- Of 49 known infections, 27 have ended in death
- Symptoms are cold-like but are severe and can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure
- The WHO calls the MERS-CoV virus "a threat to the entire world"
Of the 49 known infections with the MERS-CoV virus, infected since September 2012, 27 have resulted in death, the organization said. The latest deaths were reported in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi health ministry said Wednesday that three people died from their infections in the country's eastern region.
The virus is "a threat to the entire world," the WHO's general director said Monday.
“We do not know where the virus hides in nature. We do not know how
people are getting infected. Until we answer these questions, we are
empty-handed when it comes to prevention. These are alarm bells. And we
must respond,” said Margaret Chan, the director-general of the World
Health Organization at the 66th World Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
It "is not a problem that
any single affected country can keep to itself or manage all by
itself," Margaret Chan said Monday in her closing remarks at the 66th
World Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
Although many of the cases have occurred on the Arabian Peninsula, people have died of the infection elsewhere.
However, "all of the European cases have had a direct or indirect connection to the Middle East," the WHO said
earlier this month. But "in France and the United Kingdom, there has
been limited local transmission among close contacts who had not been to
the Middle East but had been in contact with a traveler recently
returned from the Middle East."
On Tuesday, a patient died in France after having contracted the virus during a trip to the Middle East, the WHO reported.
Coronaviruses cause
illnesses ranging from the common cold to SARS, or Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome, as well as a variety of animal diseases.
However, the new virus is not SARS. The WHO recently gave it a more specific name: Middle East respiratory symptom coronavirus, or MERS-CoV.
It acts like a cold
virus and attacks the respiratory system, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention has said. But symptoms, which include fever and a
cough, are severe and can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure.
Health officials do not
yet know much about how the virus spreads, which makes it hard for
scientists to prevent infections, Chan said.
The WHO is calling for the world to pull together its resources to study and tackle the virus.
Here is what you should know:
The WHO has not yet determined exactly how the virus spreads from person to person, but the organization reports that there have been several clusters of cases in which human-to-human transmission has been confirmed. Transmission could be through coughing and sneezing or exposure to a contaminated environment. People with daily, sustained contact with infected persons are at risk, and there have been cases of the infection spreading from patients to health care workers. However, whether or not casual contact puts a person at risk for infection is not confirmed.
2. It’s less transmissible than SARS
The WHO says SARS, a type of coronavirus detected in 2003, is distantly related to nCoV. As part of the same virus family, both infections can cause severe symptoms, but SARS was also characterized by muscle aches and chills. The major difference between the two is that nCoV does not pass from person to person as easily as the SARS virus did.
3. It comes from the Middle East
The virus started in Saudi Arabia, and has since spread to several other countries in the Middle East including Jordan and Qatar. Travelers to the Middle East have brought the infection to other countries including Tunisia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. There has been very little transmission of the infection between individuals who did not visit the Middle East but interacted with sick travelers when they returned.
4. Symptoms are primarily characterized as respiratory illness
Symptoms of the infection include serious respiratory illness often with additional fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Currently there is no cure nor a vaccine for the infections, so physicians treat patients based on their symptoms. Some patients come down with a bad case of pneumonia or kidney failure. Gastrointestinal problems, like diarrhea, have also been reported.
People who already have underlying health conditions may be more susceptible to the infection, and their symptoms may be different from the majority of cases — for example, they may not experience respiratory problems.
5. There are no travel restrictions related to the virus
The WHO has not made any travel or trade restrictions for countries with reported infections. When traveling, it’s important to avoid close contact with individuals who show symptoms of the illness. It’s also advisable to avoid consuming uncooked or undercooked meats, unwashed fruits and veggies and drinking beverages with any unsterilized water.
To stay up-to-date on nCoV, check out the WHO page, here.
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/29/health/world-coronavirus/index.html
Krauthammer: Obama Was Plotting Benghazi Cover Story Before Last Two Americans Were Dead
Charles Krauthammer let loose on President Obama [last night] on The O’Reilly Factor:I think there is a bigger story here that will in time come out. The biggest scandal of all, the biggest question is what was the president doing in those eight hours. He had a routine meeting at five o’clock. He never after during the eight hours when our guys have their lives in danger, he never called the Secretary of Defense, he never calls the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, he never called the CIA Director, Who does he call? But five hours in he calls the Secretary of State. And after the phone call she releases a statement essentially about the video and how we denounce any intolerance. It looks as if the only phone call is to construct a cover story at a time when the last two Americans who died were still alive and fighting for their lives. There’s the scandal and that has to be uncovered.”http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/05/krauthammer-unloads-biggest-scandal-of-all-is-what-was-president-doing-for-eight-hours-video/
Krauthammer Says the Obama/Clinton 10:00 PM Phone Call May Be 'The Biggest Scandal Of All'
...As you may remember, Clinton said in a statement following the 10:00 pm phone call; "some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation."We now know that the talking points were manipulated to conceal the truth about what happened and pin the blame for the attack on a spontaneous demonstration against the "inflammatory" Youtube video. The Regime would continue the ruse until it was no longer tenable.
That 10:00 phone call may well be genesis of the YouTube video narrative.
One wonders if Obama consulted his longtime consigliere, Valerie Jarrett at some point between 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm.... Her role as Obama's most trusted advisor has permitted her to involve herself in even the most sensitive foreign affairs.
That would surely be the case in this instance in light of Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan’s insightful observation:
“The Obama White House sees every event as a political event . Because of that, it could not tolerate the idea that the armed assault on the Benghazi consulate was a premeditated act of Islamist terrorism. That would carry a whole world of unhappy political implications and demand certain actions. And the American presidential election was only eight weeks away. They wanted this problem to go away, or at least to bleed the meaning from it.”
To rephrase Sen. Howard Baker famous questions from an earlier congressional investigation of a presidential cover-up called Watergate: What did Ms. Jarrett do, and when did she do it?
And why did they think they could get away with it? Because as Andrew McCarthy noted at NRO, they had always gotten away with lying in the past. There was no reason for them to think they wouldn't get away with it, again.
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/05/28/Krauthammer-Says-the-Obama-Clinton-10-00-PM-Phone-Call-May-Be-The-Biggest-Scandal-Of-All
Unreal… In Midst of Three Serious Scandals – Obama Sends Out Campaign Email: “Say You’re In”
Forget the IRS Scandal, the Benghazi Scandal, the DOJ Reporter Surveillance Scandal…There’s a campaign to run!
Barack Obama sent out this campaign email today to his supporters.
He wants them to know that he can’t do it alone,
Say You’re In
“OFA is going to make sure that the voices of everyday Americans that were heard loud and clear on Election Day don’t get silenced. What a majority of Americans voted for can only become a reality if we take responsibility to continue fighting for it… But I can’t do this alone.”
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/05/unreal-in-midst-of-scandals-obama-sends-out-campaign-email-i-cant-do-this-alone/
Another Sebelius Snitch Brigade?
By Michelle MalkinU.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius controls a $54 million slush fund to hire thousands of "navigators," "in-person assisters" and counselors who will propagandize and enroll Obamacare recipients in government-run health insurance exchanges. This nanny-state navigator corps is the Mother of all Community Organizing Boondoggles. It's also yet another Obama threat to Americans' privacy.
A reminder about Secretary Sebelius' sordid snooping history is in order here. In August 2009, HHS and the White House Office of Health Reform called on their ground troops to report on fellow citizens who dared to criticize their federal health care takeover. Team Obama issued an all-points bulletin on the taxpayer-funded White House website soliciting informant emails. Remember?
"If you get an email or see something on the Web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov," the Obamacare overlords urged. The feds even singled out conservative Internet powerhouse Matt Drudge because he had featured a video compilation of Obama and other Democrats -- in their own words -- exposing the "public option" as a Trojan Horse for government-run health care and the elimination of private industry.
Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn protested at the time that "these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program." The flagging operation was shut down, but a plethora of federal disclosure exemptions protect the Obama administration from revealing what was collected, who was targeted and what was done with the database information.
White House lapdogs dismissed the concerns of conservatives as paranoid delusions. Now, fast-forward three years. In light of the draconian IRS witch hunt against tea party groups and the Justice Department's plundering of journalists' phone records and email accounts, every tax-subsidized Obama "outreach" initiative warrants heightened scrutiny.
Obamacare navigators will have access to highly personal data from potential "customers" to assess their "needs." That means income levels, birthdates, addresses, eligibility for government assistance, Social Security numbers and sensitive medical information. They'll be targeting both individuals and small businesses. Anyone they can lay their grubby hands on. Who's getting the navigator grants and training? "Community groups" in 33 states that naturally include socialized medicine-supporting unions and Saul Alinsky-steeped activist outfits.
On Capitol Hill last week, a top Obamacare official told GOP lawmakers that navigators will not be required to undergo background checks. Criminal records are not automatically disqualifying -- and that includes identity theft. The federal rule-makers will require online training of a measly 20 hours. Health care regulations watchdog Betsy McCaughey adds that navigators "don't have to know math or insurance, but rules announced April 5 specify you have to match the race, ethnicity and language preferences of the neighborhood that will be targeted."
The Obamacare navigator corps smacks of ACORN redux, stocked with demographically tailored Democratic Party recruitment operatives, not objective, informed insurance experts.
Sebelius and her enforcers promise strict neutrality and clean conduct. The bureaucrats say there will be severe consequences for violating citizens' privacy or breaking any other laws. Pffft. The Office of Special Counsel determined that Secretary Sebelius herself violated the federal Hatch Act prohibition on exploiting her HHS leadership position for partisan activity last fall. She then tried to cover up her breach after the fact by classifying the event in which she electioneered for Obama as a "personal" appearance.
Consequences? What consequences?
Sebelius has zero credibility when it comes to reining in overzealous partisans. But she's darned good at unleashing them. During the White House pressure campaign for Obamacare, Sebelius goaded her "brothers and sisters" from the brass-knuckled SEIU. SEIU goon Dennis Rivera joined her on a White House conference call in which he lambasted tea party activists as the "radical fringe" of "right-wingers" whose protests amounted to "terrorist tactics."
Now, the SEIU is on the board of directors of Enroll America, the left-wing, Obamacare advocacy nonprofit for whom shakedown artist Sebelius has been soliciting funds.
Sebelius' corruptocracy runs deep. While she was governor of Kansas, an independent inspector general reported that her appointed health policy board had "applied pressure to alter an audit report, restricted access to legal advice and threatened to fire her for meeting independently with legislators," according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Team Sebelius was also embroiled in a ruthless vendetta and obstruction campaign against then-GOP Attorney General Phill Kline, who unearthed damning evidence that the Sebelius administration had shredded key documents related to felony charges against Sebelius' abortion racketeering friends at Planned Parenthood.
Sebelius notoriously threatened private companies and insurers who increased rates to cope with Obamacare coverage mandates. She bullied private companies to meet discriminatory and arbitrary disclosure demands. And she lashed out at newspapers that dared to report on the true costs of the Obamacare regulatory leviathan.
You can't trust sleazy Sebelius to navigate anything with her broken ethical compass. This is worse than the fox guarding the henhouse. She has unfettered authority and a bottomless budget to weaponize legions more foxes who will serve as Obamacare's eyes and ears on the ground. The snitch brigade lives.
http://townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/2013/05/29/obamacare-navigators-another-sebelius-snitch-brigade-n1608092/page/full
Record 10,978,040 Now on Disability; ‘Disability’ Would Be 8th Most Populous State
The total number of people in the United States now receiving federal disability benefits hit a record 10,978,040 in May, up from 10,962,532 million in April, according to newly released data from the Social Security Administration.The 10,978,040 disability beneficiaries in the United States now exceed the population of all but seven states. For example, there are more Americans collecting disability today than there are people living in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey or Virginia.
The record 10,978,040 total disability beneficiaries in May, included a record 8,877,921 disabled workers (up from 8,865,586 in April), a record 1,939,687 children of disabled workers (up from 1,936,236 in April), and 160,432 spouses of disabled workers.
May was the 196th straight month that the number of American workers collecting federal disability payments increased. The last time the number of Americans collecting disability decreased was in January 1997. That month the number of workers taking disability dropped by 249 people—from 4,385,623 in December 1996 to 4,385,374 in January 1997.
As the overall number of American workers collecting disability has increased, the ratio of full-time workers to disability-collecting workers has decreased.
In December 1968, 1,295,428 American workers collected disability and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 65,630,000 worked full-time. Thus, there were about 51 full-time workers for each worker collecting disability. In May 2013, with a record 8,877,921 American workers collecting disability and 116,053,000 working full-time, there were only 13 Americans working full-time for each worker on disability.
According to the latest Census Bureau population estimates, if disability were a state in the union it would rank eighth in population, coming in after Ohio but ahead of Georgia:
1. California 38,041,430
2. Texas 26,059,203
3. New York 19,570,261
4. Florida 19,317,568
5. Illinois 12,875,255
6. Pennsylvania 12,763,536
7. Ohio 11,544,225
8. Disability 10,978,040
9. Georgia 9,919,945
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/record-10978040-now-disability-disability-would-be-8th-most-populous-state
Kindergartener gets detention, forced to apologize for Lego gun the size of a quarter
“I think they overreacted, totally. I totally do,” Crane told WGGB.
“I could see if it was you know, an Airsoft gun or some sort of pistol or live bullets or something, but this is just a toy,” she added. “At six-years-old, I don’t really think he understood the zero-tolerance policy and related it to this as the same.”
School officials, who declined to speak to the ABC affiliate, promptly sent a letter home to all parents explaining the incident. The letter assured parents that there was no real gun, only a small molded piece of plastic from a Danish toy conglomerate.
According to Crane, her son was forced to apologize to the bus driver in a letter. He has to serve detention on Tuesday. Also, he may face a temporary suspension from riding the bus.
Bizarrely, the student who tattled on the boy also had to apologize to the bus driver, WGGB says.
This incident is the latest incident of anti-gun hysteria to erupt in a school setting. There have been many others just this academic year.
DOJ Tells Employees to Verbally Affirm Homosexuality
The Department of Justice has been accused of religious intolerance and viewpoint discrimination after workers were sent an email directing them to verbally affirm homosexuality, according to a law firm specializing in religious liberty and now representing a DOJ whistleblower.Liberty Counsel said DOJ employees were emailed a brochure called “LGBT Inclusion at Work: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Managers.” The brochure was created as a resource from DOJ Pride, an association of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees of the DOJ.
A Department of Justice spokesperson did not return calls seeking comment. Fox News also reached out to DOJ Pride for comment – but emails were not answered.
Among the directives in the brochure is an order for workers to vocally affirm homosexuality. “Don’t judge or remain silent,” the brochure read. “Silence will be interpreted as disapproval.” They were also told to post “DOJ Pride” stickers in their office to indicate “that it is a safe place.”
One gay DOJ employee is quoted in the directive; “Silence seems like disapproval. There’s still an atmosphere of LGBT issues not being appropriate for the workplace (particularly for transgender people), or that people who bring it up are trying to rock the boat.”
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, said every American should be outraged by the DOJ orders. “This administration is pushing the most radical, immoral agenda on the American people,” Staver said. “Christians are not merely required to ‘shut up,’ but now they are being coerced to embrace immorality that goes against their sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Liberty Counsel is representing an unidentified female DOJ worker in Washington, D.C. who received the brochure. Staver said the woman is terrified she might lose her job unless she publicly affirms homosexuality – and she’s not the only one.
“Christians are frightened and terrified of losing their jobs,” Staver told Fox News. “You just can’t keep you head down and do your job. Now you have to become an advocate for the LGBT agenda – and if you don’t – the DOJ will consider that to be intolerant.”
Staver said the idea that Christians who might oppose homosexuality have to put up a pro-gay symbol in their office smacks of thought police. “Under this directive, one cannot be a Christian and a manager at the Department of Justice,” he said. “How does one who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible display ‘gay pride’ stickers?”
Liberty Counsel vice president Matt Barber told Fox News the DOJ has created an extremely hostile work environment for Christians. “This is ‘1984’ just a few decades late,” Barber said. “This is so Orwellian. President Obama said he intended to fundamentally transform America. That’s exactly what they are doing and they are doing it within the Department of Justice.”
Barber said some female DOJ workers have also expressed concerns about transgender workers using their bathroom facilities. “They (DOJ leaders) have said if you are uncomfortable with a man in a skirt using the facilities – then tough – you need to get over it,” Barber told Fox News.
The brochure quoted a male employee who dresses like a woman: “I want people to understand that I’m real. I want to be recognized as the gender I really am…Just imagine if people were constantly debating YOUR bathroom privileges. Imagine how humiliating that would be.”
Workers were also told to use “inclusive” words like partner or significant other – rather than traditional terms like husband or wife. They were also told to use a transgender person’s chosen name and the pronoun that is consistent with the person’s self-identified gender.
DOJ employees were told to stop using phrases like “gay lifestyle” or “sexual preference” –because those words are “considered by many as offensive.”
Barber said it was a form of sexual harassment. “If you feel sexually harassed and complain about it – then you are the one who could get in trouble – because you’ve violated the transgender person’s rights,” he said.
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/doj-tells-employees-to-verbally-affirm-homosexuality.html
Feds Spend $1.3 Million to Study Online 'Sexual Pursuits'
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded more than $1 million to study how straight people are using the Internet for “online sexual pursuits.”“Researchers have raised significant concerns about the Internet's potential to facilitate sexual encounters that result in unsafe sex and place individuals at risk for STD/HIV,” states the grant, awarded to Columbia University. “Yet, how using the Internet for sexual pursuits may shape sexual behavior, including risk taking, remains a very poorly understood phenomenon, especially among heterosexuals.”
The study hypothesizes that the Internet increases risk-taking behavior, making partners who meet online more likely to engage in unsafe sex. The researchers want to find out “the practices heterosexuals engage in during these sexual encounters.”
“The limited data suggest that many heterosexuals use the Internet to meet prospective sexual partners and eventually meet in-person and have sex,” the grant states. “Yet, to date, very little is known about the practices heterosexuals engage in during these sexual encounters, the heuristics and strategies they use to assess the potential sexual risk a partner met online poses, and what in the nature of online relationship development might facilitate unsafe sex.”
Columbia University Health Sciences has received $1,308,062 so far for the study. The school was first given a $606,000 grant in 2011, followed by $702,062 last year. The project has the potential for more funding, as it is set to run until June 2014.
Karolynn Siegel, professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, is leading the study. Much of her research involves the social implications of living with HIV/AIDS.
The project will investigate 150 straight adults who have had “unprotected vaginal or anal sex with at least three (opposite sex) partners in the past 3 months, at least two of whom they met online." The sample will be split between male and females and equally divided by race.
The researchers say the study will "enhance our understanding of how use of the Internet for sexual pursuits shapes heterosexuals' sexual behavior.”
The study will also look into how people misrepresent themselves online, and how the “online presentation” attracts people to engage in real-life sexual encounters.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/feds-spend-13-million-study-online-sexual-pursuits
IRS Spent $1.1 Million on BlackBerries and Aircards It Didn't Use
According to an audit report released in January 2013 by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the Internal Revenue Service spent $1 million in taxpayer dollars to purchase BlackBerry™ smartphones and wireless internet “aircards”— that subsequently went unused.According to the report, “The IRS paid approximately $1.1 million during Fiscal Year 2011 for 13,878 aircards and 754 BlackBerry™ smartphones that were not used for periods of three months to one year. [Moreover,] TIGTA identified 45 aircards and 68 BlackBerry™ smartphones that were not used at all for the entire 12 months of the fiscal year.”
In order to end wasteful spending on smartphone and wireless internet devices, TIGTA recommended that the IRS adopt six separate polices designed to save taxpayers an estimated $5.9 million over the next five years.
The six recommendations were as follows:
--develop a process to evaluate whether employees legitimately need these devices to conduct work
--identify Blackberry devices that had subsequently gone unused
--ensure manager approval prior to assigning a device to an IRS employee
--establishing pooling for aircards among those employees that do need them
--review those devices assigned to determine who might have received them without manager approval
--replace Blackberries with no data usage with traditional phones
Yet, of the six, only the first two were subsequently adopted—ascertaining which employees required the devices and which devices had gone unused. The four other reforms were rejected by the IRS, which told TIGTA that it already had similar procedures in place. Yet, TIGTA argued that these measures were insufficient to bring about more responsible use of funds.
For example, despite guidelines stipulating which IRS employees might receive the taxpayer-purchased devices, TIGTA estimated that 2500 employees had been provided with BlackBerries™ and aircards without managerial approval—which resulted in more than $950,000 in wasteful expenditures in fiscal year 2011.
TIGTA’s conclusion, as stated in its audit report to the IRS: “Based on the large number of unapproved and unused devices identified during the audit, TIGTA believes the IRS should take action to enhance its existing controls.”
Commenting on the report, Americans for Tax Reform’s Mattie Duppler said, “This isn’t just a problem with the IRS, we are seeing this problem across the government … I commend the administration [for efforts to identify government waste], but more needs to be done to bring about transparency. And this problem isn’t ultimately going to be fixed by simply giving a recommendation to the IRS to act differently. The IRS just isn’t going to change that way.”
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/irs-spent-11-million-blackberries-and-aircards-it-didnt-use
DHS Can’t Locate 266 Illegal Overstays that ‘Pose National Security’ Risks
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cannot find 266 potentially dangerous foreign nationals who have overstayed their visas, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).According to testimony from Rebecca Gambler, director of the Homeland Security and Justice for GAO, on May 21, 2013 before the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, DHS identified 1,901 illegal overstays of concern in 2011. As of March 2013, 14 percent remain missing.
The 1,901 cases were reprioritized for further investigation by DHS “because the subjects of the records could pose national security or public safety concerns.”
Of those that pose security threats, 266 could not be located, and nine individuals had been arrested.
The report said 481 (25.3 percent) of the cases were given to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division, because they presented “potential public safety threats.” ERO is “responsible for identifying and apprehending aliens who are subject to removal from the country, detaining these individuals when necessary, and removing aliens subject to removal from the United States.”
Also, 302 (15.9 percent) of the illegal overstays were in the process of changing their status to continue living in the U.S., and 711 (37.4 percent) had left the country.
The findings are based on a DHS review of a backlog of 1.6 million overstays in the summer of 2011. According to the report, 863,000 cases were removed, having found that the individuals left the country or were in legal status.
Visa overstays pose a significant national security risk, according to Gambler, since one-fourth of the terrorists who carried out 9/11 were in the country illegally, overstaying their visas.
“We have reported that most overstays are likely motivated by economic opportunities to stay in the United States beyond their authorized periods of admission,” Gambler said. “However, overstays could pose homeland security concerns—for example, 5 of the 19 September 11, 2001, hijackers were overstays.”
Other examples include, Hosam Smadi, a Jordanian national, who overstayed his visa and plotted to blow up a Dallas skyscraper in 2009, and Amine El Khalifi, a Moroccan who was living past his visa since 1999 and was arrested for plotting to bomb the U.S. Capitol last year.
The GAO testimony also revealed that there are currently more than 1 million “unmatched arrival records” in the DHS’s Arrival and Departure Information System (ADIS), or potential cases where immigrants have remained in the country with expired visas.
Furthermore, DHS has failed to report to Congress on visa overstays, as required by law, due to a lack of “confidence in the quality of its overstay data.” DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has said, however, that her agency plans to report on overstay rates by December 2013.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/dhs-can-t-locate-266-illegal-overstays-pose-national-security-risks
For Lance Armstrong, sorry has been the hardest word
A day before his famous confession in January, Lance Armstrong called the home of Frankie and Betsy Andreu.Both were victims of Armstrong, people he bullied and smeared in pursuit of fame and fortune in professional cycling.
He tried to apologize.
"He told me in that phone call he wanted to meet with us, sooner rather than later," Betsy Andreu told USA TODAY Sports. "I don't know how Lance expresses his contrition, but 'sorry' is just a word unless it's acted on. Meeting would've done wonders."
She arranged to meet him in April but said he canceled at the 11th hour, telling her he didn't trust her.
Four months after he admitted in a lengthy televised interview with Oprah Winfrey that he had doped, lied and bullied for more than 10 years, Armstrong has, for one reason or another, failed to apologize to almost all of the people he promised he would. In some cases, he has tried to reach some who, after years of being attacked by Armstrong, haven't returned his messages.
Though he had hoped the truth would set him free, Armstrong also has found it potentially could be expensive. The federal government, two insurance companies and others have filed suit against him, saying Armstrong's confession proved he defrauded them. The potential liability in those cases is more than $135 million for the former cyclist, whose legal argument is essentially that his confession isn't relevant to the money he collected from them.
Armstrong said he would spend the rest of his life making amends. His critics say it's the same old self-serving Armstrong, even in contrition. A person close to Armstrong says that's not the case, though he acknowledged the legal issues.
"It's way too soon to assess Lance's post-Oprah conduct and how this will all turn out," said the person, who didn't want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation. The person said, "Lance is committed to participating in real dialogues and constructive change" but that his attorneys are not going to put him in "positions where he just becomes a punching bag for other people who have their own agendas."
The person also said Armstrong tried to reach several of the people he bullied over the last several years, but his messages were not returned, including a text and e-mail he sent to former teammate Tyler Hamilton.
"Lance hasn't contacted him," Hamilton's spokeswoman, Melinda Travis, told USA TODAY Sports.
In Andreu's case, the person said Armstrong corresponded regularly with her even after she blasted him on TV this year. Armstrong canceled their planned meeting, the person said, when he became spooked by her e-mails and text messages to him. "She begged to meet him for just five minutes — a strange request that set off a lot of alarm bells," the person said.
Andreu disputed that account. She said she asked for five minutes with Armstrong only after he canceled their meeting. She said she planned to give him a gift — an old family photograph — as a possible token of forgiveness.
She now questions whether Armstrong only called that day in January to meet a TV deadline. If Oprah were to ask him the next day if he had apologized, perhaps he didn't want to look bad by saying no, she says.
"I get asked a lot what he's done to make amends," Andreu said. "And the answer is nothing. … I merely wanted to look him in the eyes and he look me in the eyes. That's it. A show of humanity. After his decade-long tirade on me, I felt he owed me that. I wasn't asking for a lot."
Armstrong's promise
Armstrong, 41, told the world in January that he would earn back trust and apologize to people for his sins. He appeared to give himself a head start when he apologized to the staff at Livestrong, the anti-cancer foundation he founded.
"I will spend and be committed to spending as long as I have to to make amends," he told Winfrey.
He also said he wanted to help clean up cycling. But in February, Armstrong's attorney, Tim Herman, announced that his client would not cooperate with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Armstrong's longtime nemesis. Herman said it would be more appropriate for Armstrong to work with an independent international tribunal, a forum that does not exist.
In a statement last week, USADA CEO Travis Tygart told USA TODAY Sports that his agency would "continue to do our job on behalf of clean athletes, regardless of Mr. Armstrong's refusal so far to assist in cleaning up the sport."
Meanwhile, Armstrong has employed a legion of attorneys in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Texas and London to fight several lawsuits from plaintiffs who accuse him of defrauding them out of millions.
Their evidence? His confession.
The litigation left Armstrong with a choice. He could demonstrate his remorse by paying back those who can show they were swindled by his lies and doping in cycling. Or he could fight in court to try to protect his fortune but risk being viewed as the same old Armstrong.
He has chosen to fight. And his reputation is at an all-time low, according to The Q Scores Company, a firm that measures the popularity of celebrities and brands. Sixty-five percent of the general public said they view Armstrong negatively or fair at best, the firm said.
"That exposure (with Winfrey) did not help him whatsoever," said Henry Schafer, the firm's executive vice president.
Armstrong's attorneys have made arguments that give him a good chance to preserve his assets. The downside is that his legal strategy seems to run counter to his apology and stated remorse. In response to one lawsuit, his lawyers argue that any false or misleading statements in his autobiographies are protected by his right to free speech. Regarding another suit, a civil fraud case filed by the federal government, his legal team argues that his cycling team's sponsor, the U.S. Postal Service, was not defrauded because the USPS should have known about cycling's rampant doping problem.
"Everything he's done has had a tin ear for a public antenna," said Michael Gordon, CEO of Group Gordon, a corporate public relations firm in New York. "His words were by and large sincere when he confessed to Oprah, but he has completely failed in corresponding actions."
Gordon said Armstrong probably wouldn't be able to make a public recovery until the lawsuits go away, which could take several years. Armstrong has attempted to resolve cases through settlements, but the person close to the situation also said his legal team thinks some of the claims to be baseless.
Andreu says Armstrong should do the right thing and pay back those he "swindled." In particular, she cites the case of SCA Promotions, a sports insurance company that seeks the return of more than $12 million in bonuses and fees it paid Armstrong and his management company for his Tour de France wins from 2002 to 2004.
The company says Armstrong defrauded it twice — by cheating to win the race and again when Armstrong successfully sued the company in 2004. In that suit, Armstrong forced SCA to pay him the bonus after it withheld the money based on suspicions of his doping. As part of that suit, Armstrong falsely testified under oath in 2005 that he never doped, testimony that was videotaped and replayed by Winfrey in January.
Watching his false denials in the video, Armstrong told Winfrey his behavior in that testimony was "sick."
"I don't like that guy," he said of himself.
Winfrey asked him if his responses to SCA's questions would be different now. "My responses on most of these things are going to be different today," Armstrong said.
Instead, he is trying to have SCA's case dismissed by arguing the matter cannot be revisited under terms of their settlement agreement from 2006. Herman told USA TODAY Sports that Armstrong shouldn't have to pay back the bonuses to SCA, adding, "No athlete ever, to my understanding, has ever gone back and paid back his compensation," he said.
Andreu said she thinks Armstrong "isn't willing to risk losing his empire" by making amends. She also said she fears that his numerous attorneys have too great a stake in persuading Armstrong to keep fighting.
The apologies
Armstrong has not done much better in his personal reparations. He admitted to Winfrey he had trampled people who had told the truth or refused to bend to his will. He named some of the smeared — the Andreus, Hamilton, his former masseuse Emma O'Reilly, journalist David Walsh and former cyclists Greg LeMond and Floyd Landis. Among other things, he called Betsy Andreu ugly and tried to ruin the career of her husband. He called O'Reilly a prostitute and Walsh a troll.
"I owe them apologies," Armstrong told Winfrey in January. "Whenever they're ready, I will give them."
In a new afterword in the paperback edition of his recent book The Secret Race, Hamilton wrote, "I was told he sent me an apologetic e-mail, but I never received it."
The person close to Armstrong said, "Emma and Lance have traded messages but (have) yet to connect. LeMond refused to take Lance's calls."
The person said there has been no apology to Landis or Walsh because Armstrong is involved in litigation against both. O'Reilly declined to comment through a spokeswoman. LeMond and Walsh didn't return messages seeking comment.
Armstrong's camp told USA TODAY Sports in January that the confession was part of a comeback and atonement plan that might take several years.
Meanwhile, Winfrey isn't commenting on Armstrong's showing. "Unfortunately, Ms. Winfrey is not participating in any further interviews about the interview," said Chelsea Hettrick, a spokeswoman for Winfrey's TV network.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2013/05/27/for-armstrong-forgiveness-is-not-saying-sorry/2364137/
Al Qaeda Re-emerging
While the U.S. has undoubtedly had many successes fighting Al Qaeda (AQ), AQ is re-emerging due to a wide array of regional alliances. Much in the way that private businesses adapt to changing social trends and government regulations, AQ has adapted to its transformed political and strategic landscape. The "War on Terrorism" is far from over. In fact, it may just be getting started.Al Qaeda has developed a number of regional affiliates including Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), and Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Other groups that have pledged their allegiance to, or strengthened their relationship with AQ include:
1. Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
2. The Islamic Jihad Union,
3. Lashkar i Jhangvi,
4. Harakat ul-Mujahadin
5. Jemaah Islamiya6. Pakistan Taliban (TTP)
7. Al-Shabab8. Boko Haram9. Afghan Taliban10. Abu Sayaf
11. Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)
12. Haqqani Network
Through
these alliances AQ has spread its influence around the globe, and its
desire to stage attacks has not diminished. Just last week, an
Uzbekistan national living in Boise, ID was arrested
on terrorism charges for incidents in Boise and Salt Lake City, UT. The
suspect, Fazliddin Kurbanov, is accused of providing material support
to The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. 2. The Islamic Jihad Union,
3. Lashkar i Jhangvi,
4. Harakat ul-Mujahadin
5. Jemaah Islamiya6. Pakistan Taliban (TTP)
7. Al-Shabab8. Boko Haram9. Afghan Taliban10. Abu Sayaf
11. Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)
12. Haqqani Network
AQI, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), originally evolved in 2004 to pressure Western militaries to leave Iraq. However, we now know that AQI has spread its interests throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South Asia. We also know that both AQ and AQI have recently allied with Jabhat al Nusra (JN), which is a Syrian terrorist group that is currently fighting the Assad regime in Syria.
AQI/JN also has a presence in the U.S. In 2011, two AQI members living in Bowling Green, KY were arrested on terrorism-related charges. Just a few weeks ago, an Illinois teenager was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare airport as he prepared to board a plane to Turkey. The teen, Abdella Ahmad Tounisi, was on his way to Syria to fight for JN.
The Syrian Conflict
There are two important factors that must be understood about the Syrian conflict:
1. Numerous rebel groups within Syria all share the goal of trying to overthrow the Assad regime. But most of those groups are fighting with the purpose of trying to establish a democratic government. JN, however, is also fighting in Syria in order to establish an Islamist government.
2. AQ has been instrumental in organizing JN. AQ leader Ayman al-Zawahiri approved the merger of AQI and JN. This revelation dramatically increases the likelihood that the Syrian conflict will become influenced by AQ's goals, as opposed to being about the establishment of a democratic government.
To help accomplish the goal of establishing an Islamist government in Syria, jihadists from various Middle Eastern nations are now traveling to Syria to fight. But it must be remembered, once the Assad regime falls, the fighting will continue because each of the rebel groups have different long-term goals for how Syria should be governed. We need to look no further than Iraq to see the same scenario.
AQ's Alliances in Africa Becoming Concerning
Boko Haram (BH) is an Islamist terrorist group in Nigeria that has been allied with AQ since 2010. The "Underwear Bomber", Umar Farouk Abdulmutallub, is from Nigeria and BH has already attacked the UN Headquarters in Abuja and a BH spokesperson has vowed they will attack U.S. interests. Just last week, the Nigerian president declared the nation in a state of emergency.
The U.S. cannot turn a blind eye to Nigeria and think this merger doesn't matter. Nigeria is the largest U.S. trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa and is also the fifth-largest exporter of oil to the U.S. In addition, it has been hard for the U.S. to develop intelligence on BH due to BH informants that exist within the Nigerian government.
BH has also allied itself with other Islamist terrorist groups in Africa including Al-Shabab (AS) and Al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). AS announced its merger with AQ in 2012 and they have carried out many deadly attacks across Somalia in their quest to establish an Islamic government in Somalia.
AQIM is an Algerian-based Islamist terrorist group, originally known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). GSPC merged with AQ in 2006 under the name of AQIM and announced their intentions to attack Western targets. AQIM recently took control of the African nation of Mali for a period.
France has been fighting AQIM in Mali where AQIM is attempting to establish an Islamist government. A recent statement issued by AQIM should not go unnoticed. Earlier this month, AQIM issued a call for all Muslims to conduct jihad against France and French interests worldwide.
Make no mistake, neither AQ nor their affiliate groups are fighting for democracy in any Muslim land. AQAP issued this statement in Dec. 2012 following a U.S. air strike in Yemen. In this statement the narrator says: "As for those who take Democracy as their religion, they are comfortable on their thrones. We ask Allah to enable us to slit their throats."
Going Forward Politicians can argue that AQ is "on the run" but in reality, that is far from the truth. AQ has formed numerous alliances with violent Islamist terrorist groups across Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. A compelling argument could be made that AQ is actually stronger today than it was on 9/11.
Neither BH nor AQIM have been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) by the U.S. Department of State. Without this designation, U.S. law enforcement has a more difficult time trying to combat these groups. BH and AQIM must be designated as FTOs.
Ultimately the solution to stopping the spread of radical Islam must come from Muslims themselves. However, the United States, as the world's leading superpower, must play a vital role. The U.S. must walk the fine line between allowing the will of the people to overthrow dictatorships such as the Assad regime, but not allowing AQ and their ideology to take over the political process.
This will be a sensitive and time-consuming endeavor. However, I'm optimistic it can happen. While Yemen has definitely been a hotbed for AQ, it is also maybe the only Arab nation where true democracy is beginning to take hold. The U.S would be wise to hold them up as at least hope for the rest of the Middle East.
In closing, we should never underestimate the importance of the U.S. military. Many people argue that the presence of the U.S. military in the Middle East contributes to the problem. But according to the 9/11 Commission, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region is what gave Osama bin Laden the motivation for continued attacks against U.S. interests. It is also why he viewed the U.S. as weak.
AQ and their groups will hate the West regardless of our policies. We must never be afraid to confront evil head-on. The American people need to prepare for a long fight.
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