Sepsis Drug Pulled From Market

October 25, 2011

MedPage Today

By John Gever

“Keep taking your pharmaceuticals – they are good for you.”  –KTRN

Mammograms Don’t Save As Many Lives As Women Think

October 25, 2011

Reuters

By Julie Steenhuysen

“Some people think I’m crazy when I tell them mammograms and colonoscopies don’t help in preventing cancer.  Here is more proof.  This time it comes from Reuter’s – not some activist health organization.”  — Chris KTRN

Many women who have survived breast cancer often say it was a mammogram that “saved their life,” a powerful testimonial that can encourage other women to get regular breast cancer screening tests.

But what are the chances that the test actually saved a woman’s life? Not that great, according to a new analysis published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday.

“The numbers suggest that at most, 13 percent of those diagnosed with breast cancer have been helped. That means the other 87 percent have not been helped,” Dr. Gilbert Welch of Dartmouth College, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

“That is important when we keep hearing these stories from breast cancer survivors,” he said.

Welch said women who tell their stories about surviving breast cancer can be a powerful inducement for other women to get tested for breast cancer, and as mammogram technology has improved, the chances are even greater that doctors will find something suspicious.

But early detection for some women may not be much of a benefit, especially if a cancer is slow growing, Welch and colleagues say.  And many women may be diagnosed and treated for a cancer growing so slowly it might never have caused any symptoms or threatened their lives.

The findings add new fodder to the simmering debate over the benefits of screening healthy people for cancer. Earlier this month, the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released a draft recommendation against a common blood test for prostate cancer, causing an uproar among cancer specialists who fear more men will die from prostate cancer.

And in 2009, the same group recommended against routine breast cancer screening in women under 50, saying the decision should be an individual one. It also advised women 50 and older to get screening mammograms only every other year, rather than yearly, causing an outcry from breast cancer advocacy groups.

But screening tests have both benefits and risks, says Welch, who views the current debate as positive for patients who are starting to think more about the risks of screening.

An earlier study by Welch found that routine screening for prostate cancer has resulted in as many as 1 million American men being diagnosed with tumors who might otherwise have suffered no ill effects from them.

In the latest study, Welch and colleagues looked to see how much mammography reduces deaths from breast cancer.

They found that for 50-year-old women whose breast cancers were diagnosed by a mammogram, there was a 13 percent chance that the screening test saved her life.

The question, then, becomes how to preserve the benefit of mammogram without exposing so many women to the hazards of overdiagnosis — which include being treated for cancers that might not cause harm, Welch said.

He said breast cancer screening technology has become better and better at spotting tiny cancers on the assumption that the earlier a cancer is detected, the better the chances of cancer survival.

But Welch said as treatments for breast cancer get better, the need for very early diagnosis is less great.

“For years we’ve been looking harder and harder for cancer. I think the time has come to ask the question, ‘What if we looked a little less hard?’”

Dr. Timothy Wilt of the Minneapolis Veterans Administration in Minneapolis, who wrote a commentary on the findings in the same journal, said the study gives doctors science-based information to share with patients, who are often influenced by anecdotes.

“Because survivor stories are often so powerful, but inaccurate, they can result in people making healthcare decisions that are not science based and may be wrong,” he said.

Click here for the full report from Reuters.

Consumer Confidence In October Drops

October 25, 2011

Wall Street Journal

Consumers’ confidence in the economy fell in October to the lowest it’s been since 2009 when the U.S. was in the middle of a deep recession, according to a report released Tuesday by a private research group.

The New York-based Conference Board says that its Consumer Confidence Index dropped more than six points to 39.8, down from a revised 46.4 in September. October’s reading marked the lowest point since March 2009 when it was at 26.9. Economists surveyed by FactSet had expected a reading of 47. A reading above 90 indicates the economy is on solid footing.

Economists watch consumer confidence closely because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

Click here for the full report.

Fannie’s Squeeze Makes 4% Mortgage Too Good to Be True

October 25, 2011

Bloomberg

By Jody Shenn

Government efforts to make lenders pay for soured mortgages may be keeping potential borrowers from record-low interest rates, slowing home sales and refinancing as banks tighten standards to avoid more demands for refunds.

Lenders are insisting on higher credit scores and more documents than required by the Federal Housing Administration and government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Quicken Loans Inc. and Vision Mortgage Capital are among firms saying they are increasing scrutiny of would-be borrowers in response to pressure to cover losses incurred on U.S.-backed housing debt.

“You’ve got to take measures now to protect yourself,” John B. Johnson, chief executive officer of Birmingham, Alabama- based MortgageAmerica Inc., said during a panel discussion this month. Demands that lenders repurchase bad mortgages from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are “casting a pall over the market. I fear that it will face a much longer recovery because of this.”

Mortgage rates as low as 3.94 percent are proving insufficient to revive housing. Sales of existing homes fell 3 percent last month, National Association of Realtors data show, and 18 percent of the group’s members reported contract cancellations, at least twice as high as in normal circumstances. Among the reasons were refusals of loan applications after appraisals came in below sales prices.

Faulty mortgage lending and foreclosure practices have cost the five biggest U.S. home lenders more than $68 billion since 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. Much of the amount has stemmed from losses tied to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA, which together buy or insure more than 90 percent of new mortgages.
‘More Onerous’

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have drawn $170 billion of U.S. aid since being seized 2008. The companies are under orders from their regulator to recover as much as they can for taxpayers.

Lenders’ contracts with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac allow them to force buybacks of mortgages if the loan originators fail to properly vet debt, such as by accepting inflated borrower incomes or appraisals. Flawed paperwork can lead to pressure from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac even on performing mortgages.

“Documentation standards are getting more and more onerous because no one wants to manufacture an imperfect loan, even if the imperfection is really insignificant,” said Quicken Loans CEO Bill Emerson, who leads the eighth-largest U.S. home lender and No. 1 online mortgage originator.

The response by his Detroit-based company includes having each of its loans reviewed by a second underwriter to ensure the quality isn’t later questioned, Emerson said in an Oct. 11 interview during the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual conference in Chicago.

MortgageAmerica has had to deal with repurchase demands for seemingly minor issues or ones outside a lenders’ expertise, according to Johnson. In one case, the septic tank for a home was located slightly beyond the mortgaged property. The natural response, he said, is to limit lending.

The Justice Department sued Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) in May for more than $1 billion for alleged failures by the company’s shuttered lending unit to meet FHA standards. The U.S. sued under the False Claims Act, which allows damages three times the size of loss. Deutsche Bank has said the case targets conduct that occurred before it bought the unit and a spokeswoman for the company called the allegations “unreasonable and unfair.”

Lenders are probably “overcompensating” for the risk they face from soured mortgages, said Robert C. Ryan, a senior adviser to the head of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the FHA. “We’re not in the business of trying to scare lenders.”
‘The Right Balance’

The government must “strike the right balance between providing financing and access to borrowers and, at the same time, making sure the loans originated are fair and sustainable for the borrowers,” Ryan said in an interview.

Freddie Mac is doing what it should to protect itself and taxpayers, and is being reasonable in its demands, said Brad German, a spokesman for the McLean, Virginia-based firm.

“We don’t want to pay for mortgages that should never have been sold to us,” German said in an interview. “When minor defects in a loan file are found, it does not necessarily trigger a repurchase; it triggers a request to the lender to remedy the defect, either by finding a missing document or taking similar corrective actions.” Andrew Wilson, a spokesman for Washington-based Fannie Mae, declined to comment.

“Mortgage originators are more closely adhering to underwriting guidelines resulting in fewer of the mortgage defects of prior years,” said Corinne Russell, spokeswoman for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates so-called government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “This lowers default risk to the GSEs.”
‘Substantial’ Relief

President Barack Obama’s latest push to help more borrowers refinance into cheaper rates may hinge on the effectiveness of changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac repurchase rights. FHFA acting Director Edward DeMarco told reporters yesterday that the companies would offer “substantial” relief from buyback demands without providing “blanket or absolute” protection as they expand the federal Home Affordable Refinance Program for borrowers with little or no equity in their houses.

While the average rate on a 30-year fixed loan was 4.11 percent in the week ended Oct. 20, the historically low costs don’t capture the “very, very harsh underwriting standards” that potential home buyers face, said Ron Peltier, CEO of HomeServices of America, the property brokerage owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The process is “the most embarrassing, difficult thing you can imagine,” Peltier said in an Oct. 13 interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York.
‘Gone too Far’

The average time between mortgage application and closing rose to about 52 days last year, three weeks longer than in 2008, according to J.D. Power and Associates surveys.

Pressure from the GSEs has “definitely stanched the flow of credit to the mortgage market, but we had clearly gone too far,” said Richard Eckert, an analyst in San Francisco at securities firm B. Riley & Co. who wrote research on subprime lenders during the housing boom and then joined a hedge fund betting against property loans during the collapse. “We’ve got to return to some kind of happy balance.”

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) has scaled back mortgage lending as CEO Brian T. Moynihan prepares for new capital requirements and grapples with demands that it compensate investors including Fannie Mae and Freddie for losses.
‘Increasingly Inconsistent’

“Our repurchase experience with the GSEs continues to evolve and their repurchase requests and resolution processes has become increasingly inconsistent with our interpretation of our contractual obligations,” the Charlotte, North Carolina- based bank said in a slide presentation last week.

Terry Francisco, a spokesman for Bank of America, had no immediate comment. Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), the largest U.S home lender, had no comment, according to Vickee Adams, a spokeswoman.

The prospect of reimbursement demands has hurt home sales, said Brian Chappelle, a partner at consulting firm Potomac Partners LLC, during a panel at the mortgage conference. While the FHA allows down payments as low as 3.5 percent from borrowers whose credit scores are at least 580, lenders are setting the bar higher, such as at 620, he said.

Lenders “feel like they’re being held accountable for things beyond their control,” he said. “The only thing the industry can do is tighten up on the front end.”

Vision Mortgage Capital President Regina Lowrie has her staff conduct extra quality-control reviews on all of its loans before closings, up from 10 percent before housing slumped. “That adds cost to the process,” hurting consumers who ultimately must pay for the work, she said at the conference.

The unit of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania-based Continental Bank also started taking additional looks at consumers’ credit files shortly before completing loans, based on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidance, Lowrie said. It finds more situations like the potential borrower who took out a new car lease while waiting for the application to clear, “and now that loan’s going back to underwriting again,” she said.

Click here for the full report from Bloomberg.

EU Deal Wednesday In Doubt After Ecofin Canceled

October 25, 2011

The Wall Street Journal

By Laurence Norman, Frances Robinson and Costas Paris

A meeting of European Union finance ministers ahead of a gathering of European leaders was canceled Tuesday, raising concerns that parts of the package to stem the region’s debt crisis remain in doubt and a final agreement won’t be reached at Wednesday’s summit.

The finance ministers from all 27 EU countries were due to meet early Wednesday in Brussels to settle the final issues on a package of measures ahead of an evening gathering of EU leaders followed by a meeting of euro-zone heads of government.

After already pushing back the deadline for the anti-debt crisis package once last week, European officials had repeatedly pledged in recent days that Wednesday would be when they outlined the key measures. But a statement from the Polish EU presidency mid-afternoon, confirming the Ecofin gathering had been scrapped, signaled there was more work to be done before a deal is finalized.

“Further work at the level of ministers of finance will be conducted based on the outcome of the heads-of-state meeting. The aim is to adopt all necessary elements and details concerning the package, as promptly as possible,” said the statement.

Further explanations weren’t given. But it has become clear that the 10 EU countries that don’t use the euro, particularly the U.K, don’t want to pre-approve any measures that will still be the subject of negotiation when the heads of government of the 17 euro-zone nations meet Wednesday evening.

More importantly, key parts of the package remain in doubt and governments need more time to wrap up a deal.

European Union leaders won’t likely quantify the increased firepower of the European Financial Stability Facility at their summit Wednesday and may also not announce the amount of recapitalization for European banks, a person involved in the talks said Tuesday.

“There are constant discussions among top officials and we will have a better timeline on the announcements as the summit progresses tomorrow. Everybody knows that the markets expect solid results,” the person said.

Options include giving additional credit enhancements to sovereign bonds issued by member states and creating a special purpose vehicle which would combine public and private capital to enlarge its resources. Over the weekend, European officials said there was a preliminary agreement among euro-zone governments for a recapitalization of just above EUR100 billion.

At Sunday’s summit, a row broke out between the euro zone and several non-euro members of the EU over how to ensure that non-euro members get to sign off on the final package of measures. By bringing finance ministers back after Wednesday’s summit, the U.K. and other non-euro-zone countries would get final signoff on the deal. No date is yet set for a new EU finance ministers meeting.

The European Commission, the EU executive body, said Tuesday the EU was still on track to get an agreement.

“We are working on solid and convincing solutions to deliver tomorrow a comprehensive package for stability and growth. It is time to end the uncertainty,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said during a press briefing.

People familiar with the discussions said Tuesday afternoon the differences between leading euro-zone governments and the Institute of International Finance, which is negotiating on behalf of the banks, remain substantial. If those differences don’t narrow over the next 24 hours, any specifics on the Greek haircut size may not be deliverable.

Germany is thought to be pushing hard for banks to take a 60% writedown on their holdings of Greek government bonds, but France had been insisting the cut shouldn’t be much higher than 40%, EU officials have said in recent days.

The banks signal that a 60% cut wouldn’t be deemed voluntary and could trigger a raft of claims for insurance contracts, known as credit default swaps, to cover bond losses, according to senior euro-zone and International Monetary Fund officials. Late Monday, Charles Dallara, the head of the IIF warned of “severe contagion” if the euro zone imposes a non-voluntary deal. He said there are “limits” to what can be called a voluntary deal.

Failure to pin down specifics on the future of the EFSF at the EU summit could keep pressure on the fund’s borrowing costs, which have climbed dramatically over the last few weeks amid the uncertainty.

After Sunday’s session, finance ministers had seemed close to agreement on bank recapitalization. Under the plan for banks, about 90 significant lenders would be required to lift a key capital ratio to 9%. Those that couldn’t raise the necessary funds on private markets would get government help.

Click here for the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

Police in Riot Gear Clear Anti-Wall Street Protesters in California City

October 25, 2011

Fox News

By Associate Press

Police in riot gear cleared anti-Wall Street protesters from one California city before dawn Tuesday, making arrests in the plaza where demonstrators have been camped out for about two weeks.

Television news footage showed numerous people in plastic handcuffs being led away from the Oakland site around 5 a.m. The protesters did not appear to be resisting, although an officer did fire a non-lethal projectile from a shotgun at a protester who threw a bottle, authorities told the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.

It was not immediately clear how many people were arrested. A message for a police spokeswoman was not immediately returned.

The Occupy protests over economic inequality have spread from a single camp in New York City to cities across the United States and beyond since mid-September, overlapping with similar, earlier protests in Europe. An attempt earlier this month to clean the New York site, which protesters there feared was a tactic to shut them down, ended with authorities backing off.

But arrests and sweeps have occurred in other cities. Tuesday’s police action in Oakland began around 4:40 a.m., when an officer on a loudspeaker told the protesters they were illegally blocking the plaza and were subject to arrest, according to the Chronicle.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that several hundred people appeared ready to defend the camp about an hour before police moved in, placing Dumpsters, boards, pallets and even metal police-style barricades around the plaza.

A core group of about 150 people locked arms and shouted as officers moved in from four corners, local resident Anthony Owens said.

One of those arrested, Aiyahnna Johnson, 30, had been living at the camp with her 2-year-old daughter. “We want the best for you guys, that’s all,” the San Francisco Chronicle quoted her telling two officers who were leading her away.

Police maintained a heavy presence around downtown Oakland into the morning. Streets were closed off by police barricades, and police in riot gear were seen facing off with shouting protesters.

City officials had originally been supportive of the protesters, with Oakland Mayor Jean Quan saying that sometimes “democracy is messy.”

But the city later warned the protesters that they were breaking the law and could not stay in the encampment overnight.

They cited concerns about rats, fire hazards, public urination and acts of violence at the site, which had grown to more than 150 tents and included health, child-care and kitchen areas.

“Many Oaklanders support the goals of the national Occupy Wall Street movement,” Quan said in a statement on Tuesday. “However, over the last week it was apparent that neither the demonstrators nor the City could maintain safe or sanitary conditions or control the ongoing vandalism.”

There were reports of a sex assault and a severe beating, and fire and paramedics were denied access to the camp, according to city officials, who said they had received numerous complaints of intimidating and threatening behavior.

Protesters over the weekend said although their group included some troublemakers, the vast majority were peaceful.

Owens said the protesters plan to try to retake the plaza at some point. Asked about Tuesday’s sweep, he said, “I think it’s going to fire up people even more.”

Click here for the full report from Fox.

CDC Committee Recommends Boys Receive HPV Vaccine

October 25, 2011

CNN

“Another scam by the vaccine industry.  They want you to believe the HPV vaccine prevents cancer – but in reality, it causes it.  Want to prevent cancer?  Cleanse, detox, Vitamin D3, 35% Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide, oxygenate the body, get alkaline, eat organic, avoid pharmaceuticals, do the baking soda/raw honey protocol, eat raw food, don’t take vaccines, and read Dr. Coldwell’s book.”  — Chris KTRN

By Jennifer Bixler

A federal government advisory committee voted Tuesday to recommend that boys and young men, from ages 11 to 21, be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus, commonly referred to as HPV.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) says the vaccine series can be started as early as age 9.

Twelve members of the committee voted in favor of a recommendation that 11 and 12-year-old boys be vaccinated; one member abstained.

A separate vote involving males age 13 to 21 was split. Eight voted for it; five voted against, and one abstained. The same recommendation said males age 22 through 26 may be vaccinated.

HPV is the number-one sexually transmitted disease in the United States. At least 50% of sexually active people will get it at some point in their lives.

The HPV votes took place as part of the advisory committee’s meeting in Atlanta.

The HPV vaccine is already recommended for females between the ages of 9 and 26 to reduce the risk of cervical cancer. The CDC recommends girls get the vaccine at age 11 or 12.

The FDA approved the first HPV vaccine, Gardasil, back in 2006. The second vaccine, Cervarix, was approved in 2009.

The vaccine is given in three doses. Gardasil also protects against most genital warts and has been shown to protect against anal, vaginal and vulvar cancers, all of which are associated with HPV, according to the CDC.

Although the vaccine has been approved for males since 2009, it hasn’t been as heavily promoted for them.

Part of the push now is because girls aren’t getting vaccinated in the numbers doctors expected. “If the boys are also immunized, it reduces the transmission back and forth,” says Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventative Medicine at Vanderbilt University, who attended the CDC meeting as an adviser but not a voting member.

By receiving the vaccine, boys will also be protected against cancers of the penis and rectum.  Also, there is growing evidence of HPV causing the recent increase in head and neck cancer. A study released earlier this month found approximately 70% of all oropharyngeal cancers are caused by HPV infection.  The HPV vaccine protects against both, according to Schaffner.

Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics began including the HPV vaccine on its list of recommended vaccines for boys.

The HPV vaccine became a political hot potato when Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann was critical of fellow Republican contender and Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s support of the vaccine for girls. In 2007, he signed an executive order that required Texas schoolgirls to receive vaccinations against HPV, although it wasn’t implemented.

Click here for the full report from CNN.

With Gaddafi Dead, Libyans Wary Of The Enemy Within

October 25, 2011

Reuters

By Maria Golovnina

As fireworks celebrating Muammar Gaddafi’s death light up Tripoli’s central square, party-goer Hani Nuwara has already set his sights on his next target, with fears that traditional tribal rivalries will become the enemy within.

For eight months Libyans across the country put aside their complex tribal and cultural divisions to fight for a common good but many are concerned that the ousting of Gaddafi will re-ignite these rivalries and mar the path to democracy.

Nuwara, 24, from a respected Tripoli clan, was already angered that rebels from Misrata took the bodies of Gaddafi and his son Mo’tassim to their city for public viewing and have claimed the major role in the rebels’ victory.

“Misratans. We hate them. We don’t want any of them here,” he repeated angrily in Tripoli’s central square during celebrations to mark Libya’s new-found freedom.

“They think they fought hard. They say ‘we made this revolution’. They make me nervous. We also fought hard. We also suffered. The revolution is ours.”

Historic rivalries among Libyan cities such as Tripoli on the western coastline, the port city of Misrata, and Benghazi in the east, were kept in check under Gaddafi’s iron-fist rule.

Political risk consultancy Stratfor estimates that Libya has up to 140 tribes but only 30 have any particular significance and ubiquitous hatred for Gaddafi united Libya’s factitious population during the battle to oust the despot after 42 years.

But with the dictator gone, some wonder how Libya’s 6 million people, scattered thinly across the vast desert country and long plagued by regional and tribal rivalries, will remain in agreement to face the daunting challenge of nation building.

“The prospect of increased friction or violent conflict between the country’s tribes, clans and ethnic groups (specifically between the Arabs and Berbers) remains a serious source of concern,” risk consultancy Maplecroft said in a report released in August.

Euphoria over Gaddafi’s death on Oct. 20 was already giving way to new anxieties and frictions, and, behind the façade of celebration and fireworks, many Libyans are worried about the future while others are optimistic differences can be resolved.

“Everyone is happy now but of course there is uncertainty. Before it was even worse. If we fail, it would be only our fault,” said Abdelaziz Massoud, an engineer from Libya’s biggest tribe of Warfalla, who now lives in Tripoli.

“Before we blamed everything on Gaddafi, it was easy. Now we can only blame ourselves.”

NEW DAY OF UNCERTAINTY

Now Libya has been declared free, its new leaders have a month to create an all-inclusive government and work out how to hold a democratic election — a crucial period to define whether Libya can remain stable and unified in coming years.

It is not an easy task for a thinly populated country that was only united in the 1930s under Italian colonial rule.

Alongside regional enmities there are differences between Islamists and secularists, and ethnic tensions between Arabs and North Africa’s indigenous Berbers.

The immediate tensions after Gaddafi’s downfall was friction between rebels from different cities.

Misrata rebels, who suffered heavy casualties inflicted by Gaddafi forces, are claiming credit for the uprising and want special recognition.

That has infuriated Libyans elsewhere in the country who believe they also suffered during the war. Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city and the seat of the revolt that began in February, says it has played an equally important role.

Some, like Nuwara in Tripoli, are openly belligerent.

“If we wanted, we could take Misrata in three hours,” he said, as his friends nodded in agreement. “There are 2 million of us here in Tripoli, Misrata is tiny. Misrata is nothing.”

The interim government’s decision to make the official announcement of liberation on Sunday in Benghazi – Tripoli’s long-standing rival in Libyan tribal politics that can be traced bck to before the Romans – added to people’s bitterness.

“Tripoli is the capital. All the official celebrations, all the government officials should be here by now, not anywhere else,” said Samira Massoudi, 49, a bespectacled mathematics teacher.

Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) has already moved some of its operations to Tripoli but remains based in Benghazi.

It says it will move to Tripoli properly soon, citing lingering logistical and security considerations. Just days ago, clashes erupted in Tripoli between remnants of Gaddafi forces and NTC troops.

Tripoli is the most cosmopolitan city in Libya where tribes and cultures have long coexisted more or less happily side by side – a valuable unifying element for the country.

Here, too, people tried to rise up against Gaddafi in February but their repeated attempts were brutally quashed by the proximity of Gaddafi’s security apparatus headquartered in Tripoli with reminders of these deaths on public display.

The streets of Tajoura, a small, sandy town on the eastern edge of Tripoli, are lined by portraits of dozens of people killed during those early protests.

Only weeks ago Tajoura, with its winding streets and ageing palm trees, was still in the tight grip of Gaddafi’s rule, its residents too frightened to venture outside.

Days after Gaddafi’s death, it was carnival time. Tajoura was alive with crowds of smiling families and the smell of barbeques and fresh coffee replaced gunfire and burning tyres.

Holding her wailing baby tight, Fatima Suweisi, 38, said: “My little Mohaned will never see Gaddafi’s face in his life. He will grow up in a new Libya.”

Quietly, life is returning to normal even as the nightly parties go on in Tajoura and elsewhere.

As people danced and watched fireworks in Tripoli on Sunday night, street sweepers could be seen quietly cleaning street corners. Soldiers stuck flowers into the muzzles of their rifles.

“It’s time to work hard and make changes,” said 17-year-old Khalifa Milud, who had studied in Britain for seven years. “I am not going back to the UK, now it’s time to be here. We will make Libya at least like Dubai. We have a lot of money.”

His friend, Abdallah, his face illuminated by the green and yellow of the deafening fireworks, shouted: “We are going to rebuild Libya. We are ready. God is greatest.”

Click here for the full report from Reuters.

NaturalNews Announces Flu Shot Propaganda Photo Contest

October 25, 2011

Natural News

By Mike Adams

As the fraudulent flu shot season is in full swing, retailers who profit from hawking deadly flu shots are resorting to the most bizarre and obnoxious marketing tactics yet devised to convince people to poison themselves with flu shots. As we’ve already documented here on NaturalNews, Walgreens stores are using incentive prizes like iPad awards for employees who push the most flu shots on customers.

A CVS pharmacy has been caught using life-sized grim reapers to promote its own flu shot vaccines.

Safeway stores are announcing 10% discounts on grocery purchases for those who agree to be injected with these flu shot vaccines, which admittedly contain toxic chemical adjuvants and neurological disruptors that can cause permanent neurological damage.

“Yeah, sure, I might experience random seizures and blurred vision now, but I saved 10% on my groceries!”

$500 in prizes for the winners of our flu shot propaganda photo contest!
To expose the unscrupulous propaganda and quackery of the vaccine industry — which has devolved into a bunch of retail snake oil hucksters poisoning the public for profit — we are launching the first ever “flu shot propaganda picture contest!”

To enter the contest, simply snap a photo of flu shot promotions you see somewhere, then email them to us at reply@naturalnews.com using the subject line “FLU SHOT PICTURE ENTRY”.

The pictures must be TRUE and real — no Photoshopped pictures are allowed, please, and no montages or other compilations. Just a real snapshot of a flu shot advertising sign or propaganda campaign of some sort.

We will sort through all the pictures sent to us and pick the top dozen or so for a reader vote. Then we will invite the readers to vote on their favorite pictures.

The top 3 pictures receiving the most votes win!

First prize: $250 gift certificate at the NaturalNews Store.

Second prize: $150 gift certificate at the NaturalNews Store.

Third prize: $100 gift certificate at the NaturalNews Store.

Again, to enter the contest, just email your snapshots to reply@naturalnews.com and use “FLU SHOT PICTURE ENTRY” as the subject line of your email.

Contest rules
1) The picture must have been taken by you, not grabbed off the internet.

2) The picture must be real, not staged, and not Photoshopped beyond basic brightness and contrast adjustments.

3) Contest entries must be received by Friday, November 4, 2011.

4) No VIDEOS. This is for photos only, please. (We may do a video contest later on.)

5) The prize gift certificates are redeemable at the NaturalNews Store, and can be used to buy anything you’d like there, including items already on sale.

6) The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. But the flu shot propaganda itself needs to be in English (if there’s any text in the picture).

7) You agree to allow us to publish any photo you submit. The whole point of this is to share these photos across the ‘net to show how ridiculous and obnoxious the flu shot industry has become.

How to win
We are looking for the most obnoxious flu shot propaganda you can find. The Grim Reapers holding the flu shot sign was pretty funny. Can you find something even more obnoxious?

Can you find examples of outright lies in flu shot marketing propaganda? (Claims that flu shots “protect you from the flu” are pure quackery, for example.)

Use your creativity! We’re looking for photos that evoke a strong emotional response, either of hilarity or disgust.

There probably won’t be a huge number of entries, so by submitting just one photo to us, you have a realistic chance of winning the top prizes!

Go ahead and send your entries to reply@naturalnews.com — please LIMIT your attached photos to 10mb or smaller, or your email will automatically bounce.

We can’t wait to see (and share) your photos. Thank you for participating!

P.S. If you want to be ANONYMOUS, then submit your name as ANONYMOUS with the photo. If you want name credit, then submit your name as you’d like us to credit you. We will gladly credit the winners with a name and website URL.

Click here foe the full report from Natural News.

Police Busted for Alleged Gun Smuggling

October 25, 2011

Today

By Jonathan Dienst, Shimon Prokupecz and Joe Valiquette

“Here is another example of New York’s finest at work.  This comes just after a NYPD cop plead guilty to planting drugs on people just so he could make arrests.  I thought police were supposed to serve and protect, not harass and hurt.”  –Chris KTRN

Eight NYPD officers and one New Jersey corrections officer have been arrested on charges that they were running a gun-smuggling ring that trafficked more than $1 million in illegal weapons and stolen goods.

The officers arrested include five active-duty officers assigned to Brooklyn and three retired NYPD officers, although two of the retired officers were active when committing the alleged crimes, prosecutors said. All those arrested were picked up by FBI agents and NYPD Internal Affairs investigators early Tuesday.

According to the criminal complaint, some of those arrested smuggled 20 firearms as recently as Sept. 22. The cache included three M-16 rifles, one shotgun and 16 handguns, most of which had their serial numbers removed.

One officer bragged to an informant in July, as an associate displayed a shotgun for sale, that it was a “sample” and that they could get anything “from A to Z.”

The allegations are no doubt troubling for the NYPD, whose commissioner, Ray Kelly, has joined with Mayor Bloomberg in speaking out on illegal guns as a nationwide scourge that threatens public safety, particularly that of police officers.

Several of those arrested are also accused of illegally transporting other stolen goods. The group is accused of transporting stolen slot machines from Atlantic City, N.J., to Port Chester, N.Y., in March. Two months later, they allegedly stole more than 200 cases of cigarettes from trucks in Virginia and hauled them to New York.

A common tactic, prosecutors said, included breaking into tractor-trailers that were hauling cigarettes.

At one point while transporting stolen slot machines, one of the officers said to an informant, “Listen, when you’re doing stuff like this you gotta be intelligent … you gotta set it up where if I’m a cop on the side of the road, am I gonna stop that Ryder truck there?”

The same officer later said all the policemen participating in the slot machine scheme were “risking a lot for a little,” the complaint said.

“They know what’s going, and how much trouble they could get in, and what they’re risking,” he said. “They’re risking a lot.”

The investigation involved interviews with the informant, undercover work, surveillance, and intercepted phone conversations.

Most of the officers worked out of the 68th Precinct, which serves the Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton neighborhoods.

One officer who allegedly participated in cigarette smuggling expressed concern about trafficking weapons, saying at one point he was fine “as long as there’s no drugs and guns involved.”

Before the details were unsealed, a PBA spokesman declined comment, saying he was unaware of the specific charges as well as which officers were being charged.

In all, 12 people are charged with multiple federal conspiracy counts expected to be announced later Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and FBI officials.

The alleged NYPD corruption arrests come as other officers could also be charged this week in a separate ticket-fixing investigation headed by the Bronx District Attorney’s office.

Interestingly, the criminal complaint in the gun-smuggling case indicates that the investigation began in late 2009, when the informant was introduced to one of the officers as a person who could “fix” his traffic tickets. The informant then developed a relationship with that officer.

Officials have said more than a dozen NYPD officers could face charges in the ticket-fixing case, including some police union delegates.

In the gun-smuggling case, the suspects are expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan on the charges.

Click here for the full report from Today.

« Previous Page — Next Page »