Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Advance in nanotech gene sequencing technique

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The allure of personalized medicine has made new, more efficient ways of sequencing genes a top research priority. One promising technique involves reading DNA bases using changes in electrical current as they are threaded through a nanoscopic hole.

Now, a team led by University of Pennsylvania physicists has used solid-state nanopores to differentiate single-stranded DNA molecules containing sequences of a single repeating base.

The study was led by Marija Drndi?, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences, along with graduate students Kimberly Venta and Matthew Puster and post-doctoral researchers Gabriel Shemer, Julio A. Rodriguez-Manzo and Adrian Balan. They collaborated with assistant professor Jacob K. Rosenstein of Brown University and professor Kenneth L. Shepard of Columbia University.

Their results were published in the journal ACS Nano.

In this technique, known as DNA translocation measurements, strands of DNA in a salt solution are driven through an opening in a membrane by an applied electric field. As each base of the strand passes through the pore, it blocks some ions from passing through at the same time; amplifiers attached to the nanopore chip can register the resulting drop in electrical current. Because each base has a different size, researchers hope to use this data to infer the order of the bases as the strand passes through. The differences in base sizes are so small, however, that the proportions of both the nanopores and membranes need to be close those of the DNA strands themselves ? a major challenge.

The nanopore devices closest to being a commercially viable option for sequencing are made out of protein pores and lipid bilayers. Such protein pores have desirable proportions, but the lipid bilayer membranes in which they are inserted are akin to a film of soap, which leaves much to be desired in terms of durability and robustness.

Solid-state nanopore devices, which are made of thin solid-state membranes, offer advantages over their biological counterparts ? they can be more easily shipped and integrated with other electronics ? but the basic demonstrations of proof-of-principle sensitivity to different DNA bases have been slower.

"While biological nanopores have shown the ability to resolve single nucleotides, solid-state alternatives have lagged due to two challenges of actually manufacturing the right-sized pores and achieving high-signal, low-noise and high-bandwidth measurements," Drndi? said. "We're attacking those two challenges here."

Because the mechanism by which the nanopore differentiate between one type of base and another is by the amount of the pore's aperture that is blocked, the smaller a pore's diameter, the more accurate it is. For the nanopore to be effective at determining a sequence of bases, its diameter must approach the diameter of the DNA and its thickness must approach that of the space between one base and the next, or about 0.3 nanometers.

To get solid-state nanopores and membranes in these tiny proportions, researchers, including Drndi?'s group, are investigating cutting-edge materials, such as graphene. A single layer of carbon atoms in a hexagonal lattice, graphene membranes can be made a little as about 0.5 nanometers thick but have their own disadvantages to be addressed. For example, the material itself is hydrophobic, making it more difficult to pass strands of DNA through them.

In this experiment, Drndi? and her colleagues worked with a different material ? silicon nitride ? rather than attempting to craft single-atom-thick graphene membranes for nanopores. Treated silicon nitride is hydrophilic and has readily allowed DNA translocations, as measured by many other researchers during the last decade. And while their membrane is thicker, about 5 nanometers, silicon nitride pores can also approach graphene in terms of thinness due to the way they are manufactured.

"The way we make the nanopores in silicon nitride makes them taper off, so that the effective thickness is about a third of the rest of the membrane," Drndi? said.

Drndi? and her colleagues tested their silicon nitride nanopore on homopolymers, or single strands of DNA with sequences that consist of only one base repeated several times. The researchers were able to make distinct measurements for three of the four bases: adenine, cytosine and thymine. They did not attempt to measure guanine as homopolymers made with that base bind back on themselves, making it more difficult to pass them through the nanopores.

"We show that these small pores are sensitive to the base content," Drndi? said, "and we saw these results in pores with diameters between 1 and 2 nanometers, which is actually encouraging because it suggests some manufacturing variability may be okay."

###

University of Pennsylvania: http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews

Thanks to University of Pennsylvania for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 47 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128328/Advance_in_nanotech_gene_sequencing_technique

grammys frank ocean Justin Timberlake Grammys adam levine mumford and sons jessica biel Lena Dunham

Dagestan bombs kill four, two dead in shootout near Moscow

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Two car bombs killed at least four people and wounded dozens of others on Monday in one of the bloodiest attacks this year in Dagestan, a turbulent province in Russia's North Caucasus region where armed groups are waging an Islamist insurgency.

Car bombs, suicide bombings and firefights are common in Dagestan, at the center of an insurgency rooted in two post-Soviet wars against separatist rebels in neighboring Chechnya.

Such attacks are rare in other parts of Russia, but in a separate incident in a suburb of Moscow on Monday, security forces killed two suspected militants alleged to have been plotting an attack in the capital and arrested a third suspect after a gunbattle.

One elite police officer was lightly wounded in the exchange of gunfire with the suspects - Russian citizens but trained in Afghanistan or Pakistan - who had holed up in a home in the town of Orekhovo-Zuyevo east of Moscow, authorities said.

Investigators initially said eight people had been killed by the successive blasts in Dagestan's provincial capital Makhachkala, but law enforcement and health officials later put the death toll at four and said about 40 people were wounded.

The explosions occurred with the space of a few minutes near the headquarters of the court bailiffs' service and appeared to have been detonated by remote control, said the federal Investigative Committee, a Russian state agency.

Twisted wreckage of a car could be seen near the building, which was cordoned off by police, and blackened chunks of metal lay in the street.

The Health Ministry said 35 people remained in hospital, including one child, a few hours after the blasts, which the Investigative Committee called a "terrorist act".

The main suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings in the United States, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, lived in Dagestan with his family about a decade ago and visited the region last year.

The visit by Tsarnaev, who was shot dead by U.S. police after the April 15 bombings that killed three people and wounded 264 others, is being scrutinized by U.S. investigators for signs of ties with insurgents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered law enforcement authorities to ensure insurgents do not attack the 2014 Winter Olympics next February in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, which is close to the North Caucasus.

All those wounded or killed were apparently caught by the second of Monday's explosions, a few minutes after the first, the investigators said.

Insurgents in the North Caucasus have often sought to increase casualties by setting off an initial blast to attract law enforcement officers and then detonating a second bomb.

Dagestan, an ethnically mixed, mostly Muslim region between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea, has become the most violent province in the North Caucasus, where insurgents say they are fighting to carve out an Islamic state out of southern Russia.

At least 405 people were killed in Dagestan in violence linked to the insurgency last year, according to the Caucasian Knot website, which tracks developments in the region.

Putin launched the second war in Chechnya as prime minister in 1999 and likes to take credit for preventing the region from splitting from Russia. But his 13 years in power have been marred by deadly attacks claimed by or blamed on the insurgents.

(Writing by Steve Gutterman; editing by Timothy Heritage and Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/car-bombs-kill-eight-russias-dagestan-investigators-120207347.html

kentucky wildcats oakland school shooting nike nfl jerseys katie couric barista university of kentucky oakland news

Single-cell transfection tool enables added control for biological studies

May 21, 2013 ? Northwestern University researchers have developed a new method for delivering molecules into single, targeted cells through temporary holes in the cell surface. The technique could find applications in drug delivery, cell therapy, and related biological fields.

Bulk electroporation -- a technique used to deliver molecules into cells through reversible nanopores in the cell membrane that are caused by exposing them to electric pulses -- is an increasingly popular method of cell transfection. (Cell transfection is the introduction of molecules, such as nucleic acids or proteins, into a cell to change its properties.)

However, because bulk electroporation applies electric pulses to a bulk cell solution, it results in heterogeneous cell populations and often low cell viability. To solve these problems, Northwestern University researchers have developed a novel tool for single-cell transfection.

The new method, called nanofountain probe electroporation (NFP-E), allows researchers to deliver molecules into targeted cells through temporary nanopores in the cell membrane created by a localized electric field applied to a small portion of the cell. The method enables researchers to control dosage by varying the duration of the electric pulses, which provides unprecedented control of cell transfection.

"This is really exciting," said Horacio Espinosa, James and Nancy Farley Professor of Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and one of the paper's authors. "The ability to precisely deliver molecules into single cells is needed for biotechnology researchers to advance the state-of-the-art in therapeutics, diagnostics, and drug delivery toward the promise of personalized medicine."

A paper describing the research, "Nanofountain Probe Electroporation (NFP-E) of Single Cells," was published May 7 in the journal Nano Letters.

NFP-E is based on nanofountain probe (NFP) technology developed in Espinosa's lab. The NFP-E chip consists of an array of microfabricated cantilever probes with integrated microfluidic channels. The probe has previously been used for high-speed nanopatterning of proteins and nanoparticles for drug delivery studies.

The new single-cell transfection application couples the probe with an electrode and fluid control system that can be easily connected to a micromanipulator or atomic force microscope for position control. This integrated system allows the entire transfection process and post-transfection cell response to be monitored by an optical microscope.

The NFP-E system is being developed for commercialization by iNfinitesimal LLC, a Northwestern spin-off company founded by Espinosa, and is expected to be available in late 2013.

The technique is proving to be extremely robust and multi-functional. Researchers have used the NFP-E chip to transfect HeLa cells with polysaccharides, proteins, DNA hairpins, and plasmid DNA with single-cell selectivity, high transfection efficiency (up to 95%), qualitative dosage control, and very high viability (up to 92%).

In addition to Espinosa, authors of the research paper include Wonmo Kang, Fazel Yavari, Majid Minary-Jolandan, Juan P. Giraldo-Vela, Asmahan Safi, Rebecca McNaughton, and Victor Parpoil. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/fvRiDBGoeR4/130521132223.htm

bobby brown arrested the happening black panthers mauritania obama open mic jefferson county colorado extenze

Jim Inhofe and the "reverse NIMBY" phenomenon (Washington Post)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/307295705?client_source=feed&format=rss

aladdin black forest ufc 144 fight card ufc 144 results acura nsx all star weekend 2012 giada de laurentiis

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

CA-NEWS Summary

Harper under cloud after chief of staff resigns

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper was under intense pressure on Monday to reassure voters that his administration is above reproach amid questions surrounding a secret check paid to Senator Mike Duffy. "There's been nothing under this prime minister's watch that's tied him so closely to such a massive ethical scandal. We need to see him show leadership," opposition New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Charlie Angus told a news conference.

Dagestan bombs kill four, two dead in shootout near Moscow

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Two car bombs killed at least four people and wounded dozens of others on Monday in one of the bloodiest attacks this year in Dagestan, a turbulent province in Russia's North Caucasus region where armed groups are waging an Islamist insurgency. Car bombs, suicide bombings and firefights are common in Dagestan, at the center of an insurgency rooted in two post-Soviet wars against separatist rebels in neighboring Chechnya.

Hezbollah in big Syria battle, Obama 'concerned'

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas have fought their biggest battle yet for Syria's beleaguered president, prompting international alarm that the civil war may spread and an urgent call for restraint from the United States. About 30 Hezbollah fighters were killed on Sunday, Syrian activists said, along with 20 Syrian troops and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad during the fiercest fighting this year in the rebel stronghold of Qusair, near the Lebanon border.

Nigeria says has Islamists on defensive

MAIDUGURI (Reuters) - Nigeria claimed an early success for its military offensive against Islamist insurgents in the northeast on Monday, saying the militants' activities had been stifled by nearly a week of attacks on their bases. Military officers in the combat zone, deep in a semi-desert frontier region, said operations continued and that troops faced considerable opposition from well-armed Boko Haram fighters.

Mexican opposition dispute goes public, threatening reforms

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Divisions within Mexico's main conservative opposition party have erupted into a bitter public dispute that threatens to undermine the reform agenda of President Enrique Pena Nieto. Short of a majority in Congress, Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) is likely to need support from the conservative National Action Party, or PAN, to see through plans to overhaul state oil giant Pemex and broaden the tax base.

Council of Europe tells Putin of concern over Russian NGO law

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - The head of the Council of Europe told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday he was concerned a law requiring non-governmental organizations which received funding from abroad to register as foreign agents could have a "chilling effect". Prosecutors have conducted a wave of inspections at the offices of all kinds of NGOs in Russia this year citing the law which critics say is part of a campaign to smother dissent against Putin during his third term as president.

Bomb attacks kill more than 70 Shi'ites across Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 70 people were killed in a series of car bombings and suicide attacks targeting Shi'ite Muslims across Iraq on Monday, police and medics said, extending the worst sectarian violence since U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011. The attacks increased the number killed in sectarian clashes in the past week to more than 200. Tensions between Shi'ites, who now lead Iraq, and minority Sunni Muslims have reached a point where some fear a return to all-out civil conflict.

Gay marriage law strains UK Cameron's leadership, government

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron's flagship gay marriage policy deepened a rift in his own party on Monday after many of his own lawmakers defied him in a sign of growing strains on his leadership and his coalition government. Almost 40 percent of Cameron's 303 lawmakers in the lower house of parliament voted for an ultimately unsuccessful amendment that would have allowed registrars to refuse to perform gay marriage ceremonies if they objected.

Qatar: Arab Spring makes Israeli-Palestinian peace more pressing

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's emir, who has thrown his state's riches behind Arab uprisings, said on Monday that the emergence of 'people power' had put Arabs in direct confrontation with Israel and made a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more pressing. "We heard in the past that reform (in the Arab world) must wait until a peaceful settlement with Israel is achieved, but everybody should realize that such belief is now unfounded after the Arab Spring revolts," Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani told a conference in the Qatari capital.

China offers India a 'handshake across the Himalayas'

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and China will study new ways to ease tensions on their ill-defined border after an army standoff in the Himalayas, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday on his first official foreign trip. The number two in the Chinese leadership offered New Delhi a "handshake across the Himalayas" and said the world's most populous nations could become a new engine for the global economy if they could avoid friction on the militarized border.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-025303104.html

bloom energy franklin graham jambalaya taylor swift and zac efron basketball wives manny ramirez easter 2012

japan stendhal: School speech therapy jobs - Mental Health ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://japan-stendhal.blogspot.com/2013/05/school-speech-therapy-jobs-mental.html

Mark Sanford Ray Harryhausen elizabeth smart chipotle Shakira Amanda Berry Farrah Abraham Sex Tape

Monday, May 20, 2013

YouTube Turns Eight Today

The youtube.com domain name was activated on February 14, 2005, and the first public preview of the site went live eight years ago today. So...birthday!

Read more...

    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/kEHTZJIUeOU/youtube-turns-eight-today-508737205

Galaxy S4 Conclave tmz Sizzurp the bachelor earthquake What is a Jesuit

'Star Trek Into Darkness' Spoiler Special: Burning Questions Answered

Co-writer Damon Lindelof exclusively addresses the mysteries surrounding the blockbuster.
By Josh Horowitz

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707650/star-trek-into-darkness-spoiler-special-burning-questions-answered.jhtml

serena williams Espn Fantasy Football Grandparents Day 2012 army wives 60 minutes go daddy Tom Kenny

Friars pound Nationals, force series split

By BERNIE WILSON

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 7:26 p.m. ET May 19, 2013

SAN DIEGO (AP) - After losing to Stephen Strasburg on Thursday night and then blowing an extra-inning game Friday night, the San Diego Padres righted themselves rather nicely against the defending NL East champion Washington Nationals.

Andrew Cashner pitched 6 2-3 strong innings and Kyle Blanks and Will Venable homered off Dan Haren to lead the Padres to a 13-4 victory Sunday and a split of their four-game series.

"It's huge. They have probably one of the best rotations in baseball, let alone lineups," Cashner said. `'That's a really, really good team over there. After we lost the first two we definitely played better the last two games."

After Eric Stults outpitched Jordan Zimmermann on Saturday night, the Padres got to Haren early on Sunday. The Padres tied their season high in runs and their 15 hits against four Nationals pitchers were two short of their season high.

"It was good to bounce back in beating Zimmermann, who is arguably the best pitcher in the National League right now. That was a big win last night," San Diego manager Bud Black said.

"Then to come back today against Haren, who's a great competitor. We got to him early and got him there in the middle part of the game with a couple big swings. Good for our guys. It was a good win."

San Diego's Yonder Alonso homered off Drew Storen leading off the eighth to finish 3 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. It was his sixth homer.

Everth Cabrera and rookie Jedd Gyorko each had two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored. Cabrera had three stolen bases to give him a major league-leading 18.

"We're swinging really good right now and we're seeing the ball so good right now," Cabrera said. "It feels great. I'm happy."

Cashner (3-2) allowed three runs and seven hits, struck out six and walked one.

He retired the first seven Nationals batters and the Padres jumped on Haren for three runs in the first.

"Cash carried that momentum all the way through the game," Black said. "I thought he did a nice job with the fastball-change combination. He wobbled very little. I thought he was in control of the game and pitched very well."

The Nationals have lost six of nine.

Haren (4-5) got off to a rough start by allowing three runs in the first inning and was gone after the fourth-run fifth. Haren allowed nine hits while striking out five and walking two.

With the Padres leading 3-2, Venable opened the fifth with a shot deep into the stands in right field, his sixth. Haren retired the next two batters before Alonso doubled to left-center and scored on Gyorko's single to left.

Blanks then lined Haren's next pitch an estimated 383 feet off the side of the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in the left-field corner for a 7-2 lead. It was his third.

"Way too many mistakes," Haren said. "I didn't feel good out there. I didn't have much. I made a bunch of mistakes in the first inning. I kept it close for a while but you can't keep leaving balls out over the plate to a professional lineup. I kept fighting myself. I was working behind in the count too much, which is a recipe for disaster."

The Padres scored three runs against Haren in the first on three hits and a walk. Carlos Quentin and Gyorko had RBI doubles and Alonso a sacrifice fly.

The Nationals pulled to 3-2 in the fourth on Ryan Zimmerman's two-run homer that went an estimated 414 feet into the second deck in left, his third. Steve Lombardozzi was aboard on a leadoff infield single after his hard smash went off Cashner's glove. Cashner was knocked backward by the impact. He stayed in the game.

The Padres scored five runs on four hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly off Ryan Mattheus in the seventh. Cabrera had a two-run single.

"Very disappointing," Washington manager Davey Johnson said. "I hate to even talk about that one today. We didn't pitch very well. We got back in the ballgame but Haren obviously didn't have his stuff. The bullpen didn't do it. Tough day."

NOTES: The Padres had a season-high five stolen bases. ... Washington's Adam LaRoche hit an RBI single in the seventh to extend his career-best hitting streak to 16 games. ... Nationals OF Bryce Harper sat out a second straight game with a bruised left knee from his collision with the right-field wall at Dodger Stadium last Monday night. .... Haren's poor start ended a string of nine consecutive games in which Washington starters allowed two or fewer earned runs. ... The Nationals open a three-game series at San Francisco on Monday night. LHP Zach Duke (0-0, 8.40) is scheduled to start against RHP Ryan Vogelsong (1-4, 8.06). Duke is slated to make his first start since July 10, 2011, at St. Louis. ... The Padres continue their homestand with a three-game series against St. Louis that starts Monday night. The Cardinals are scheduled to start RHP Shelby Miller (5-2, 1.40) vs. RHP Jason Marquis (5-2, 3.49).

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


advertisement

More newsGetty Images
Chooch's hammy a worry for Phils

HBT: Carlos Ruiz was lifted from Sunday afternoon?s game against the Reds after straining his right hamstring while running the bases in the bottom of the second inning.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51936146/ns/sports-baseball/

march madness Masters Leaderboard 2013 How Animals Eat Their Food Aereo Masters 2013 Lone Star College 42

Online Business System for Building Traffic - world's best businesses

Online Business System for Building Traffic

People can make sure that business will always offer people with great opportunity for anyone but people have to be ready with the strict competition which can be found today moreover in the internet era which is getting more and more familiar for many people all around the world. People should be more aware about this because they have to do some crucial steps for getting the business success. Building website is important but people also have to do various steps for?building traffic?to their business.

Traffic will mean anything for business because it means that there are more people who pay attention and have interest with their business. It will also mean that there are more people who can be potential customers of the business. People cannot ignore?building traffic?for their business of course because it can also be alternative yet useful method of marketing which can be found in this modern world. Maybe people think that SEO and many steps which they have to do for?building traffic?to their business is very complicated.

There is no need to worry about this because people can find the business system which is proven, legit, and of course profitable. It will be able to send people with buyer traffic within hours only.

This entry was posted in Business Information's. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://worldsbestbusinesses.com/online-business-system-for-building-traffic.html

weather new orleans orcl the hartford illinois primary 2012 michael bay zsa zsa gabor illinois primary

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Ex-NBA player stabbed, seriously injured in fight

FILE - In this July 3, 2005 file photo Predrag Danilovic, center, challenges for the ball with Antonello Riva, left during an basketball match, in Belgrade, Serbia. Danilovic, former basketball star who played for NBA?s Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, has been seriously injured in a bar fight. Police say Danilovic was stabbed during a brawl early Saturday in a cafe in a residential part of the capital, Belgrade. Doctors say Danilovic underwent an operation after suffering serious injuries to his abdomen, head and arms. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, file)

FILE - In this July 3, 2005 file photo Predrag Danilovic, center, challenges for the ball with Antonello Riva, left during an basketball match, in Belgrade, Serbia. Danilovic, former basketball star who played for NBA?s Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, has been seriously injured in a bar fight. Police say Danilovic was stabbed during a brawl early Saturday in a cafe in a residential part of the capital, Belgrade. Doctors say Danilovic underwent an operation after suffering serious injuries to his abdomen, head and arms. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, file)

(AP) ? Serbian police say Predrag Danilovic, who played for the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, is seriously injured after being stabbed in a fight.

Police say Danilovic was hurt during a brawl early Saturday in a cafe in a residential part of the capital, Belgrade. Doctors say Danilovic underwent an operation to treat injuries to his abdomen, head and arms.

The reason for the brawl was not immediately known.

Danilovic is currently the general manager of Serbian basketball club Partizan Belgrade.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-18-BKO-Danilovic-Hospitalized/id-d1c8d323fdc44a5fa71a04e9cf109d17

intc tupac andrew shaw hologram pulitzer prize winners nfl 2012 schedule gmail down

Cancer patient: 'I'm the model case for why Obamacare' is needed ...

Dan Seco, 26, is undergoing chemotherapy treatment but lost his health insurance months before he was diagnosed. He's hoping Republicans fail to repeal Obamacare.

Dan Seco, 26, is undergoing chemotherapy treatment but lost his health insurance months before he was diagnosed. He?s hoping Republicans fail to repeal Obamacare.

It was a so-called ?scandal?-filled week for the Obama administration with Benghazi, the IRS and the AP dominating the chatter in the old, new and social medias. It was all?red meat for Republicans and righties everywhere are drooling.

?Nothing dissolves the bonds between the people and their government like the arrogance of power here in Washington,? Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday. ?And that?s what the American people are seeing today from the Obama administration, remarkable arrogance.?

Republicans will undoubtedly?be talking about these ?scandals? for months. But there?s a real scandal going on in Washington right now.

Republicans in Congress voted to repeal Obamacare for the 38th time on Thursday. And of course, the vote didn?t go down without a show.

?We see this coming just like the Titanic, we see that iceberg, only it`s not just in a mist,? said Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. ?Shortly in front of our eyes, we have time to turn. And that?s why we are here. We?re here to make a turn from a train wreck.?

?It is a malignant tumor metastasizing on American liberty and must be ripped out by the rules and completely repealed,? said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.

But the Republican-led House is taking the phrase ?do nothing? to a whole new level. Out of the 138 days so far this year, Boehner?s House has been in session for only 51. And one of those precious days was wasted trying to take away your health care.

It?s estimated since Republicans took control of the House in January 2011, they?ve spent 15% of their time attempting to repeal Obamacare. But Boehner is trying to convince Americans it?s about jobs.

?These are the thousands and thousands of pages of Obamacare regulations,? Boehner said Thursday. ?And if we want jobs, we need to get rid of this because this is getting in the way of employers hiring workers around the country.?

But so far this year, there has not been one vote in the House on a jobs bill. Instead, it looks like the Republican master plan for job creation is taking health care away from 30 million Americans.

Meanwhile, there is another major health care story grabbing headlines this week. After undergoing genetic testing, actress Angela Jolie learned she had an 87% chance of developing breast cancer, and a 54% chance of developing ovarian cancer. With those odds, Jolie opted to have a double mastectomy in February. At this time, it?s still unclear whether Jolie will have her ovaries removed.

Jolie is brave but also very lucky. She had the means to undergo testing and take care of the problem before it got serious. But many Americans are in desperate need of health insurance. And it is literally a matter of life and death.

On May 11, MSNBC host Ed Schultz asked for a volunteer with cancer, but no health insurance, to come forward and share their experience. And he found a perfect example of why Republicans should leave Obamacare alone.

Dan Seco

Dan Seco, 26, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after he lost his health care.

Dan Seco, 26, is a freelance sports writer. He played by the rules his whole life. He worked hard, studied hard, went to graduate school and pursued a career as a freelance sports journalist.

As soon as Dan turned 26, he lost his health care, and as a freelance writer he didn?t have the money to buy private health insurance. Then after losing his health care, through no fault of his own, Dan was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma?back in February. So now Dan is facing the monumental task of figuring out how to pay for his cancer treatment.

Dan wanted to appear on The Ed Show Saturday, but he is undergoing another chemo treatment. The Ed Show offered to go to his hospital room to tape an interview, but his doctors didn?t want to risk Dan?s health (editor?s note: Dan?s brother Kyle Seco, who is raising money for Dan?s treatments, agreed to appear in his place on Saturday?s The Ed Show).

But Dan really felt it was important to tell you his story, so he called The?Ed Schultz Radio Show?on Friday.

?I?m currently in the hospital right now, I?m undergoing chemotherapy treatment. I?m about half way through with my current regime,? Dan told Schultz. ?I had health insurance up until my 26th birthday, which was last August. I was working for a travel company and I wanted to pursue my writing career full-time. And I took a little bit of a risk by not having health insurance, but I didn?t have any options really as a writer.?

Dan says he?s applying for Medicaid and relying on charity and the good-natured spirit of other people to help him out. Meantime, he and 30 million Americans are waiting for the benefits of Obamacare to kick in.

Dan?s story is like millions of other Americans. Thirty million people are waiting for Obamacare.

?I think I?m the model case for why Obamacare needs to pass and what it can do to help people in my situation, who are pursuing what they want to do with their life,? Dan said. ?And they need the care that they can?t afford. You pay out of pocket for some things like a PET Scan that shows how much cancer you have in your body, $14,000. Who has the money to pay for that??

Dan says he?s trying to comprehend why Republicans are spending so much time trying to repeal Obamacare.

?I can?t understand why someone would work against this type of policy, which is really going to make the lives of so many people so much easier,? said Dan. ?Even I find out I?m better by August, who knows that happens a year later, two years later, further down the road. The bottom line is, I need health insurance.?

To learn more about Dan and to help him in his battle against cancer, click here and give what you can.

Source: http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/05/18/cancer-patient-im-the-model-case-for-why-obamacare-is-needed/

game change own stacy francis tournament brackets 2012 ncaa basketball tournament walt what time is it

New malaria test kit gives a boost to elimination efforts worldwide

May 17, 2013 ? A new, highly sensitive blood test that quickly detects even the lowest levels of malaria parasites in the body could make a dramatic difference in efforts to tackle the disease in the UK and across the world, according to new research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

In two studies led by researchers in the UK and Switzerland, the new LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) test was compared to existing methods in London laboratories that deal with imported cases of malaria to the UK, and to diagnostic methods used in the field in Uganda, where malaria is a leading cause of illness and death.

The simple test, which can be performed by a non-specialist health worker and does not need refrigerating like other tests, requires a sample of blood to be processed and placed in a test tube with a reactive powder then heated. If the malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites are present, the tube glows green. The whole process takes less than an hour.

The first study, led in London by the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HTD), the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, compared LAMP to existing laboratory diagnostic methods on 705 blood samples of suspected imported malaria cases in the UK.

Dr Colin Sutherland, Clinical Scientist at HTD and Reader in Parasitology at the Malaria Reference Laboratory at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: "According to data collected for Public Health England by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the UK treats at least 1,500 cases of imported malaria every year. Despite the very best efforts of the NHS, a handful of malaria related deaths still occur annually in UK hospitals. The new LAMP test for malaria performed very well when tested in the parasite reference laboratory at HTD, and correctly identified every malaria patient out of 705 malaria tests performed.

"An important advantage of LAMP is that non-specialist staff in any hospital in the UK will be able to accurately and rapidly detect the presence of malaria parasites, and immediately begin treatment without waiting for confirmation from local experts or specialist laboratories. This speed of diagnosis can make the difference between an uncomplicated episode of malaria that rapidly responds to treatment, and progression to severe disease, organ failure and heightened risk of death. It could also save the NHS a significant amount of money from having to treat the complications of malaria."

LAMP was faster than PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, which require specialised laboratory equipment, costly reagents and advanced training. It was also more accurate than microscopic examination of blood slides, which require a trained specialist to identify the malaria parasites.

In the second study, researchers from HTD, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Switzerland, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Uganda Ministry of Health, Kampala, looked at the accuracy of the test at a rural clinic in Uganda.

Blood samples from 272 patients with suspected malaria were tested using LA MP using a simple generator to provide electrical current. These results were compared with expert microscopy and PCR performed at central reference laboratories. LAMP detected cases of low-level malaria parasite infection that were missed by expert microscopy, and achieved accuracy similar to that of PCR down to very low levels. The researchers say these findings have important implications for eliminating malaria, which causes an estimated 660,000 deaths worldwide every year.

Dr Sutherland, who worked on both of the studies, said: "Patterns of malaria disease in Africa and elsewhere across the tropics are becoming much less predictable, and control of malaria needs an appropriate test to identify infected individuals in the populations at risk. These people may not display any malaria symptoms. We have begun using LAMP as a new tool for identifying "hot spots" of malaria infections which can be mopped up quickly through a combination of drug treatment, house spraying and distribution of bed-nets.

"LAMP will potentially contribute to saving many families and communities from the blight of a disease that keeps children from succeeding at school, prevents adults from growing food or working, holds back regional economies and exacts an annual death toll in the hundreds of thousands."

The LAMP malaria test will now be used in the Malaria Reference Laboratory at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to help identify imported cases of malaria in the UK as well as being used by health workers in the field in malaria endemic countries.

The LAMP malaria test is commercially available and was developed by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London and Eiken Chemical Company Ltd, Japan. The studies were funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of The Netherlands, and the UK Department for International Development.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/M9d7yJdth0c/130517102718.htm

Alabama hostage mta Beyonce Superbowl weather.com nemo redbox Nemo Storm

Former Argentine dictator Jorge Videla dies in prison

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) ? Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla has died of natural causes while serving life sentences in prison for crimes against humanity.

Videla took power in a 1976 coup and led a military junta that killed thousands of his fellow citizens in a dirty war to eliminate "subversives."

Federal Prison Service Director Victor Hortel said he died in Friday morning in the Marcos Paz prison.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/argentine-ex-dictator-jorge-videla-dies-prison-134733286.html

one world trade center Benghazi Ariel Castro Filomena Tobias Raquel Pomplun the great gatsby the great gatsby

Saturday, May 18, 2013

The EPA Could Lose Its Power to Fight Climate Change Before Using It

Advocates of forceful action on climate change have long held a trump card. The primary source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. is coal plants, and ??since the Supreme Court has determined that those emissions are a pollutant ??the EPA is mandated to regulate them. At some point, then, whether whatever president likes it or not, the agency had to make a rule limiting carbon dioxide?emissions.

RELATED: Five Best Monday Columns

But, what the court giveth, the court can rescind in a tightly contested vote. And with a barrage of petitions raining down on a conservative-leaning Supreme Court, it's possible that the EPA's pollution-control mandate could be eradicated well before the threat of climate change is.

RELATED: Sex Lives of Supreme Court Justices

Among large, developed countries, only Australia emits more carbon dioxide per person than the United States. China emits the most overall, of course, but as greenhouse gas polluters, we're still in the top tier. For decades, environmentalists have pushed to cut the country's overall emissions levels, winning a significant victory in 2007 when the Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts vs. EPA that carbon dioxide was an air pollutant. Under the Clean Air Act, that required that the EPA take action.

RELATED: Should the Supreme Court Grant Ashcroft Immunity?

So far, it hasn't. When Barack Obama came into office, pledging to be the president who oversaw the moment when "the rise of the oceans began to slow,"?advocates hoped he'd move quickly to curb?carbon dioxide?emissions. In 2009, the House passed a measure to institute a market-based system to reduce emissions; it wasn't voted on in the Senate. Last January, Obama called for a similar solution, saying he'd act if the Congress wouldn't. That declaration, however belated, was interpreted as meaning he would ask the EPA to regulate coal-burning plants, even though his staff seemed unprepared to do so.

RELATED: Elena Kagan, Careerist?

While Obama and the EPA have delayed, opponents of regulating greenhouse gas emissions ??largely fossil fuel companies ??have filed a number of challenges to the Court's ruling. To date, they've failed; in both July and December last year, lower courts upheld the EPA's right to regulate. But each lower court decision makes an appeal to the highest court more inevitable. Reuters indicates that a case could arrive at the Supreme Court as soon as this October.

Some of the challengers specifically ask the court to consider overturning Massachusetts v. EPA. They point out that the Clean Air Act, which passed in 1970, was not designed to tackle climate change. At least one brief, by the state of Virginia, challenges the EPA's evaluation of the climate change science that underpinned its decision to regulate greenhouse gases. Others contend the Supreme Court's holding in the 2007 ruling, which specifically addressed automobile emissions, did not give the EPA the authority to issue greenhouse gas rules that affect such a broad cross-section of the economy.

If the justices were to accept one of these broad petitions and side with challengers, they could make it impossible for the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases and could open the door to attacks on the air pollution regulations the agency has formulated for 30 years, according to Dru Stevenson, a law professor at the South Texas College of Law.

That last point is even more alarming. The EPA uses the Clean Air Act as its mandate to regulate air pollution. If the Court says that it can't use the law to regulate carbon dioxide, it will not take long for companies that emit pollution of various types to challenge other Clean Air Act regulations.

RELATED: Supreme Court Weighs Freeing Chinese Muslims

There were two dissenting opinions filed in the five-to-four Massachusetts vs. EPA, written by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia. The make-up of the Court hasn't changed much; there are two new justices ??Sotomayor and Kagan ??who replace two that voted to support the majority opinion. In other words, it's not clear that the Court hearing the case means that the EPA's ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions will be revoked.

But it's another sign of the lack of progress made in addressing climate change over the last six years. In 2007, a five-to-four vote established a critical tool that the EPA could use to tackle global warming. In 2013 ? without that having happened and facing a much weaker political position ? environmental advocates can only hope to keep that trump card in the deck.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/epa-could-lose-power-fight-climate-change-using-193905587.html

festivus nfl playoff picture nfl playoff picture Larry King Suzy Favor Hamilton mayan calendar end of the world

New Faces, New Places

Over the last several weeks, you may have noticed some changes at Gizmodo?and not just the layout. We've been sharpening our coverage of design, concepts, and the objects and ideas that are shaping our world, and growing our team to help us do it. Now it's time to meet the people who are leading that charge?starting with our new Editor in Chief, Geoff Manaugh.

Read more...

    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/m0I14pV4viE/new-faces-new-places-504786565

Tim Berners-Lee Olympics 2012 Schedule Kenneth Branagh Lupe Ontiveros London 2012 China muhammad ali Opening ceremony London 2012

National Secular Society - As the country struggles with its finances ...

A new deal between the Government and the Catholic Church will see millions more of taxpayers' money flowing into the church's coffers.

Recent changes to the Gift Aid scheme mean that charities can now claim Gift Aid on smaller donations.

Catholic parish churches will be able to claim from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) an extra 20% for each donation of up to ?20 without requiring the giver to complete a form. It is estimated that every church could benefit by up to ?1,250 a year. If all 2,400 Catholic churches in England and Wales claim, around ?3 million could be claimed each year. The money could help dioceses cope with the loss of thousands of pounds following the cut that could be claimed in Gift Aid in 2011 from 23p to 20p in the pound.

Under the scheme, which came into effect last month, parish churches are for the first time being treated as individual charities. Previously the Church's 22 dioceses were each treated as registered charities rather than the parish churches within them. The Church of England already benefits from this scheme as all its churches are registered as individual charities.

Under the new scheme, each church can claim from HMRC for every ?1 of a "small" donation.

HMRC said that it hoped the new scheme, which was agreed in consultation with representatives of the Catholic Church, would make it easier for small charities to claim top-up payments. It said that in the past, churches found it difficult to claim gift aid, because collection donations might be too small to warrant a Gift Aid declaration.

Large dioceses such as Westminster and Birmingham, which each have more than 200 churches, could benefit to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Jim Whiston, the finance director in the Diocese of Middlesbrough, said that they hope to raise ?80,000 under the new scheme. "It's going to make a difference," he said.

Robert Meakin, a trustee for the Diocese of East Anglia and partner at charity lawyers Stone King, told The Tablet magazine that the change was good news for the Catholic Church. "The scheme took into account the peculiar structure of the Catholic Church which has 22 diocesan charities administering parish churches which are not constituted as a separate charities," he said. "If the scheme only allowed charities to claim then the Catholic Church would have been prejudiced (only having 22 diocesan charities) so it allowed each charity to make a claim in respect of each and every 'community building' which it owns which in the Catholic Church opens the scheme up to approximately 2,500 parish churches."

Meanwhile, the Church of England announced some of its best financial results in recent years this week, with a 9.7% return on investments for 2012. The Church commissioners manage ?5.5 billion in assets for the Church of England.

Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, said: "The Archbishop of Canterbury ? a former banker ? lectures large financial institutions about the morality of their practices. But he doesn't seem to think that the vastly wealthy organisation he heads should pay taxes like the rest of us have to. Similarly with the Catholic Church ? one of the wealthiest organisations in the world ? why are they getting even more tax breaks when the country is on its financial uppers and front line services are being destroyed?"

Source: http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2013/05/as-the-country-struggles-with-its-finances-new-tax-perks-for-churches-are-brought-in

jaleel white levi johnston 2013 srt viper scott walker recall fisker atlantic social darwinism wisconsin recall election

Friday, May 17, 2013

Hollywood and 9/11: The Movies and TV Dramas Resembling the ...

The famous Hollywood sign

"It represents capitalism. It represents freedom. It represents everything America is
about. And to bring those two buildings down would bring America to its knees."

- Line from Nosebleed, a movie originally set to start being
filmed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001

A significant number of movies and television dramas were being produced at the time of the 9/11 attacks, which had storylines with some remarkable similarities to the events of September 11, 2001. These storylines featured incidents such as terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, terrorists hijacking a commercial aircraft, and terrorists causing a jumbo jet to crash in New York.

The movies and TV shows would have featured some famous actors, and were being made for major companies, such as CBS and 20th Century Fox. Furthermore, employees of the military and other U.S. government agencies are known to have assisted in developing the storylines of some of these productions. Unsurprisingly, after September 11, the movies and TV shows were either canceled or significantly rewritten so as to remove any resemblance to the 9/11 attacks.

The existence of these movies and TV dramas, at the very least, disproves claims that the 9/11 attacks could not have been foreseen. It is worth considering, however, whether these productions served a more sinister purpose in relation to 9/11, albeit unknown to most of the people working on them.

This article examines seven movies and television dramas that were in production at the time of the 9/11 attacks, which all had notable similarities to aspects of what happened on September 11. These proposed movies and TV shows received some attention after September 11 because of their resemblance to the attacks in New York and at the Pentagon. Newsweek even commented that the amount of movies and TV shows about terrorism being made at that time "makes you wonder if this [i.e. terrorism] wasn't an obsessive theme in the culture even before September 11." [1] However, no one suggested that there might have been a more sinister reason for there being so many productions about terrorism. Instead, their existence was treated like a simple coincidence.

ACTION MOVIE FEATURED TERRORIST PLOT TO BLOW UP THE WORLD TRADE CENTER
A number of movies and TV shows that were being produced at the time of the 9/11 attacks are notable because they featured acts of terrorism in New York or, specifically, at the World Trade Center.

A movie that is particularly striking is Nosebleed, which would have been about a terrorist plot to bomb the Twin Towers. [2] It was going to feature the well-known martial artist and actor Jackie Chan as a window washer at the World Trade Center who uncovers the plot and tries to thwart the terrorists. [3]

The script for Nosebleed was initially written in 1999 by Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner, and developed after that. Zicherman and Metzner had also come up with the film's storyline. [4]

A line reportedly in the script indicates that the fictitious terrorists intended to cause the Twin Towers to collapse--like what actually happened on September 11. A terrorist would say of the WTC: "It represents capitalism. It represents freedom. It represents everything America is about. And to bring those two buildings down would bring America to its knees." [5]

Nosebleed would have been a major film. It would have cost $50 million to $60 million to make, according to Variety magazine. [6] In May 2000, it was reported that Renny Harlin, who previously directed action movies such as Die Hard 2 and The Long Kiss Goodnight, was in talks to direct it, although whether he was subsequently taken on as director is unclear. [7]

FILMING WAS SET TO TAKE PLACE AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER ON SEPTEMBER 11
Not only did the plot of Nosebleed have similarities to the 9/11 attacks, but a scene for the movie was scheduled to be filmed at the top of one of the Twin Towers at 7:00 a.m. on September 11. [8] The filming would have taken place at Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the North Tower, according to Jackie Chan, but it was canceled. So instead of being at the WTC, Chan was in Toronto working on another movie, The Tuxedo, on September 11. [9]

Had the filming gone ahead as originally scheduled, Chan and the other people involved would likely have died, since everyone who was in Windows on the World when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. on September 11 was trapped and subsequently died. [10] Chan told one newspaper, "I would probably have died if the shooting went ahead as planned." [11] He said that on September 11, after he learned about the attacks on the WTC, he was "like a walking dead man" for the rest of the day. [12]

It is unclear why the filming at the WTC was canceled. According to some reports, it was because the script for the scene there was late. [13] According to the Orlando Sentinel, it was because Chan "didn't want to make Nosebleed without a finished script." "The action was good, but, somehow, the script not ready," he commented. [14] But Chan gave a different explanation to the Boston Phoenix, saying: "The studio didn't really like the script of Nosebleed because it was not perfect yet. So my manager said: 'Don't worry. If you do not like this film, we can do Tuxedo. You will meet with [Steven] Spielberg to see if you like it or not.' Then I met with Spielberg and I say I will do Tuxedo, because I trust Spielberg." [15]

Unsurprisingly, work on Nosebleed was put on hold after 9/11 and the movie has never been made. [16]

COMEDY MOVIE WOULD HAVE INCLUDED 'A BIG WORLD TRADE CENTER SCENE WITH TERRORISTS'
Another movie was, like Nosebleed, notable because--as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described--its plot featured "New York, the World Trade Center, and terrorists." [17] Till Death Do Us Part would have been a comedy starring the well-known actors Billy Crystal and Michael Douglas. Its storyline, according to Newsday, was "about two fathers, soon to be related by their children's marriage," who have to take on "a terrorist bent on creating havoc in New York City." The movie would have included "a significant scene that was to take place at the Windows on the World restaurant" at the top of the North Tower. [18] It featured "a big World Trade Center scene with terrorists," according to Crystal, who added, "Funny, but the whole story was about that." [19]

Till Death Do Us Part was being made by Warner Brothers and Franchise Pictures, and was written in 2000 by Nat Mauldin, whose previous work included writing Dr. Dolittle, the 1998 comedy starring Eddie Murphy. [20] Filming was set to begin on November 17, 2001. [21] The movie was put on hold after September 11, but it was subsequently rewritten and was released in May 2003, renamed The In-Laws and with Crystal no longer starring in it. [22]

NBC PLANNED A DRAMA SERIES ABOUT AL-QAEDA ATTACKS IN NEW YORK
A big-budget television drama was being developed at the time of the 9/11 attacks, which, like these movies, centered on terrorism in New York. NBC was working on a five-hour miniseries, called Terror, about a series of al-Qaeda attacks in the city. The show would have been a crossover between the network's three Law & Order series (the original show, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent) and was going to be broadcast in May 2002. [23]

Terror would have followed an Osama bin Laden devotee who goes from an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan to New York. There, he detonates explosives in the subway under Times Square, killing over 1,000 New Yorkers. [24] Investigators then discover a terrorist release of anthrax, and the storyline would subsequently include the threat of a release of smallpox. [25]

Dick Wolf, the creator of Law & Order, put forward the idea for the show. When he was asked, early in 2001, if he had any suggestions for a miniseries, Wolf answered, "Terrorism in New York City." This, according to Los Angeles magazine, was a story he had "long wanted to do." When Wolf told Neal Baer, one of Law & Order's executive producers, about the miniseries, Baer said the show should specifically be about bioterrorism.

By June 2001, Wolf had written a 40-page outline for Terror. [26] By August, Wolf and his colleagues were "deeply involved in the story," according to Baer. [27] Filming was set to begin on September 24, less than two weeks after 9/11. [28]

On September 11, before the attacks took place in New York, Baer and some of his colleagues were at a facility only a couple of miles from the World Trade Center doing "preproduction planning" for the show. [29] Terror was canceled a week later, in light of the 9/11 attacks. [30]

WRITER AND MILITARY OFFICIALS CONSIDERED 9/11-STYLE SCENARIO FOR SERIES ABOUT TERRORIST ATTACK IN THE U.S.
Other movies and television shows being produced at the time of the 9/11 attacks stand out because their storylines featured terrorist events that resembled specific aspects of 9/11: an aircraft hijacking, a plane crash, and an attack in the U.S. that leads to a wider conflict, like the actual "war on terror."

One of these was a TV miniseries called World War III, which would have been about "how an act of terrorism on United States soil expanded into global conflict," according to the Dallas Observer. Bryce Zabel, a longtime television writer and producer, who was elected as chairman of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in August 2001, was working on this show. He was scheduled to meet with executives at the cable channel USA Network on September 13, 2001, to present the details of his miniseries to them.

Zabel consulted the U.S. military while working on the storyline for World War III and apparently considered scenarios resembling the 9/11 attacks. He has recalled: "My partner and I had worked carefully with the Air Force and some Pentagon war planners to figure out the possible scenarios by which such a conflict [i.e. a world war] could come into being. The irony is that we had sort of rejected something as radical as what just happened [on September 11] as being a little too much."

Zabel has not said what kind of terrorist attack he eventually decided to incorporate into his storyline. But he noted a similarity between what his show envisioned and what happened on September 11, saying the 9/11 attacks meant that "the cautionary tale we hoped to tell in fiction ended up becoming a cautionary tale told on the evening news." [31]

Zabel's miniseries was canceled in response to the 9/11 attacks. But, possibly referring to the similarity between its storyline and the "global war on terrorism" that began after 9/11, Zabel said, two weeks after September 11, that World War III would have "reflected exactly what's going on in the world right now." [32]

PLANNED MOVIE FEATURED CYBER-TERRORISTS CAUSING A JUMBO JET TO CRASH IN NEW YORK
One movie that was in the pipeline on September 11, called WW3.com, would have involved cyber-terrorists causing a Boeing 767--the type of plane that hit the Twin Towers--to crash just a few miles from the World Trade Center.

Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox had been working on WW3.com since 1998. The movie, according to Variety, would have featured "a high-concept, special effects-laden storyline involving cyber-terrorists who have declared war on the United States." [33] It was written by David Marconi, who previously wrote Enemy of the State, a 1998 thriller starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman.

Marconi said his screenplay for WW3.com was "incredibly prescient about the events of September 11." He described the storyline as "a blueprint for disaster." Notably, the movie's climax would have featured a Boeing 767 crashing into a Simon and Garfunkel concert in New York's Central Park.

Marconi was assisted by experts from the National Security Agency (NSA) while he was working on the screenplay. He has recalled that these experts were "more than helpful in laying out situations not dissimilar from what happened at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon" on September 11. On the day of 9/11, one of them even phoned Marconi and said to him: "Turn on the TV. It's happening." Marconi has not said whether the scenario of a 767 crashing into Central Park was suggested to him by someone at the NSA. [34]

In August 2000, it was reported that WW3.com would be produced by Luc Besson, the well-known French film writer, director, and producer. [35] The film was shelved after 9/11, but the script was rewritten and made into the fourth Die Hard movie, Live Free or Die Hard, which was released in 2007. [36]

'TOP-SECRET' MOVIE FEATURED A PLANE HIJACKING
20th Century Fox also worked on Deadline, a movie that would have involved an aircraft hijacking. Few details are known about this film. It was, according to the Los Angeles Times, "in top-secret development" before September 11. All that has been reported of its storyline is that it featured terrorists hijacking a commercial aircraft.

Deadline was reportedly being produced by James Cameron, the renowned director of movies such as Titanic and The Terminator. It was written by brothers Peter and David Griffiths, who also wrote Collateral Damage, a movie about terrorism starring Arnold Schwarzenegger that was released in 2002. [37]

Deadline was put on hold after 9/11. [38] It was revived in 2008, with the new name Nagasaki Deadline. At that time, Variety reported that the storyline "centered on an emotionally damaged FBI agent who must decipher historic events in a desperate race to avert a terrorist plot." It is unclear if this was the original storyline of the movie or if the plot was changed after September 11. [39] Five years later, the movie has still not been made.

TV MOVIE WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED THE INVESTIGATION OF A PLANE CRASH POSSIBLY CAUSED BY BIN LADEN
One production is notable because, although it did not feature a terrorist attack, its storyline centered on the investigation of a plane crash, just as the 9/11 attacks led to the investigations of plane crashes. Furthermore, Osama bin Laden would have been mentioned in it.

Fall From the Sky was to have been a TV movie for CBS. Although being made for television rather than cinema, it had a large budget, of $7.2 million. [40] It was written by Nicholas Meyer--who previously wrote several of the Star Trek movies--and Brian Rehak, and would have starred Forest Whitaker, the award-winning actor of such movies as Bird and The Last King of Scotland.

Fall From the Sky would have told the story of the crash of a new type of passenger aircraft in which hundreds of people die, and the investigation that follows. Whitaker was to have played the National Transportation Safety Board official who leads the investigation. [41]

The storyline, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, looked at "the meticulous process of gathering scientific evidence after the tragedy." [42] It also "dealt a lot with the [Federal Aviation Administration] and issues of concealment," Whitaker said. [43] The TV movie, according to Meyer, would show "the political pressures brought to bear on the investigation." [44]

Furthermore, the storyline included investigators examining the theory that Osama bin Laden was responsible for the crash. [45] According to Meyer, it would transpire that terrorists were not to blame.

Filming was scheduled to begin in Winnipeg, Canada, around the start of October 2001 and the TV movie was in preproduction in September that year. [46] However, CBS canceled Fall From the Sky shortly after 9/11. [47]

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
The fact that these movies and television shows were in production at the time of the 9/11 attacks, at the very least, disproves official claims that no one could have predicted what happened on September 11. What we know of the storylines of these productions shows that some scriptwriters, and people working for government agencies who assisted them, did indeed envision scenarios resembling the 9/11 attacks. The storylines are also evidence that some individuals may have had foreknowledge of the attacks--a possibility that should certainly be investigated.

It is also plausible that these movies and TV shows served a more disturbing purpose. Might, for example, rogue individuals working for U.S. government agencies have used a particular film or television show as a cover, to help them prepare the 9/11 attacks?

When considering this possibility, it is worth noting that there has been a long history of collaboration between government agencies and the entertainment industry. Former CIA officer Robert Baer described this relationship, saying, "All these people that run [film] studios, they go to Washington, they hang around with senators, they hang around with CIA directors, and everybody's on board." [48]

Furthermore, government agencies have, for many years, employed entertainment liaison officers to influence the image of them portrayed in the media. The FBI set up an office in the 1930s to improve its image in movies, radio programs, and television shows. The Department of Defense established a similar office in 1947.

The CIA was the last major government agency to establish a formal relationship with the movie industry. It set up a basic entertainment program in the early 1990s and employed its first entertainment liaison officer in 1996. Other agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service, similarly have motion picture and television offices or employ official assistants to the media. [49]

The CIA and the military have cooperated on numerous Hollywood productions. The Pentagon provided its "full cooperation" for movies such as Top Gun (1986), True Lies (1994), Air Force One (1997), Transformers (2007), and Iron Man (2008). [50] And the CIA helped shape such movies as Enemy of the State (1998), Bad Company (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002), and The Recruit (2003). [51]

THE CIA'S 'VERY ACTIVE' NETWORK IN HOLLYWOOD
Although it only employed its first liaison to the entertainment industry in 1996, the CIA has been working with Hollywood since the 1950s. [52] Jerry Naylor, a country singer and veteran of the entertainment business, revealed that he was first recruited by the agency in 1968, and subsequently "used his international fame as cover to work as a secret agent for the CIA" on more than 100 occasions. Naylor believes other celebrities must have similarly been employed by the agency. "I think using celebrities from Los Angeles and Hollywood for covert operations is probably something that the CIA liked to do," he said. "I doubt I was the only one." [53]

Furthermore, retired CIA intelligence officer Antonio Mendez (who was played by Ben Affleck in the movie Argo) wrote that when he was head of the agency's disguise section, between 1974 and 1979, he "engaged the services of many consultants in the entertainment industry." These included makeup artist John Chambers, who won an honorary Academy Award for his work on the 1968 movie Planet of the Apes. [54]

John Rizzo, a senior CIA lawyer, stated in 2007 that the CIA has "a very active" network of people in Hollywood, helping "in whatever way they can to give back." [55]

WHAT PURPOSE MIGHT 9/11-STYLE TV SHOWS AND MOVIES HAVE SERVED?
It is also worth noting that movies had, long before 2001, been used as a cover for covert operations, so if this tactic was utilized by those who planned 9/11, it would not have been the first time a movie served such a purpose. For example, from 1978 to 1982, Jerry Naylor worked on the research and production of a movie called The Bounty Hunter, which, Naylor has claimed, was a cover for monitoring terrorists in the Lebanon. [56]

A better known example of the tactic was the subject of the Oscar-winning movie Argo. On that occasion, the CIA helped rescue six American embassy workers who were trapped in Iran during the 1979 to 1981 hostage crisis by disguising them as a Canadian film crew that was supposedly scouting the country for shooting locations.

The team running the operation set up a fake production company called Studio Six Productions, with offices in a suite on the old Columbia Studio lot in Hollywood. The company soon announced its first supposed production--a science-fiction movie called Argo--and arranged for full-page adverts in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter to publicize it. Using the cover of the Hollywood production company and the movie, the CIA was then able to get the six embassy workers out of Iran.

Studio Six Productions appeared so convincing that by the time it closed, several weeks after the rescue, it had received 26 scripts, one of which was from Steven Spielberg. The Hollywood community only learned about the deception behind the company and its planned movie 17 years later, when the CIA decided to go public with the story. [57]

WERE 9/11-STYLE MOVIES AND TV SHOWS USED AS A COVER?
Seeing how movies had previously been successfully used as a cover for covert operations, we can imagine how films and television shows with plots resembling the events of September 11 might have served as a cover for some of the preparations for the 9/11 attacks. For example, a person working on one of these productions could have used their position to obtain information that would otherwise have been unavailable to them and might have been beneficial for planning 9/11.

Jackie Chan has revealed how his involvement in the movie Nosebleed, about a terrorist plot to blow up the Twin Towers, enabled him to learn about the World Trade Center buildings. "We had visited the location before September 11," he said. "The producer. My manager. We had dinner upstairs. We were getting all kinds of information. I was going to play a window washer, so they were telling me things like how many windows the building had.'' [58] In his preparation for the movie, according to the Orlando Sentinel, Chan learned the "secrets" of the Twin Towers, such as "how air pressure was regulated with doors that might be useful as gags in one of his trademark fights," and "which sides of the buildings one could work on to avoid the wind." [59]

Considering the opportunities the movie thus provided, might Nosebleed have been used by someone who, while working on the film, was secretly involved in planning 9/11 and using their work on the movie as a cover, in order to find out information about the Twin Towers? This person might, for example, have been able to learn about security at the World Trade Center and the layout of the towers, which would have been useful information for anyone who wanted to plant explosives, so as to cause the buildings to collapse on September 11.

Since the movie Till Death Do Us Part, like Nosebleed, would have featured "New York, the World Trade Center, and terrorists," it seems plausible that a person involved in its production could similarly have used their position to obtain information about the WTC.

A production like the TV movie Fall From the Sky could have provided different opportunities for a person who was secretly helping to plan the 9/11 attacks. Since Fall From the Sky would have been about a National Transportation Safety Board official and the investigation of a plane crash, a person working on it might have been able to obtain information that would be useful for covering up the truth of what happened on September 11 in the aftermath of the attacks.

They might have learned what kinds of investigations would follow the plane crashes on September 11 and how the National Transportation Safety Board would respond. Such information could have helped the group planning 9/11 determine how to obstruct the investigations that would follow the attacks.

PRODUCTION TEAM LEARNED 'A LOT OF THINGS MOST PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW'
The experiences of those who worked on NBC's miniseries Terror, about a series of al-Qaeda attacks in New York, illustrate the many opportunities a television show or movie about terrorism could create for someone who wanted to gather information on the subject.

Those working on Terror did a lot of research, particularly on bioterrorism, for the miniseries. They talked to "top law enforcement people on the state, federal, and local levels" about the subject, according to Dick Wolf. [60] Neil Baer talked to experts at the Rand Corporation think tank and hired a consultant from Stanford University in California. [61]

Those involved with the miniseries also consulted experts at the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Georgia. At one point, Baer said, the FBI talked to them, because their "accumulation of so much information raised a red flag." Baer said that as a result of their research, "We knew a lot of things most people didn't know, because we spoke with so many experts all over the country." [62]

It is worth noting, however, that it would surely only require a small number of complicit individuals for a movie or television series to be used to help with planning the 9/11 attacks. In her book The CIA in Hollywood, Tricia Jenkins noted that when the CIA wants to influence a particular production, its involvement with that production is "shadowy and difficult to trace, especially since its interactions often take place only between two well-placed individuals, either in person or over the phone." [63]

If a movie or TV show was serving as a cover for those planning the 9/11 attacks, most people involved with it would therefore, presumably, have been unaware that they were being used by individuals with murderous intentions, and would have just thought they were working on a normal production.

9/11-STYLE MOVIES AND TV SHOWS NEED FURTHER INVESTIGATION
The fact that numerous movies and television dramas with storylines resembling the events of September 11 were in production at the time of the 9/11 attacks is surely something that requires closer examination, especially in light of the history of cooperation between government agencies and the entertainment industry. And yet, after receiving some attention in the aftermath of the attacks, these productions have been largely forgotten.

There are numerous questions that could be considered as part of a new investigation of 9/11. For example, which individuals came up with the scenarios resembling aspects of the 9/11 attacks for the storylines of these movies and TV shows? Some of the writers have said that scenarios similar to what happened on September 11 were suggested to them by employees of the NSA and the military. So who were those employees and what exactly did they suggest?

Investigators could presumably discover more details of the plots of the TV shows and movies, and obtain copies of the scripts. And it would surely be worth researching whether other productions with storylines resembling the 9/11 attacks were being worked on in September 2001.

Inquiries may well reveal a different story behind the terrorist attacks of September 11 than the official account we were led to believe.

NOTES
[1] David Gates, "Living a New Normal." Newsweek, October 7, 2001.
[2] Some news reports after September 11 claimed that the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building was the terrorists' target in Nosebleed. However, these claims were likely incorrect, as all reports before September 11 stated that the World Trade Center was the target.
[3] Benedict Carver and Chris Petrikin, "NL Wins Chan by a 'Nose.'" Variety, February 7, 1999; Michael Fleming, "Financier Gets Friendly to Forge Shingle." Variety, October 3, 2000; Jeff Jensen and Benjamin Svetkey, "Script Check." Entertainment Weekly, September 24, 2001.
[4] Benedict Carver and Chris Petrikin, "NL Wins Chan by a 'Nose'"; Jeff Jensen and Benjamin Svetkey, "Script Check."
[5] Jeff Jensen and Benjamin Svetkey, "Script Check"; J. Hoberman, "All as it Had Been." Village Voice, December 4, 2001.
[6] Charles Lyons, "MGM Has Chan Plan." Variety, May 24, 2001.
[7] "May 26: In Brief and Casting News." The Guardian, May 26, 2000.
[8] "Late Script Kept Chan From Tragedy." ABC News, September 19, 2001; "Jackie's Great Escape." Empire, September 19, 2001.
[9] Dustin Klass, "Chan Changes Suits for 'Tuxedo.'" Columbia Chronicle, September 23, 2002; Roger Moore, "Jackie Chan: Seeing is Believing." Orlando Sentinel, September 27, 2002.
[10] "The Last Elevator." Morning Edition, NPR, September 11, 2003.
[11] "Late Script Kept Chan From Tragedy."
[12] Dustin Klass, "Chan Changes Suits for 'Tuxedo.'"
[13] "Late Script Kept Chan From Tragedy"; "Jackie's Great Escape"; "Late Script Saved Chan From New York Attack." The Guardian, September 20, 2001.
[14] Roger Moore, "Jackie Chan: Seeing is Believing."
[15] Peter Keough, "Jackie Chan: State of the Art." Boston Phoenix, September 26, 2002.
[16] J. Hoberman, "All as it Had Been"; Elise Craig, "Unlucky Breaks: When Hollywood Gets Blindsided by Bad Timing." Wired, July 18, 2012.
[17] Duane Dudek, "Douglas: Escapism of Movies Still Has Value." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 27, 2001.
[18] Anita M. Busch and Beth Laski, "Hollywood Forced to do a Retake on Fall Films." Newsday, September 13, 2001.
[19] Karen Butler, "Billy Crystal's Little Monsters." UPI, November 1, 2001.
[20] Michael Fleming, "'In-Laws' Redo Brews; 'Nam Calls Mel." Variety, November 15, 2000; Zorianna Kit, "Fleming Eyes 'Death' Chair." Hollywood Reporter, January 11, 2002.
[21] Karen Butler, "Billy Crystal's Little Monsters."
[22] Lisa Schwarzbaum, "Movie Review: The In-Laws." Entertainment Weekly, May 30, 2003; "Overview: The In-Laws (2003)." New York Times, n.d.
[23] Bruce Fretts, "The 3rd Degree." Entertainment Weekly, September 7, 2001; Michael Fleming, "'Terror' Tactics at NBC." Variety, September 10, 2001.
[24] Diane K. Shah, "Brotherhood of the Wolf." Los Angeles, April 2002; Gary Levin, "Plot Ideas Ripped From the Headlines." USA Today, December 5, 2002.
[25] Michael Fleming, "'Terror' Tactics at NBC."
[26] Diane K. Shah, "Brotherhood of the Wolf."
[27] "Critical Issues in Writing About Bioterrorism." Hollywood, Health & Society, April 2, 2002.
[28] Gary Levin, "Plot Ideas Ripped From the Headlines."
[29] Todd Leopold, "Real Life Overwhelms Fiction for 'SVU' Producer." CNN, September 9, 2002.
[30] Michael Fleming, "Terrorism Projects Shelved; a Green Bana?" Variety, September 17, 2001.
[31] Robert Wilonsky, "Amused to Death." Dallas Observer, September 20, 2001; John Leland and Peter Marks, "New Look for Entertainment in a Terror-Conscious World." New York Times, September 24, 2001.
[32] David Everitt, "Pondering a New, Darker Mood for TV." Media Life, September 25, 2001.
[33] Chris Petrikin, "Fox Eyes 'WW3.com' as Tentpole for 1999." Variety, January 26, 1998.
[34] "Did Screenplay Foreshadow September 11?" Fox News, June 3, 2002.
[35] Dana Harris, "Fox, Besson Prepare for Battle." Variety, August 24, 2000.
[36] Andre Salles, "Batavians' Son Carving Career as Hollywood Script Writer." Aurora Beacon-News, June 8, 2007; Manohla Dargis, "Pick Your Poison: Fists or Fireballs." New York Times, June 27, 2007.
[37] Patrick Goldstein, "A Turn of Events, a Change in Plot." Los Angeles Times, September 25, 2001; "Terror Target Tinseltown Boosts Security, Patriotism." Washington Times, December 10, 2001; Kent Williams, "Scary Movies: Terrorism, Hollywood-Style." Baltimore City Paper, January 2, 2002.
[38] J. Hoberman, "All as it Had Been."
[39] Dave McNary, "Martin Campbell to Direct 'Deadline.'" Variety, November 11, 2008.
[40] "Film Cancellation a 'Good Call.'" Winnipeg Free Press, March 22, 2002.
[41] "Entertainment Briefs." Chicago Sun-Times, August 20, 2001; Army Archerd, "Cooke Joins 'Freedom's Journey.'" Variety, September 19, 2001.
[42] "Entertainment Briefs."
[43] "Film Cancellation a 'Good Call.'"
[44] Army Archerd, "Gotham Events Should Shine." Variety, September 24, 2001.
[45] Duncan Campbell, "Film Chiefs Search for Softer Subjects." The Observer, September 30, 2001.
[46] Army Archerd, "Cooke Joins 'Freedom's Journey'"; "Film Cancellation a 'Good Call.'"
[47] Army Archerd, "Gotham Events Should Shine."
[48] Matthew Alford and Robbie Graham, "An Offer They Couldn't Refuse." The Guardian, November 14, 2008.
[49] Tricia Jenkins, The CIA in Hollywood: How the Agency Shapes Film and Television. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2012, p. 1.
[50] Matthew Alford and Robbie Graham, "Lights, Camera ... Covert Action: The Deep Politics of Hollywood." Global Research, January 21, 2009.
[51] Tricia Jenkins, The CIA in Hollywood, p. 1.
[52] "The History of the CIA in Hollywood Movies." The World, PRI, January 11, 2013.
[53] Simon Tomlinson, "Revealed: U.S. Country Star Jerry Naylor Who Replaced Buddy Holly in the Crickets Was a Secret CIA Agent Who Spied for America on 100 Missions." Daily Mail, April 24, 2013.
[54] Antonio J. Mendez, "A Classic Case of Deception." Studies in Intelligence, Winter 1999?2000, p. 4; Tricia Jenkins, The CIA in Hollywood, p. 9.
[55] Tricia Jenkins, The CIA in Hollywood, p. 94.
[56] Simon Tomlinson, "Revealed: U.S. Country Star Jerry Naylor Who Replaced Buddy Holly in the Crickets Was a Secret CIA Agent Who Spied for America on 100 Missions."
[57] Antonio J. Mendez, "A Classic Case of Deception," pp. 1-16; Joshuah Bearman, "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran." Wired, April 24, 2007; Tricia Jenkins, The CIA in Hollywood, pp. 9-10, 96.
[58] Robert Denerstein, "Training Gives Chan Natural Kick." Rocky Mountain News, September 28, 2002.
[59] Roger Moore, "Jackie Chan: Seeing is Believing."
[60] Michael Fleming, "'Terror' Tactics at NBC."
[61] Diane K. Shah, "Brotherhood of the Wolf."
[62] "Critical Issues in Writing About Bioterrorism."
[63] Tricia Jenkins, The CIA in Hollywood, p. 69.

Source: http://911blogger.com/news/2013-05-16/hollywood-and-911-movies-and-tv-dramas-resembling-terrorist-attacks-were-being-produced-september-2001

W S B H c mitt romney mark zuckerberg