Unknown Region Of Space. Obama Protesters. Humiliation of America. Snowden’s Father. Dirty Medicine. Massive Corruption. Drug Fraud. Fraudulent Safety Data. Atlantis Docks With Mir. Katharine Hepburn.

 

For “Summary Saturday”, or News, some new, some old:

NASA's Voyager 1 Spacecraft Encounters Unknown Region Of Space At Solar System's Edge

“Scientists are receiving puzzling data from Voyager 1, launched more than 35 years ago, and now 11.5 billion miles from the Sun, about to leave our solar system's heliosphere and enter the interstellar space medium that pervades the Milky Way Galaxy.”  NASAgovVideo

More at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353303  and: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/

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NASA's Voyager 1 Spacecraft Encounters Unknown Region Of Space At Solar System's Edge

LOS ANGELES -- “New research pinpoints the current location of NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft: It's still in our solar system.

Since last summer, the long-running spacecraft has been exploring uncharted territory where the effects of interstellar space, or the space between stars, can be felt. Scientists don't know how thick this newfound region in the solar system is or how much farther Voyager 1 has to travel to break to the other side.

"It could actually be anytime or it could be several more years," said chief scientist Ed Stone of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the mission.

Stone first described this unexpected zone at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union last year. A trio of papers published online Thursday in the journal Science confirmed just how strange this new layer is.”  More at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/28/nasa-voyager-1-spacecraft-newfound-region-solar-system_n_3515547.html

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Obama Protesters Rally Near Mandela Hospital In South Africa

A protester kicks a banner with the face of Obama as hundreds rally against his visit in Pretoria.

“About 200 trade unionists, student activists and South African Communist Party members gathered in the capital Pretoria to protest Obama's visit this weekend, calling his foreign policy "arrogant, selfish and oppressive".

"We had expectations of America's first black president. Knowing Africa's history, we expected more," said Khomotso Makola, a 19-year-old law student.  "He has come as a disappointment, I think Mandela too would be disappointed and feel let down," Makola said.

South African critics of Obama have focused in particular on his support for U.S. drone strikes overseas, which they say have killed hundreds of innocent civilians, and his failure to deliver on a pledge to close the U.S. military detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba housing terrorism suspects.”  More at: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/protesters-rally-obama-visit-mandela-hospital-article-1.1384952

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Why U.S. is being humiliated by the hunt for Snowden

(CNN) -- “The increasingly slapstick global steeplechase in pursuit of Edward Snowden, the former American contractor who leaked top-secret details of surveillance programs, looks like a cross between "The Hunt for Red October" and "The Bonfire of the Vanities."

To Asian eyes, Snowden is a new, more useful kind of Quiet American. Having picked his brains or pockets or both, Hong Kong happily let him go.

Russia says it feels "threatened" by U.S. criticism. This is as close as Sergei Lavrov, Moscow's dour foreign minister, has ever got to making a joke. If Putin and pals can stiff Obama on Syria and Iran, they can certainly "lift" a tale-teller and endure a cyber-tiff or two. These are tears of laughter, not pain.

Crowing Chinese comments about how the heroic Snowden has "torn off Washington's sanctimonious mask" give a clue to what is going on here.

So, too, does the uppity behavior of tiny Ecuador and Iceland. If these international minnows dare challenge the pomp and majesty of Imperial America, how stands the Empire now, Caesar?  

Fraying at the edges, is the answer.”     More at: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/25/opinion/snowden-us-humilation/index.html

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The Humiliation of America and what it means for you

“America is in trouble. For all of its vaunted power, it has experienced grave challenges in dealing with a 30-year-old computer consultant who, following his own conscience, deliberately leaked critical classified information. He gave classified records about how the United States government conducts widespread monitoring of its own citizens to a British newspaper. This action, of course, rocked the Obama Administration, and with it the world.

Media and political commentaries examining this situation have erupted around the globe, particularly as America authorities failed initially to take Edward Snowden into custody. Writing in a widely read piece titled "Why the U.S. is being humiliated by the hunt for Snowden ," Simon Tisdall, foreign editor of the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom, called the ongoing situation a "pants down day" for the United States. He made these ominous comments:

"Important people are making themselves ridiculous…High on the list is John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State. Huffing and puffing, Kerry warned China and Russia of 'consequences,' as seems probable, they have conspired to deliberately thwart U.S. justice by twisting the long arm of the law.  Tisdall went on to point out how American law is today not recognized as universally authoritative.

If one reads the Bible, he or she will quickly discover that God has quite a bit to say about how people and national governments are to conduct themselves. He always, without exception, uses the biblical Ten Commandments as core guiding principles. They apply to all nations and peoples.

Perhaps surprising, many secular authorities recognize this prior influence of biblical law and statutes, particularly when it comes to the legal history of the United States.

Despite this spiritual bedrock foundation, many of the American laws based on the Ten Commandments and other biblical principles have been steadily eroded.  

With escalating humiliation of America through the Snowden situation, one cannot help but be reminded of an ancient national prophecy that is activated by the breaking of God's law: "I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze" (Leviticus 26:19 See All...).”  Complete article at: http://www.ucg.org/blog/humiliation-america-and-what-it-means-you/    By Michael Snyder

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Snowden's father gives conditions for his son's return

“Lonnie Snowden, the father of Edward Snowden, the former government contractor accused of espionage, has sent Attorney General Eric Holder a list of conditions that he believes could help secure his son's return to the U.S. to face trial.

In a letter sent to Holder on Thursday, Lonnie Snowden's lawyer Bruce Fein detailed the three conditions: No detention or imprisonment prior to trial, no gag order, and allowing Edward Snowden to choose the venue for the trial.

"Mr. Snowden is reasonably confident that his son would voluntarily return to the United States if there were ironclad assurances that his constitutional rights would be honored, and he were provided a fair opportunity to explain his motivations and actions to an impartial judge and jury," Fein wrote. Fein asked Holder to agree to those terms in writing.”  More at: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57591620/snowdens-father-gives-conditions-for-his-sons-return/

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Dirty medicine, May 15, 2013:

“The epic inside story of long-term criminal fraud at Ranbaxy, the Indian drug company that makes generic Lipitor for millions of Americans.

On May 13, 2013 Ranbaxy pleaded guilty to seven federal criminal counts of selling adulterated drugs with intent to defraud, failing to report that its drugs didn't meet specifications, and making intentionally false statements to the government. Ranbaxy agreed to pay $500 million in fines, forfeitures, and penalties -- the most ever levied against a generic-drug company. (No current or former Ranbaxy executives were charged with crimes.) Thakur's confidential whistleblower complaint, which he filed in 2007 and which describes how the company fabricated and falsified data to win FDA approvals, was also unsealed. Under federal whistleblower law, Thakur will receive more than $48 million as part of the resolution of the case. 

Fortune's account of what occurred inside Ranbaxy and how the FDA responded to it raises serious questions about whether our government can effectively safeguard a drug supply that last year was 84% generic, according to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, much of that manufactured in distant places. More than 80% of active pharmaceutical ingredients for all U.S. drugs now come from overseas, as do 40% of finished pills and capsules. (Click here for a list of Ranbaxy products in the U.S.)”    From: http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2013/05/15/ranbaxy-fraud-lipitor/

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Dr. Mercola warned us all about this over a year ago:

Massive Corruption Revealed to be at the Core of Many Drug Approvals

“A study has come out showing massive corruption behind drug approvals for drugs that are basically worthless and, too often, end up being dangerous to your health

One study includes a review of the antiviral influenza drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir), which was widely recommended as effective based on one published meta-analysis; but when researchers gained access to the raw data of the clinical studies, they realized the drug was being misrepresented and was not effective at all

The report details exactly why it is so important that clinical study reports be fully available for review -- without them, a drug may appear effective and safe when it is anything but

When it comes to your health, you simply cannot accept claims at their face value … you've got to dig below the surface and use all the resources available to you to determine what medical treatment or advice will be best for you in any given situation”  Complete article at: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/03/anti-influenza-drug-tamiflu.aspx

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FDA Allows Drugs to Remain on Market Despite Uncovering Fraudulent Safety Data

“What do you get when the federal agency in charge of monitoring drug safety is funded largely by the companies producing those very same drugs? A massive conflict of interest and an agency that is more interested in serving the drug industry than the American public.

This is not speculation; it’s been shown to be the truth, time and time again. In 2011, the FDA found out that many studies conducted at Cetero Research, a major drug research lab, from 2005 to 2009 were fraudulent, involving manipulated data and tampered records. About 100 drugs were already on the market, approved, at least in part, based on these fraudulent studies.”  More at: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/01/fda-budget-increase.aspx

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FDA Silent On Generic Drug Fraud, April 16, 2013

“The brand new report from ProPublica reads like a detective story. A whistleblower working for a drug testing firm alerts the FDA that some scientists in the company were fudging data. A team of FDA investigators arrives at Cetero Research in Houston on May 3, 2010 and confronts the president with the allegations. He admits, "You got us."

It turns out that between April 2005 and August 2009 the fraud at the firm was so "egregious" that the FDA could not trust the results of any of the studies done then. Roughly 100 drugs are affected, over 80% of them generics.

You might assume that the FDA would have immediately notified the American public which drugs were under a cloud. In fact, you might think that the FDA would have suspended sales of these products until other testing could confirm that they met the agency's standards. But you would be wrong.”  More at: http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2013/04/16/firm-faked-generic-drug-data--fda-mum/

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On This Day:

U.S. space shuttle docks with Russian space station, Jun 29, 1995:

“On this day in 1995, the American space shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station Mir to form the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.

Atlantis remained docked with Mir for five days before returning to Earth, leaving two fresh Russian cosmonauts on the space station. The three veteran Mir crew members returned with the shuttle, including two Russians and Norman Thagard, a U.S. astronaut who rode a Russian rocket to the space station in mid-March 1995 and spent over 100 days in space, a U.S. endurance record. NASA's Shuttle-Mir program continued for 11 missions and was a crucial step towards the construction of the International Space Station now in orbit.”

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Katharine Hepburn dies at age 96, Jun 29, 2003:

“On this day in 2003, Katharine Hepburn--a four-time Academy Award winner for Best Actress and one of the greatest screen legends of Hollywood’s golden era--dies of natural causes at the age of 96, at her home in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

In her final screen appearance, in 1994’s Love Affair (a remake of the classic 1939 film), Hepburn appeared frail but composed as ever in her portrayal of the aristocratic aunt of Warren Beatty’s character. In 1999, the American Film Institute (AFI) named Hepburn as the greatest female actress in the history of American cinema. When she died on June 29, 2003, the lights on Broadway were dimmed for an hour to mark the passing of one of entertainment’s brightest stars.”

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Yesterday:

Earlier in the week, Jay had asked to me take him into our town so that he could cash his check.  He owed me some money, so I wanted to be there when he cashed it.   I couldn’t reach him by phone, so Misty and I went down there.   He had overslept and wasn’t ready, so we had a long walk down there, then coffee on their porch. 

It was nearly 11.00am by the time we had been to the bank and bought some things at Krogers, then Jay felt ill, so we came home earlier than intended. 

That was a good thing, as I had an email from someone wanting to buy one of my advertised air conditioners.  When they arrived, I plugged it in to show them that it worked, and they bought it.  One more thing gone.

Chris dropped off a big puppy pen, with a top, for when I take care of Midnight and her kittens for four days over the 4th.  It will be set up in the Grooming Room.  The kittens are weaned now, but I don’t want them running all over the place.  Keeping track of five energetic kittens is not my thing!  Midnight will probably spend some of her time in the Grooming Room, and some in the house, as she and Misty really like each other.

Nila, my foster cat, is getting used to having her headquarters  in my bathroom, instead of the Grooming Room.  Often she will be asleep on her kitty condo in my bathroom, even when she has the run of the house.   She and Midnight will take turns in the house, as I am not supposed to let them meet. 

It must be terrible for the folks in NV, with all those record high temperatures, we didn’t get to 100, but it was too hot to do much outside yesterday.