She’s taken on the horrific effects of vaccines, to the point where her Wikipedia page, through a series of unethical maneuvers, continues to characterize her as irrationally “anti-vaccine.” … Read More
Anti-cocaine vaccine to be tested on humans
“The vaccine eats up the cocaine in the blood like a little Pac-Man before it can reach the brain,” Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, the lead investigator of the Weill Cornell Medical College study said in a press release.“We believe this strategy is a win-win for those individuals, among the estimated 1.4 million cocaine users in the United States, who are committed to breaking their addiction to the drug,” he added. “Even if a person who receives the anti-cocaine falls off the wagon, cocaine will have no effect.”Cornell researchers have successfully administered the vaccine to non-human primates and are now much closer to launching human clinical trials. Human testing is expected to begin within a year, Dr. Crystal believes.Cocaine blocks the recycling of dopamine – a neurotransmitter that is responsible for feelings of pleasure. The drug prevents the reuptake of dopamine by the neuron that releases it, causing higher concentrations of dopamine to remain in the synapse and create a ‘high’.“You get this massive flooding of dopamine and that is the feel good part of the cocaine high,” Dr. Crystal said.The new vaccine prevents dopamine accumulation at the brain’s nerve endings. The vaccine consists of particles of the common cold virus and particles that mimic the structure of cocaine. Once the body receives an injection, it recognizes the cold virus and creates an immune response against both the common cold and the cocaine ‘impersonator’.“The immune system learns to see cocaine as an intruder,” Dr. Crystals said.In order to feel the drug high that cocaine users seek to achieve, at least 47 percent of the dopamine transporter needs to be occupied by cocaine. The Cornell researchers found that in vaccinated primates, cocaine occupied less than 20 percent of dopamine receptors – making it impossible for the animals to be affected by the drug. Researchers expect that the vaccine will work in humans, but do not know how often it needs to be administered to maintain its effect. The vaccine continued to work effectively for 13 weeks in mice and seven weeks in primates.“An anti-cocaine vaccination will require booster shots in humans, but we don’t know yet how often these booster shots will be needed,” Dr. Crystal said. “I believe that for those people who desperately want to break their addiction, a series of vaccinations will help.”There are about 1.9 million current and past-month cocaine users in the US, 1.4 million of which are considered addicts or abusers, according to the latest data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. About one in five people who use cocaine will become addicted. There are about 2 million visits to US emergency departments for drug abuse each year, 480,000 of which come are a result of cocaine use.A vaccine preventing cocaine-induced feelings of euphoria would help drug users break free from their addiction, thereby drastically reducing emergency room visits and health problems in the US.“Cocaine addiction is a major social problem. It causes changes to behavior, it’s expensive and it’s illegal,” Dr. Crystal told LiveScience in 2012. “It’s very difficult to stop. If we could successfully develop a cocaine vaccine it would really be a very positive social advance.” … Read More
Obama ‘prefers Guantanamo status quo’
Twenty-four hunger strikers are now receiving enteral feeds, with three people “being observed in the detainee hospital,” according to Guantanamo Bay Public Affairs Director Lieutenant Colonel Samuel E. House. His most recent report put the official number of hunger strikers at 100.Although Guantanamo Bay remains open over four years after Obama pledged to close it, the President continues to voice his disapproval of the detention center.In his first public response to the ongoing hunger strike, Obama said it was “not a surprise” that there are “problems in Guantanamo.”"It is critical for us to understand that Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe. It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of our international standing. It lessens cooperation with our allies on counterterrorism efforts. It is a recruitment tool for extremists. It needs to be closed,” he said in an April 30 statement.The next day, Obama announced that he was considering hiring a new State Department official to oversee options for a future transfer of the prison’s detainees once it closes.Earlier this month it has been revealed that keeping Guantanamo Bay running is costing the US some $150 million a year.Medea Benjamin, author of the book “Drone Warfare,” shared her thoughts with RT on why the Obama never kept his promise to shut down the notorious detention facility.RT: President Obama pledged to close Guantanamo when he assumed office in 2009. But over four years later, it’s still open. Why?Medea Benjamin: People around the world are saying if the President of the United States says the prison should be closed, why is it still open? That’s a very logical question to ask. I think that the politics in the US is so partisan that the President is concerned already about who is going to be running in the next presidential election as the democratic candidate, the Congressional elections, wanting to make sure that as many democrats as possible win. The President doesn’t want to be seen as soft, and national security issues. He doesn’t think the American people care enough about this issue. And so he prefers to keep the status quo. The status quo means that desperate men are dying and are being tortured by being force-fed. That is not a status quo that we, the American people, should allow, if we want to continue to call ourselves a democracy.RT: The prisoners’ hunger strike has been going on for over two months now, but there’s very little information coming from most media outlets. So what’s really going on there now?MB: The prisoners who have had a chance to get messages out to their lawyers have described the terrible situation that they are in being strapped down for several hours having these tubes stuffed down the nose and into their stomach. They say it feels like a razor going down their bodies. This is another form of torture, and these prisoners have already endured years of torture in Guantanamo.RT: The hunger strike doesn’t seem to be obtaining the prisoners’ goals, especially since you mention they are being force-fed. So why are they continuing to starve themselves?MB: I think these inmates, or prisoners, as really what we should call them, are desperate and many of them are determined just to keep the hunger strike going. It’s difficult for them, because some of them are in isolation and they don’t know if other prisoners are continuing the hunger strike; are they being told that the other prisoners had stopped the hunger strike? I’m sure it’s a tremendous dilemma for them. But a number of those who have been able to speak through their lawyers have said they would rather die than live in these terrible conditions without ever knowing if they are going to be released.RT: President Obama says he still believes the prison should be closed. Do you think he was sincere in his statement last month? Does he have the power to do more than he is?MB: Obama is lacking the moral courage, he’s lacking the political will, he blames Congress, but really he has the power to release those prisoners who have already been cleared for release; demand a speedy and fair trial for the other ones and bring them into the US and close down the shameful prison of Guantanamo. We just have to force him to do it. We, the American people, the global community.RT: What should be done with the prisoners in the unlikely event that Guantanamo is shut down sometime in the near future?MB: One is to take the majority of prisoners, 86 of them, who have already been cleared by the US government – that means they have been found not to be guilty, not to be harmful to anybody – they should be released. The majority of them are from Yemen. The government of Yemen says they are totally prepared to take them back. There are other prisoners from countries like the United Kingdom that could certainly handle the return of prisoners. So those cleared for release should be released. The others should be sent to a prison in the US and should be tried in US courts just as other criminals are tried, many of them convicted and sentenced to life in prison. … Read More
US aims to arm Syrian rebels as Kerry seeks political support in Russia
The draft scheduled to be taken up in committee next week was introduced by Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Senator Robert Menendez. It seeks for the US to supply arms, military training and non-lethal aid to the opposition. The legislature also seeks to create a $250 million fund to aid the transition process in the country. The bill also aims to give Washington the power to impose sanctions on individuals involved in arms or oil transfers to Syria. A loud opponent of President Assad, Menendez has been one of the greatest advocates for US involvement in Syria. Following the recent allegations of the use of chemical weapons Menendez said in a written statement, “The Assad regime has crossed a red line that forces us to consider all options,” The senator added “The greatest humanitarian crisis in the world is unfolding in and around Syria, and the U.S. must play a role in tipping the scales toward opposition groups and working to build a free Syria.”The Obama administration had previously stressed that the use of chemical weapons constituted a “red line,” for US intervention in the conflict.But recent intelligence assessment into the allegations is still yet inconclusive for US president to issue a military response.Russia has strongly opposed military intervention in Syria, and has criticized Western support for the rebels. The Russian Foreign Ministry has maintained that escalations in armed confrontation would sharply increase the risks that new hotbeds of tension would appear not only in Syria but also in Lebanon and at the Israel-Lebanon border.US ‘skeptical’ over chemical weapons claimWhite House spokesman Jay Carney on Monday stated that the administration is “highly skeptical” of the comments made by a leading United Nations investigator, Carla del Ponte who claimed she was “stupefied” by the victims’ stories of the Syrian conflict that made her conclude that a “strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof” exists that it was the rebels not the government forces that used sarin gas.“During our investigation into crimes against humanity and war crimes, we collect some witness testimony that made to appear that some chemical weapons were used, in particular nerving gas. And what appeared to our investigation is that it was used by the opponents, by the rebels,” Carla del Ponte, from the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, has told RT.Furthermore, UN investigator argues, “we had no indication at all that the government, authority of the Syrian government used chemical weapons.”But the White House remains adamant that it is President Assad who is a fault. “We are highly sceptical of any suggestions that the opposition used chemical weapons,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney. “We think it highly likely that Assad regime was responsible but we have to be sure about the facts before we make any decisions about a response.”Politicians opposed to arming the rebels constantly warn that arms could end up in the wrong hands such as the Nusra Front.Menendez’ bill says that only those who pass through a vetting process and meet standards on human rights, terrorism and non proliferation would be allowed to receive such US aid.The bill before becoming a law needs to be approved by both the Senate and House of Representatives, and signed by President. … Read More
China’s services growth in April weakest in 2 years, BRIC also slowing
The Chinese service sector saw further easing in April, as the China Services Business Activity Index compiled by HSBC slipped to 51.1 from a March reading of 54.3.A reading above 50 indicates activity expansion, while a reading below the dividing line points to contraction.“This started to bite at employment growth. All these are likely to add some risk to China’s growth in 2Q, as there’s still a bumpy road towards sustaining growth recovery,” commented Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC.Given that services comprise about 50 percent of the country’s GDP, the April economic indicators seem to be saying that the risks to recovery may be growing.”This confirms our worries about insufficient growth momentum in the economy, which we expect to slow to 7.5 percent in the second quarter,” Reuters quotes Zhang Zhiwei, chief China economist at Nomura Securities in Hong Kong as saying.The path to a recovery in China is already proving ‘bumpy’ enough, as Monday’s report followed poor Chinese manufacturing data released last week, that indicated slower sector growth in April.“The cooling of service sector activity in April likely reflected the knock-on effect of slower manufacturing growth, the impact of property tightening measures and the spreading bird flu,” Hongbin Qu explained.Experts agree that further indications of the Chinese economy weakening may result in a monetary policy response.”I see an increasing possibility of China cutting interest rates, but not likely any time in the near future, as housing inflation is a constraint,” says Jianguang Shen, chief China economist of Mizuho Securities Asia in Hong Kong.Easing BRICWith the USA and Europe suffering since the onset of the world economic crisis, the BRIC club has been seen as a future economic locomotive. But that my be fading as Brazil, India and Russia appear to have lost momentum in April.In Brazil, the April HSBC Manufacturing PMI Index went down for the third consecutive month to 50.8 from 51.8 fixed in March. “This is yet another sign that the recovery of 2013 is quite modest,” as Andre Loes, Chief Economist, Brazil at HSBC said in the report.Activity in India’s service sector also eased in April, dragged by slower growth in new businesses. While operating conditions in India’s manufacturing have slightly improved in April, the seasonally adjusted HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index– an indicator derived from individual diffusion indices measuring changes in output, new orders, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchases – fell to its lowest reading since November 2011 – 51.0.Russia is no exception, as April growth remained subdued, struggling in the post – crisis trend. The April indicator of business conditions in Russia stood at 50.6, which compares with a 50.8 reading a month earlier.“Russian manufacturing and industry will most likely continue growing very slowly, with downside risks to growth prevailing without a recovery in external and internal demand for investment goods,” commented Alexander Morozov, Chief Economist (Russia and CIS) at HSBC. … Read More
High school student faces 20 years in prison for Facebook messages
Authorities have set bond at one million dollars for Cameron B. D’Ambrosio of Methuen, MA following a Thursday afternoon arraignment one day after he was apprehended at his home around 30 miles north of Boston.Police say D’Ambrosio, a senior at Methuen High School Student, authored eye-catching messages this week with his personal social networking account.In a joint statement released by the offices of the superintendent of schools and the Methuen Police Department Wednesday, authorities say an anonymous student alerted the school that afternoon of a Facebook message from D’Ambrosio that contained “disturbing verbiage.” Once the assistant principal was made aware of the issue the school quickly reached out to law enforcement, who in turn apprehended D’Ambrosio at his home at around 1:30 p.m. He was not in class at the time officials were made aware of the alleged threats and, according to Methuen Police Chief Joe Solomon, only around 30 minutes passed between when time the school made contact with law enforcement and when they had the suspect in custody.“He posted a threat in the form of rap where he mentioned the White House, the Boston Marathon bombing and said, ‘everybody you will see what I am going to do, kill people,” Methuen Police Chief Joe Solomon told the Valley Patriot on Wednesday. “[H]e did threaten to kill a bunch of people and specifically mentioned the Boston Marathon and the White House. The threat was disturbing enough for us to act and I think our officers did the right thing.” A YouTube account has since surfaced of D’Ambrosio showcasing his amateur rapping.Solomon added that the student “did not make a specific threat against the school or any particular individuals,” but that the content of his posts were alarming enough to warrant a police response.“I’m not in reality, So when u see me (expletive) go insane and make the news, the paper, and the (expletive) federal house of horror known as the white house, Don’t (expletive) cry or be worried because all YOU people (expletive) caused this (expletive),” reads a redacted version of one post presented to Weymouth and made available to the Herald.“(Expletive) a boston bominb wait till u see the (expletive) I do, I’ma be famous rapping, and beat every murder charge that comes across me!” the post continued.Superintendent of Schools Judy Scannell told the local Valley Patriot that the school is grateful that one of the students knew to speak up about the messages. “Once again we have to commend the Methuen High School Student who came forward, we always say, if you see something, say something, and that’s what this student did,” Scannell said. “We also want to commend the school safety officers and the administration for bringing this to our attention immediately. Threats of this kind of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, not in Methuen they won’t.”“Methuen Public Schools as well as the Methuen Police Department has zero tolerance for this behavior. We believe that all students deserve to learn in a welcoming, non-threatening environment free from intimidation and physical threats,” continued the joint statement issued by Scannell and Solomon on Wednesday.Court records and police reports obtained by the Boston Herald show that police seized an Xbox 360 gaming console and computer equipment from D’Ambrosio’s home. The Associated Press reports that “Detectives are also looking deeper at his Facebook page,” and the Valley Patriot called into question other potential items of interest discovered on his account:“He also had a disturbing satanic photo posted as well as a photo of himself on a “Wanted Poster” that reads “Wanted Dead or Alive” [sic] a quick perusal of his Facebook page shows D’Ambrosio’s unusual interest in gangs, violence and a criminal lifestyle,” wrote the paper.D’Ambrosio pleaded not guilty during his Thursday morning arraignment faces up to 20 years if convicted on one count of making a bomb threat. … Read More
Three killed, 20 shot overnight in Chicago
“I heard gunshots, looked out my window, and saw my son laying on the ground. I ran out and held him,” Lelia Rodgers, a mother of one of the deceased shooting victims, told DNAinfo. “I kept asking him to talk, saying, ‘I’m right here.’ He took three breaths, and that was it.”The woman’s son, 27-year-old Darrin Rodgers, was one of three victims to die from his gunshot wounds in the early morning hours of May 1. He was shot in the chest at 12:10 a.m., just a few steps away from his mother’s apartment.Two other men were killed in the overnight shootings and 20 others wounded, including two 16-year-old high school students. A 30-year-old man was found dead in a Chicago alleyway, while a 23-year-old was found in a separate alley, his face and body riddled with bullets.Two men in their 40’s were found wounded on a street corner when the shootings began around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. Bodies of the dead and the injured were dispersed throughout city, marking a bloody evening that began as Chicago police were hailing a reduction in crime.The Chicago Police Department had released figures indicating a 42 percent decline in the number of murders that occurred in the city this year, compared to the same period in 2012. During the first quarter, Chicago was home to 93 murders – which is the first time since 1963 that the city had fewer than 100 murders during the period.During the first quarter of 2012, there were 161 murders. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy on Tuesday credited authorities with the reduction in crime, citing a “comprehensive policing strategy and the hard work of our officers.”Many of Chicago’s police officers have been moved from their administrative desk jobs to patrol the streets instead. The department recently changed their operations to focus less on 911 calls and more on patrolling neighborhoods. Theft and burglaries at which a criminal suspect is no longer on the scene are considered low priority cases.The new response plan angered some Chicago residents, who argued that the taxes they pay for police services should be used to help them when they call 911.But police who hailed a reduction in crime and attributed it to their efforts may have spoken too soon. While the overnight shootings will not affect Chicago’s first-quarter murder rate, they will likely impact the crime statistics for the second quarter and the entire year.“You have to look at what you’re comparing [the murder rate] to,” former Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis told ABC News. “If you are comparing this year’s number to an anomaly, there is a 10-percent decline from the 2011 homicide figures, when the murder rate was the lowest since 1965. The decline is not as dramatic as it seems. Spikes like what happened yesterday are inevitable as the seasons change and more people get outdoors.”In an interview with NBC, McCarthy said the Chicago Police Department will still need to “examine what happened” at the turn of the month, and acknowledged that the city will have “good days and bad days”. … Read More
