Homeland Security Allegedly Establishes Key Word Search Watchlist on Social Networks

Whenever I read an article that seemingly confirms my suspicions in the world around me, it is not usually a surprise. In this case, a privacy watchdog group (The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)) has sued the government and in its complaint it is alleged that the DHS has a watchlist on Facebook and Twitter for people who search certain words and/or terms. Say "collapse" or "infection" and you just might end up on this watchlist. Considering the history of coverage on Remixx World! with the H1N1 infection and the alleged 2009 bank run collapse, I am quite sure the DHS has this site tracked, traced and databased!

As part of the initiative, the agency [DHS] would "establish [fictitious] usernames and passwords" to spy on users and record their activities based on a number of search terms, including "human to animal," "collapse," "outbreak," and "illegal immigrants," the complaint says.

Source: Courthouse News Service

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Agrees to Let Customers Keep Analog, Mechanical Utility Meters

I don't really have to much to say about this decision by PG&E to allow its customers to keep their analog meters, except to say that I agree with it. I don't like the SmartMeter™ technology, because it makes it too easy for some centralized authority to track, trace and database my detailed energy use. Nevertheless, if I want futuristic Jetsons technology in my home, then I will probably have to accept SmartMeters™ at some point. However, I am not at that point yet, so I applaud this decision by PG&E!

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PG&E Supports Giving Customers Who Opt-Out of SmartMeter™ The Choice of Using Analog, Mechanical Meters Utility Further Addresses Customer Concerns Over Wireless Technology

Release Date: December 19, 2011
Contact: PG&E External Communications (415) 973-5930

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – To provide customers who have concerns about wireless SmartMeter™ technology with alternative options for recording their energy use, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to give customers a choice to use traditional analog, mechanical meters. This request offers another customer option in addition to the utility's proposal last March to turn off the radios in its opt-out customers' SmartMeters™.

"Some customers remain concerned about SmartMeter™ technology and want alternatives," said Helen Burt, PG&E's Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer. "Through comments to us and the CPUC, they are clear that an analog meter is the option they prefer to address their unease with wireless technology."

PG&E is installing digital, wireless SmartMeters™ throughout its service area in Northern and Central California as part of a statewide program to enhance the safety, reliability, and affordability of its gas and electric services. Similar metering programs are now underway at utilities throughout the country and around the world. To date, PG&E has installed nearly nine million gas and electric SmartMeters™.

Independent studies repeatedly have affirmed the safety and accuracy of SmartMeters™. However, in response to comments from some customers, PG&E last March proposed offering them a choice to turn off the radios in their SmartMeters™. The utility also provided customers with the option to delay the installation of new SmartMeters™ until the CPUC approves a way to opt-out of the program. Now, in response to further customer feedback, PG&E today asked the CPUC to approve analog meters as an additional alternative to receiving a SmartMeter™.

Burt added, "Personal choice is important to our customers. In response to their requests, we are asking the Commission to approve an option for customers to receive analog meters."

The CPUC is expected to issue its SmartMeter™ opt-out decision soon. That decision will likely ask customers who opt-out of the program to pay an initial fee and some reasonable monthly charge to cover the costs of manual meter reading and other associated operational and billing issues.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit: http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.

Joint Chiefs Says United States Is Ready for War with Iran

I have said once and I will say it again, "laser wars, nothing, but laser wars!" It looks like the war drums are pounding and the next hit is Iran. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey says so:

"I am satisfied that the options that we are developing are evolving to a point that they would be executable if necessary," he said.

I'm not surprised. What is the general supposed to say? A general would lose his stars if he ever admitted that America wasn't prepared for any contingency. I bet the military has contingency plans that would make Hollywood story writers green with envy.

The good general also says that the military is ready to destroy Iran's "secret" nuclear (or nookular if you ignant) arsenal on President Obama's order.

Source: CNN

Scientists Demonstrate Decoded Neurofeedback Method of Potentially Downloading New Skills Into Human Brains Like The Matrix

We all knew that it was just a matter of time before some scientists began developing Matrix-like cerebral technology. Please don't sleep, and think that Matrix-like technology is limited to the movie screen. If a novel technology is depicted in a movie, then that technology either already exists or it will soon be developed by some agency like DARPA.

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Press Release 11-257

Vision Scientists Demonstrate Innovative Learning Method

New research suggests it may be possible to learn high-performance tasks with little or no conscious effort

December 8, 2011
View a video showing researchers explaining Decoded Neurofeedback.

New research published today in the journal Science suggests it may be possible to use brain technology to learn to play a piano, reduce mental stress or hit a curve ball with little or no conscious effort. It's the kind of thing seen in Hollywood's "Matrix" franchise.

Experiments conducted at Boston University (BU) and ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, recently demonstrated that through a person's visual cortex, researchers could use decoded functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to induce brain activity patterns to match a previously known target state and thereby improve performance on visual tasks.

Think of a person watching a computer screen and having his or her brain patterns modified to match those of a high-performing athlete or modified to recuperate from an accident or disease. Though preliminary, researchers say such possibilities may exist in the future.

"Adult early visual areas are sufficiently plastic to cause visual perceptual learning," said lead author and BU neuroscientist Takeo Watanabe of the part of the brain analyzed in the study.

Neuroscientists have found that pictures gradually build up inside a person's brain, appearing first as lines, edges, shapes, colors and motion in early visual areas. The brain then fills in greater detail to make a red ball appear as a red ball, for example.

Researchers studied the early visual areas for their ability to cause improvements in visual performance and learning.

"Some previous research confirmed a correlation between improving visual performance and changes in early visual areas, while other researchers found correlations in higher visual and decision areas," said Watanabe, director of BU's Visual Science Laboratory. "However, none of these studies directly addressed the question of whether early visual areas are sufficiently plastic to cause visual perceptual learning." Until now.

Boston University post-doctoral fellow Kazuhisa Shibata designed and implemented a method using decoded fMRI neurofeedback to induce a particular activation pattern in targeted early visual areas that corresponded to a pattern evoked by a specific visual feature in a brain region of interest. The researchers then tested whether repetitions of the activation pattern caused visual performance improvement on that visual feature.

The result, say researchers, is a novel learning approach sufficient to cause long-lasting improvement in tasks that require visual performance.

What's more, the approached worked even when test subjects were not aware of what they were learning.

"The most surprising thing in this study is that mere inductions of neural activation patterns corresponding to a specific visual feature led to visual performance improvement on the visual feature, without presenting the feature or subjects' awareness of what was to be learned," said Watanabe, who developed the idea for the research project along with Mitsuo Kawato, director of ATR lab and Yuka Sasaki, an assistant in neuroscience at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"We found that subjects were not aware of what was to be learned while behavioral data obtained before and after the neurofeedback training showed that subjects' visual performance improved specifically for the target orientation, which was used in the neurofeedback training," he said.

The finding brings up an inevitable question. Is hypnosis or a type of automated learning a potential outcome of the research?

"In theory, hypnosis or a type of automated learning is a potential outcome," said Kawato. "However, in this study we confirmed the validity of our method only in visual perceptual learning. So we have to test if the method works in other types of learning in the future. At the same time, we have to be careful so that this method is not used in an unethical way."

At present, the decoded neurofeedback method might be used for various types of learning, including memory, motor and rehabilitation.

The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan supported the research.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Bobbie Mixon, NSF (703) 292-8485 bmixon@nsf.gov

Program Contacts
Lynne Bernstein, NSF (703) 292-8643 lbernste@nsf.gov

Principal Investigators
Takeo Watanabe, Boston University (617) 353-1103 takeo@bu.edu
Mitsuo Kawato, ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories kawato@atr.jp

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2011, its budget is about $6.9 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives over 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

Get/Receive News Updates by Email

Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
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For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
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Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/

Congress Agrees to Nullify Traditional Incandescent Light Bulb Ban

*Please see below for the image key

I have never bought one of those newfangled, compact fluorescent bulbs, and I never planned to do so even with a pending a Congressional ban. I would have had to find a legal alternative for my energy needs, because I was not going to use a fragile, glass bulb that contains mercury. Fortunately, it appears that Congress is going to void the previous law that was set to ban traditional light bulbs.

Congressional Republicans dropped almost all of the policy restrictions they tried to attach to the bill, but won inclusion of the light bulb provision, which prevents the Obama administration from carrying through a 2007 law that would have set energy efficiency standards that effectively made the traditional light bulb obsolete.

I have not been able to find the actual bill text, but I hear the provision is tucked within 1,200 pages of Congressional language.

Source: Washington Times

*Image Key: Diagram showing the major parts of a modern incandescent light bulb.

1. Glass bulb
2. Inert gas
3. Tungsten filament
4. Contact wire (goes to foot)
5. Contact wire (goes to base)
6. Support wires
7. Glass mount/support
8. Base contact wire
9. Screw threads
10. Insulation
11. Electrical foot contact

FLASHBACK: Twenty Percent (20%) of Human Genes Have Been Patented (Intellectual Property Landscape of the Human Genome)(2005)

Do people own their bodies? Legally, does a person own the intellectual property in the genetic composition of his/her body? According to this 2005 study I stumbled across from a few years ago, it is arguable whether a person truly owns the intellectual property in his/her bodies and genetic composition.

Our results reveal that nearly 20% of human genes are explicitly claimed as U.S. IP. This represents 4382 of the 23,688 of genes in the NCBI's gene database at the time of writing (see figure, right). These genes are claimed in 4270 patents within 3050 patent families.

A person should think about that the next time before he/she gives blood or other DNA to a medical facility. That facility could easily use (or license) that genetic material as the basis for some type of bioscience process and then claim the intellectual property in the ownership of the results in the process.


Source: Science Magazine

Image Source: Antony-22 (per: Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)

High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (Images of Planet Mars)

"Get your ass to Mars!"

This is what Hauser said to Douglas Quaid in the famous 1990 movie Total Recall. It is now the year 2011 (soon to be 2012) and you would think that travel to Mars would be readily available to the public by now. However, as far as I know, a person can't book a trip no matter how much money he/she has.

While the public can't visit Mars physically, one can do so virtually through the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment at the University of Arizona. The above image is just one of many that can be viewed at the HRISE site.

Enjoy!

Was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Killed Because of His Proposed "#OccupyDC"-Style Poor People's Campaign of 1968?

On or about 1967, Marian Wright Edelman proposed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the idea of a 500,000 poor-person march to Washington DC and long-term encampment. Dr. King embraced the idea of a "non-violent army of the poor" and began to plan it for 1968. The goal was to force government action on the problems of poverty. King's proposed idea sounds very similar to the Occupy Wall Street encampments currently in many cities around the world.

The above video (Evidence of Revision Part 6 around the 45:00 mark) presents that case that Dr. King was a victim of State-sponsored murder due to the campaign. This is a fascinating documentary on the motives behind Dr. King's assassination. It presents the case that Army Intelligence saw Dr. King as a threat to U.S. national security, because the Army felt he was about to start a revolution with the poor-people's campaign. Dr. King said the following to the powers-that-be about the proposed campaign.

Very frankly, this is a set for an alternative to riots. If the Nation doesn't respond to us as we labor there 2 or 3 months, however long it takes, God only knows what we will face in terms of chaos. This is a kind of a last desperate demand for the Nation to respond to non-violence.

If you cannot view the above video, then you can check this YouTube link.

GOP Debate Presented by CNN, AEI & Heritage Foundation (Full Video - November 22, 2011)

I have not seen all of this Republican candidates' video from Washington, DC, so I cannot provide any analysis of its content yet. However, you can watch the full video by clicking the above image or clicking here if you cannot see it. This is indeed the best reality show on television.

Lancaster, California Approves Aerial Surveillance System to Provide Sheriff’s Station with Crime-Fighting Tool

File photo

My initial thought on this Lancaster program is privacy. It seems like this is nothing, but big brother in the sky. According to the undated Acquisition and Management Agreement between the City of Lancaster and Aero View, LLC, once this program goes operational, this aerial program will track, trace and database for an average of ten (10) hours per day, 365 days per year! The press release below addresses the privacy concerns. I still don't know if that is sufficient for me, but the powers-that-be are certainly aware of the privacy issues with this program.

301. Law Enforcement Surveillance Program. Commencing on the Operation Date Aero View shall provide an average of 10 hours of aerial surveillance daily every day of the year at times to the determined by LASD or approximately 303 hours per month. Aero View, the City and LASD shall enter into one or more memorandum of understanding setting forth the operation details and protocols to be followed in connection with the implementation of the Law Enforcement Surveillance Program. Such memorandum shall provide at a minimum that (i) the surveillance equipment installed on the Aircraft will deliver quality imaging via an encrypted communications link to equipment at the LASD Lancaster Station; (ii) the imagery, the media receiving the imagery and the storage and playback equipment will be physically retained and controlled by LASD only; (iii) the City and Aero View will not have access to the imagery provided by the System except as determined by the LASD in furtherance of the law enforcement purposes or quality control; and (iv) all surveillance operations will be controlled by LASD personnel by commanding the surveillance mode and/or objects to be targeted.

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City of Lancaster To Team Up with Local Aerospace Firm to Provide the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station with Crime-Fighting Tool Above All Others

Posted Date: 11/4/2011 11:00 AM

The City of Lancaster and Lancaster-based Aero View LLC today formally announced that the Lancaster City Council will consider adding an aerial law enforcement surveillance system to the City’s arsenal of crime-fighting tools. Employee- and veteran-owned Aero View LLC has created a Law Enforcement Aerial Platform System (LEAPS) which will help law enforcement agencies become more effective at keeping neighborhoods safe. The matter will go before the City Council at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, and is considered one of the most significant proposals affecting Lancaster’s ongoing war on crime.

“Public safety has always been priority number one for this Council,” said Mayor R. Rex Parris. “We have worked closely with the Sheriff’s Department over the past four years to ensure we do everything to stomp out crime. Now, the Sheriff’s Department will have an aerial advantage to add to their arsenal.”

Recently, the City of Lancaster announced a 16% drop in its 2011 crime rate to date, in comparison to the same period last year. By the end of 2011, the City is on target to achieve a 40% reduction in crime since 2007. City and Sheriff’s Department officials are looking forward to utilizing the new aerial system to take their crime-fighting efforts to a higher level.

Mayor Parris has been steadfast in pursuing affordable aerial surveillance technology for law enforcement in Lancaster. He has an unwavering belief that this will not only continue to reduce crime in Lancaster, but also provide law enforcement agencies nationwide with a model and tool which will benefit their public safety efforts; not just through more effective operations after a crime has occurred, but as a deterrent to committing crimes in the first place.

Lancaster Sheriff’s Station Captain Bob Jonsen says the capabilities of LEAPS will enable law enforcement teams to be even more effective in fighting crime in Lancaster.

“From a public safety perspective, LEAPS can follow a criminal target via visual movement at altitudes ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above ground level, while using both visible and infrared images for tracking,” said Jonsen. “It is an effective and economical resource offering superior surveillance, patrol and investigative capabilities.”

LEAPS is also unique in that it is the first aircraft system of its kind offered at such an economical value, while ensuring citizen privacy. The system follows existing law enforcement and citizen privacy protocol, as already established by the Sheriff’s Department. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Department will have complete control over the data, surveillance and operation of the Law Enforcement Aerial Platform System, and only assigned LASD personnel will be privy to the information and video transmitted from the aircraft. The imagery recorded by the system will be encrypted and fed directly to the Sheriff’s station, not being viewed or retained at any point by the aircraft, the pilot, or the City. This ensures that citizen privacy rights are protected and upheld to the same letter of the law which currently exists.

Another benefit of LEAPS is that it allows the Sheriff’s Department to quickly access up to two years of video data. If a crime goes unreported, then is later discovered, case-relevant activity footage may have been transmitted by LEAPS, thus providing evidentiary data for the Sheriff’s Department.

The Law Enforcement Aerial Platform System, was created by Aero View LLC, and engineered and developed by Spiral Technology, Inc., another veteran-owned small business aerospace firm operating in the City of Lancaster for more than 15 years. By coupling a widely built U.S. aircraft, the Cessna 172, with relatively affordable optical equipment, Aero View is able to employ the software and engineering know-how of Spiral’s engineers to produce this uniquely effective and affordable system.

“When we met with the City and Sheriff’s Department, we wanted to come away with a thorough understanding of the needs in this community, and find a way to meet them within pre-defined budget constraints,” said Aero View LLC President Steve Mc Carter. “We have successfully accomplished this with LEAPS.”

The Law Enforcement Aerial Platform System is a low maintenance, fuel-efficient, low noise product which will be fueled, maintained, and hangared at Fox Field in Lancaster. The value of the system components, including the plane and optical equipment, is estimated at $1.3 Million, and will become City assets.

No operational funding will be required in Fiscal Year 2011-2012, as the first 12 months of service and operations of LEAPS are at no cost to the City as part of the Acquisition and Management Agreement between the City of Lancaster and Aero View LLC, which will be considered by the City Council.

Mayor Parris and the City have pursued development of this system since 2008. After two previous attempts to launch a successful program with other partners, the proposed partnership between Lancaster and Aero View LLC is leagues above other pursuits and stands to realize as significant an impact on economic development as it will have on public safety.

“With Aero View LLC and Spiral Technology, Inc. being headquartered here in Lancaster, the Antelope Valley will reap the benefits of both significant economic activity and jobs,” stated Mayor Parris. “This is exactly the type of boost we need to our local economy.”

The City of Lancaster’s contractual arrangement with Aero View LLC commits future business development, design, acquisition, manufacture, assembly, sales and service operations to occur in Lancaster for a period of 10 years from the date of execution of the Agreement. With such an innovative, cost-effective system being offered to cities and counties always searching for new affordable ways to combat and prevent crime, the demand for LEAPS is projected to be high.

“For a while now, we have been pursuing development and deployment of an effective, robust and affordable aerial surveillance system for use by our Lancaster Sheriff’s Station,” said Mayor Parris. “Now, thanks to Aero View, our Sheriff’s Department will have access to a system which enables them to be more proactive and responsive to law enforcement needs throughout our entire City.”

Upon approval from the Lancaster City Council, implementation of the City of Lancaster/Aero View LLC agreement will begin, and the first LEAPS model will be developed and deployed in Lancaster in early Spring of 2012.

Cyberdyne's Robot Suit HAL That Augments Human Capability & Strength

What in the name of John Connor is going on over in Japan? Robot suits? Made by a company called Cyberdyne. This is beyond creepy, yo!

Department of Agriculture Imposes Fifteen Cent Fee Per Christmas Tree on Producers and Importers (And Then Suspends It)

For all those who celebrate Christmas in the United States of America and buy Christmas trees, this entry in the Federal Registry entitled Christmas Tree Promotion, Research, and Information Order (7 CFR Part 1214) just might interest you. There will be a fifteen cent (15¢) fee for each tree on all producers and importers. For the producers and importers who are likely working on a tight margin, they will pass this along to their respective customers!

This rule establishes an industry-funded promotion, research, and information program for fresh cut Christmas trees. The Christmas Tree Promotion, Research, and Information Order (Order) is authorized under the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 (1996 Act). The Order will establish a national Christmas Tree Promotion Board (Board) comprised of 11 producers and one importer. Under the Order, producers and importers of fresh cut Christmas trees will pay an initial assessment of fifteen cents per Christmas tree. Producers and importers that produce or import less than 500 Christmas trees annually will be exempt from the assessment. A referendum will be conducted, among producers and importers, three years after the collection of assessments begin to determine if Christmas tree producers and importers favor the continuation of this program.

Click here for the applicable Federal Register version for your needs (HTML, text, PDF).

This is just more government regulation for no real reason. Does the country really need to be putting tax dollars money to a Christmas Tree Promotion Board? If the industry wants to impose fees among its members, then do it, but do it privately and leave the government out of it.

But wait!!! News sources indicate that the Department of Agriculture is going to temporarily suspend this program. I guess the backlash from the public is not making it feasible at this time.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is going to delay implementation and revisit a proposed new 15 cent fee on fresh-cut Christmas trees, sources tell ABC News.

Genetically Modified Pigs Could Provide Human Organs by the Year 2013

File photo*

This story is some creepy 1950s science fiction comic book story come to life. Apparently, medical technology will soon be able to grow human organs from genetically modified pigs. There is no way to know what side effects, if any, this science will unleash. However, it may be beneficial to people who otherwise die or be very unhealthy while waiting for a human organ transplant. Only time will tell whether this becomes a viable medical technology.

A persistent shortage of human organs has led experts to investigate methods of using pigs created with human genes, so that body parts grown in them can be harvested for use in patients without their immune systems rejecting them.

The official medical journal is Clinical xenotransplantation: the next medical revolution? and the summary below.

The shortage of organs and cells from deceased individuals continues to restrict allotransplantation. Pigs could provide an alternative source of tissue and cells but the immunological challenges and other barriers associated with xenotransplantation need to be overcome.

Source: Telegraph; The Lancet

*Image Source: Male Gringo (per Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)

FLASHBACK: Riots Across United States of America During the Great Depression (Video)

I have never seen any of this above video footage of riots throughout the Midwest and Northeast States in United States of America during the 1930s. In fact, it looks similar to the some of the protests that are occurring in the Occupy Movement that has spread around the world in recent weeks. The protesters in the 1930s video appear to be protesting and destroying the means of production (manufacturing) whereas the Occupy movement appear to be protesting the means of financing (banking). The 1930s videos also appear to be more violent.

I highly recommend taking a few minutes and watching a bit of American history.

Source: YouTube

Cybercommand Chief Gen. Keith Alexander Opposes Giving U.N. Power to Regulate Internet

***PLEASE NOTE - The title of this blog article actually refers to the below quoted text from The Washington Times. The Times quotes the General Keith Alexander's statement after a cybersecurity conference that was likely the GEOINT 2011 Symposium sponsored by the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation. I have linked the video of the General's keynote speech from the Symposium where he discusses the nation's need for enhanced cybersecurity (including the use of cloud computing).

The commander of the U.S. Cyber Command said Thursday that he does not favor giving the United Nations the power to regulate the Internet.

Source: Washington Times; GEOINTV

Tennessee Becomes First State with TSA Agent Checkpoints on Highways and at Bus Stations

When the TSA hits the airports, I distinctly remember Alex Jones saying that we would soon see the TSA at or around the sporting events, ports and highways. That was around 2008 or 2009. Well, it is now 2011 and yes, the TSA is setting up agents at checkpoints on Tennessee highways. And while my home State of Tennessee is the first State with TSA agents on its highway, it won't be the last.

Tuesday Tennessee was first to deploy VIPR simultaneously at five weigh stations and two bus stations across the state.

Checkpoints seem to attract violence. They cause traffic and bottlenecks. They also restrict and impede the flow of traffic. These checkpoints will be no different. I fully expect we will be reading about some violent act occurring at one of these checkpoints in the near future.

The reporter says it is a "army of agents on wheels." At 1:40, the reporter presents the story as if this operation finds some dangerous threat to national security. At a minimum to justify this type of operation, perhaps the guy is carrying illegal fuel. Nope, he just carrying some chemicals that "seem suspicious." And in the end, there is nothing wrong with this guy's cargo. Yet, I wonder how long he was detained while the TSA agents illegally searched his cargo without probable cause.

Airports are mainly federal jurisdiction, so I understand the TSA operating within those confines. I may not agree, but I understand. And under a similar rationale, the TSA will now be operating on the interstate highways with the consent of the State and local jurisdictions. No word on whether these agents will be permanent. However, I say that unless the TSA loses its operating budget, then these agents will not be leaving anytime soon.

As for what the Visible Intermodal Protection and Response team does, here is the information directly from the TSA.

Visible Intermodal Protection and Response (VIPR) teams consist of a combination of STSIs, Federal Air Marshals, explosive-detection canine teams, Aviation Security Inspectors, and Transportation Security Officers. The teams provide a random, announced, high-visibility surge into a transit agency, in addition to enhancing agency resources during special events. More than 50 mass transit deployments have occurred since the program was initiated in December 2005. Regional planning and execution is increasing the frequency of deployments and enhancing local expertise, thereby increasing the terrorism deterrent effect. Recent examples include VIPR deployments at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) system in Boston, at Amtrak facilities in Boston, upstate New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC, and at the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority and Amtrak facilities in Buffalo, New York.

Source: NewsChannel5.com (Nashville)

U.S. Army Awards $4.9M Contract to AeroVironment to Create "Kamikaze" Drones (a/k/a Switchblade Agile Munition Systems)

It seems like there are more unmanned drones being developed than manned aircraft these days. However, I should not be surprised, because one of this blog's most popular articles of all-time was United States Air Force Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047 (May 18, 2009) (Unclassified). That article defined the Air Force's plan for an unmanned aircraft fleet over the next forty (40) or so years. I would not be surprised if the other military branches did not have similar types of plans.

These drones produced by AeroVironment for the U.S. Army will have "kamikaze" capabilities - meaning that the unmanned drone itself will be the bomb. This reminds of me an episode of the Transformers cartoon from 1986 with the Lipoles. The Lipoles were basically bat-like drone Transformers that could transform into kamikaze bombs (click the picture to watch the episode where the Lipoles appear).

The tube-launched Switchblade drone, made by Monrovia, California-based Aerovironment Inc., was secretly sent to Afghanistan for the first time last year. “Under a dozen” were fired, said Army Deputy Product Director William Nichols.

Source: Bloomberg

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U.S. Army Awards AeroVironment $4.9 Million Contract for Switchblade Agile Munition Systems and Services

September 01 2011

MONROVIA, Calif., Sept. 1, 2011 -- AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) announced that it received a contract on June 29 from the U.S. Army Close Combat Weapons Systems (CCWS), Program Executive Office Missiles and Space (PEO MS). The $4,907,840 contract for the Switchblade agile munition includes engineering services and operational systems for deployment with the U.S. Army.

This award represents the culmination of years of development, testing, demonstrations and customer evaluations. The prototype Switchblade system previously received Safety Confirmation and underwent Military Utility Assessment with the U.S. Army in the fall of 2010. The award is for rapid fielding of this capability to deployed combat forces.

The Switchblade air vehicle launches from a small tube that can be carried in a backpack and transmits live color video wirelessly for display on AeroVironment’s standard small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) ground control unit. Upon confirming the target using the live video feed, the operator then sends a command to the air vehicle to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target. Flying quietly at high speed the Switchblade delivers its onboard explosive payload with precision while minimizing collateral damage. With the ability to call off a strike even after the air vehicle is armed, Switchblade provides a level of control not available in other weapon systems.

“The unique capabilities provided by the Switchblade agile munition for standoff engagement, accuracy and controlled effects make it an ideal weapon for today’s fight and for U.S. military forces of the future,” said Bill Nichols, deputy product director at the Army’s Close Combat Weapons Systems project office.

Instead of requiring support from weapon systems controlled by other operating units, operators will be able to use the ground launched Switchblade variant to respond to enemy combatants with precision fire from a significant standoff distance, when and where required.

"Our dedicated team developed this breakthrough solution with a focus on satisfying important customer needs,” said Tom Herring, AeroVironment senior vice president and general manager of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “Just as our small unmanned aircraft systems provide game-changing reconnaissance capabilities to ground forces, Switchblade provides a revolutionary rapid strike capability to protect our troops and give them a valuable new advantage on the battlefield.”

About AeroVironment’s Small UAS

Raven®, Wasp and Puma comprise AeroVironment’s Family of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Operating with a common ground control system (GCS), this Family of Systems provides increased capability to the warfighter that can give ground commanders the option of selecting the appropriate aircraft based on the type of mission to be performed. This increased capability has the potential to provide significant force protection and force multiplication benefits to small tactical units. AeroVironment’s UAS logistics operation supports systems deployed worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness. AeroVironment has delivered thousands of new and replacement small unmanned air vehicles. International purchasers of AeroVironment’s small UAS include the armed forces of Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Norway, the Czech Republic, Thailand and Australia.

Japanese Scientist Creates Robot That Can Think Using Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network (SOINN)

If these robots can think and (along with robots that can also eat), then I hesitate to think of the science fiction horrors that may be unleashed upon the world. I'm joking somewhat, but the technology is definitely there for a disaster in the making. The technology papers for this SOINN: Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network are listed below.

In a world first, Osamu Hasegawa, associate professor at the Tokyo Insitute of Technology, has developed a system that allows robots to look around their environment and do research on the Internet, enabling them to "think" how best to solve a problem.

PhDThesis, Dr Shen Furao

View more presentations from Tokyo Institute of Technology

FBI Prepares to Launch Nationwide Facial Recognition & Biometric Identification Service

Image: Subject to License

The title of this article says that FBI's new program will be a "nationwide" facial recognition service, but in the text, it says that it will only be available initially in selected States. Therefore, I am confused. It is nationwide or only in selected States?

The FBI by mid-January [2012] will activate a nationwide facial recognition service in select states that will allow local police to identify unknown subjects in photos, bureau officials told Nextgov.

Perhaps, I should review the technical papers of this Lockheed Martin program.

The fingerprinting aspect of the project was first announced back in March, 2011.

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FBI Announces Initial Operating Capability for Next Generation Identification System

CLARKSBURG, W.Va., March 8th, 2011 -- New technology designed to revolutionize law enforcement’s ability to process fingerprints has reached its initial operating capability, the FBI announced today.

The Next Generation Identification System (NGI), built by Lockheed Martin, delivers an incremental replacement of the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). NGI provides automated fingerprint and latent search capabilities, electronic image storage, and electronic exchange of fingerprints to more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies and other authorized criminal justice partners 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Upon completion, NGI will have the ability to process fingerprint transactions more effectively and accurately.

“The implementation announced today represents a tremendous achievement in enhancing our identification services. Already, we’re seeing how the NGI system is revolutionizing fingerprint identification in support of the FBI’s mission,” said Louis E. Grever, executive assistant director, FBI Science and Technology Branch.

“Lockheed Martin was there supporting the FBI when IAFIS went live in 1999, and we’re thrilled to be here for NGI today,” added Linda Gooden, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Solutions. “Technology like this is a powerful tool when it comes to protecting America’s citizens, and we’re proud to serve as a partner in that mission.”

“While IAFIS has been effective, criminal and terrorist threats have evolved over the past decade. Today’s environment demands faster and more advanced identification capabilities,” said Daniel D. Roberts, assistant director, FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division. “NGI represents a quantum leap in fingerprint identification that will help us in solving investigations, preventing crime, and apprehending criminals and terrorists.”

In addition to the new fingerprint identification technology, the NGI program has also delivered Advanced Technology Workstations to the FBI’s fingerprint examiner staff. The workstations include significantly larger display screens with higher resolution and true color support, allowing staff to see more detailed attributes of biometric data for more efficient decision-making.

Lockheed Martin Media Contact: Kimberly Jaindl, 301-519-6400

FBI Media Contact: Criminal Justice Information Services Division, 304-625-5820, www.fbi.gov

Luke Rudkowski Confronts Van Jones Who Tucks Tail and Runs Away!

I must admit that I cannot stand this Van Jones a**hole. Therefore, this blog post will likely be very biased along those lines. You would think I would like and respect a fellow Tennessean, California attorney and black man who seems to have made some successes in his life. However, I hate shysters and Van Jones is the definition of a shyster. Van Jones will change his story whenever it is convenient for his selfish goals. While he was once a 9/11 truther, once Obama tapped him for a position in the administration and these positions were revealed, he ran from those positions like Usain Bolt.

I applaud Luke Rudkowski of We Are Change for confronting this clown and putting him on the spot. Van Jones is indeed a coward in my opinion! What real man threatens to call for security when being asked a question by a journalist? One of my friends jokingly tried to say to me recently that Van Jones and I were very alike. Even as a joke, that is completely wrong and I had to check my friend on it.

Van Jones wants a communist model and a transfer of wealth. Essentially, he wants a bigger government that only gives money and benefits to his green cronies. He's no different than a neo-con like Rumsfeld. The only difference is Van Jones wants his boys to receive the benefits as opposed to neo-con-friendly companies like Halliburton or Xe. I want the government out of peoples' lives and reduced significantly.

F*ck Van Jones! He and I are nothing alike and he is certainly not in any 99% demographic, no matter how one slices it.

Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu Explains "Fast and Furious" Federal Government Gunrunning Scandal

This is a good introductory video as explained by Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County, Arizona to the "Fast and Furious" scandal that currently threatens the White House. It has all the elements of one of the Fast and Furious movies except for the fast cars and hot chicks. Hmmm, on second thought, I guess it isn't much like those movies after all.

Why is Occupy Wall Street Affiliated with a Professional Revolutionary Organization like Otpor!?

The guy in the above video is Ivan Marovic. That name probably doesn't mean much to you, because I know it didn't mean much to me until I did some further digging. It turns out that Mr. Marovic is the co-founder of Otpor!. Otpor! was a key organization in the Serbian Wars in the 1990s and was also an influence in the Egypt uprisings. If you believe the below documentary (click the below picture to watch), then Otpor! is a group of professional revolutionaries.

I have been quite skeptical of the Occupy movement since it suddenly sprang up out of nowhere in the last couple of weeks. While I have been in full support of the "End the Fed" movement, I am suspicious of any "grassroots" movement that immediately gets corporate media support. I recall there being nationwide "End the Fed" rallies in 2009 that received little to no mainstream media coverage.

When I heard Van Jones along with various union bosses claim their support for the Occupy movement in recent weeks, it confirmed for me that this Occupy is essentially the Tea-Party version of the extreme progressive political agenda. Van Jones even recently discussed an "October Offensive" that would be used to counter the Tea Party.

However, the list of demands from Occupy Wall Street website sounds like a wet dream of someone with a very strong socialist and communist agenda. In fact, these demands read like a new-age version of some bootleg Karl Marx list.

I was willing to jump on board with this Occupy group until I read this list, but after reading this list, I see that it is just another group with an agenda and I have no desire whatsoever to be affiliated with an organization that is promoting that agenda. If this group truly wants to get me involved with them, then:

• Where is the demand for the repeal of the PATRIOT Act?
• What about ending the international wars of aggression?
• What about ending the opium trade in Afghanistan?
• What about ending the Presidential-ordered killings of US citizens without a court hearing and due process?
  
• What about actually demanding criminal accountability on Wall Street (as the name of the group might imply) and in other financial arenas?
• Where is the demand for the disposition of the bankers' stolen loot and gains over the years?
• What about the end of warrantless wiretapping and spying by the government and telecoms?
• What about an audit of the Federal Reserve?
• What about the nexus and conflict between former government regulators receiving lucrative private sector jobs from the very companies/industries they were regulating?
• What about the end of torture?

I came up with those demands without even picking up a book or doing a real thorough analysis that I would have done if I was organizing a movement. Please note that I didn't include any of the numerous conspiracy theories previously discussed on this blog. However, instead of any of the above, the Occupy movement focuses on things that will never happen or will lead to outright Civil War. Namely, it focuses on the same issues that I have seen in numerous progressive/union/left-leaning/communist literature. In fact, when I was way more naive back in 2006, I ran a political campaign with a platform that was somewhat similar in certain areas. Fortunately, my ideology has evolved.

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Here are the Occupy Wall Street demands (along with my annotations):

Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending "Freetrade" by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.

Why not tax the profits of American corporations who incorporate and operate in other nations simply for the avoidance and payment of taxes? The only problem is that most major corporations are multinational. If US imposes strict regulations or taxes, the corporations will simply remove all (or curtail a material portion) of its operations from the United States market to a more favorable market.

If the tariffs are too costly, then the corporations will pass those costs along to the American consumers who will no longer be able to afford the foreign goods. A void would potentially exist for American companies to produce these goods, but the current government regulations are barriers to entry for anyone aside from international investors. $20 an hour minimum wage would never work. It would kill more jobs than it would save. Many businesses do not make enough money to pay its employees $20/hour, so it would have to terminate staff. A rise in minimum wage for everyone would also cause inflation, because everyone would be making more money.

Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.

I agree that the insurance industry is a huge issue, but allowing the federal government to run all of health care would be even worse. I wouldn't necessarily be against some type of federally subsidized program for basic health needs, but I am against any federal mandate that everyone has to buy insurance.

Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.

That would never work. Why would someone ever work a difficult or dangerous job?

Demand four: Free college education.

I agree that education should be available to anyone who wants to pursue it, but how does one pay for free college education for everyone? Who will pay the teachers? Buy the library books? Build the dormitories? If every college will be 100% federal government-funded, then the federal government will controlling all of the colleges/universities in the country. I certainly would never agree to that scenario. If they want to help college students, remove the ridiculous profits in the private student loan industry.

Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.

This is pie-in-the-sky stuff unless the government is willing to release all of its black-ops technology where it is alleged that free energy like Mr. Fusion does exist. Assuming that free energy does not exist yet, then there is no way to transition out of fossil fuels without decimating the economy. Further, the so-called "green energy" push by the government is a scam as evidenced by the recent political scandal in the solar energy industry. Our current state of technology is not a viable substitute for fossil fuel energy. It may make someone feel good to drive a Prius, but what happens when the world runs out of the rare earth metals needed to construct the battery technology?

Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.

Where do we get $1,000,000,000,000 from when the country is broke? Should we just print it up on the Federal Reserve printers? Borrow it from China?

Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America's nuclear power plants.

As in the previous Demand, where do we get $1,000,000,000,000? I agree on the decommissioning of the nuclear plants, because radiation is a curse on this planet. However, this Demand conflicts with Demand Five, because nuclear is considered alternative energy. Nuclear accounts for 20% of the power in the country. What will be the substitute for nuclear while these power plants are being decommissioned? Further, if you reestablish all wetlands, that means destroying all dams and canals. 6% of US power comes from hydroelectric, so that along with nuclear would wipe 26% of the US electrical power capacity. If you take this Demand into account with Demand Five, we would essentially have to live in the Dark Ages with no fossil fuels, nuclear power, hydroelectric or coal.

Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.

More pie-in-the-sky stuff. There is already an Equal Protection Clause in the Constitution that supposedly grants equal protections in connection with government and State action, but it has been abused by Courts since the late 1800s. A proposed Equal Rights Amendment failed in the 1980s. Additional Amendments addressing these social issues would only cause more court cases and more confusing, judicial rulings that would still favor those people with the economic resources to game the legal system. The country simply needs to enforce the laws and regulations that are currently on the books.

Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.

If you are pro-illegal immigration, then you will love this one. I am anti-illegal immigration and I believe in national sovereignty, so I do not agree with this Demand either. I do agree that people should be able to travel, work and live wherever they want, but it shouldn't be an unfettered right to do anything one wants to do. I can't move to another country and expect to do whatever I want to do.

Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.

I agree that our election system is corrupt, but international elections are no better and in many cases, worse. I do believe that there should be a paper receipt for all votes that can be manually reviewed in case of any issues.

Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.

I would love for all my student loans to be wiped off of the books, but wiping this debt out would not solve the problem. Legit debts need to be paid. Otherwise, wiping these debts out would simply create hyperinflation. Food isn't going to magically appear on your table. Your kids' clothes aren't going to magically sprout from a cottonseed. Gas isn't going to magically appear in your tank. Your cell phone and Internet bills will not pay themselves. If the economy goes into hyperinflation, most of these things will either disappear or become in very short supply very quickly. However, I do AGREE that all fraudulent debts and instruments need to be canceled and the originators of these instruments need to be criminally and civilly tried in Court.

Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.

I don't really use credit anymore, but I do understand that some people need it to build businesses. I wouldn't outlaw credit reporting agencies, but I would curtail some of these agencies' powers.

Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.

What does this have to do with 99%? I'm not in a union and have never really wanted to be in a union. I don't have a desire to pay someone money for the "right" to negotiate on my behalf. It sounds like the mob to me. Union membership may be important to some, but it is an irrelevant issue to me and when I hear people pushing it as a major issue, then I know it's really a political issue!

There are a couple of decent points in those demands, but a majority of them are as unrealistic as me swimming to the Moon.

I bet most of these folks protesting and occupying these locations are great people who have the best intentions. However, I am reminded of that old statement about the pavement on the road to Hell. Sometimes when I write these blog articles, I hope I am wrong about my statements and this is one of those times! But....

At the end of the day, it seems like the anger in the streets has been (or will be) co-opted by the professional revolutionaries and all of their affiliates of the extreme progressive agenda.

Pakistan Reportedly Orders Its Foreign Minister Home from United States as Military Tensions Escalate

File photo

Laser wars, nothing but laser wars! I've said that statement before and I will probably say it again in the future. I use it figuratively for all the wars we (the United States) are engaged in around the globe. It appears that Pakistan may soon be on this war list if the below report is to be believed.

Amid spiraling Pakistani-US tensions, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Sunday, Sept. 25, ordered Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to return home from New York at once shortly after she warned the US against "hot pursuit" of terrorists on Pakistani soil. A sense of crisis pervaded Islamabad as Pakistan's army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani held a "special" meeting of his top commanders "to review the security situation."

In case you're interested in the above image, here is the description that was attached to it:

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen reviews Pakistani troops during a ceremony honoring Mullen's arrival to Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb. 9, 2008. Mullen is visiting the country to discuss security issues with Pakistani military officials. DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, U.S. Navy.

Source: DEBKRAFile

Penn State Scientists Discover AAV2 Virus That Kills Breast Cancer Cells in Laboratory

The discovery of a naturally occurring virus that can kill breast cancer cells is a promising and amazing development from the scientists at Penn State. It could potentially save thousands of lives. The results were lab-based, so hopefully, these results will translate as favorably to clinical trials and other studies using this advancement in the future.

A nondisease-causing virus kills human breast cancer cells in the laboratory, creating opportunities for potential new cancer therapies, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers who tested the virus on three different breast cancer types that represent the multiple stages of breast cancer development.

Adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) is a virus that regularly infects humans but causes no disease...Researchers used an unaltered, naturally occurring version of AAV2 on human breast cancer cells...

...In tissue culture dishes in the laboratory, 100 percent of the cancer cells are destroyed by the virus within seven days, with the majority of the cell death proteins activated on the fifth day. In another study, a fourth breast cancer derived cell line, which is the most aggressive, required three weeks to undergo cell death.

Source: Penn State University

Image Source: barcoder96 (licensed per Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license)

Flu Vaccine Ingredients & Package Inserts for FDA-Approved Vaccines in USA (2011-2012)

Image: David Dees

**UPDATE (September 23, 2012)** - For a list of the ingredients in the approved 2012-2013 flu vaccines, please see my blog post entitled REMIXX WORLD!: Flu Vaccine Ingredients & Package Inserts for FDA-Approved Vaccines in the United States of America (2012-2013)

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I recently posted a photo in another blog post and briefly discussed the 2011 flu vaccine. Suddenly, I was getting Google hits, so I guess people are still interested in the flu vaccine ingredients. I thought I beat that horse to death back in 2009-10, but I guess not. Therefore, below are five (5) flu vaccines approved for use in the United States of America.

Please note that this 2011 flu vaccine will contain a vaccine for the H1N1 "swine flu" as well. You can read my 2009 and 2010 analysis on the H1N1 vaccine by clicking here.

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1. FLUZONE® by Sanofi Pasteur (FDA link)

Here is the package insert information from one such 2011 flu vaccine called Fluzone® by Sanofi Pasteur.

Depending on the specific vaccine that you may get, Fluzone can potentially include any of the following ingredients:

• Formaldehyde
• Gelatin
• Octylphenol Ethoxylate - an emulsifier
• Thimerosal (a mercury derivative) (in the 0.5 mL multi-dose)

For a table of the ingredients, click here and here.

2. FLUVIRIN® by Novartis (FDA link)

For the official package insert for this vaccine, here it is courtesy of Novartis. The ingredients are listed on in Section 11 on page 20, but I will quote it here for you. Please note that multidose of the vaccine may also contain betapropiolactone and according the CDC website, betapropiolactone is a potential carcinogen. The multidose also contains nonylphenol ethoxylate which is used in detergents.

FLUVIRIN® is a trivalent, sub-unit (purified surface antigen) influenza virus vaccine prepared from virus propagated in the allantoic cavity of embryonated hens’ eggs inoculated with a specific type of influenza virus suspension containing neomycin and polymyxin. Each of the influenza virus strains is harvested and clarified separately by centrifugation and filtration prior to inactivation with betapropiolactone. The inactivated virus is concentrated and purified by zonal centrifugation. The surface antigens, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, are obtained from the influenza virus particle by further centrifugation in the presence of nonylphenol ethoxylate, a process which removes most of the internal proteins. The nonylphenol ethoxylate is removed from the surface antigen preparation.FLUVIRIN® is a homogenized, sterile, slightly opalescent suspension in a phosphate buffered saline. FLUVIRIN® has been standardized according to USPHS requirements for the 2010-2011 influenza season and is formulated to contain 45 mcg hemagglutinin (HA) per 0.5-mL dose in the recommended ratio of 15 mcg HA of each of the following 3 viruses: A/California/7/2009, NYMC X-181 (H1N1); A/Victoria/210/2009, NYMC X-187 (H3N2) (an A/Perth/16/2009-like virus); and B/Brisbane/60/2008.The 0.5-mL prefilled syringe presentation is formulated without preservative. However, thimerosal, a mercury derivative used during manufacturing, is removed by subsequent purification steps to a trace amount (≤ 1 mcg mercury per 0.5-mL dose).The 5-mL multidose vial formulation contains thimerosal, a mercury derivative, added as a preservative. Each 0.5-mL dose from the multidose vial contains 25 mcg mercury.Each dose from the multidose vial or from the prefilled syringe may also contain residual amounts of egg proteins (≤ 1 mcg ovalbumin), polymyxin (≤ 3.75 mcg), neomycin (≤ 2.5 mcg), betapropiolactone (not more than 0.5 mcg) and nonylphenol ethoxylate (not more than 0.015% w/v).

The tip caps of the FLUVIRIN® prefilled syringes may contain natural rubber latex. The multidose vial stopper and the syringe stopper/plunger do not contain latex.

3. FluMist by MedImmune, LLC (FDA link)

As always with the intranasal vaccines, this one has live viruses, including H1N1 and H3N2! Please make note of that information if/when you select a particular vaccine (or not). You can find the specific ingredients on page 3 in section 11, but the ones to notes are MSG and porcine gelatin (processed pigskins).

Each pre-filled refrigerated FluMist sprayer contains a single 0.2 mL dose. Each 0.2 mL dose contains 106.5-7.5 FFU of live attenuated influenza virus reassortants of each of the three strains: A/California/7/2009 (H1N1), A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2), and B/Brisbane/60/2008. Each 0.2 mL dose also contains 0.188 mg/dose monosodium glutamate, 2.00 mg/dose hydrolyzed porcine gelatin, 2.42 mg/dose arginine, 13.68mg/dose sucrose, 2.26mg/dose dibasic potassiumphosphate, 0.96mg/dosemonobasic potassium phosphate, and 0.015 mcg/mL gentamicin sulfate. FluMist contains no preservatives.

4. FLULAVAL by GlaxoSmithKline (FDA link)

I've previously discussed FLULAVAL in the November 2009 blog posting FDA Approves GlaxoSmithKline's H1N1 "Swine Flu" FLULAVAL® Vaccine (Fifth Vaccine Maker in the USA). I don't know if it's the same ol' vaccine, different year, but let's find out. The ingredients are listed in Section 11, page 8. My major note is that this vaccine contains mercury!

FLULAVAL is a sterile, translucent to whitish opalescent suspension in a phosphate-buffered saline solution that may sediment slightly. The sediment resuspends upon shaking to form a homogeneous suspension. FLULAVAL has been standardized according to USPHS requirements for the 2011-2012 influenza season and is formulated to contain 45 mcg hemagglutinin (HA) per 0.5-mL dose in the recommended ratio of 15 mcg HA of each of the following 3 strains: A/California/7/2009 NYMC X-181 (H1N1), A/Victoria/210/2009 NYMC X-187 (H3N2) (an A/Perth/16/2009-like virus), and B/Brisbane/60/2008. Thimerosal, a mercury derivative, is added as a preservative. Each dose contains 25 mcg mercury. Each dose may also contain residual amounts of egg proteins (≤1 mcg ovalbumin), formaldehyde (≤25 mcg), and sodium deoxycholate (≤50 mcg). Antibiotics are not used in the manufacture of this vaccine.The vial stopper does not contain latex.

5. FLUARIX by GlaxoSmithKline (FDA link)

Interesting that this vaccine contains a few different ingredients than the other vaccines, particularly stuff like octoxynol-10 (an emulsifier) and polysorbate 80.

FLUARIX has been standardized according to USPHS requirements for the 2011-2012 influenza season and is formulated to contain 45 micrograms (mcg) hemagglutinin (HA) per 0.5-mL dose, in the recommended ratio of 15 mcg HA of each of the following 3 strains: A/California/7/2009 NYMC X-181 (H1N1), A/Victoria/210/2009 NYMC X-187 (H3N2) (an A/Perth/16/2009-like virus), and B/Brisbane/60/2008.FLUARIX is formulated without preservatives. FLUARIX does not contain thimerosal. Each 0.5-mL dose also contains octoxynol-10 (TRITON® X-100) ≤0.085 mg, α-tocopheryl hydrogen succinate ≤0.1 mg, and polysorbate 80 (Tween 80) ≤0.415 mg. Each dose may also contain residual amounts of hydrocortisone ≤0.0016 mcg, gentamicin sulfate ≤0.15 mcg, ovalbumin ≤0.05 mcg, formaldehyde ≤5 mcg, and sodium deoxycholate ≤50 mcg from the manufacturing process.