When Pope John Paul II visited Damascus in May 2001, Bashar used his welcoming speech to denounce the Jews, saying, “They tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad.”   read more

“We decided this week it was no longer an effective use of our resources to continue in a process where companies wouldn’t even agree to the most modest measures to protect privacy,” wrote EFF’s Jennifer Lynch. Facebook recently released its Moments mobile photo app, which will tag the faces of those in the photos. In Britain, all the attendees at the Download music festival last weekend were subject to being captured by facial recognition technology.   read more

“This action is expected to reduce coronary heart disease and prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year,” said FDA's Stephen Ostroff. The change could result in 20,000 fewer heart attacks and 7,000 fewer deaths each year from heart disease. “This is the final nail in the coffin of trans fats,” said Michael F. Jacobson. “In terms of lives saved, I think eliminating trans fats is the single most important change to our food supply.”   read more

“Clinical experience is something that should be considered as additional information, but absolutely never take the place of scientific data,” said NCHR's Zuckerman. “By urging FDA to get away from randomized clinical trials, drug makers may have more power to urge the FDA to consider data that is favorable to their product.” Scientist Moore said: “They are pushing the FDA to consider types of evidence that’s not been previously regarded as reliable enough.”   read more

Even worse is this from The Washington Post: “VA officials had prepared to tell Congress that the records had been destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, according to previously undisclosed records, until a senior adviser in [then-VA Secretary Eric Shinseki’s] office pointed out that the timing was wrong and the excuse wouldn’t hold up.” The VA's Jan Frye, who uncovered the purchases, accused the Veterans Health Administration of operating a culture of “lawlessness and chaos.”   read more

The Nordic island nation was designated the most peaceful nation on earth, according to the Institute for Economics & Peace’s latest Global Peace Index. The United States was way down on the Global Peace Index, placing at No. 94, but a definite improvement from last year’s 101. Part of the improvement came from the partial withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and U.S. efforts to secure a nuclear deal with Iran.   read more

The 424 immigrants included convicted rapists, child molesters, and kidnappers. ICE failed to track the criminals after releasing them, or to ensure that they registered as sex offenders. Some re-offend and are jailed, including at least one man who tortured his children. Others get into homeless shelters. “The public ought to be outraged,” said Homeless Trust's Ronald Book. “I don’t know that ICE intentionally set us up, but it left us vulnerable, which is what we want to try to avoid.”   read more

CBP reviewed shootings in which 19 people died, several of which involved people who Border Patrol agents said were throwing rocks at them. Two agents were disciplined, receiving oral reprimands. One independent study “found a pattern of agents firing in frustration at people throwing rocks from across the border, as well as agents deliberately stepping in front of cars apparently to justify shooting at the drivers,” the Times’ Brian Bennett wrote.   read more

The Obama administration has little moral ground to stand on when it comes to computer espionage, particularly after Edward Snowden exposed just how often the U.S. government has pried into public and private electronic systems overseas. The NSA infiltrated the servers of the Chinese firm Huawei, which was deemed a security threat by Washington. The NSA monitored the firm's executives and obtained information about its inner workings that Huawei says connect a third of the world’s population.   read more

One contractor, USIS, spent years rushing through investigations of government employees seeking security clearances. Company officials said they had to speed through the reviews because their payments from the government were linked to how many investigations they performed. USIS lost its contract after an employee filed a suit, eventually joined by the Justice Department, about the company’s practices. The system is “just producing shoddy investigations," said AFCIA's Carolyn Martin.   read more

The FBI believes the infiltration occurred because some Cardinals officials sought revenge on the successful Luhnow, who was viewed as a polarizing figure during his time with the Cardinals. This is “way, way beyond anything we’ve seen in baseball before. Maybe beyond anything we’ve seen in professional sports,” wrote Craig Calcaterra at NBC Sports. “If this…was something people in Cardinals management knew about, it could be one of the biggest scandals baseball has ever seen.”   read more

Unlike American cops, most British police patrol their streets armed with no more than batons and pepper spray. The elite police who do carry guns almost never use them. In Britain, police view themselves as working for the public, not the state. “There’s a huge emphasis on human rights...on proportionality...on considering every other option," said police chief Fahy. British police "fear getting it wrong...cops in the U.S. fear getting shot." Those are different worlds, said Sir O'Connor.   read more

Some of the drugs have been “linked to abuse and an increased risk of falls and fractures among the elderly,” said ProPublica. Anti-anxiety meds can be addictive, cause disorientation, and have a longer-lasting effect on older people. Consequently, the American Geriatrics Society advises against their use by seniors suffering from insomnia or agitation. ProPublica said the startling Medicare statistics that its investigation uncovered reflect “a failed policy initiative by Congress.”   read more

Plaintiffs claim that the company has known that their drinks breached the safety level. When Proposition 65 was passed in California, Pepsi gave the public the impression it had complied with the new chemical requirement when, in fact, it had not. The soft drink maker intentionally misled the public, said the complaint. The lawsuit also argues that many consumers drink more than one 12-ounce serving of Pepsi a day, putting them at an even greater risk from unhealthy exposure to the chemical.   read more

Navy officials Tofalo and Richardson reportedly told associates to pressure lawmakers into paying $90 billion for Ohio class sub replacements. Creating a separate, off-budget fund to finance Navy projects has been rejected in the past and, in the form of the Sea-Based Deterrence Fund, was turned down again this year by the House Appropriations Committee. The Navy is reviewing the two officials’ statements, but POGO is calling for an independent review by the Government Accountability Office.   read more

The dependence on Facebook for news is highest (61%) among Millennials, who were born between 1982 and 2004. Only 37% of them turn to local television for stories. Among Gen Xers, 51% said they use Facebook more than any other source, while 46% rely on local TV. This group was born between 1961 and 1981. Baby Boomers are just the opposite from their younger cohorts. Sixty percent of them (born between 1946 and 1960) turn on their televisions for news, while 39% check on Facebook.   read more

It’s the oldest trick in the book—when Dad tells you no, ask Mom if you can do it. Now President Barack Obama is playing that game with the surveillance of Americans’ phone records. The Obama administration, on the same day the USA Freedom Act became law on June 2, went to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA court) with a request (pdf) to continue sweeping up phone records during a six-month “transition” period before the Freedom Act provisions take effect.   read more