Terrafugia Transition® Street-Legal Flying Car Receives FAA Weight Exemption to Go Into Production

"A flying car! How droll!" I guess if we can buy flying cars, then the future is officially here.

See also: Terrafugia Transition 'flying car' gets go-ahead from US air authorities

The Terrafugia Transition, a light aircraft that can convert into a road-legal automobile, is to go into production after being given a special weight exemption by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

Image Source: MarkWarren

###

The Transition® Roadable Aircraft Receives Additional 110 pounds

FAA Grants Terrafugia Extra Takeoff Weight for Road Safety Features

Woburn, MA -- June 17, 2010: Terrafugia, Inc., developer of the Transition ® Roadable Aircraft, or "Flying Car", has received an exemption from the FAA to allow the Transition ® a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 1430 pounds (650 kg). This additional weight accommodates the structure and equipment necessary for compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) which are not found in other Light Sport Aircraft. Items such as airbags, an energy absorbing crumple zone, and a protective safety cage will increase safety both on the road and in the air. Exclusively applicable to the Transition ® , the FAA's grant of an additional 110 pounds will allow a competitive useful load while providing a revolutionary level of crash safety in a Light Sport Aircraft.

By giving pilots a convenient ground transportation option, the Transition ® reduces the cost, inconvenience, and weather sensitivity of personal aviation. In addition to the enhanced protection afforded by applying automotive crash safety technology to light planes, the Transition ® reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under bad weather instead of potentially flying into marginal conditions.

Classified as a Light Sport Aircraft, the Transition ® requires a Sport Pilot certificate to fly and is designed to drive on public roadways and park in a standard garage. Terrafugia successfully completed flight and drive testing of its Proof of Concept Transition ® in 2009. Refundable airframe reservations are being accepted with first delivery scheduled for late 2011.

Computer graphics of the production prototype design will be unveiled at a press conference at 10:30 a.m. on July 26, 2010 at Terrafugia's exhibit at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI.

Terrafugia (terra-FOO-gee-ah), based in Woburn, MA, is comprised of a team of award-winning engineers who have been advancing the state of personal aircraft since 2006. Founded by five pilots who are graduates of MIT and supported by a world-class network of advisors and private investors, Terrafugia's mission is the innovative expansion of personal mobility. "Terrafugia" is Latin for "escape from land."

Terrafugia would like to thank the EAA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA), & Women in Aviation International (WAI) for their support.

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Richard Gersh at Terrafugia: +1-781-491-0812, visit http://www.terrafugia.com , or e-mail: press@terrafugia.com

Images may be downloaded from http://press.terrafugia.com

FAA Docket ID: FAA-2009-1087

Full Text of Exemption:

Exemption No. 10072

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of TERRAFUGIA, INC. for an exemption from § 1.1 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2009-1087

PARTIAL GRANT OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated November 12, 2009, Mr. Carl Dietrich, Terrafugia, Inc., 5 Cranes Court, Woburn, MA 01801, petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an exemption from § 1.1 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed exemption, if granted, would allow the Terrafugia Transition® roadable aircraft to be eligible for the issuance of a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category with an additional weight allowance for a four wheel light-sport aircraft (LSA) with folding wings intended for operation on public roadways (i.e., roadable aircraft).

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulation:

Although the petitioner requests an exemption from § 1.1, we find instead, for the operations requested, the petitioner will need an exemption from § 21.190(c)(2), which prescribes that:

(c) Manufacturer's statement of compliance for light-sport category aircraft. The manufacturer's statement of compliance required in paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of this section must—
(2) State that the aircraft meets the provisions of the identified consensus standard;

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner seeks airworthiness certification in the special light-sport aircraft (SLSA) category under the ASTM International (ASTM) light-sport airplane consensus standards for its Transition® roadable aircraft. For their roadable design to meet the applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and still maintain a useful load equivalent to other LSA, the petitioner has requested a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 1,474 pounds (670 kg).
The petitioner states that aircraft designed for dual use operation have a higher minimum empty weight due to the design requirements of a vehicle with two very distinctive needs. Additional systems are needed in a roadable LSA to provide dual functionality similar to LSA intended for operation on water. These systems include, but are not limited to, a ground drive system independent of the propeller (such as a transmission and differential), automotive lighting, signals, suspension, brakes, mirrors and windshield wipers. The requested increased weight of 1,474 pounds (670 kg) is due to the addition of structure and components for these systems that not only provide increased functionality, but also allow for the safe operation of the aircraft in both transportation modes. The additional safety features required for an automobile (such as side impact protection, roll cages and head restraints) also add to the increased weight of the aircraft.

The petitioner states that while the additional safety features incorporated into the structure of the aircraft offer protection to the pilot in emergency landing scenarios they do not add any complexity to the operation of the aircraft. The petitioner believes that by giving pilots the option of diverting and safely continuing their trip on the ground, a roadable LSA reduces the temptation to fly in marginal weather conditions. This has the potential to significantly reduce the number of visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) accidents and their resulting fatalities. Incorporating proven automotive crash safety features into aircraft fuselages could help reduce fatalities from accidents of all causes.

A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on March 4, 2010, (75 FR 42) and was assigned Docket Number FAA-2009-1087. The FAA received comments from four commenters. All comments were in favor of the relief requested by Terrafugia. Every commenter supported the petitioner’s request for weight allowance for safety items to meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for a roadable special category LSA.

The FAA's analysis is as follows:

The FAA reviewed Terrafugia’s petition and supporting information, as well as information provided in comments submitted in response to the publication of a summary of the petition in the Federal Register. After careful consideration, we find a partial grant of exemption, subject to specific conditions and limitations, would provide an equivalent level of safety to that of the regulation and would serve the public interest. This partial grant is for increased weight to accommodate roadable aircraft meeting the FMVSS requirements and is not intended to provide a weight increase for traditional configurations under LSA. The following is a summary of the FAA’s analysis of Terrafugia’s petition for exemption.

The petitioner seeks an exemption so it can certificate its Transition® roadable aircraft with a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category. The SLSA category was created in 2004 with a 1,320 pound (600 kg) weight limit to provide for the manufacture of new aircraft conforming to acceptable consensus standards. The “Certification of Aircraft and Airmen for the Operation of Light-Sport Aircraft” final rule (69 FR 44772) (sport pilot rule) was meant to address new sport and recreational aircraft that previously lacked suitable certification guidelines.

In the preamble of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the FAA stated that it intended the rule to increase safety in the sport aircraft community by closing the gaps in existing regulations and by accommodating new advances in technology. Included was the development of consensus standards to address the unique design, production and continued operational safety aspects of light-sport category aircraft.

As a member of the consensus standard body, the FAA can call for revisions to the consensus standard when the agency determines such revisions are necessary. The FAA, as all other participants, may propose changes to amend the consensus standards to address new technology, applications, or deficiencies. As part of the FAA's participation in the consensus standards development, the FAA will review proposed consensus standards prior to the issuance of a Notice of Availability (NOA).

Each SLSA aircraft design must meet the consensus standards acceptable to the FAA. However, the existing consensus standards for LSA do not yet address roadable aircraft. The intent is for new or novel concepts in light-sport to gain operational experience as experimental aircraft while working with the ASTM F37 Committee for Light Sport Aircraft to develop the standards needed to address new or novel concepts. Terrafugia is currently working with ASTM to accomplish this goal.

The FAA has an established precedence for allowing 1,430 pounds (650 kg) under LSA intended for operation on water, which also have unique configuration characteristics that justify an increase in MTOW above the original 1,320 pound (600 kg) LSA limit. This petition is significantly different from previous requests for exemption to the LSA MTOW limitations, as the Transition® roadable aircraft design is unique and must simultaneously meet both sets of standards for ASTM and FMVSS.

A partial grant of exemption by the FAA would allow certification of the Transition® as a roadable aircraft with a MTOW of 1,430 pounds (650 kg); otherwise, the aircraft would be required to meet acceptable consensus standards for conventional configuration SLSA aircraft with MTOW of 1,320 pounds (600 kg). We reviewed the information provided by Terrafugia, as well as that provided by the commenters to the petition for exemption. The FAA agrees with the commenters who inferred the safety of roadable aircraft is better served by allowing for the weight increase for safety features required for use while driving on the road. However, the FAA does not intend to extend this exemption to conventional configuration LSA for safety enhancing equipment (i.e., roll cages, ballistic parachutes, etc.).

The data submitted by the petitioner supports the assertion for roadable aircraft, accidents in airplanes equipped with NHTSA-required safety features are more survivable than in similar airplanes without NHTSA-required safety features. The FAA intends to cooperate with industry efforts to determine if appropriate design constraints in the consensus standards can further guarantee that roadable LSA have appropriate safeguards in the event of a failure in the transition from road to flight configuration.

We find that, with the conditions and limitations specified, this exemption provides an equivalent level of safety to that of an aircraft that has been issued a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category.

The FAA’s Decision:

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a partial grant of exemption that grants relief to Terrafugia from having to meet the requirement of 1,320 pounds (600 kg) maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) for certification and operation of roadable LSA is in the public interest. However, I do not find that a grant of exemption is in the public interest for the certification of roadable LSA operating at 1,474 pounds (670 kg) MTOW. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, Terrafugia, Inc. is hereby granted an exemption from 14 CFR § 21.190(c)(2) to the extent necessary to allow Terrafugia Transition® aircraft, that otherwise meet the requirements of § 21.190, to be eligible for issuance of a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category, having a MTOW of not more than 1,430 pounds (650 kg).

Conditions and Limitations

1. This partial grant of exemption applies only to the Terrafugia Transition® aircraft.

2. Terrafugia, Inc. must supply each purchaser of a Transition® aircraft with a copy of this exemption. A copy of the exemption must be carried on board each Transition® aircraft certificated under the provisions of this exemption.

3. Terrafugia must maintain a record of all owners of the Transition® aircraft certificated under the provisions of this exemption.

Issued in Kansas City, MO, on May 27, 2010.

s/

Kim Smith, Manager
Small Airplane Directorate
Aircraft Certification Service



# # #

Alabama Disaster Relief Officials Tell Dick Morris There is No More Inventory of Booms Anywhere on Earth

Hopefully, there is a factory somewhere that is going into mass production mode to make some booms, because it appears that boom supplies will be quite limited in the near future.

Now the greatest crisis of all looms on the horizon as hurricanes sweep into the Gulf. Should one hit offshore, it will destroy all the booms that have been placed to stop the oil from reaching shore. And there are no more booms anywhere in the world, according to Alabama disaster relief officials. “There is no more inventory of booms anywhere on earth,” one told me in despair.

Source: The Hill

CIA Director Leon Panetta Says That It Has Not Had Any Reliable Intelligence on Osama bin Laden's Location Since Early 2000s

Well duh, Mr. Panetta. Hello McFly. Of course the CIA has not had any reliable intelligence on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden in a long, long time. One mainstream news agency reported Osama bin Laden dying around December, 2001. Unless Mr. bin Laden is a ghost haunting the battlefields of Afghanistan or a cyborg sent back in the time, no one will not be seeing him any time soon.

Mr Panetta said the al-Qaeda leadership was at its weakest point since the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, but admitted that he had not had reliable intelligence on the location of the group's leader since "the early 2000s".

"Since then, it's been very difficult to get any intelligence on his exact location," he said.

Source: Telegraph

CIA Director Leon Panetta Says That Cyber Warfare Could Paralyze United States of America

Remixx World! has been discussing cyber attacks for over a year on this site. Therefore, tell us something we don't already know Mr. Panetta. However, you seem to be leaving out a key detail. Unless the attack originates from the Chinese and/or North Korean military, the CIA will likely be influencing or financing the hackers who conduct the aforementioned cyber attack. If it is a foreign power other than China or North Korea, then the U.S. military will be able to track, trace and database the source of the cyberattack and destroy the applicable infrastructure being used to facilitate the attack.

“It could paralyze this country, and I think that's an area we have to pay a lot more attention to,” the CIA chief said.

Why are critical government, financial and business networks connected to the non-secure Internet? Who made that dumb decision?

The networks should have internal encrypted connections, and these critical networks should never be connected to the Internet.


Source: ABC News (This Week)

Escambia County Health Department Reopens Beaches & Lifts Health Advisory Despited Four Hundred (400) Reported Illness Cases

Why is the beach being reopened and health advisories lifted when people are still getting sick down in Escambia County, Florida?

So far, 400 people have sought medical care for upper or lower respiratory problems, headaches, nausea, and eye irritation after trips to Escambia County beaches, [Dr. John] Lanza [director of Escambia County Health Department] said.

###


Escambia County Health Department
1295 W. Fairfield Drive
Pensacola, Florida 32501-1107
John J. Lanza, MD, PhD, MPH, FAAP, CHD
Director-Health
www.escambiahealth.com
850.595.6500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 25, 2010 0750 CDT HA003

MEDIA CONTACT:
Molly Payne-Hardin, desk (850) 595-6410, cell (850) 791-1604

Health advisory rescinded for portion of beach

PENSACOLA -- Effective immediately, the Escambia County (FL) Health Department is
rescinding the health advisory issued on June 23, 2010 for the following beach waters in Escambia County, Florida, that were affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill:

Public Walkover 23 at Pensacola Beach west to the entrance of Ft. Pickens

Health officials are working with the National Parks Service to determine if the health advisory for the beaches of Ft. Pickens and Johnson Beach can also be lifted today.

"This is a highly dynamic situation varying by tide, current, and wind changes/direction,” said health department director Dr. John Lanza. “We expect to frequently give and rescind advisories along our beaches."

The health department is rescinding its health advisory now that government officials verify that there is no oil sheen or oil slick observed in the water from the high water mark out to 100 yards from shore. Officials continue to recommend that beachgoers avoid contact with tar balls. However, if an individual’s skin comes into contact with tar:

1.) Wash with soap and large amounts of water. Health officials discourage the use of gasoline, kerosene or other solvents to clean oil from skin.

2.) If tar is not removed with soap and water, scrape off the excess tar from your skin and apply a grease removing agent – such as a liquid grease-fighting dish detergent -- or mineral oil. Rinse your skin with large amounts of fresh water.

3.) Remove contaminated clothing.

4.) If symptoms or irritation occur, call a physician. Government officials continue to monitor the water for impact from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

For more information contact:
Charlie Crist
Governor
Ana M. Viamonte Ros, M.D., M.P.H.
State Surgeon General
www.escambiahealth.com
850.595.6500

·Escambia County Health Department at (850)595-6700 and www.EscambiaHealth.com
·Escambia County Citizen’s Information Line at 471-6600 from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
CDT (Monday – Sunday) or www.escambiadisasterresponse.com
·Florida Oil Spill Information Line at (888)337-3569

Wyss Institute at Harvard University Creates Bio-Device on a Microchip That Mimics a Living, Breathing Human Lung!

Interesting. If man can create a respiratory system on a microchip, then man is one step closer to creating the long-elusive cyborg.

###

Living, breathing human lung-on-a-chip: A potential drug-testing alternative

BOSTON, Mass. -- Researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, and Children's Hospital Boston have created a device that mimics a living, breathing human lung on a microchip. The device, about the size of a rubber eraser, acts much like a lung in a human body and is made using human lung and blood vessel cells.

Because the lung device is translucent, it provides a window into the inner-workings of the human lung without having to invade a living body. It has the potential to be a valuable tool for testing the effects of environmental toxins, absorption of aerosolized therapeutics, and the safety and efficacy of new drugs. Such a tool may help accelerate pharmaceutical development by reducing the reliance on current models, in which testing a single substance can cost more than $2 million.

"The ability of the lung-on-a-chip device to predict absorption of airborne nanoparticles and mimic the inflammatory response triggered by microbial pathogens provides proof-of-principle for the concept that organs-on-chips could replace many animal studies in the future," says Donald Ingber, senior author on the study and founding director of Harvard's Wyss Institute.

The paper appears in the June 25 issue of Science.

Room to breathe
Until now, tissue-engineered microsystems have been limited either mechanically or biologically, says Ingber, who is also the Judah Folkman professor of vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston. "We really can't understand how biology works unless we put it in the physical context of real living cells, tissues, and organs."

With every human breath, air enters the lungs, fills microscopic air sacs called alveoli, and transfers oxygen through a thin, flexible, permeable membrane of lung cells into the bloodstream. It is this membrane -- a three-layered interface of lung cells, a permeable extracellular matrix, and capillary blood vessel cells -- that does the lung's heavy lifting. What's more, this lung-blood interface recognizes invaders such as inhaled bacteria or toxins and activates an immune response.

The lung-on-a-chip microdevice takes a new approach to tissue engineering by placing two layers of living tissues -- the lining of the lung's air sacs and the blood vessels that surround them -- across a porous, flexible boundary. Air is delivered to the lung lining cells, a rich culture medium flows in the capillary channel to mimic blood, and cyclic mechanical stretching mimics breathing. The device was created using a novel microfabrication strategy that uses clear rubbery materials. The strategy was pioneered by another Wyss core faculty member, George Whitesides, the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor at Harvard University.

"We were inspired by how breathing works in the human lung through the creation of a vacuum that is created when our chest expands, which sucks air into the lung and causes the air sac walls to stretch," says first author Dan Huh, a Wyss technology development fellow at the Institute. "Our use of a vacuum to mimic this in our microengineered system was based on design principles from nature."

To determine how well the device replicates the natural responses of living lungs to stimuli, the researchers tested its response to inhaled living E. coli bacteria. They introduced bacteria into the air channel on the lung side of the device and at the same time flowed white blood cells through the channel on the blood vessel side. The lung cells detected the bacteria and, through the porous membrane, activated the blood vessel cells, which in turn triggered an immune response that ultimately caused the white blood cells to move to the air chamber and destroy the bacteria.

"The ability to recreate realistically both the mechanical and biological sides of the in vivo coin is an exciting innovation," says Rustem Ismagilov, professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago, who specializes in biochemical microfluidic systems.

The team followed this experiment with a "real-world application of the device," says Huh. They introduced a variety of nano-scaled particles (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter) into the air sac channel. Some of these particles exist in commercial products; others are found in air and water pollution. Several types of these nanoparticles entered the lung cells and caused the cells to overproduce free radicals and to induce inflammation. Many of the particles passed through the model lung into the blood channel, and the investigators discovered that mechanical breathing greatly enhanced nanoparticle absorption. Benjamin Matthews, Harvard Medical School assistant professor in the Vascular Biology Program at Children's Hospital Boston, verified these new findings in mice.

"Most importantly, we learned from this model that the act of breathing increases nanoparticle absorption and that it also plays an important role in inducing the toxicity of these nanoparticles," Huh says.

Organs-on-chips
"This lung-on-a-chip is neat and merges a number of technologies in an innovative way," says Robert Langer, MIT Institute professor. "I think it should be useful in testing the safety of different substances on the lung and I can also imagine other related applications, such as in research into how the lung functions."

According to Ismagilov, it's too early to predict how successful this field of research will be. Still, "the potential to use human cells while recapitulating the complex mechanical features and chemical microenvironments of an organ could provide a truly revolutionary paradigm shift in drug discovery," he says.

The investigators have not yet demonstrated the system's capability to mimic gas exchange between the air sac and bloodstream, a key function of the lungs, but, says Huh, they are exploring this now.

The Wyss Institute team is also working to build other organ models, such as a gut-on-a-chip, as well as bone marrow and even cancer models. Further, they are exploring the potential for combining organ systems.

For example, Ingber is collaborating with Kevin Kit Parker, associate professor at Harvard University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and another Wyss core faculty member, who has created a beating heart-on-a-chip. They hope to link the breathing lung-on-a-chip to the beating heart-on-a-chip. The engineered organ combination could be used to test inhaled drugs and to identify new and more effective therapeutics that lack adverse cardiac side effects.

This research was funded by the the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.

Written by Elizabeth Dougherty

Contact:
Mary Tolikas
mary.tolikas@wyss.harvard.edu

###

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University uses Nature's design principles to create breakthrough technologies that will revolutionize medicine, industry, and the environment. Working as an alliance among Harvard's Medical School, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Children's Hospital Boston, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Boston University, the Institute crosses disciplinary and institutional barriers to engage in high-risk, fundamental research that leads to transformative change. By applying biological principles, Wyss researchers are developing innovative new engineering solutions for healthcare, manufacturing, robotics, energy, and sustainable architecture. These technologies are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances and new startups.

Harvard Medical School (http://hms.harvard.edu) has more than 7,500 full-time faculty working in 11 academic departments located at the School's Boston campus or in one of 47 hospital-based clinical departments at 17 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes. Those affiliates include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Children's Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Forsyth Institute, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Hebrew SeniorLife, Joslin Diabetes Center, Judge Baker Children's Center, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and VA Boston Healthcare System.


###

New Aerial Video of Gulf of Mexico & BP Oil Spill from June 26, 2010

This is some incredible video. It is absolutely unbelievable that our government has allowed this action to happen. Every available ship should have been in the Gulf the minute the Deepwater Horizon rig sunk to the bottom of the sea.

President Obama Appoints Muslim Attorney Samar Ali Who Specializes in Shari’a Compliant Transactions to 2010-2011 White House Fellowship

As Black Rob would have said way back when, "like whoa!" This is a pretty startling development that the White House would appoint Samar S. Ali, Esq. to a fellowship position when she specializes in Shari’a compliant transactions/Islamic banking and writes articles (click here or below to read New Court Ruling on Overseas Deposits) for various clients in the Middle East discussing how Shari'a allows Muslims to circumvent the jurisdiction of courts in the United States of America.

I'm not saying that Ms. Ali should be denied this position, but I highly doubt that Ms. Ali provided a full client disclosure list to the White House in her application materials and Obama's administration is too sloppy to properly verify said materials. Nevertheless, considering the United States is currently at war in two (2) Muslim countries, do any of Ms. Ali's current and/or past clients pose a national security risk to the United States of America?

I had only briefly heard about Shari'a compliance and Islamic banking prior to hearing this story, so I have been doing some research on the topic. While not a definitive source by any means, here is the basic summary on Wikipedia:

Islamic banking refers to a system of banking or banking activity that is consistent with the principles of Islamic law (Sharia) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Sharia prohibits the payment or acceptance of interest fees for the lending and accepting of money respectively, (Riba, usury) for specific terms, as well as investing in businesses that provide goods or services considered contrary to its principles (Haraam, forbidden).

Click here to read Attorney Ali's full attorney profile at Hogan Lovells.

###

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
June 22, 2010
White House Appoints 2010-2011 Class of White House Fellows

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the White House announced the appointment of 13 outstanding men and women to serve as White House Fellows. The White House Fellows come from diverse backgrounds, varied professions and all of the 2010-2011 Fellows have shown a strong commitment to public service and leadership. The 2010-2011 class of Fellows and their biographies are included below.

“This year’s White House Fellows are comprised of some of the best and brightest leaders in our country,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “I applaud their unyielding commitment to public service and dedication to serving their community.”

The White House Fellows Program was created in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to give promising American leaders “first hand, high-level experience with the workings of the Federal government, and to increase their sense of participation in national affairs.” This unique position in our nation’s government encourages active citizenship and service to the nation. The Fellows also take part in an education program designed to broaden their knowledge of leadership, policy formulation, military operations, and current affairs. Community service is another important component of the program, and Fellows participate in service projects throughout the year in the Washington, D.C. area.

Selection as a White House Fellow is highly competitive and based on a record of remarkable early career professional achievement, evidence of leadership potential, a proven commitment to public service, and the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute successfully at the highest levels of the Federal government. Throughout its history, the program has fostered leaders in many fields including leaders in government, business, media, medicine, diplomacy and the military. Additional information about the White House Fellows program is available at www.WhiteHouse.gov/fellows.

2010-2011 Class of White House Fellows

Samar Ali, Waverly, TN. Samar Ali is an Associate with the firm Hogan Lovells US LLP. She is responsible for counseling clients on mergers & acquisitions, cross-border transactions, Shari’a compliant transactions, project finance, and international business matters. During her time with Hogan Lovells, she has been a founding member of the firm’s Abu Dhabi office. Prior to that, she clerked for The Honorable Gilbert S. Merritt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and for The Honorable Edwin Cameron, now of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, where she also worked extensively on editing his book Witness to AIDS. While in Nashville, Samar led the YMCA Israeli-Palestinian Modern Voices for Progress Program, and is currently the transatlantic liaison for the development of the Palestine Diabetes Institute. She is a founding member of the first U.S. Delegation to the World Islamic Economic Forum, and has served as an Advisory Board Member of the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health. She is also a three-time Southeastern Tae Kwon Do Black Belt Champion. Samar received a J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School and a B.S. in Political Science with Honors from Vanderbilt, where she served as the first Arab-Muslim student body president.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Tells President Obama That She Will Not Surrender Any Part of the State

I wish Gov. Brewer was my Governor. If anyone has some cheap land (2 acres plus with a house) for sale in Mohave County, Arizona, hit me up on email. Thank you.

Toronto G20 Live Protest Video (Tear Gas Being Reported)

Source: USTREAM

FDA Ready to Approve First Genetically Engineered Animal for People to Eat (AquAdvantage® Salmon)

AquAdvantage® Salmon, coming soon to a dinner plate near you. These fish grow at twice the rate of normal salmon.

The Food and Drug Administration is seriously considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered animal that people would eat — salmon that can grow at twice the normal rate.

The official press release from AquaBounty Technologies is below.


###

15 June 2010
AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.
(“AquaBounty” or the “Company”)

Update on FDA Approval for AquAdvantage® Salmon

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (AIM: ABTX), a biotechnology company focused on enhancing productivity in the aquaculture market, announces progress on their pending New Animal Drug Application (“NADA”) for AquAdvantage® Salmon (“AAS”) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The Company confirms that it has received two further letters from the Center for Veterinary Medicine (“CVM”) advising that they have completed their review on sections four and five of the seven sections of the application. These two recent letters indicate acceptance of the AAS data supporting the durability of its genotype and phenotype, showing that the product is stable and unchanged over multiple generations.

The Company believes that the reviews for the remaining two parts of the application are very nearly complete. As reported previously, all technical submissions necessary for the review and approval of the product have been made and acknowledged. Management has worked constructively with CVM’s reviewers to answer all questions and is confident of a successful outcome in the near future.

Following formal acceptance of the remaining two technical sections, it is expected that CVM will announce the holding of a Veterinary Medical Advisory Committee meeting on AAS as the next step in their formal process for approval of the product.

For further information, please contact:
AquaBounty Technologies
+1 781 899 7755
David Frank,
Chief Financial Officer

Nomura Code Securities
+44 (0)20 7776 1200
Richard Potts, Giles Balleny

Corfin Communications
+44 (0)20 7977 0020
Harry Chathli, Neil Thapar, Claire Norbury

White House Readies National Online Identification Plan (The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace by Howard Schmidt)

Click here if the video does not play above

The above video is from the morning keynote speech by Howard A. Schmidt, Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator, Executive Office of the President at the Symantec Government Symposium 2010. As the White House prepares to roll its national identification plan in cyberspace, it appears that the executive branch of the government will indeed control the government as has been predicted.

The Obama administration is set to propose a new system for authenticating people, organizations and infrastructure on the Web. The online authentication and identity management system would be targeted at the transactional level -- for example, when someone logs into their banking website or completes an online e-commerce purchase.

###

The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace
Posted by Howard A. Schmidt on June 25, 2010 at 02:00 PM EDT

Cyberspace has become an indispensible component of everyday life for all Americans. We have all witnessed how the application and use of this technology has increased exponentially over the years. Cyberspace includes the networks in our homes, businesses, schools, and our Nation’s critical infrastructure. It is where we exchange information, buy and sell products and services, and enable many other types of transactions across a wide range of sectors. But not all components of this technology have kept up with the pace of growth. Privacy and security require greater emphasis moving forward; and because of this, the technology that has brought many benefits to our society and has empowered us to do so much -- has also empowered those who are driven to cause harm.

Today, I am pleased to announce the latest step in moving our Nation forward in securing our cyberspace with the release of the draft National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). This first draft of NSTIC was developed in collaboration with key government agencies, business leaders and privacy advocates. What has emerged is a blueprint to reduce cybersecurity vulnerabilities and improve online privacy protections through the use of trusted digital identities.

The NSTIC, which is in response to one of the near term action items in the President’s Cyberspace Policy Review, calls for the creation of an online environment, or an Identity Ecosystem as we refer to it in the strategy, where individuals and organizations can complete online transactions with confidence, trusting the identities of each other and the identities of the infrastructure that the transaction runs on. For example, no longer should individuals have to remember an ever-expanding and potentially insecure list of usernames and passwords to login into various online services. Through the strategy we seek to enable a future where individuals can voluntarily choose to obtain a secure, interoperable, and privacy-enhancing credential (e.g., a smart identity card, a digital certificate on their cell phone, etc) from a variety of service providers – both public and private – to authenticate themselves online for different types of transactions (e.g., online banking, accessing electronic health records, sending email, etc.). Another key concept in the strategy is that the Identity Ecosystem is user-centric – that means you, as a user, will be able to have more control of the private information you use to authenticate yourself on-line, and generally will not have to reveal more than is necessary to do so.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a key partner in the development of the strategy, has posted the draft NSTIC at www.nstic.ideascale.com. Over the next three weeks (through July 19th), DHS will be collecting comments from any interested members of the general public on the strategy. I encourage you to go to this website, submit an idea for the strategy, comment on someone else’s idea, or vote on an idea. Your input is valuable to the ultimate success of this document. The NSTIC will be finalized later this fall.

Thank you for your input!

Howard A. Schmidt is the Cybersecurity Coordinator and Special Assistant to the President

Source: Information Week ; Homeland Security Television Network ; White House

G4 Covers BP Gulf Oil Spill (Realest Mainstream Reporting on Disaster I've Seen)

Game Reviews - E3 2010 - AOTS Exclusive

http://g4tv.com/videos/46934/BP-Gulf-Oil-Spill-Devastation/

Video Game - E3 2010 - AOTS Exclusive

http://g4tv.com/videos/46971/BP-Oil-Spill-Effect-on-Wildlife/

G4 usually covers the latest video games and gadgets. However, I must give the G4 network props for its coverage on the BP Gulf oil spill. I have watched numerous hours of oil spill coverage on the mainstream media and I have yet to see coverage as good as what G4 presents in these videos.

Gasland - A Film by Josh Fox (Video Trailer)

From the film's official website:

"The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a "Saudia Arabia of natural gas" just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND. Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown."

GASLAND will be broadcast on HBO through 2012. To host a public screening in your community please click here. The DVD will be on sale in December 2010.

President George W. Bush Returns as Christian Koreans Pray for Unity Between North & South at 60th Anniversary Event

One of the rare appearances by the former President George W. Bush.

The event commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, but was also held to pray about tensions between North and South Korea following the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.

Former President George W. Bush attended the event and praised the Korean people for rising from the ruins of war to become the world's 10th largest economy.

Source: CBN

Whooping Cough Is Now an Epidemic Says California Department of Public Health (CDPH)

Will the powers-that-be try to push more and more toxic vaccines now that pertussis (a/k/a whooping cough)? If you want to check out the package insert for one of the whooping cough vaccines, click Adacel®, Tetanus Toxoid, Reduced Diphtheria Toxoid and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed 3 (Tdap)

Each dose of Adacel vaccine (0.5 mL) contains the following active ingredients:

• Acellular Pertussis
• Detoxified Pertussis Toxin (PT) 2.5 μg
• Filamentous Hemagglutinin (FHA) 5 μg
• Pertactin (PRN) 3 μg
• Fimbriae Types 2 and 3 (FIM) 5 μg
• Tetanus Toxoid (T) 5 Lf
• Diphtheria Toxoid (d) 2 Lf
• Other ingredients per dose include 1.5 mg aluminum phosphate (0.33 mg aluminum) as the adjuvant, ≤5 μg residual formaldehyde,

###

WHOOPING COUGH EPIDEMIC MAY BE WORST IN 50 YEARS

Date: 6/23/2010

Number: 10-041

Contact: Al Lundeen (916) 440-7259

SACRAMENTO

Urging Californians to get vaccinated now, Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), warned today that the state is on pace to suffer the most illnesses and deaths due to pertussis, also known as whooping cough, in 50 years.

“Whooping cough is now an epidemic in California,” Horton said. “Children should be vaccinated against the disease and parents, family members and caregivers of infants need a booster shot.”

As of June 15, California had recorded 910 cases of pertussis, a four-fold increase from the same period last year when 219 cases were recorded. Five infants — all under three months of age — have died from the disease this year. In addition, 600 more possible cases of pertussis are being investigated by local health departments.

Pertussis is cyclical. Cases tend to peak every two to five years. In 2005, California recorded 3,182 cases and eight deaths.

Pertussis is a highly contagious disease. Unimmunized or incompletely immunized young infants are particularly vulnerable. Since 1998, more than 80 percent of the infants in California who have died from pertussis have been Hispanic.

The pertussis vaccine is safe for children and adults. Pertussis vaccination begins at two months of age, but young infants are not adequately protected until the initial series of three shots is complete at 6 months of age. The series of shots that most children receive wears off by the time they finish middle school. Neither vaccination nor illness from pertussis provides lifetime immunity.

Pregnant women may be vaccinated against pertussis before pregnancy, during pregnancy or after giving birth. Fathers may be vaccinated at any time, but preferably before the birth of their baby. CDPH encourages birthing hospitals to implement policies to vaccinate new mothers and fathers before sending newborns home. CDPH is providing vaccine free of charge to hospitals.

Others who may have contact with infants, including family members, healthcare workers, and childcare workers, should also be vaccinated. Individuals should contact their regular health care provider or local health department to inquire about pertussis vaccination.

A typical case of pertussis in children and adults starts with a cough and runny nose for one-to-two weeks, followed by weeks to months of rapid coughing fits that sometimes end with a whooping sound. Fever is rare.

Mika Brzezinski Admits Working with President Obama's White House on BP Oil Spill Talking Points

I am sure glad that a mainstream independent of the government is alive and well in the United States of America. Oh wait, I stand corrected. There is no independent mainstream media in this country. Case in point, Zbigniew Brzezinski's daughter Mika admits on live television that she is working with the White House on a file. What the @$%&! I'll give her credit that she disclosed this conflict, but nevertheless, she should be doing independent reporting and not working with the White House on any story.

Maywood, California Fires All City Workers and Subcontracts All Services Effective July 1, 2010

If Maywood does not have money to provide services, then what happened to all the tax money collected from its residents? This is ridiculous!

In addition to contracting with the Sheriff's Department, the Maywood City Council voted unanimously Monday night to lay off an estimated 100 employees and contract with neighboring Bell, which will handle other city services such as finance, records management, parks and recreation, street maintenance and others. Maywood will be billed about $50,833 monthly, which officials said will save $164,375 annually.

Source: LA Times Blogs

Federal Reserve Bank of New York Launches Propaganda Comic Book Called "The Story of Inflation"

Comic Inflation[1]

Why is the Federal Reserve Bank of New York suddenly in the comic book business? You can order the book from the Federal Reserve or read the document in the embedded link above.

The FRBNY has published a comic book, full of the misadventures of the infamous Darth Inflation. With such zingers as "By discouraging saving, inflation can harm the US economy. That's because the economy needs a supply of savings to provide the funds for people and business to borrow so that they can invest in the things that help the US economy grow" it is now clear that the entire FRBNY Board is comprised of lunatics, as apparently these people have not heard of ZIRP, QE, 0% interest on money markets and savings accounts, and must have Apple gizmos.

Source: Zero Hedge ; New York Federal Reserve

16.5 Million Baby Salmon Released into California Waterways Including San Pablo Bay

Where did the State get these 16,500,000 baby salmon?

The state Department of Fish and Game says most of the...young salmon smolts were released into San Pablo Bay, located between the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Source: The Guardian