
Juan Williams: I Was Fired For Telling The Truth
Everything Kevin:
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Support Kevin!
Kevin is on YouTube!
Sign Up For Kevin’s FREE Podcast
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McDonald’s Burger 14 Years Later
October 25th, 2010
Mercola
By: Dr. Mercola
Manhattan artist Sally Davies has photographed a McDonald’s Happy Meal every day for six months. And it looks almost as fresh as the day it was bought, with no trace of decay.
The Daily Mail reports:
“In a work entitled The Happy Meal Project, Mrs. Davies, 54, has charted the seemingly indestructible fast food meals’ progress as it refuses to yield to the forces of nature.”
However, it turns out that Davies has some catching up to do. A Hamburger Today reports that wellness educator and nutrition consultant Karen Hanrahan has kept a McDonald’s hamburger since 1996, which is pictured on the left below. As you can see, it still looks the same as the fresh one on the right next to it!
Click here for the full report from Mercola
