Fat Tuesday, Dr. Oz, Big Food, Ag-Gag and Agri-Torture, Buzz-Kill; Abortion and Birth Control, Obamacare, VA, Think of the Children, Psych; Gone Viral, Vax Populi

Fat Tuesday

• Court: Teacher Teasing Overweight Student Is Child Abuse
• House GOP wants to cut Michelle Obama's healthy school lunches: These Republicans come from the unhealthiest states
• State high court rules NYC ban on large sodas is illegal—Suck it, Bloomie.
• China to recruit 'more portly' soldiers with brainpower—"China's military relaxes height, eyesight and weight requirements for soldiers in effort to attract more educated personnel, newspaper says."

Dr. Oz

• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Dr. Oz and Nutritional Supplements
• Why Dr. Oz can say anything and keep his medical license
• A Snake Oil Salesman Alive and Well in Dr. Oz
• Twitter gets predictably snarky when Dr. Oz asks, "What are you eating that is Oz Approved"? Salon

Big Food

• Chipotle's anti-Big-Food ad wins Cannes PR award
• How the US Government Helps McDonald's Sell Junk Food—"The feds also helped bring you the Taco Bell Cantina Double Steak Quesadilla and several other fast-food gems."
• Hamburger Chef Jamie Oliver Proves McDonald's Burgers "Unfit for human consumption"
• Monsanto Tries to Patent & Control Natural, Non-GMO Tomatoes
• Whole Foods to pay $800,000 in overpricing case
• U.S. meat producers square off against consumer groups in request to peel back on labeling
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Letter of the Week -- POM Wonderful

Ag-Gag and Agri-Torture

• Undercover animal abuse videos could soon be outlawed
• Canada's Largest Dairy Farm Employees Accused Of Animal Cruelty
• The Abstinence Method—"Dutch farmers just say no to antibiotics for livestock." Gerbert Oosterlaken, owner of Hoeve de Hulsdonk farm, "believes the more you can see, the better."

Buzz-Kill

• Obama orders review of pesticides' effect on bees
• Pesticides threaten birds and bees alike, study says
• Pesticides linked to bee deaths must be banned, scientists say
• French scientists revive assault on pesticide, GM corn
• Study links pesticide exposure in pregnancy to autism

Abortion and Birth Control

• Supreme Court says employers with religious objections can refuse to pay for contraception
• Corporations Are People, And They Have More Rights Than You
• SCOTUS end of term: The Supreme Court’s conservatives are using the First Amendment as a weapon
• 'Supreme Court strikes down abortion clinic buffer zone
• Anti-abortion protesters take advantage of Supreme Court ruling
• Alabama Abortion Clinic Forced To Close Because Its Hallways Aren't Wide Enough
• The Rise of the DIY Abortion in Texas—"A pill that revolutionized reproductive rights in Latin America is now gaining ground on the black market in South Texas."

Obamacare

• McAuliffe Defies GOP: We're 'Moving Forward' With Obamacare Expansion
• Capitol police gave House clerks access to governor's office—"Father's Day budget delivery to the governor's secure suite of offices prompts protests from the administration, which alleged an 'unacceptable' security breach."
• Emails: GOP Secured Majority After VA Dem Promised Job, Phone And Car
• Analysis Shows GOP Fear-Mongering On Obamacare Premiums Is Probably Bogus
• Republicans Finally Admit Why They Really Hate Obamacare
• Here Is the Most Shameless Anti-Obamacare Argument Yet

VA

• White House report: Overhaul VA's 'corrosive culture' Politico
• Letters Claim Vets Were Mistreated At West Palm Beach VA
• Acton Vet Finally Gets VA Doctor's Appointment – 2 Years After He Died
• Obama to name new VA chief

Think of the Children

• Alaska to put free pregnancy tests in bars to curb fetal alcohol syndrome rate
• Is veganism child abuse?—"A mother is arrested for infant neglect after a hospital crisis that began with her veganism." Salon
• Meet the con man selling fake stem cell treatments to children—"Davide Vannoni is playing with people's lives, and the Italian government is paying for it."
• No, PETA, Cow Milk Does Not Cause Autism—"The group that brought you animal-fur horror stories has just launched a campaign claiming cow's milk causes autism. Hold on to your Cheerios, this one needs explaining."

Psych

• Cost of not caring: Stigma set in stone—"People with mental illness face prejudice and discrimination nearly everywhere they turn, from friends and employers and even insurance plans."
• Minnesota teen who planned school massacre: 'I think I'm really mentally ill'
• Stop Telling Your Depressed Friends to "Cheer Up"—"It's more helpful to express that their feelings are valid."

Gone Viral

• Untreatable virus spreading in the Caribbean now afflicts 4,600 LA Times
• Doctors Without Borders: Ebola 'out of control'—Experts say it's just the 'tip of the iceberg' and it's getting worse [WaPo].
• CDC: Up to 86 workers possibly exposed to anthrax

Vax Populi

• One unvaccinated child was patient zero of a measles epidemic
• Measles cases are spreading, despite high vaccination rates. What's going on?—In other news, Jenny allegedly-not-against-vaccinations McCarthy is no longer on 'The View'. WaPo
• First measles case in at least 6 years reported in Pierce County—"The case is connected to eight confirmed cases being investigated in South King County, all among members of the same extended family, officials said."
• Judge Upholds Policy Barring Unvaccinated Students During Illnesses NYT
• Ohio Amish begin vaccinations amid largest measles outbreak in recent U.S. history
• Blast from the Past: Fear and frustration dominated Somali community forum on measles, vaccines and autism

Fat Tuesday; Veterans; Obamacare, Big Pharma; Dying, Think of the Children; Contagious, Food Insecurity; Sports, Heights; War on Terror, Iraq'd

Fat Tuesday

• The 'Dr. Oz Effect': Senators Scold Mehmet Oz For Diet Scams
• Female Hormones May Be Making Western Men Fat
• 900-Pound Woman Has Wall Removed To Leave Bedroom For First Time In 2 Years
• Parents Arrested Over Obese 11-Year-Old Son—"Police have defended their actions saying it was rare to make such an arrest after questioning the couple over child cruelty."
• Climb stairs, cut calories: Southeast Asia fights flab
• Always Hungry? Here's Why NYT

Veterans

• F.B.I. Begins Criminal Inquiry in V.A. Scandal—"The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, said the bureau was looking into accusations that Department of Veterans Affairs officials had manipulated medical waiting lists." NYT
• VA Official Arrested For Allegedly Taking $40K In Illegal Gifts
• Phoenix VA gave out $10 mil in bonuses in last 3 years
• Price of coming forward: 37 VA whistle-blowers claim retaliation
• V.A. Punished Critics on Staff, Doctors Assert—"In response to employee whistle-blowers, the Department of Veterans Affairs has made clear over the years that it would not hesitate to retaliate, disciplining and even firing those who spoke up." NYT
• VA chief: 100,000 vets were on fake wait lists
• Audit: More than 57,000 await first VA appointment
• Lack of funding is the real VA scandal—Insufficient to handle the load.
• The VA Reform Legislation Is a "Trojan Horse" for Privatization—"It would do more harm than good."
• ABC, NBC Too Busy With O.J. Simpson Police Chase Anniversary To Cover V.A. Scandal
• Hospitals aren't the VA's only scandal—"The focus on VA hospitals health care for veterans obscures a separate but another scandal: a massive problem in another massive problem — a scandal of its own – the VA's disability-benefits system."
• Bill Cassidy said Senate Democrats only moved to fund new VA clinics after scandal—Politifact says: False. In fact, Republicans are the ones who blocked the latest bill prior to the outbreak of the scandal this year.

Obamacare

• Since Obamacare Passed 50 Months Ago, Healthcare Has Gained Almost 1 Million Jobs
• More insurers joining ObamaCare
• Obamacare cut Minnesota's uninsured rate by 40 percent
• More Young Adults Get Inpatient Psychiatric Care After Health Law
• Memo to GOP: The War over Big Government health care is over, and you lost WaPo
• Once again, U.S. has most expensive, least effective health care system in survey WaPo
• 80,000 Cover Oregon customers must re-enroll through federal health insurance exchange
• Why the New Obamacare Website Is Going to Work This Time
• GOP's quiet Obamacare disaster: How this week's biggest story got overlooked—"While everyone obsessed over the Bergdahl flap, the real story was revealed by a nomination hearing and new data." Salon
• Really, Dr. Carson? Obamacare Is Worse Than 9/11?—"The Republican presidential hopeful thinks that Obamacare has caused Americans more pain than jetliners crashing into the World Trade Center and two costly wars."

Big Pharma

• American drug companies don't want to pay US taxes—but they want global customers to pay US drug prices
• One simple drug switch could save Medicare $18 billion over the next decade
• The Sunshine Act Will Publicize Big Pharma's Undue Influence on Doctors
• India thwarts Big Pharma push at WHO assembly

Dying

• Quebec passes 'dying with dignity' bill—Act respecting end-of-life care, Bill 52, allows terminally ill patients to choose death
• Judge: Daughter Can Stop Food for Casey Kasem
• 'Millions denied end-of-life drugs'—"Lack of access to pain relief for dying patients is a 'public health emergency,' say experts."
• 'Right to Try' laws spur debate over dying patients' access to experimental drugs WaPo
• 'Scooby Doo' actor and radio legend Casey Kasem dies at 82—"The actor's decline was unfortunately marred by a public court battle between Kasem's four children and his second wife. Kasem's daughter Kerri made the decision earlier this month to take her father off a feeding tube, according to his written instructions."
• Opinion: Let the dying choose how they exit

Think of the Children

• Religious orders allowed over 2,000 Irish children to be used in medical experiments
• Newborns exposed to dirt, dander, germs may have lower allergy, asthma risk
• Bounce house hysteria: The biggest dangers to your kids this summer are not inflatable

Contagious

• Saudi MERS response hobbled by institutional failings
• California reports whooping-cough epidemic
• 4,000 pounds of beef, some at Whole Foods, recalled over fears of mad cow disease

Food Insecurity

• A superbug resistant to "last-resort" antibiotics has made its way into the food supply—"Researchers discovered carbapenem-resistant bacteria in raw squid for the first time." Salon
• Quality Egg admits to selling tainted eggs, bribing official
• 80% of Meat Labels Could Be Meaningless, Exclusive Report Says
• Costco keeps selling treats from China despite dog death—"Yorkshire terrier suffered and died from renal failure; other illnesses, deaths reported."
• FDA May Destroy American Artisan Cheese Industry—"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an executive decree banning the centuries old practice of aging cheese on wooden boards. One bureaucrat within the FDA, without surveying all of the scientific literature, and without public commentary, has rattled hundreds of small businesses across the United States."
• Supreme Court Hands Down Ruling in Major Pomegranate Juice Case—"The Pom Wonderful company, a purveyor of pomegranate juices, can sue Coca-Cola for marketing a competing 'Pomegranate Blueberry' juice that is 0.3 percent pomegranate juice and 0.2 percent blueberry juice, the Supreme Court ruled today."

Sports

• Renaissance Man—"An interview with MMA commentator, stand-up comedian, wild game hunter, television host, and deep thinker Joe Rogan"
• Why Do Football and Basketball Players Have to go to College?
• Blast from the Past: The Creation Of Yao Ming—"From the beginning, the life of China's biggest sports star was shaped by two powerful, often competing forces: his mother and the Communist government."

Heights

• Why did humans grow four inches in 100 years? It wasn’t just diet
• Short men and heightism: We short men need to stop attacking other short men.
• NFL players: height and weight over time

War on Terror

• Wikileaks: Obama Administration Secretly Worked To Prevent Prosecution of War Crimes By The Bush Administration
• Manning: The Fog Machine of War—"I saw firsthand how the United States military rationed what the American public knew about its operations in Iraq." NYT
• 'Inventing terrorists': New study reveals FBI set up terrorism-related prosecutions
• Afghan election: Taliban 'removed voters' fingers'
• Pakistan Launches Large Ground Offensive Against Taliban
• The Milk Carton Guy—"Bergdahl critics didn't howl when Bush freed prisoners." NYT
• The Dumbest Thing You'll Read All Day About the Benghazi Suspect Capture
• Heritage's ugly Benghazi panel—"Attendees taunted a woman in the room who wore Islamic head covering." WaPo
• Pa. town rues sacrifice of its war dead
• Just what are we getting for the $7 billion spent on the TSA?

Iraq'd

• Images purport to show 'massacre' by militants
• Tony Blair rejects 'bizarre' claims that invasion of Iraq caused the crisis—"'We have to liberate ourselves from the notion that 'we' caused this', argues former prime minister in website essay." Is this Catholic guilt trying to distance yourself from your fuck-up Blair?
• Bush's toxic legacy in Iraq
• Fox News Praises George W. Bush's Ability To Anticipate Problems In Iraq
• Mission never accomplished: Iraq exposes fallacies of US foreign policy
• The Iraq Mess: Place Blame Where It Is Deserved—"We have reached the moment that skeptics of the 2003 United States invasion of Iraq warned about all along."
• Paul Wolfowitz, Bill Kristol, and Douglas Feith should be ignored: The neocons already destroyed Iraq once
• No, Obama Didn't Lose Iraq—"What the president's critics get wrong." Politico
• GOP Iraq Hypocrisy Hits Overdrive—"Obama is 'taking a nap' as ISIS takes over? It was Boehner's party that gave us this war, and it was Bush who negotiated the 'peace.' Is there anything they won't play politics with?"
• ISIS: The Saudis helped create a monster they can't control in Iraq
• Obama Critics Invent Absurd New Explanation For Iraq War
• Qatari: U.S. intervention in Iraq would be seen as war on Sunni Arabs

Fat Tuesday; Veterans; Obamacare, Medicaid; Mal-Practice; Health Issues, Vax Populi, Think of the Children; Breakthroughs; Sports; Brain; Sanitary

Fat Tuesday

• Global population of obese and overweight tops 2.1bn
• Australian obesity rates climbing faster than anywhere else in the world, study shows
• Top 10 Countries with the Most Obese People Named
• Japanese children 'not hungry to be sumo wrestlers'
• Mexican man, once world's heaviest, dies at 48
• One chilling reason Americans are increasingly overweight—"The new documentary "Fed Up" reveals how Big Food pushed the government to give out compromised health information." Salon
• Republicans for More Fat Kids—"Is it really cost that's driving the House GOP to fight Michelle Obama on school lunches? Of course not—it's the culture wars, the sugar lobby, and plain old hatred of her husband."
• Skinny People Make Overweight People Unhappy, New Study Finds
  
• Fat people stick together so they don't feel judged: Being overweight is considered OK if everyone around you is a similar size
• Coca-Cola accused of 'obscene' hypocrisy in £20 million 'anti-obesity' drive
• Many low-fat foods 'have SAME amount of calories as regular equivalents due to added sugar'
• The case for eating steak and cream—"Why everything you heard about fat is wrong."

Veterans

• Thoughts on Shinseki's resignation
• How the VA developed its culture of coverups—"Once a bureaucratic success story, the agency began to hide its problems from those in Washington." WaPo
• President Obama Finds New Veterans Affairs IG Report 'Deeply Troubling'
• Texas VA Run Like a 'Crime Syndicate,' Whistleblower Says—"For years, employees at a Texas VA complained that their bosses were cooking the books. For years, the VA insisted there was no widespread wrongdoing."
• Iraq Vet Killed In Gunfight With Police Was Turned Away by VA Hospital
• Report: 1,700 vets not on Phoenix VA wait list, at risk of being 'lost or forgotten'
• Veteran Sues VA After Diagnosis Delay Leads to Penis Amputation

Obamacare

• Obamacare Caused This Clinic To Close, And Its Doctors Couldn't Be Happier
• 21 things Obamacare does that you didn't know about
• Republicans are three times more likely than Democrats to say they know someone who was hurt by Obamacare WaPo
• Kentuckians Hate Kynect A Lot Less Than Obamacare—"Residents of Kentucky may hate Obamacare, but they're much less hostile toward Kynect, the state's health exchange created to comply with the law." McConnell says it has no connection with the ACA but he's talking out of his ass.
• GOP's Obamacare fears come true—More states deferring to federal exchanges than anticipated. Politico

Medicaid

• Missouri State Sen. Ed Emery to Voter: You Want Medicaid? Move to Oregon!
• A Health Care Scandal That's Way Bigger Than the VA
• Va. Republicans' lonely Medicaid stand—"Republicans in Virginia's House of Delegates have blocked hundreds of thousands of poor Virginians from getting health insurance under the Obama administration's Medicaid expansion. At the same time, they've refused to suggest any alternative method by which the needy people in the state might arrange health coverage." WaPo

Mal-Practice

• Brevard doctor ordered to pay Medicare $90M—For fraud.
• Sonoma County Man Battling Cancer Denied Coverage By Anthem Blue Cross After Paying $100K In Premiums
• Woman Gets $11.6M Bill After Death of Disabled Brother in NYC Facility
• Husband finds out wife still alive three days after turning off life support—"Husband watches wife 'die twice' after finding out she was still alive three days after he turned off her life support - but the hospital failed to tell him she had recovered."
• Trust your doctor, not Wikipedia, say scientists

Health Issues

• French lab shut after losing SARS virus samples
• Ebola: Deadly outbreak crosses border as mistrust hampers medical staff
• Thousands may have been exposed to hepatitis A at Missouri restaurant
• Year-old salmonella outbreak in California continues
• Portland issues boil water notice for the entire city after E. coli detected in 3 tests—How Oregon Trail.

Vax Populi

• Measles surge most since 1994 to 288 cases in U.S.
• The New Measles Outbreak: Blame the Anti-Vaxxers
• Delaying Vaccines May Increase Seizure Risk NYT
• Sunrise Police Searching For Missing Toddler —The mother said that if the husband let "them take her and vaccinate her and brainwash her; she says I cannot let a judge tell me how to raise my daughter."
• Canada: Time For a National Vaccine Registry

Think of the Children

• Childhood fluoride exposure has no effect on IQ—"Research comes in response to an NZ city's on-again, off-again fluoridation ban."
• Thousands of Toddlers Are Medicated for A.D.H.D., Report Finds, Raising Worries—"The practice draws concern, in part, because there has been little study on the use of A.D.H.D. drugs for children under 3." Piss-poor parenting really to blame? NYT
• Judy Blume: Parents worry too much about what children read—"Children's author Judy Blume, whose own books have been banned in the past, says children 'self-censor' reading material they don't understand."
  

Breakthroughs

• Woman's cancer killed by measles virus in unprecedented trial WaPo
• Teen Develops Early-Stage HIV Test For High School Science Project
• Drug Developers Take a Second Look at Herbal Medicines—"Desperate to develop new drugs for malaria and other ailments, researchers are running clinical trials with traditional herbal medicines—and generating promising leads."

Sports

• Ex-players: NFL illegally used drugs
• Classy Seahawks sign draft pick before having to cut him due to heart condition
• 91-Year-Old Marathoner Smokes the Competition—Did better than oldest woman in the NYC marathon.

Brain

• Why Are We So Obsessed With the Myers-Briggs?—"How personality tests become personal mythology."
• Sleepy brains neglect half the world—"A new study shows that drowsiness alters awareness in much the same way as a common form of brain damage."
• Scientists Selectively Erase And Restore Memories

Sanitary

• Lessons Learned From a Year Without Showering
• Urine and the bladder are not sterile, contain bacteria—"New studies challenge the belief that the bladder is bacteria-free."
• Watering gardens with lead, BPA and phthalates
• Levi's CEO Says You Should Never Wash Your Jeans
• One billion people still defecate in public despite health risks-UN

Fat Tuesday; War on Terror; Veterans; Gitmo; Military Industrial Complex, Drones; Afghanistan, Benghazi; DHS, FBI; USA "Freedom" Act, Snowden, Greenwald, NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy

Fat Tuesday

• Retired military leaders fret kids will be 'too fat to fight'
• Army's new training shooter makes out of shape soldiers look fat—"Virtual Battlespace 3 applies real-world fitness scores to avatars' performance."
• Heavy duty: Army creates fat camps

War on Terror

• A Memorial Inscription's Grim Origins—"Questions have arisen about whether a quotation from a translation of Virgil's 'Aeneid' about two warriors' deaths is appropriate for the National September 11 Memorial Museum." It's taken out of context. NYT
• CIA: No more vaccination campaigns in spy operations WaPo
• Al Qaeda's American Fighters Are Coming Home—And U.S. Intelligence Can't Find Them
• Lawsuit over 'INF1DL' and 'WAR SUX' license plates headed to trial
• The case for abolishing the TSA

Veterans

• Veterans Fire Back at Letter by Senator—"Senator Richard M. Burr's letter that said leaders of veterans groups were defending the status quo at the V.A. drew fierce responses." Says he clearly represents the worst in politics. NYT
• Thank You for Being Expendable—"The scandal over the care of veterans is really an old story." NYT
• Flashback: Republicans Block VA Benefits

Gitmo

• US forced to acknowledge secret tapes of Guantánamo force-feedings
• Guantánamo inmate vomited blood after force-feeding, documents show
• Judge allows forced feeding to resume on Guantanamo detainee
• Mos Def (Yasiin Bey) Unable To Re-Enter America Due To "Immigration Issues"—Retaliation for his force-feeding "simulations"? Update: This rumor has been debunked [Salon].
• Why Guantanamo remains open

Military Industrial Complex

• 'Over My Dead Body': Spies Fight Obama Push to Downsize Terror War
• House Poised to Reject Pentagon's Cost-Cutting Plans—"The House of Representative on Wednesday edged toward passage of an annual defense policy bill that rejects Pentagon plans to retire older weapons systems and slow the rise in military pay as it implements long-term spending cuts ordered by Congress." NYT
• Congress Blocks Navy's Plan to Lay Up 11 Cruisers—"The Navy's plan to lay up 11 cruisers and three amphibious ships as part of a cost-saving, long-term modernization plan has been met with skepticism, concern and caution from members of Congress."
• White House threatens veto of defense bill—"The White House is threatening a veto of the House version of a $601 billion defense bill over election-year moves to spare weapons systems and popular programs in the face of limited budgets."
• US House approves $600 million military aid package for Israel—And "authorizes provisions for Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow 3."

Drones

• Secret laws are a threat to American democracy—"Releasing the drone-assassination memo is only the first step."
• Iran Knows the Secrets of America's Stealth Drone—"Tehran tracked, captured, studied, copied RQ-170."
• The Catholic Church Proved the US Government Is Making Up Drone Rules On the Fly
• New Zealand PM John Key Confirms 'Legal' Data-Sharing with U.S.; Justifies U.S. Drone Strikes

Afghanistan

• Obama signals US to keep limited Afghanistan role—"President Barack Obama slipped into Afghanistan for a surprise visit Sunday and made clear that the U.S. will likely maintain a limited role here even after its combat mission ends this year and America's longest war comes to a close."
• Karzai refused to meet Obama at Bagram Air Base, says US official
• White House mistakenly identifies CIA chief in Afghanistan—Oops. WaPo
• Afghanistan Hits Out at U.S. Spying Allegations

Benghazi

• This Is How the Right Milks Benghazi for Cash—"And more proof it's all about Hillary Clinton."
• Allen West Says Rep. Tammy Duckworth, Decorated Veteran, Not 'Loyal' To America
• Issa's latest Benghazi stunt backfires
• John Kerry Trolls The House—Adroit political manuevering.

DHS

• We need to know why DHS is an NSA intelligence "customer", and what that means
• Planned Homeland Security headquarters, long delayed and over budget, now in doubt Salon
• Did GoDaddy and Homeland Security shut down a Mexican protest site?

FBI

• FBI chief: 'Be suspicious' of government power
• Microsoft wins case to block FBI request for customer data—Didn't "win" as much as the FBI withdrew their case, preventing legal precedence over NSLs.
• Pension for FBI shooter of Todashev draws scrutiny in Oakland

USA "Freedom" Act

• The White House Is Trying to Weaken the NSA Reform Bill: Report
• As Feared: House Guts USA Freedom Act, Every Civil Liberties Organization Pulls Their Support
• Changes to Surveillance Bill Stoke Anger—"At the Obama administration's request, House leaders revised a bill that limits the government's bulk collection of phone records, spurring several civil liberties groups to withdraw support for the bill."
• The NSA Reform Bill the House Passed Today Is a Watered-Down Piece of Nonsense
• The NSA Bill That Just Passed Is So Weak, Original Backers Voted Against It

Snowden

• Snowden's First Move Against the NSA Was a Party in Hawaii
• NBC News Trumps ABC's Hillary Clinton Exclusive With Edward Snowden's First American Interview Since NSA Info Dump
• Edward Snowden Seeking Return to US: Der Spiegel
• Snowden: "I Was Trained as a Spy."

Greenwald

• NYT Book Reviewer Wonders If Glenn Greenwald Should Be Locked Up—Greenwald responds to Kinsley and his hacktastic review.
• 'Journalist' Argues In NY Times That Publishing Decisions Should Ultimately Be Made By Government
• The Government Isn't Very Good at Deciding What to Keep Secret—"So why do so many Americans insist that the state, not the press, should call the shots?"
• NYT Public Editor Slams 'Sneering' Review Of Glenn Greenwald's Book
• Sony Acquires Film Rights For Glenn Greenwald's Snowden Book—The first part read like a thiller novel.
• Glenn Greenwald to publish list of U.S. citizens that NSA spied on

NSA Spying

• Privacy under attack: the NSA files revealed new threats to democracy—"Thanks to Edward Snowden, we know the apparatus of repression has been covertly attached to the democratic state. However, our struggle to retain privacy is far from hopeless."
• Pentagon report: scope of intelligence compromised by Snowden 'staggering'—Yeah, about that report.
• California lawmakers make modest attempt to halt NSA data collection—"There's nothing that says states have to cooperate with a federal agency."
• Fine Line Seen in U.S. Spying on Companies—"United States officials say the N.S.A. is free to spy on trade negotiators to help American trade officials, and by extension, American industries and workers they are trying to bolster." NYT
• Marc Andreessen: Tech companies are still fuming over the NSA WaPo
• China Said to Study IBM Servers for Bank Security Risks—"Government agencies, including the People's Bank of China and the Ministry of Finance, are asking banks to remove the IBM servers and replace them with a local brand as part of a trial program...."
• House Committee Puts NSA on Notice Over Encryption Standards—"Amendment would remove requirement that the National Institute of Standards and Technology consult with the NSA on encryption standards."
• Man who lost all those NSA secrets to teach cybersecurity at Harvard
• PBS: United States of Secrets

Surveillance and Privacy

• Secrets, lies and Snowden's email: why I was forced to shut down Lavabit—"For the first time, the founder of an encrypted email startup that was supposed to insure privacy for all reveals how the FBI and the US legal system made sure we don't have the right to much privacy in the first place." Update: More from Levision.
• Everything Is Broken
• Empty promises: ProtonMail—A caveat to using "secure" email services.
• Federal 'Biosurveillance' Plan Seeking Direct Access to Americans' Private Medical Records
• ID theft protector LifeLock deletes user data over concerns that app isn't safe
• LG Will Take The 'Smart' Out Of Your Smart TV If You Don't Agree To Share Your Viewing And Search Data With Third Parties
• Internet 'Do Not Track' system is in shatters
• For Do Not Call violations, Sprint will pay FCC $7.5M in largest ever settlement—FCC: "Protecting consumer privacy is a top enforcement priority."

Fat Tuesday; Obamacare; Health Issues; Bad Sports; Corruption, Sochi 2014, World Cup Brazil 2014 and Rio 2016; Qatar 2022; Football Fun; Chess

Fat Tuesday

• UN: More obese in the world than suffering from hunger
• Europeans Are Getting Fatter, Just Like Americans
• I Went to the Nutritionists' Annual Confab. It Was Catered by McDonald's.—"Our national nutrition experts are in bed with Big Food. And we wonder why we're fat."
• Healthy obesity a myth, say researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital—"Obesity brings increased risk regardless of cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure readings."
• American man loses almost 400lbs in just over a year with help from UK friend he met randomly on game app
• Video: Sarah Baker on Louie - "So did the fat lady..."

Obamacare

• Insurance Execs Shut Down GOP's Latest Search For Bad Obamacare News—"House Republicans spent Wednesday morning grilling insurance industry executives in a follow-up to their now-thoroughly debunked study on how many Obamacare enrollees have paid their premiums."
• Obamacare saved consumers billions, new report finds
• Insurer to cut prices under ObamaCare
• Krugman: Inventing a Failure—"Republicans' response to health reform's success is to close their eyes and sling bad statistics." NYT
• This Was The Week The GOP's Anti-Obamacare Circus Came Crashing Down
• GOP goes quiet on ObamaCare
• GOP Blatantly Manipulates Obamacare News Footage
• Hospitals Report Big Drop in Uninsured Admissions in Blue States—"The fact that Medicaid expansion benefits the poor, benefits hospitals, probably benefits state finances, and is all but free to participating states—well, it's just not enough. Demonstrating their tribal opposition to all things Obama is far more important."
• Massachusetts "Romneycare" site killed after rejecting Obamacare transplant—"Original health exchange site too expensive to fix after CGI failed in ACA upgrade."
• Obamacare's insurance expansion is working, in one chart

Health Issues

• Saudi Arabia finds another 18 MERS cases as disease spreads
• Deadly MERS virus infects second patient in U.S.—"Officials confirmed the presence of a second case in Florida, unrelated to the first." Salon
• Deadly Illness in Nicaragua Baffles Experts

Bad Sports

• Grudge Match—Tyson vs. King—"The former heavyweight champion of the world and the world's most notorious boxing promoter are battling in court over millions of dollars."
• Suspects in nearly fatal beating at Dodger Stadium admit guilt
• Maker of Five-Toed Running Glove-Shoe Things is Paying Big to Settle Suit Over "Unsubstantiated" Health Claims

Corruption

• Soccer match fixing: How soccer's powers that be infiltrated an international conspiracy
• Famed poker star Phil Ivey sued by Borgata for almost $10 million over alleged playing card scam
• Cracks force closure of Allen's $60M Eagle Stadium

Sochi 2014

• Figure skating 'fix' accusation gains momentum as winner pictured hugging judge
• Dominica's Fake Ski Team Scammed The Olympics And The Press
• Sochi Olympic protestor Gazaryan wins environmental 'Nobel,' but ambivalent about its impact

World Cup Brazil 2014 and Rio 2016

• Brazilians rage against greed, corruption ahead of 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics
• IOC chiefs 'make secret plea' to use London 2012 venues as Rio 2016 Olympic Games fall behind schedule
• Olympic Official Calls Rio Preparation The 'Worst I Have Ever Experienced"
• Fifth Brazilian World Cup construction worker dies after falling 25ft while installing seats
• World Cup 2014 construction in Brazil marred by corruption, waste
• FIFA official says World Cup soccer fans will have hard time in Brazil
• Brazil: Police warn visitors, 'Don't scream if robbed'

Qatar 2022

• Qatar World Cup 2022 investigation: former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner and family paid millions
• More Than 900 Workers Have Already Died Building Qatar's World Cup Infrastructure—"The International Trade Union Confederation says that if conditions don't improve, at least 4,000 migrants will die before kick-off."
• Deadspin: The Organizers Of The Qatar World Cup Are Very Mad At Us

Football Fun

• A Guide to American Football—"The amazing British video that explains America's favorite game."
• Catching Randy Moss—"For seven years, one Minnesota Vikings super fan caught Randy Moss in the stands during Moss' end-zone celebration. Syd Davy, aka 100% Cheese Free tells his story."
• What if all 32 NFL team logos were fat?

Chess

• Chess 2: The Sequel - How a street fightin' man fixed the world's most famous game
• Man fatally beaten and stabbed in chess match row
• Taxidermy chess: Play with rooks and dead rodents—Creepily fun? Reminded me of Mouse Guard.

Earth Day, Pollution, Ecology, Climate Change, Denialists, Unclean Energy, Trashing Renewables, Keystone XL, Fracking; Fat Tuesday; Obamacare, GOP Obstructionism; Big Pharma, Medical Malpractice, Vax Populi

Earth Day

• The Latest "Cosmos" Explains How Corporations Fund Science Denial—"Neil Tyson explores the surprising connection between the age of the Earth and the dangers of lead."
• Killing of environmental activists rises globally
• Documents reveal extent of Shell and Rio Tinto lobbying in human rights case—"Multinationals sought legal support from UK government to fight allegations of rights abuses in Nigeria and Papua New Guinea."

Pollution

• Why Are 20 Far-Away States Trying To Block The Cleanup Of The Chesapeake Bay?—"EPA overreach."
• Plane Search Shows World's Oceans Are Full of Trash—"Search for missing Malaysian plane shines spotlight on giant ocean garbage patches."
• James Dyson Is Designing A Giant Vacuum-On-A-Boat To Clean Ocean Trash
• China just revealed a major state secret: nearly 20% of its farmland is polluted
• China's new environment law submitted to parliament

Ecology

• Arab royal hunts down 2,100 houbara bustards in three week safari
• Japan Plans to Resume Whaling Program, With Changes to Address Court Concerns NYT
• BP refuses to fund Gulf oil spill studies—"BP is refusing to pay a large bill for US government-led studies into its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, including research into its impact on dolphins, whales and oysters." FT

Climate Change

• IPCC finally weighs in on how to avoid further climate change—"Third and final section of latest IPCC report gives policymakers a roadmap."
• Apple: climate change is real and it's a real problem—"Technology company claims 94% of its corporate facilities are now powered by renewable energy."
• Climate change to 'cost €2bn a year as droughts hit crops'
• Climate change increasing massive wildfires in West
• Climate changes visible by ZIP code with new online tools

Denialists

• Va. Supreme Court rules for U-Va. in global warming FOIA case—"The high court decision rejects an argument by global warming skeptics who wanted to see the work of a climate researcher." WaPo
• Congressman Denies Manmade Climate Change, Calls It 'An Agenda-Driven Science'—"Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) readily admits he’s 'not smart enough' to determine the roots of climate change. He is, however, able to rule out one possible cause: humans."
• Who is mucking up science education?—Wyoming Department of Education Chairman Ron Micheli: "I don’t accept, personally, that [climate change] is a fact. [The standards are] very prejudiced in my opinion against fossil-fuel development." WaPo
• States of Denial: States with the Most Federal Disaster Aid Sent Climate-Science Deniers to Congress
• Why climate deniers are winning: The twisted psychology that overwhelms scientific consensus Salon

Unclean Energy

• Triumph of the Drill: How Big Oil Clings to Billions in Government Giveaways—"Deficit hawks slam them. Execs say they don't need them. So why does petroleum still get big tax breaks?"
• Louisiana's traumatic bond with Big Oil—"What is it about the oil and gas industry that engenders such steadfast devotion from our political leaders? In case you hadn't noticed, Louisiana's government has long functioned as a wholly owned subsidiary of Big Oil."
• EPA drastically underestimates methane released at drilling sites
• World must end 'dirty' fuel use - UN
• Canadian town says 'no' to Enbridge pipeline in vote
• It's Final -- Corn Ethanol Is Of No Use—"Can we stop pretending biofuel from corn is helping the planet and the environment?"

Trashing Renewables

• ALEC Defeated Again In Attacks On Solar, Net Metering Preserved In Kansas
• Op-Ed: ALEC and the Koch brothers fight solar energy with surcharges
• Oklahoma electric utilities want higher rate for solar, wind energy producers

Keystone XL

• Jimmy Carter comes out against Keystone XL pipeline WaPo
• Keystone XL pipeline decision postponed by Obama administration WaPo
• Keystone XL delay pounds TransCanada stock

Fracking

• Ohio geologists link local earthquakes directly to fracking—"For the first time, a state study links Ohio's recent seismic events to hydraulic fracturing, not just water disposal."
• Series of small earthquakes rock Oklahoma in record seismic activity
• North Dakota Finds Itself Unprepared To Handle The Radioactive Burden Of Its Fracking Boom

Fat Tuesday

• Junk food makes you lazy, not just fat, study suggests
• Hello fruits and vegetables! "Junk food" banned from schools July 1
• Thinking 'obesity is a disease' makes you more likely to eat high-calorie foods, study finds
• Yale student , 92 lbs., stuffed her face with Cheetos, ice cream to pacify school officials
• Oscar Nominated Actor Kicked Off Plane—"He says he usually buys two seats, but only one was available."

Obamacare

• Obamacare Signups Hit 8 Million—"And both young and old are on board."
• Very Bad News For Obamacare Opponents In The Government's Latest Report
• States embracing Obamacare are doing a better job of covering the uninsured, surveys show WaPo
• Nobody believes there is any GOP alternative to Obamacare WaPo
• Poll: Republicans Admit Obamacare Might Not Be The End Of The World

GOP Obstructionism

• How the GOP Bet on Failure And Lost
• Making the GOP pay for Medicaid obstruction Salon
• Democrats Need to Start Blaming the GOP for the Death of Charlene Dill—"How liberals should talk about the Medicaid expansion."
• GOP, Insurers Bully Dems Into Retreat On Medicare Cuts
• Florida Voter Confronts GOP Representative On His Repeated Efforts To Repeal Obamacare
• For Republicans, Obama's Obamacare news changes nothing WaPo
• The Right's New Scam: Feigning Anger on Behalf of People They Encouraged to Skip Obamacare
• Cruz Still Pledging To 'Repeal Every Single Word Of Obamacare'

Big Pharma

• Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline bribed doctors to boost sales, says whistleblower
• US: A mecca for overpriced medicine
• What the Tamiflu saga tells us about drug trials and big pharma
• Big pharma struggles to balance transparency and profits

Medical Malpractice

• Grandmother 'was put in morgue freezer while still alive'
• Medical Malpractice Caps Voided in Florida
• Nursing Home Hired Strippers For Patients: Suit
• Australia: NHMRC rule homeopathic remedies useless for human health

Vax Populi

• Jenny McCarthy: I am not "anti-vaccine." This is not a change in my stance nor is it a new position that I have recently adopted.—Is she being disingenuous? Sure sounds like it. This is her legacy.
• Ontario Health Minister slams Jenny McCarthy for 'outrageously irresponsible' anti-vaccine campaign
• Mom Whose Child Died After Catching Chicken Pox Advocates for Vaccines
• Dear parents: you are being lied to about vaccines
• Measles Outbreak Traced to Fully Vaccinated Patient for First Time—This is where herd immunity can come in.
• Fear of polio virus: India, Georgia place curbs on Pakistanis—There's a danger of fake vaccination certificates.

Fat Tuesday; Obamacare, Bill of Health; Euthanasia, Anti-Vax, Polio, Ebola; Bad for Your Health, Science Under Siege; Food Insecurity, Gone to Waste; Psych

Fat Tuesday

• Putin Is Reviving a Stalinist Fitness Program to Whip Russians Into Shape
• The Jobs With the Highest Obesity Rates—"Strangely, people who work in healthcare tend to be less healthy than others."
• Diet drinks linked with heart disease, death
• Seven-a-day fruit and veg 'saves lives'
• Scientists Fix Errors in Controversial Paper About Saturated Fats

Obamacare

• BOOM! Obamacare Sign Ups on Track to Hit 7 Million Goal
• GOP struggles with Obamacare surge—They're whining that the White House is 'cooking the books'…
• Poll: Obamacare Support Breaks Even For First Time
• Ted Cruz asks his Facebook friends about Obamacare, gets an earful
• Obamacare fails to collapse. Time to Move on, folks. WaPo
• Krugman: Obamacare, The Unknown Ideal—"Obamacare is the conservative alternative, and you can't move further right without doing no reform at all." NYT
• Obamacare is not universal health care—"The Affordable Care Act leaves some of our neediest citizens without insurance or a reliable source of care."

Bill of Health

• Gilead Sciences' $84,000 price for hepatitis drug is scrutinized—"Lawmakers ask Gilead CEO John C. Martin to explain the rationale for selling Sovaldi for $1,000 per pill, or $84,000 for a 12-week course to treat hepatitis C."
• California, 44 other states fail at posting medical prices, report says
• New York Curbs Medical Bills Containing Surprises—"A provision in the state budget agreement will protect consumers by requiring that they be given notice when an out-of-network doctor is involved in their care." NYT

Euthanasia

• While we hesitate, the terminally ill are denied a peaceful end
• Family fights for euthanasia law for terminal patients
• Tory MP Steven Fletcher reopens euthanasia debate

Anti-Vax

• Immune to Logic: Some New York City Private Schools Have Dismal Vaccination Rates
• More than 20 cases of measles in California due to 'unvaccinated children'
• Travis County infant dies of whooping cough

Polio

• India beats the odds, beats polio
• Polio in Syria: An outbreak that threatens the Middle East
• Pakistan polio vaccinator's murder by militants raises health workers' fears—"Salma Farooqi was tortured and repeatedly shot after involvement in Peshawar's battle against polio for four years."

Ebola

• Guinea reports Ebola death toll rises to 78
• Ebola Virus Hits Second Country in West Africa—Liberia, and number three is Sierra Leone.
• Canada patient tests negative for Ebola

Bad for Your Health

• Daylight saving time linked to heart attacks: study
• Smoking Proves Hard to Shake Among the Poor NYT
• More drug-resistant infections seen in U.S. children—"A growing number of American children are developing infections caused by a worrisome type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a new study reports."

Science Under Siege

• Scientists Condemn New FDA Study Saying BPA Is Safe: "It Borders on Scientific Misconduct"—"Researchers working on a joint NIH-FDA program to better regulate harmful chemicals accuse the agency of undermining their research with a flawed and deceptive study."
• Wikipedia founder calls alt-medicine practitioners "lunatic charlatans"—"Wales to activists who want new rules for Wikipedia: 'No, you have to be kidding me.'"
• Japan Lab Says Stem Cell Research Was Falsified

Food Insecurity

• Kentucky bill would prohibit filming of farm operations without owner's consent
• 'Pink slime' lawsuit moves forward: Could ABC News be held liable?—"For many Americans, ABC News’s 'pink slime' report was the kind of hard-hitting public interest piece that changes rules and punishes bad actors. But to critics, it became synonymous with media misconduct."
• Russian dairy plant closed after workers bathe in the milk

Gone to Waste

• Costco to dump $2.6m of peanut butter in New Mexico landfill—"The retailer Costco refused to take shipment of the peanut butter and declined requests to let it be donated to food banks or repackaged or sold to brokers who provide food to institutions like prisons."
• "Sell By" And "Best By" Dates on Food Are Basically Made Up—But Hard to Get Rid Of
• The world's growing love affair with the most wasteful form of coffee there is

Psych

• 'Intelligent people are more likely to trust others'
• Why Mentally Ill People Should Have Access to E-Cigarettes
• Tears of the clowns who are out of a job—"Clowns say work has dried up as the 'cynical' public now views them as sinister."

Bada-Big Bang Theory; Fat Tuesday; Obamacare, Big Pharma, Anti-Vax; Hazardous; Pollution, Big Energy; MH370; Ukraine

Bada-Big Bang Theory

• Cosmic inflation: 'Spectacular' discovery hailed—"Scientists say they have extraordinary new evidence to support a Big Bang Theory for the origin of the Universe."
• Hyperexpansion, Gravitational Waves, and Polarized Light: Oh My
• Stephen Hawking claims victory in gravitational wave bet

Fat Tuesday

• 5 shocking reasons why Americans are getting fatter—"It's not just the fast food..." Salon
• The surprising reason Americans might be obese, anxious and depressed—"New research suggests the answer to a number of modern ailments may reside in our gut." Salon
• Florida Real Estate Scammer Says He's Too Fat For Prison

Obamacare

• U.S. administration says Obamacare enrollment tops 5 million—Claims there are enough to keeps things going.
• Koch Group Abandons Obamacare 'Horror' Stories After Fact-Check Backlash
• Boehner's claim that Obamacare has resulted in a 'net loss' of people with health insurance—Four Pinocchios WaPo
• Former New Hampshire GOP Chair Saves $1,000 A Month With Obamacare
• Expanding Medicaid would be 'sinful,' LePage says
• Where The GOP Might Target Obamacare If It Wins The Senate
• Democrats should play offense on Obamacare WaPo
• How Obama's Healthcare.gov Efforts Got Lost In Translation For Latinos
• Louisiana Suing MoveOn.org For Billboard Criticizing Jindal —For violating trademark.
• When Health Costs Harm Your Credit—"A minor medical bill could block your mortgage." NYT

Big Pharma

• Drug company changes course, gives drug to sick boy—"A company says it will provide medication to a boy whose case has attracted thousands of sympathizers."
• Wisconsin senators heavily support cancer drug bill; no vote planned—"Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said Wednesday he's going to unusual steps to block the proposal because a majority of his GOP caucus opposes it, not because his brother is lobbying on behalf of influential insurers to kill the bill."
• Big Pharma still betting on "messed up" Indian drugs market

Anti-Vax

• Thanks, Anti-Vaxxers. You Just Brought Back Measles in NYC.—"Measles was considered eliminated at the turn of the millennium. Now it’s back, thanks to the loons who refuse to vaccinate their children."
• Cavallari: She and Cutler not vaccinating their kids—More loons.
• Chilliwack pastor tells congregation vaccines interfere with God's care
• Jenny McCarthy Asks; the Internet Slam Dunks—The body count keeps climbing.
• Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network loses its charity status for fundraising over misinformation claims

Hazardous

• Doctors are top source of prescription drugs for chronic abusers—"Results of federal study show more focus is needed on doctors who are 'problem prescribers,' says the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prescription drugs contribute to more than 16,000 fatal overdoses a year."
• Virginia Beach police officer sues drug company over psychotic outburst—"A Virginia Beach police officer who was jailed for three months after stabbing two Accomack County firefighters and shooting at a third says there should have been warning labels on an antibiotic that briefly turned him psychotic."
• How Industry and the Feds Suppressed Evidence That Plastics Wreak Havoc on Our Hormones
• Woman's stomach explodes after eating too much
• Herbalife wilts on news of FTC

Pollution

• Energy company caught pumping from toxic pond—"Rachel Maddow reports on the discovery by environmental activists of water being pumped from Duke Energy coal ash ponds into local waterways, and a new report that NC law has been changed to protect Duke's coal ash pits."
• Kentucky coal-ash dumping tracked by hidden cameras
• Seafood processing company fined in Kodiak ammonia dumping case
• Cotter negotiates amid spills and uranium spike by river in Canon City
• Ohio groups seek U.S. EPA coal review—"Two Ohio environmental groups asked federal regulators Monday to investigate circumstances surrounding expired pollution-discharge permits at an agency where allegations of coal-industry influence arose during a personnel flap last year."
• Today, Paris's Air Pollution Is Worse Than Beijing

Big Energy

• Wyoming rejects science education standards over climate change—"Reality, legislator argues, needs to comport with the state's economic interests."
• Emails show close ties between Duke, NC regulators—"Internal emails between staff at North Carolina's environmental agency suggest state regulators were coordinating with Duke Energy before intervening in efforts by citizens groups trying to sue the company over groundwater pollution leeching from its coal ash dumps." NYT
• Duke's Coal Ash Pits Protected By Provision In North Carolina Regulatory Bill
• $175M tax break for Marathon refinery buys Detroiters only 15 jobs—"Marathon Petroleum, which received a $175-million tax break from the City of Detroit in a mammoth expansion project, is coming under fire from City Council for failing to hire enough Detroiters."
• Nigerian gold mining: farmers choose death by lead poisoning over poverty—"Unregulated mining in rural northern Nigeria is causing blindness and paralysis among children and making adults infertile."

MH370

• Lost Jet's Path Seen as Altered via Computer—Curiouser and curiouser. NYT
• Key moments emerge in tracking of missing Malaysia Airlines plane
• CNN Host Speculates Whether Malaysia Jet's Disappearance Was 'Supernatural'—More believable than Courtney Love finding the plane.

Ukraine

• Crimea applies to be part of Russian Federation after vote to leave Ukraine—And Russia accepts.
• Ukraine 'will never accept' Crimea annexation, President says
• Ukrainian government refuses to remove troops from Crimea, prepares for war
• Ukraine Is Training Young Protesters to Fight the Russian Army
• Russian government admits economy in crisis as Ukraine weighs
• Russia Will Sanction U.S. Senators—"Putin is set to respond to Obama's sanctions of Russian officials with his own list. Several U.S. Senators and officials will be banned from visiting Russia, including Sen. Dick Durbin."
• China warns of dangerous Russia sanctions 'spiral'