Society's Child

FDA deems implanted cardiac devices made by St. Jude vulnerable to hackers

RT
Tue, 10 Jan 2017 15:55 UTC

All medically implanted cardiac devices made by St. Jude have been deemed vulnerable to hackers by the FDA. This comes after the heart monitor maker was purchased for $25 billion by Abbott Laboratories.

"The FDA conducted an assessment of the benefits and risks of using the Merlin@home Transmitter, and has determined that the health benefits to patients from continued use of the device outweigh the cybersecurity risks," the Food and Drug Administration said Monday.

The FDA said that there were no reports of patients being harmed recorded. However, Abbott began releasing a patch to fix the issue on the same day. It will automatically update all St. Jude devices as long as they are plugged in and connected to the Merlin.net network.

"Cybersecurity, including device security, is an industry-wide challenge and all implanted devices with remote monitoring have potential vulnerabilities," Candace Steele Flippin, a spokeswoman for Abbott, told CNNMoney. "As we've been doing for years, we will continue to actively address cybersecurity risks and potential vulnerabilities and enhance our systems."

Trump effect: US small business optimism soars, companies planning to increase investments and hiring

Vince Golle
Bloomberg
Tue, 10 Jan 2017 10:36 UTC

Optimism among America's small businesses soared in December by the most since 1980 as expectations about the economy's prospects improved dramatically in the aftermath of the presidential election.

The National Federation of Independent Business's index jumped 7.4 points last month to 105.8, the highest since the end of 2004, from 98.4. While seven of the 10 components increased in December, 73 percent of the monthly advance was due to more upbeat views about the outlook for sales and the economy, the Washington-based group said.

The share of business owners who say now is a good time to expand is three times the average of the current expansion, according to the NFIB's data. More companies also said they plan to increase investment and keep hiring, which reflects optimism surrounding President-elect Donald Trump's plans of spurring the economy through deregulation, tax reform and infrastructure spending.

Comment: It remains to be seen if this optimism can be sustained - Trump faces a monumental task and considerable opposition.

Bloodthirsty Israelis threaten the life of Palestinian videographer of Hebron shooting in attempt to 'silence documentation and resistance'

Sheren Khalel
Mondoweiss
Mon, 09 Jan 2017 15:13 UTC

Emad Abu Shamsiyah first started receiving death threats in March, after a video he filmed for Israeli rights group B'Tselem, which captured Israeli soldier Elor Azaria shooting dead Abed al-Fattah al-Sharif, 21, was released to the public. The video sparked a media frenzy surrounding the incident, and directly led to the initial indictment of Azaria. Shamsiyah has not had a good night's rest since.

Shamsiyah lives in the city-center of Hebron — arguably the most contentious city in all of the occupied West Bank — and the only city-center where Palestinians and Israeli settlers live side-by-side.

During the case, Shamsiyah was frequently accosted by Israeli settlers near his home, who demanded he change his testimony. After last week's ruling, which found Azaria guilty of manslaughter, the threats against Shamsiyah have reached a new level, as 67 percent of the general Israeli population supports a full pardon for Azaria.

Comment: 67% says a lot about the lack of conscience in Israel!

Woman charged in killing, dismemberment of daughter worked for Northampton County child services, had seven foster kids

Pamela Lehman
The Morning Call
Mon, 09 Jan 2017 15:05 UTC

Sara Packer, Grace Packer, Jacob Sullivan

A woman charged with killing her adoptive daughter last year worked as an "adoption supervisor" for Northampton County before being suspended in 2010, and throughout that time also took in several foster children, authorities said Monday.

Sara Packer, the adoptive mother of 14-year-old Grace Packer, is charged in Bucks County along with Jacob Sullivan, Sara Packer's boyfriend, in the brutal death of the teen who had been reported missing last summer.

Prosecutors said Packer and Sullivan acted out a rape and murder fantasy when they killed Grace Packer in Richland Township last summer and dismembered her body.

Sara Packer, 41, of Horsham Township, Montgomery County, was charged Sunday with homicide, rape, conspiracy, kidnapping and abuse of a corpse. Authorities also charged Sullivan, saying he and Packer plotted for nearly a year before the girl was killed in July.

Northampton County officials issued a news release Monday stating that Packer worked for the county from 2003 through 2010, but did not include further details.

"Regarding the charges against Ms. Packer, the county cannot comment regarding ongoing job investigations," the statement read.

Comment: Missing PA teen found dismembered in woods, adoptive mom called 'person of interest'

Suicide #1 cause of death among IDF soldiers for second year in a row

RT
Tue, 10 Jan 2017 15:14 UTC

Suicide was the leading cause of death amongst soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 2016, surpassing the number killed in the line of duty, according to data released by the country's army.

Of the 41 troops who died last year, 15 took their own lives, a senior official within the IDF's Manpower Directorate announced on Sunday, as cited by The Times of Israel.

However, the deaths are still being deemed "suspected suicides," as investigations are still ongoing, Haaretz reported.

All of those who committed suicide were male. Twelve were conscripts, two were career soldiers, and one was a reservist.

United Kingdom: Govt's sweeping spying powers face court challenge

RT
Tue, 10 Jan 2017 14:09 UTC

Core parts of the UK's new spying powers bill may soon be reviewed in court since civil rights NGO Liberty launched a crowd-funded legal challenge.

Liberty aims to have the most concerning parts of what it terms "sweeping state spying powers" examined in depth with a view to limiting what some see as the most draconian set of surveillance powers in the Western world.

The group has decide to press on with the challenge since more than 200,000 people signed a petition to have the 'snoopers' charter' - officially known as the Investigatory Powers Act - repealed.

The IP Act replaced the earlier Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA) 2014.

FBI: Murder, violent offenses up in most of US in first half of 2016

RT
Tue, 10 Jan 2017 13:55 UTC

Violent crime shot up, while property crime dipped overall in the first six months of 2016 compared to the same 2015 period, according to the FBI's Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, which compiles stats from law enforcement agencies across the US.

Nine months before the FBI releases its final 2016 crime report, the bureau's preliminary report is already conveying a difficult reality for most areas of the US. Between January and June last year, violent crime rose when compared to the same six months of 2015. However, property crimes fell generally.

Liberal Hollywood hypocrite: Where was Meryl Streep when Obama was prosecuting whistleblowers & bombing weddings?

Danielle Ryan
RT
Tue, 10 Jan 2017 13:41 UTC

Actress Meryl Streep accepts the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Okay, first let's get one thing out of the way: I adore Meryl Streep. Judge all you want, but The Devil Wears Prada is a classic and I won't apologize for saying it.

Streep's anti-Trump speech on Sunday night at the Golden Globes was a sublime performance. It was delivered with emotion and grace. A real tear-jerker for anyone worried about the oncoming era of Trump.

And yet... it also stank. It reeked, in fact. Of pure, unadulterated hypocrisy. Because Streep, sadly, is that common breed of liberal Hollywood hypocrite. You know, the ones whose bleeding heart credentials are suddenly nowhere to be found when the occupant of the White House is a cool Democrat who's besties with Beyonce.

German Greens party slammed for state-funded sex proposal

RT
Tue, 10 Jan 2017 10:11 UTC

Germany's Greens party has been praised and criticized for suggesting sex services provided by prostitutes for people struggling with severe health conditions should be paid for by the government.

Doctors should be given a right to prescribe sex with prostitutes just like prescribing a drug, Green Party's spokeswoman Elisabeth Scharfenberg told the German "Welt am Sonntag" newspaper.

"I can imagine public financing of sexual assistance," Scharfenberg said.

The people in need would have to receive medical certificates confirming that they can't get sexual satisfaction in another way, as well as providing documents proving that they are not able to pay sex workers by themselves.

Berlin considers special decree to halt deportation of rejected asylum seekers attacked by far-right

RT
Mon, 09 Jan 2017 21:12 UTC

Germany's federal state of Berlin is mulling a special "decree" to halt or drop a deportation of rejected asylum seekers if they have been subjected to far-right violence, the state's interior minister confirmed.

In an interview to Germany's Tagesspiegel, Berlin Interior Minister Andreas Geisel said such refugees need "double protection."

The plan would be "a strong political signal to all those who think 'who wants to expel refugees from the country should attack them'," Geisel said.

"Here I say 'No'. Whoever is subjected to far-right violence [enjoys] double protection from us and will not be deported," Geisel said. Berlin authorities are now checking whether a special "decree" is needed to implement the proposal.

In certain cases (such as far-right abuse), Berlin may already drop deportation of a rejected refugee on the basis of existing laws and rulings on asylum seekers, yet there is no special decree on that. Berlin is the latest German state to mull such a plan after the neighboring federal state of Brandenburg did so late last year.

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Society's Child

FDA deems implanted cardiac devices made by St. Jude vulnerable to hackers

Trump effect: US small business optimism soars, companies planning to increase investments and hiring

Bloodthirsty Israelis threaten the life of Palestinian videographer of Hebron shooting in attempt to 'silence documentation and resistance'

Woman charged in killing, dismemberment of daughter worked for Northampton County child services, had seven foster kids

Suicide #1 cause of death among IDF soldiers for second year in a row

United Kingdom: Govt's sweeping spying powers face court challenge

FBI: Murder, violent offenses up in most of US in first half of 2016

Liberal Hollywood hypocrite: Where was Meryl Streep when Obama was prosecuting whistleblowers & bombing weddings?

German Greens party slammed for state-funded sex proposal

Berlin considers special decree to halt deportation of rejected asylum seekers attacked by far-right

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