Dangers of Girls

• All of the information about the Human Papilloma Virus is interesting. In more than 90 percent of cases, the infections are harmless and go away without treatment.
  
  What is most interesting of all is the fact that Texas ordered it a mandatory vaccination for young girls? It is quite peculiar though that young boys are not mandated to be equal participants in this order. Since boys can get it as well, the disease is devastating considering it is transmitted sexually, should they happen upon the Human Papilloma virus which is a silent disease. How would they know to seek treatment? If they would not seek treatment, would females not be exposed to it? Although sex is the most common mechanism for transmitting the papillomavirus, it is not the only way.Also, the papilloma viruses that infect our hands and feet are transmitted by contact with infected surfaces. There are many issues which have not been addressed.
  
  What I find truly remarkable is the fact that any parents would willingly want to inject their children with a Sexually Transmitted Disease as young as 9 years old. What are the chances of a backlash? What I mean to question is what should happen if it backfires as the flu does? This is still an experimental drug since it has just been released.
  
  No study has had enough time to be assured that it is conclusive in stating that should any child receive this treatment, they will have increased chances of not getting cervical cancer, warts or any other results from HPV later in life. The HPV vaccine is given through a series of three shots over a 6-month period. The second and third doses should be given 2 and 6 months (respectively) after the first dose.
  
  Forgive me for rambling in my state of confusion, but could anyone please help me understand. What I would like to understand is simple? How in the world can a clinical study be completed in one year give substantial information to the effect that a person will have significantly diminished their chances of becoming ill from any HPV? Now, should the medical profession or any studies show that the disease is definitely not in their system. It would be absolutely wonderful. Also, it would be understandable since the girl starts receiving the treatment at the age of 9. I would hope most parents would be able to acknowledge this medical discovery without seeking or incurring any medical expertise or expenses. This particular vaccination supposedly would ensure protection for quite some time. Can anyone tell me why Merck is unaware of any particular time period this protection would last? Now, forgive my confusion again, but I have difficulty believing my child would benefit greatly, leastly, or at all from chemicals and disease given by a major pharmaceutical company which states in their own files that the duration of immunity is unknown. Is there a sensible reason which will help me or any other parent clear their confusion over this particular issue? This truly goes beyond my scope of understanding.
  
  
  
• Duration of immunity is unknown
• Shots initial adminitstered between the ages of 9-12 years of age
• Males do not have any vaccination
• Other variations of HPV cause cervical cancer

Ramifications of backlash in such a young girl, as with the flu vaccine, would be devastating. Has anyone considered how devastating that could be to a young girl? Not only a young girl, but a young girl who has not discovered sexual activity. How could I possiby explain the examination process to my child in a way that would allow her to understand? Her understanding would become truly limited after enduring the physical examination process. Grown women do not find the process at all appealing. How could she understand this? Better yet, how could she understand that she was taken to a medical facility which was allowed to administer medication which caused this painful process to become necessary? Why should anyone have to contemplate explaining this? Of course, this is only a possibility.

To me it is necessary to have foresight for all potential complications which may occur with an experimental drug. Another consideration which has been overlooked is HPV can still develop. There are over 100 different types of Human Papilloma viruses. The vaccine administered by Merck was developed to protect against 6 of these. Types 2,4,6,8,11,16, and 18. HPV 2 and 4 cause common warts on the hands. HPV 6 causes genital warts. Some types of HPV have no visible signs and cannot be seen with the naked eye. These are the types that infect the cervix and are identified by the cell changes (dysplasia) sometimes found on the Pap test. Some of these HPV types are HPV 16, and HPV 18.

At this point, it is an experimental drug. Not enough data nor testing has been completed to allow this medication to become mandatory for children so young.

On the other hand, I do realize the severity of cancer nor do I want a loved one to have it. Still, I can not find myself in agreement with ordering children as young as 9 to become injected with an STD to prevent further complications. Since all there are other variations of HPV which cause cancer. This disease will still remain a potential threat. HPV is not a disease which is eliminated or diminished with the usage of condoms.

Vaccination Ordered with Unknown Immunity Duration

Today, Governor Rick Perry used his position to make girls in the state of Texas submit to the HPV vaccine. The vaccine is three shots administered to diminish the chances of girls developing cervical cancer later. Now, there is a bit of controversy surrounding this particular issue. First of all, Gardasil produced by Merck, is a very new vaccine which does not provide the opportunity of gaining a lot of proven and known facts of what the medication is capable of. No one wants to experiment on their own children, especially not with medication. Maryland has decided not to pass legislation mandating this particular vaccine.

Since children would have to be vaccinated as young as 9 years old, it is understandable that parents would have difficulty allowing this particular inoculation.The controversy is partly due to the subliminal message of acceptable intercourse for children entirely too young to understand the consequences due to their age. Hopefully, the parents do not have any reason for concern in this area. Though, we know the world is full of all kinds of surprises and pressure from various sources. Aside from the children, the parents would like to be the decision-makers of their children. Perhaps, parents should be allowed that courtesy.

Raising children is becoming as regulated as corporations should be. Why should things be this way? I guess, the government has substantial reasons to mandate a new vaccination for young girls. Merck knows for sure that one of the reasons this drug is necessary is definitely not due to the duration of immunity after complete treatment with Gardasil. Now, exactly, why should any legislation mandate this particular vaccine is unknown? How often does this mean girls will be inoculated? How well can a 9 year old girl be shielded from HPV if the duration of immunity is unknown is beyond MERCK and I?!! How about that? It is a blessing to have the love of children and it should be returned equally.

Sony admits CD's damage computers

Sony CD row compensation agreed

Alicia Keys was one of the artists affected by the CD debacle
Record label Sony BMG is to reimburse consumers up to $150 (£76) for damage to computers caused by CDs with hidden anti-piracy software.

The settlement was announced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The US regulator said the anti-piracy software wrongly limited the devices on which music could be played to those made by Sony or Microsoft.

It also monitored listening habits so targeted marketing messages could be sent to consumers.
The FTC said the software "exposed consumers to significant security risks and was unreasonably difficult to uninstall".

Under the settlement, Sony BMG must allow consumers to exchange affected CDs bought before 31 December 2006, and reimburse them up to $150 (£76) to repair damage to their computers.

Consent
Sony BMG, which agreed to the settlement figure, did not admit a law violation and the FTC will decide whether to make the settlement final after a 30-day public consultation.

In 2005, the company shipped more than 12 million CDs, each loaded with one of two anti-piracy programs.

About seven million of the CDs were sold and the Digital Rights Management software installed itself on consumers' computers without their knowledge or consent.

CDs by artists such as The Coral, Alicia Keys, Dido, the Foo Fighters and the Backstreet Boys were among the affected discs.

No-one from New York-based Sony BMG was available for comment.

In December, the company settled similar cases with more than 40 states, agreeing to pay more than $4m (£2.03m) to reimburse customers.

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Bush decapitates the Middle East

Europeans fear US attack on Iran as nuclear row intensifies·
Transatlantic rift emerges over how to handle crisis · America builds up its naval forces in the Gulf
Ian Traynor in Brussels and Jonathan Steele
Wednesday January 31, 2007
The Guardian


Senior European policy-makers are increasingly worried that the US administration will resort to air strikes against Iran to try to destroy its suspect nuclear programme.

As transatlantic friction over how to deal with the Iranian impasse intensifies, there are fears in European capitals that the nuclear crisis could come to a head this year because of US frustration with Russian stalling tactics at the UN security council. "The clock is ticking," said one European official. "Military action has come back on to the table more seriously than before. The language in the US has changed."

As the Americans continue their biggest naval build-up in the Gulf since the start of the Iraq war four years ago, a transatlantic rift is opening up on several important aspects of the Iran dispute.

The Bush administration will shortly publish a dossier of charges of alleged Iranian subversion in Iraq. "Iran has steadily ramped up its activity in Iraq in the last three to four months. This applies to the scope and pace of their operations. You could call these brazen activities," a senior US official said in London yesterday.

Although the Iranians were primarily in Shia areas, they were not confined to them, the US source said, implying that they had formed links with Sunni insurgents and were helping them with booby-trap bombs aimed at Iraqi and US forces, new versions of the "improvised explosive devices".

Senior members of the US Congress have raised concerns that the US will attack Iran in retaliation for its alleged activities in Iraq. The official said there were no plans for "cross-border operations" from Iraq to Iran. But he said: "We don't want a progressively more confident and bolder Iran ... The perception that Iran is ascendant in the region and that there are no limits to what Iran can do - that's what is destabilising."

The Americans and Europeans have sought to maintain a common front on the nuclear issue for the past 30 months, with the European troika of Britain, France and Germany running failed negotiations with the Iranians and the Americans tacitly supporting them.

But diplomats in Brussels and those dealing with the dispute in Vienna say a fissure has opened up between the US and western Europe on three crucial aspects - the military option; how and how quickly to hit Iran with economic sanctions already decreed by the UN security council; and how to deal with Russian opposition to action against Iran through the security council.

"There's anxiety everywhere you turn," said a diplomat familiar with the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. "The Europeans are very concerned the shit could hit the fan."

A US navy battle group of seven vessels was steaming towards the Gulf yesterday from the Red Sea, part of a deployment of 50 US ships, including two aircraft carriers, expected in the area in weeks.

"No path is envisaged by the EU other than the UN path," the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, told the Guardian yesterday. "The priority for all of us is that Iran complies with UN security council resolutions."

The IAEA chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, called at the weekend for a "timeout" in the worsening confrontation in an attempt to enable both sides to save face and climb down. But the Americans rejected the proposal and European officials involved in the dispute also believe the Iranians cannot be trusted to stick to a deal.

Despite recurring tensions on the Middle East between the US and France, the French are the most hawkish of the Europeans on Iran and are said to back a US drive to tighten the noose on Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The populist and recalcitrant leader is perceived to have been weakened recently, in part because of a mishandling of the nuclear row. "One group of western countries thinks it's a good time to step up the pressure on Ahmadinejad. All options are on the table. Others are worried we might be stumbling into a war," said another diplomat familiar with the dispute.


Is this article not truly informative of European opinion? Or shall we say the international community has the same concerns of the impact it will have upon us all? Bush seems geared towards another war before finishing the first war. What victories he must covet?!! In order to continue to act against the wishes of the American people as well as the international community means that Bush is definitely not afraid of being alone. Of course, my perspective could be a bit off, since he had quite a bit of approval for invading a country which had nothing to do with WMD nor bin Laden. Well, what do I know? I am not qualified to lead this country. I am not a person of honor who shall lead this country in the proper direction with various wars which my country is not equipped to fight by equipment nor personnel against the interests of my country, the international community nor maintaining various purposes of each action. It takes a really charismatic person to lead the global community in such a way that a wonderful purpose is truly hidden from all observers. This is what makes a true leader of the people. Boy, I sure missed a lot growing up.

CIA Global Prisons

Germany issues arrest warrants for suspected CIA agents
Associated PressWednesday January 31, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

Khaled al-Masri, who says he was abducted in Macedonia and flown to a secret prison in Afghanistan, where he was abused.

German prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 13 suspected CIA agents over their alleged kidnapping three years ago of a German citizen, authorities said today.

The unidentified agents are being sought on suspicion of the wrongful imprisonment of Khaled al-Masri and of causing him serious bodily harm, said Munich prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld. He said the warrants were issued in the last few days.

Mr al-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, says he was abducted in December 2003 at the Serbian-Macedonian border and flown by the CIA to a detention centre in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was abused.

He says he was released in Albania in May 2004 after the CIA discovered they had the wrong person.

Human rights campaigners have used Mr al-Masri's story to press the US to stop flying terrorism suspects to countries other than the US where they could face abuse - a practice known as "extraordinary rendition". Italy has issued arrest warrants for alleged CIA agents in a separate case.

The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and other US officials have not yet commented on the case. However, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has said the US has acknowledged making a mistake with Mr al-Masri.

The German government refused to comment on the arrest warrants, citing the ongoing judicial proceedings.

The CIA also declined to comment.

Germany's NDR television released a list of the names of the suspected agents - 11 men and two women - it said its reporters had obtained. It said three had been contacted by its reporters and had refused to comment.

Though the prosecutors' office refused to confirm the names, Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld said, "the personal details contained in the arrest warrants are, according to our current knowledge, aliases of CIA agents".

"Further investigation will, among other things, concentrate on trying to determine the clear identities of the suspects," he said in a statement. Mr al-Masri's attorney, Manfred Gnjidic, said the issuance of the arrest warrants were "a very important step in the rehabilitation of al-Masri". "It shows us that we were right in putting our trust in the German authorities and the German prosecutors," he said at a news conference.

Prosecutors were led to the suspects after receiving a list in December 2005 of possible people involved in the kidnapping. The list was compiled by a Spanish journalist from sources within Spain's civil guard, a paramilitary police unit that answers to the interior ministry, Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld said.

With help from Spanish authorities, they were then able to pursue an investigation against "concrete persons," Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld said. Tips were also received from others, including the Milan prosecutor's office and Dick Marty, a Swiss senator who led an inquiry into CIA renditions on behalf of the Council of Europe. Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld did not elaborate on what the tips were.

The CIA agents are suspected to have flown in January 2004 aboard a Boeing 737 from the Spanish island of Palma de Mallorca to pick up Mr al-Masri after he had been detained by Macedonian authorities, Munich prosecutor August Stern said. ARD public television has reported that investigators worked from passport photocopies made by a hotel where the suspects stayed, but Mr Stern said he could not confirm that or other details. The report last year gave what it said were the cover names of three men who were pilots and lived in the US state of North Carolina.

In October, Munich prosecutors said that, based on the list, they were seeking to ban several CIA agents suspected of kidnapping Mr al-Masri from entering German territory. They did not give any further details.

In a separate case, Italian authorities are seeking the arrest of 26 Americans, all but one believed to be CIA agents, in connection with the 2003 kidnapping in Milan of Egyptian cleric and terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr.

The al-Masri case has been a sore point in otherwise good German-US relations.
The US justice department has declined to provide Munich prosecutors assistance, citing ongoing legal proceedings in the US.

Mr al-Masri has asked a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, to reinstate a lawsuit he filed against the CIA. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in May, ruling that a trial could harm national security by revealing details about CIA activities.

Article continues

This seems a bit like the confirmation which Bush denied for United States detention centers. If I recall correctly, Bush denied there were other facilities where prisoners of detention were being held prior, during and after the Abu incident. He was accused of doing this very thing which he adamantly denied. Now, what happened to that particular line? Well, time will decide what truth comes forth this time around.

Private Consultant Nominated for Spying

Top spy-chief nominee faces hurdles
By Ted Bridis - The Associated PressPosted : Wednesday Jan 31, 2007 14:35:46 EST

President Bush’s choice to be the nation’s new spy chief works as a $2 million-a-year private consultant with some of the same senior military and intelligence officials he would supervise as director of national intelligence.

Retired Vice Adm. Mike McConnell could face an unusually daunting challenge avoiding ethical entanglements after a decade working with Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., a large defense and intelligence consulting company with sales of $3.7 billion worldwide, according to an extensive Associated Press review of McConnell’s finances and business deals.

McConnell’s Senate confirmation hearing is to begin Thursday.

A Senate Intelligence Committee member, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he already has urged McConnell to be prepared to discuss his work as a consultant and its implications on the job of chief over all U.S. intelligence agencies. Those agencies rely heavily on work by outside consultants, who often are hired under contracts kept secret for national security reasons.
“I’m going to bring it up,” Wyden said. “I made it clear that I was going to be asking questions about issues relating to his work with contractors.”

In May, for example, McConnell and other company executives met privately in San Antonio with Maj. Gen. Craig Koziol, a top Air Force intelligence officer in charge of cyberwarfare, according to records obtained by the AP under the Freedom of Information Act. The company bid months later on a related contract from the Air Intelligence Agency, part of the U.S. intelligence community that McConnell would oversee as the national director.

More than half of Booz Allen Hamilton’s sales come from such government contracts. McConnell’s closest colleagues at the company anticipate intense scrutiny over its future relationship with him as the overseer of the nation’s 16 spy agencies.

“I will never be able to go in and see him in his office,” said Richard Wilhelm, a Booz Allen Hamilton senior vice president who has worked with McConnell for more than 30 years. “He’s said, ‘Unfortunately, I’ll not be able to talk to you guys anymore.’ We’ll have to be very careful.”
Efforts to reach McConnell through the White House and through Booz Allen Hamilton were unsuccessful. Presidential nominees routinely do not speak publicly or with reporters before Senate confirmation hearings.

The White House promised that McConnell would divest any financial holdings in Booz Allen Hamilton if he is confirmed as intelligence chief. In addition to his $1,999,840 salary, McConnell owns $1 million to $5 million in company stock, plus up to $1.15 million more in other investment funds owned through the company, according to financial reports he submitted to the White House.

McConnell would earn $186,600 annually as director of national intelligence.

“There has to be the highest level of oversight within the agency and Congress to make sure any appearance of impropriety is totally investigated and erased,” said Scott Amey, general counsel for the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington-based whistleblowers group. Amey said public scrutiny of classified intelligence contracts is limited because of secrecy.

Booz Allen Hamilton and the intelligence director’s office separately said each will vigorously enforce ethics rules related to McConnell and the company.

In a statement, the agency pledged to refer potential business conflicts to ethics officers inside federal agencies.

A Booz Allen Hamilton spokesman, George Farrar, said the company will establish contracting firewalls to avoid conflicts with McConnell. “That has to be the case,” Farrar said. “You have to maintain absolutely by-the-rules contracting.”

McConnell’s nomination comes in the midst of a broad, government-wide review by the intelligence director’s own office about the role of private contractors in U.S. spy agencies. That report, which will examine whether the government hires too many such contractors, is nearly finished but has not yet been sent to Congress.

McConnell, a former director of the National Security Agency until 1996, is described by those who have worked with him as an affable and well-respected intelligence expert. He is credited with recognizing more than a decade ago the risks from electronic attacks by foreigners against important U.S. computer networks — years ahead of many other government officials.
McConnell is still expecting an unspecified lump-sum retirement payment, an unspecified bonus and an unspecified payment to his retirement account from Booz Allen Hamilton, according to his financial records. The company also will continue to pay for his medical and dental insurance.
Separately, McConnell draws $90,944 annually from his Navy retirement and owns smaller amounts of stock in other companies that also work extensively with the U.S. government, including Halliburton Co., Boeing Co., L-3 Communications Holdings Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Oracle Corp., Microsoft Corp. and others. He also earns $16,000 as a board member for CompuDyne Corp., which sells security systems to the federal government, and $30,000 as chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, a trade group that lobbies the government on intelligence matters.

It was unclear how much McConnell’s finances have changed since he left U.S. government work in 1996. The National Security Agency, which he led, told the AP it could not locate McConnell’s financial records from that period in its files. It suggested the records might have been destroyed because so much time had passed since he worked there.

Associated Press Writer Sharon Theimer contributed to this report.

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This is an interesting article since it describes the traits which seem to inspire faith within this particular administration. McConnell definitely has all of the contacts necessary to further his career in the projected field should his nomination be successful. What is a strong question in my mind is this. Why would someone who has a salary of approx. 2 million dollars, a pension from the military of approx 91k, board memberships which amount to approx. 32k plus various other investments resign for approx. 190k? Is that a legitimate bargin? Or is there something missing which makes this potential position seem much more lucrative than the other monetary gains? How about it people? Let me know what you think of this article.