New analysis shows suicide link for teens on Paxil. 'Mischief' in old study claiming drug is safe.

Source: Washington Post

A reanalysis of data from a controversial study published in 2001 that opened the doors for doctors to write millions of prescriptions of an antidepressant to children and teens shows that the drug is not only ineffective but potentially unsafe. The new study, published Wednesday in The BMJ, details a number of issues with the original analysis that made paroxetine, marketed as Paxil by GlaxoSmithKline, look more favorable.

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The (original) study has been revealed to have been largely ghostwritten by a consultant on the drug maker’s payroll and has been investigated by both by both federal and state authorities.

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The team conducting the reanalysis -- led by Jon Jureidini, a professor at the University of Adelaide in Australia -- went back to the raw data and came to starkly different conclusions than the first paper. They found that the effect of the drug was no different than a placebo and that there was an increase in harms among study participants, the most alarming of which was an increase in suicidal thoughts and behavior.

Jureidini and his colleagues said that Study 329 contained numerous transcription errors and other problems that masked issues and violated the own company’s protocols for statistical analysis.

“It’s hard to think there wasn’t some mischief being done,” Jureidini said. He said it looked like there may have been "deliberate attempts to play down the adverse event profile."

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/09/17/mischief-in-old-study-showing-paxil-safe-for-teens-new-analysis-shows-increased-suicide-link/

TODAY SEPT. 17, 2015 DICTATOR ABE KILLED JAPAN'S DEMOCRACY

Japan's ruling party forces security bills through committee amid scuffle with opposition

Source: Associated Press

Japan's ruling party pushed contentious security bills through a legislative committee Thursday, catching the opposition by surprise and causing chaos in the chamber.

Opposition lawmakers surged toward the chairman's seat as they realized something was up after ruling party legislators had gathered at the podium to protect him.

As the scrum intensified, ruling party lawmakers still in their seats stood up to signal their support for the legislation, though there didn't appear to be an audible announcement of what they were voting on.

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"You saw the scene. We do not recognize there was a vote. How can you tell what happened, what the chairman was calling?" said Tetsuro Fukuyama, committee leader for the Democratic Party of Japan.

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Read more: http://www.startribune.com/japan-diet-panel-to-vote-on-military-bills-amid-protests/327826671/

NASA says first manned flight of Orion spacecraft could be delayed nearly 2 years

Source: Washington Post

The first manned test flight of NASA's new rocket and space craft could be delayed by nearly two years, the agency said in a statement Wednesday. Previously, that flight was scheduled to take place in 2021, but now NASA said it could be pushed back to as late as April 2023, which it said "is consistent with funding levels in the president’s budget request."

The announcement was immediately criticized by Rep. Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, who accused the Obama administration of "choosing to delay deep space exploration priorities."

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The Space Launch System, NASA's new rocket, and the Orion capsule, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, are two of the agency's top priorities and the vehicles that it says will take humans into deep space, and eventually Mars. But the Government Accountability Office has said the agency’s human exploration program is plagued by “inconsistent and unrealistic schedule goals,” as well as “significant technical and funding issues.”

Its first unmanned test flight of SLS has already been delayed to 2018, and the GAO has said that even once astronauts are able to eventually fly on it "future mission destinations remain uncertain.”

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/09/16/nasa-delays-first-manned-flight-of-orion-spacecraft/

GMOs, Facts and Illusions, a summary sheet - by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

https://www.facebook.com/13012333374/photos/a.10150109720973375.279515.13012333374/10153322953343375/?type=1

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

GMOs, Facts and Illusions, a summary sheet

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/50282823/FictionAndFacts.pdf

September 14

Government cries foul over use of term 'forcible voting' as security bills debate heats up

Source: Japan Times

As the political battle over two contentious government-sponsored security bills at the Diet enters its final stage, a propaganda war broke out Wednesday between the government and opposition parties.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga maintained Wednesday that a voting session that was being arranged to pass the bills through an Upper House committee later in the day should not be called kyoko saiketsu (forcible voting).

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The term, often used by media outlets when the ruling camp bulldozes a bill through the Diet amid intense opposition, has connotations of legislation being forcibly enacted despite “legitimate” protest from opposition parties.

The ruling camp and the government detest seeing it in headlines, fearing it may give voters a negative impression and help bring down their approval ratings in media polls.

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Various media polls have shown about 60 percent of voters are against the legislation, which is designed to expand the scope of Self-Defense Forces missions overseas.

Read more: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/16/national/politics-diplomacy/government-cries-foul-use-term-forcible-voting-security-bills-debate-heats/

Daniel Ellsberg interview with RT International on arrest of Mordechai Vanunu

Shin Bet orders Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu arrested again

Judge rules Y-12 protesters can only enter government nuclear facility with President's permission

Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel



U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar today ruled that the time already served was sufficient for three Plowshares protesters, upheld that they are responsible for $52,953 in restitution costs for damages from their July 28, 2012 break-in at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, and imposed two years of “unsupervised supervision” with three conditions.

The judge’s conditions are that the three — Sister Megan Rice, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed — not commit any state, local or federal crimes; that they not enter any U.S. government nuclear facility, unless specifically invited by the President of the United States; and that they report any arrests to their probation officer. Other than that, they only have to report to a probation officer one time before 5 p.m. Friday to sign up.

Thapar added the stipulation about an invitation from POTUS after the protesters raised a question about whether they could visit a government nuclear facility — such as Y-12 — if it was part of a public tour.

The judge ruled against that request with the one exception, adding that he thought the President was pretty busy and was unlikely to approve such a visit.

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Read more: http://knoxblogs.com/atomiccity/2015/09/15/federal-judge-rules-y-12-protesters-can-only-enter-nuclear-facility-with-presidents-permission/

Emily Blunt regrets U.S. citizenship after watching GOP debate

Source: Fox News

British-born actress Emily Blunt became a naturalized U.S. citizen in August, but she said one thing has made her question her decision--watching the Republican Presidential debate.

"I became an American citizen recently, and that night, we watched the Republican debate, and I thought, 'This was a terrible mistake. What have I done?'" she told the Hollywood Reporter while promoting the movie "Sicario" at the Toronto Film Festival.

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Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/09/15/emily-blunt-becoming-us-citizen-terrible-mistake-after-watching-gop-debate/