Saturday, June 7, 2014


News Clips For The Day


Pot for Pets: Companies Make Hemp-Laced Meds for Fidos – NBC
BY HERB WEISBAUM
First published June 6th 2014

Marijuana is going to the dogs, but it's not your parents' Woodstock weed.

Georgia, a 5-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is a medical marijuana patient. Kelly Conway, Georgia's owner, takes some heat when she tells friends about the unorthodox treatment.

"People will say they can't believe I'm letting her get high, but she's not getting high," Conway said.

No, Georgia is not ingesting the same kind of pot that Snoop Dogg smokes. (Or New York Times columnistMaureen Dowd eats.) Georgia, along with a growing number of pets, eats hemp-based capsules that contain only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC — the psychoactive ingredient that provides the cannabis high.

Georgia suffered from seizures and traditional medicine wasn't working. So earlier this year, Conway took her to Dr. Cynthia Graves, who practices alternative veterinary care in Philadelphia. Graves started Georgia on acupuncture, which seemed to help, and then she recommended Canna-Pet, a supplement made from hemp, for Georgia's pain and anxiety.

Conway was skeptical, but to her surprise, it worked.

"It has truly been a miracle and I don't say that lightly," Conway told CNBC. "I feel like I have a whole new dog. Georgia's happy and relaxed. She's not in pain. It's amazing."

Colorado and Washington have legalized and regulated cannabis for human recreational use — and 22 states allow for some form of medical marijuana. But no federal or state agency has made any provisions for the largely unregulated pet supplement industry.

To further complicate matters, the Drug Enforcement Agency still considers industrial hemp a controlled substance even though it is not psychoactive.

But times are changing. On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 22-8 on a plan that would block the DEA — or any federal agency — from spending funds to enforce anti-hemp laws in any state that has received permission to grow it. The full House OK'd the measure the previous week.

Congress' action emerged after the DEA in May seized a shipment of hemp seeds from Italy headed to Kentucky. The state filed a lawsuit against the federal government to get its hemp seeds and now Kentucky, long known for its tobacco fields, has hemp in the ground.

As the nation grapples with this knotty issue, farmers, business owners, patients — and pets — are moving ahead while lawmakers hash it out.

Helping with pain and anxiety

Graves has recommended hemp-based supplements for other dogs experiencing anxiety or pain. She's also used Canna-Pet in conjunction with cancer treatments and to boost appetite in dogs that won't eat.

"There's no question that it's a benefit to some patients," she said.

Two companies in the Seattle area, Canna-Pet and Canna Companion, are leading the charge into this new and uncharted field of hemp-based veterinary medicine.

Dr. Sarah Brandon and Dr. Greg Copas, husband and wife veterinarians, launched Canna Companion in March. They've been exploring medical cannabis for about eight years now.

They started with their pets and then those of family and friends, to find the right dosage.

"We took information from the human world and combined that with our knowledge of dogs and cats and slowly whittled away until we got something that was safe for them and that worked," she explained.

"This is not wishful thinking. Her quality of life has definitely improved."

They grind up the whole hemp plant to make their Canna Companion capsules — roots, seeds, leaves and stem — to preserve all the ingredients. They want just a little THC along with the cannabidiol (CBD), one of the main medical components.

Brandon readily acknowledges that she does not have any scientific tests to prove the medicinal value of hemp-based supplements. She hopes that by "pushing the envelope" a bit, researchers will be encouraged to study it.

"It's experimental and we tell people that," Brandon noted. "It's not a miracle drug. This is truly a supplement designed to help conditions and help ongoing therapies, not the sole treatment of anything."

Are testimonials good enough?

Both Canna Companion and Canna-Pet have heartwarming testimonials on their websites.

There's Kerry Churchill from Virginia. Her dog Ginger has neurological problems that cause uncontrolled muscle twitching. The twitching hasn't stopped, but Churchill says after taking Canna Companion, Ginger's energy level is greatly increased and her playfulness is back.

"She just seems happier overall, which is great to see," Churchill told CNBC. "This is not wishful thinking. Her quality of life has definitely improved."

Annabelle is a 14-year-old Persian cat featured on the Canna-Pet website. Owner Rose Easterling, a self-described "doubting Thomas," was very apprehensive about using the product. She gave it to Annabelle because she didn't like giving her the pain medication the vet prescribed.

"I don't think it has cured anything. She still has arthritis, but it's making her feel better," Easterling said.

Does it work?

CNBC contacted a number of veterinary experts about the use of cannabis-related products to treat dogs and cats. All of them saw the potential for benefits for some conditions, such as anxiety and pain management. But they also pointed out that testimonials are not scientific evidence.

"We don't have any data to go on to indicate whether it's going to have a therapeutic effect or whether it's potentially problematic," said Patricia Talcott, a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. "It's probably low risk, but we simply don't know."

Dr. Robin Downing, a pain management expert and hospital director at the Downing Center for Animal Pain Management in Windsor, Colorado, agrees. She sees a lot of potential — and a lot of red flags.

"There's a whole host of hoo-ha out there when it comes to how this product can and should be used," she said. "We have no information that is reliable, valid or useful about the true applications for cannabinoids. What we don't know far exceeds what we know."

Downing does not use cannabis-based products in her practice because she believes the opportunity to cause harm "far exceeds" the opportunity to help.

"We have no efficacy data in animals. We have zero safety data in animals. We have no dosing data in animals," she said.

Downing also points out that this new industry has virtually no regulations in terms of manufacturing practices or verifying and standardizing the contents.

"There's a huge amount of research that needs to be done," said Narda Robinson, director of the Center for Comparative and Integrative Medicine at Colorado State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital. "I expect there is some effect, but we need rigorous studies. We need to know more about safety and dosing and proper applications."

Robinson hopes to start clinical trials next year, but first she wants to gather information from people who have given cannabinoid products to their pets. She set up a special email just for this purpose: AnimalMMJ@gmail.com.

Pet owners need to be cautious

While pet-lovers wait for the research, it's clear that sales are getting ahead of the science.

Canna-Pet has only been selling to the public for about eight months and it's already shipping its products throughout the U.S. and 23 foreign countries. Dan Goldfarb, president of Canna-Pet, calls it "an exploding market" that will grow exponentially in the years ahead.

"There is no risk. There's no harm," Goldfarb said. "Hemp is incredibly safe. We want people to try it."

Despite companies' safety assurances, veterinary experts advise caution. The best advice for now: Never give any cannabis-based product to your dog or cat without consulting your vet.

—By CNBC contributor Herb Weisbaum. Follow him onFacebook and Twitter @TheConsumerman or visit The ConsumerMan website.




“Georgia, along with a growing number of pets, eats hemp-based capsules that contain only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC — the psychoactive ingredient that provides the cannabis high.” Dr. Cynthia Graves, who practices alternative veterinary care, is treating the dog for seizures, pain and anxiety. She also practices acupuncture. I've seen items on the news about veterinarians using acupuncture for ten or more years, but I would worry about a dog being given THC. It is, like most medicines, in large enough quantities a poison, and dogs aren't like monkeys and apes. They don't have a large proportion of the same DNA as humans, and medicines may affect them differently. Also, I personally avoid herbal remedies in general, due to the fact that the amount of the drug that is in a particular plant varies. It isn't possible to guarantee that there is no overdosing. Of course, the article says that the capsules contain “only trace amounts” of THC. There is no state or federal regulation on pet supplements, however, so there is no guarantee of the quality of the product, and the DEA considers it to be “a controlled substance.”.

On the other hand, Conway says that it has been “a miracle,” eliminating her pain and anxiety. “Georgia's happy and relaxed. She's not in pain. It's amazing." The state governments where marijuana has been legalized are in a tussle in some places where the federal DEA has tried to enforce anti-marijuana laws. The state of Kentucky recently filed suit against them to get a supply of marijuana seeds for planting which the feds had impounded. They won the suit and Kentucky has now planted fields with pot seeds. The Federal government has also passed a bill through the House and it is being considered in the Senate which would block the DEA from spending funds to enforce marijuana laws in states which have approved its use. This is interesting. I wouldn't have thought that a single department in the Federal government would have the power to overrule state approved legalization by trying to impound the “weed.”

“Dr. Sarah Brandon and Dr. Greg Copas, husband and wife veterinarians, launched Canna Companion in March,” after doing eight years of research on dosage and effects. “'We took information from the human world and combined that with our knowledge of dogs and cats and slowly whittled away until we got something that was safe for them and that worked,' she explained.” Cannabidiol (CBD) is the medically effective chemical. “'This is truly a supplement designed to help conditions and help ongoing therapies, not the sole treatment of anything.'" Veterinarians contacted by CNBC have agreed that though there seem to be benefits, testimonials “are not scientific evidence.” Dr. Robin Browning said, “'There's a whole host of hoo-ha out there when it comes to how this product can and should be used," she said. "We have no information that is reliable, valid or useful about the true applications for cannabinoids. What we don't know far exceeds what we know."

If I had a dog or cat I wouldn't give them any cannabis at this point. It was only a few years ago that I learned that chocolate is toxic to dogs. We used to feed our dog table scraps, and she ate them with pleasure. Vets have been saying recently that table scraps aren't good for them, either. They get too much fat and starch from those things and become obese. Of course, our dog was a bit overweight for a terrier. It never crossed our minds that it was harmful.





'I Wanted to Live': 'Slender Man' Stabbing Victim Released From Hospital – NBC
—M. Alex Johnson
First published June 6th 2014

A 12-year-old Wisconsin girl who was stabbed 19 times last weekend mustered the resolve to crawl out of the woods because "I wanted to live," her parents said Friday.

The girl, who isn't being named because she is a juvenile, was released Friday from Waukesha Memorial Hospital, her parents said in a statement.

"While we have kept discussions about the events of May 31, 2014, with her short, we did ask how she found the strength to crawl out of the woods," they said. "Her response was simple: 'I wanted to live.'"

Two other 12-year-old girls have been charged with first-degree intentional attempted murder. They are being tried as adults.

Police said they lured the victim into the woods and stabbed her 19 times in a gruesome attack meant to appease "Slender Man," a spectral online character created in 2009 by Eric Knudsen.

"Our strong, brave girl loves school and her teachers," her parents said. "She is looking forward to summer, but has voiced that she will miss attending classes even more."

The girl's favorite class is French, and "teases her little brother by saying words he cannot understand," they said.

"Although the sparkle has dimmed for now, we know it will be back again brighter than ever because of the amazing support she has worldwide!" they added.



http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-wisconsin-stabbing-20140603,0,7542400.story

According to the criminal complaint, one of the girls told police they were trying to prove that the Slender Man, a fictitious Internet character, was real, according to local media reports. The idea allegedly was to kill as the Slender Man to prove his existence.

As online fantasy shifted into the real world and Weier heard her victim's screams, she wavered, the complaint said.

"The bad part of me wanted her to die," Weier told the detective, according to the complaint. "The good part of me wanted her to live." 

Morgan Geyser, the accused accomplice, was not so conflicted: "It was weird that I didn't feel remorse," she told a detective, the complaint said. She later added that it was "probably wrong."

The Slender Man is a monster meme created in 2009 by a user of the website Something Awful, according to the website whatculture.com. Through years of posts and back stories, the character has become a modern-day myth about a faceless man. 

Geyser said Slenderman would watch her and could read her mind. He can teleport, emits radiation that makes you sick and doesn't use computers because they don't work when he's around, she told a detective, according to the complaint. 

The character appears in many stories published in online forums, including Creepypasta.com, a place where amateur writers upload so-called fan-fiction, particularly stories about paranormal characters.

Jack called the attack a "wake-up call to parents." 

"Unmonitored and unrestricted access to the Internet by children is a growing and alarming problem," he said. "Parents are strongly encouraged to restrict and monitor their children’s Internet usage."

Bond was set at $500,000 for each of the girls, according to court records.




“A 12-year-old Wisconsin girl who was stabbed 19 times last weekend mustered the resolve to crawl out of the woods because "I wanted to live,' her parents said Friday.” When asked how she managed to get out of the woods where she was found, she said “I wanted to live.” She crawled out to the street where a bicyclist found her and called authorities.

This story moves me greatly because this is not the average predatory behavior that I so often speak against in ordinary bullying cases. This is a matter of two young kids whose minds were not sufficiently advanced to tell fantasy from reality. They could even have been less than normally intelligent, since a 12 year old shouldn't have made that mistake. I don't, in this case, think they should be charged as adults, or in fact put in jail at all, but put into an insane asylum for children and treated with therapy and drugs to effect a cure. One girl had some remorse as the victim cried out, but neither was sufficiently empathetic to stop the attack.

In another report from several days ago it said that when a set of children were asked about the Slender Man they all were familiar with him; even a toddler knew about him. This is a case of some really dangerous material being on the Internet and available apparently to children. It's a shame their parents weren't aware of it. I would like to see Google, or whatever search engine it is found on, voluntarily remove all sites featuring the Slender Man. I don't really want to see censorship of the Internet, but authorities do take child pornography down when they find it, and this seems like a similarly dangerous kind of material to me. I hope there will be some action on it.






Arizona to Feds: Stop Shipping Immigrants from Texas – NBC
— The Associated Press
First published June 7th 2014

Arizona said Friday it will rush federal supplies to a holding center housing migrant children — among the thousands being sent to the state by the federal government from Texas.

The Homeland Security Department started flying immigrants to Arizona from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas last month after the number of immigrants, including more than 48,000 children traveling on their own, overwhelmed the Border Patrol there.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said many of the immigrants are being bused to Tucson and Phoenix, then released. Homeland Security confirmed some immigrants were released and told to report to an ICE office near where they were traveling within 15 days. But federal authorities have not said how many have been released.

More than 1,000 unaccompanied children were expected to arrive over the weekend, Brewer said in a statement.

Brewer's spokesman, Andrew Wilder, said conditions at the holding center are so dire that federal officials have asked the state to immediately ship the medical supplies to the center. In addition, Wilder said, the regional director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was being dispatched to Arizona to help deal with the crisis.

Wilder said the Homeland Security shows no signs of stopping the program to fly migrant families to Arizona and then bus them to Phoenix.

"The adults, the adults with children, families — that continues unfettered and we have no idea where they are going," Wilder said.

In a statement Friday, Homeland Security officials said "appropriate custody determinations will be made on a case by case basis" for migrants apprehended in South Texas.

Brewer sent an angry letter to President Barack Obama on Monday demanding that the program of dropping off families at bus stations in Phoenix stop immediately. The governor said she hadn't received a response to her letter by Friday.





“Arizona said Friday it will rush federal supplies to a holding center housing migrant children — among the thousands being sent to the state by the federal government from Texas.... Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said many of the immigrants are being bused to Tucson and Phoenix, then released. Homeland Security confirmed some immigrants were released and told to report to an ICE office near where they were traveling within 15 days. But federal authorities have not said how many have been released.” The regional director of FEMA is going to Arizona to help with the crisis there, especially at a “holding center,” where emergency medical supplies have been requested.

I posted a story a few days ago on this “surge” of children arriving alone in Texas, but the story didn't say that Homeland Security was shipping them to Arizona. Is that the only facility for receiving them? It seems to me that Homeland Security is being overburdened with responsibilities. When they were involved in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, they didn't seem to cope too well then, but this clumsy attempt to handle the problem of 48,000 children by sending them into another state is embarrassing at least and frightening at worst. It seems to me that we have a national emergency. It also seems to me that the parents of these children are aware that they have set off to foreign countries – not just the US, according to last week's article – and they are doing nothing to stop the exodus. They are said to be fleeing dangerous situations at home. Shouldn't the UN intervene if their countries are so dangerous? I hope President Obama will request UN involvement. Are peacekeeping troops needed in those nations?




Ukraine leader gives little sign of quick end to conflict
CBS/AP June 7, 2014

Newly elected president calls for dialogue with country's east but says he won't talk with "gangsters and killers"

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's new president on Saturday called for dialogue with the country's east, gripped by a violent separatist insurgency, and for armed groups to lay down their weapons but said he won't talk with rebels he called "gangsters and killers."

Petro Poroshenko's inaugural address after taking the oath of office in parliament gave little sign of a quick resolution to the conflict in the east, which Ukrainian officials say has left more than 200 people dead.

He also took a firm line on Russia's annexation of Crimea this spring, insisting that the Black Sea peninsula "was, is and will be Ukrainian." He gave no indication of how Ukraine could regain control of Crimea, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has said was allotted to Ukraine unjustly under Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

President Obama spoke with Putin about the Ukraine crisis Friday in Normandy, France, during events commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

A senior White House official said Mr. Obama told Putin that de-escalating tensions "depends upon Russia ... ceasing support for separatists in Eastern Ukraine and stopping the provision of arms and materiel across the border," CBS News correspondent Chip Reid reports.

Hours after Poroshenko's speech, Putin ordered security tightened along Russia's border with Ukraine to prevent illegal crossings, Russian news agencies said. Ukraine claims that many of the insurgents in the east have come from Russia; Poroshenko on Saturday said he would offer a corridor for safe passage of "Russian militants" out of the country.

Rebel leaders in the east dismissed Poroshenko's speech.

"This statement doesn't concern us," said the so-called prime minister of the insurgent Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Borodai, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

Poroshenko offered amnesty to rebels who "don't have blood on their hands." But "I don't believe it," said Valery Bolotov, the insurgent leader in the Luhansk region. Rebels in both Luhansk and Donetsk have declared their regions independent.

The new president promised "I will bring you peace," but did not indicate whether Ukrainian forces would scale back their offensives against the insurgency, which Ukraine says is fomented by Russia.

Russia has insisted on Ukraine ending its military operation in the east. Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov, representing Moscow, at the inauguration, said Poroshenko's statements "sound reassuring," but "for us the principal thing is to stop the military operation," adding that the insurgents should also stop fighting in order to bolster the delivery of humanitarian aid, RIA Novosti reported.

As president, the 48-year-old Poroshenko is commander-in-chief of the military and appoints the defense and foreign ministers. The prime minister is appointed by the parliament.

Poroshenko, often called "The Chocolate King" because of the fortune he made as a confectionery tycoon, was elected May 25. He replaces Oleksandr Turchynov, who served as interim president after Russia-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych fled the country in February after months of street protests against him.

The fall of Yanukovych aggravated long-brewing tensions in eastern and southern Ukraine, whose majority native Russian speakers denounced the new government as a nationalist putsch that aimed to suppress them.

Within a month, the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia after a secession referendum and an armed insurgency arose in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk.

In his inaugural address, attended by dignitaries including U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, Sen. John McCain and Democratic Rep. Marci Kaptur, Poroshenko called for dialogue with "peaceful citizens" in the east.

"I am calling on everyone who has taken arms in their hands - please lay down your arms," he said, according to a translator. He also called for early regional elections in the east and promised to push for new powers to be allotted to regional governments, but he rejected calls for federalization of Ukraine, which Moscow has advocated.

He also said he would seek early parliamentary elections because "the current composition of the parliament is not consistent with the aspirations of the nation." The current parliament, elected in 2012 with a large contingent from Yanukovych's former party, is to stay in place until 2017.

Poroshenko insisted that Ukrainian would remain the sole state language of the country, but promised "new opportunities for the Russian language," without giving specifics.

He assumed power a day after meeting Putin at D-Day commemoration ceremonies in France.

Putin has denied allegations by Kiev and the West that Russia has fomented the rebellion in the east, and he insisted Friday that Poroshenko needs to speak directly to representatives from the east.

After the low-key inauguration ceremony, which included a choir in traditional national costume singing the national anthem, Poroshenko went to the square outside the landmark Sophia Cathedral for a ceremonial troop inspection.

Taras Danchuk, a 37-year-old spectator at the square who was wearing a traditional embroidered tunic, said he supported Poroshenko's strategy for trying to negotiate an end the eastern conflict.

"Out of emotion I would like to say that we should destroy the terrorists, but that is not possible without sacrificing the civilians who live there, so there will have to be negotiations," he said.





“Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov, representing Moscow, at the inauguration, said Poroshenko's statements "sound reassuring," but "for us the principal thing is to stop the military operation," adding that the insurgents should also stop fighting in order to bolster the delivery of humanitarian aid, RIA Novosti reported.... "I am calling on everyone who has taken arms in their hands - please lay down your arms," Poroshenko said, according to a translator. He also called for early regional elections in the east and promised to push for new powers to be allotted to regional governments, but he rejected calls for federalization of Ukraine, which Moscow has advocated.... Poroshenko insisted that Ukrainian would remain the sole state language of the country, but promised "new opportunities for the Russian language,"

Well, this wasn't an article about more bloodshed, but it looks like a standoff rather than progress. Somebody has to give a little or the fighting will go on. What needs to happen is for Russia to pull ALL of its troops back from the Ukrainian border, since they are clearly the aggressor, and stop funneling arms and probably soldiers into Ukraine. Better still, Putin should tell the separatists to lay down their arms. Then it would be safe for Ukraine to pull back its soldiers, the East could have early elections to choose valid representatives, and they could all discuss changes to the constitution that would give the East more autonomy without their complete separation. Easier said than done, of course. I see a great deal of malice in existence between the parties on both sides, and a great fear of each other as well. I'm afraid this situation is going to continue for months or even years.






A Small Device Helps Severely Nearsighted Drivers Hit The Road – NPR
by DAN CARSEN
June 07, 2014

On an interstate heading into Birmingham, Ala., Dustin Jones merges a small white SUV into the flow of traffic. This might seem unremarkable, but Jones has a genetic condition that reduces his long-distance vision. Driving safely hadn't been an option for him, but now, with the help of a little device called a bioptic telescope, it is.

"Life without the ability to drive is exponentially harder," Jones says. "It's just very difficult to do anything at all."

In nearly every state, visually impaired people now can drive with the aid of the bioptic telescope, a small black box that attaches to glasses. That's about 10,000 people, according to one estimate, and the number is growing as more people learn about the technology.

Both Jones and his mother have the same condition, and not being able to drive made everything harder in a rural area with limited public transportation.

"We relied a lot on family or friends just for simple things like groceries," Jones says.
Six years ago he entered a program that trains people to drive with bioptic telescopes at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

"You go through some training just for general mobility, so walking around, using it as a passenger in a car," his teacher Jennifer Elgin explains. "Once we feel pretty good about the passenger part, then we move on to driving."

A year later, Jones was trained and certified. He passed the Alabama driver's test on the first try. Then he started commuting by car to an information technology job and eventually landed his current, higher-paying job at a children's hospital. Jones says without his bioptic telescope, things would be different.

"I wouldn't be a productive member of society," he says. "I could potentially just be a forgotten soul."

It's also easier to pick up a girl for a date. Jones is a little shy on the subject, but Elgin jokes about how people using the scopes notice certain, ahem, scenery.

"A lot of times with new drivers, especially young men, we'll be stopped at a stop sign and I'll watch them and they'll be looking at the girls walking across the crosswalk," Elgin says. "I'll say, 'I know what you're doing.' "

This new vision doesn't come cheap. Bioptic telescopes can cost more than $2,000, depending on the model. Sometimes state rehabilitation programs pay for them, but insurance companies generally won't. Jones's grandmother paid for his.

As he drives, every few seconds Jones subtly dips his head and glances through the scope. It magnifies objects like signs and traffic lights four times.

In addition to training drivers, specialists at UAB have done some of the first road-test studies on people with bioptic telescopes. UAB's Cynthia Owsley coauthored a recent study of 23 bioptic users, that showing the vast majority drove safely.

"As the evidence comes out on the research side, more and more jurisdictions are willing to entertain the possibility of bioptic driving," Owsley says.

That would give even more people opportunities like the ones given to Dustin Jones, who still sees driving as a privilege.

"I didn't feel entitled to drive," Jones says. "Having not driven my entire life, I felt the opportunity itself was gift enough."





Dustin Jones “has a genetic condition that reduces his long-distance vision. Driving safely hadn't been an option for him, but now, with the help of a little device called a bioptic telescope, it is.” The bioptic telescope is described as “a small black box that attaches to the glasses. “Six years ago he entered a program that trains people to drive with bioptic telescopes at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). "You go through some training just for general mobility, so walking around, using it as a passenger in a car," his teacher Jennifer Elgin explains. "Once we feel pretty good about the passenger part, then we move on to driving." The device can cost as much as $1,200, and insurance won't pay for it. He has to dip his head and look through the scope to see signs and traffic lights, which it magnifies by four times. The university tests the new drivers, and reported that most of them drive safely. Cynthia Owsley of UAB said that more jurisdictions are making driving with the device legal. I'll bet pretty soon the insurance companies will be shamed or bullied by lawyers until they pay for it. I do wonder how it works. See the Wikipedia article below. It isn't computer magic like Google Glass – just a high degree of magnification.

Henry Greene, in his YouTube article on the subject, says that macular degeneration, Stargardt's disease, albinism or many other macula disorders can all be helped by BiOptics. Many people as they age get macular degeneration, often due to sun damage. My mother had it, so I may also in a few years. I'm glad this device is available.



BiOptics (device)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BiOptics, also known as a biOptic in the singular, and sometimes more formally termed a biOptic telescope, is a term for a pair of vision-enhancement lenses. They magnify between two and four times, and are used to improve distance vision for those with severely impaired eyesight, especially those with albinism. They can either be a combination of head-mounted eyeglasses (termed the "carrier") and binoculars, or be designed to attach to existing glasses.

Henry Greene, in his YouTube article on the subject, says that macular degeneration, Stargardt's disease, albinism or many other macula disorders can all be helped by BiOptics. Many people as they age get macular degeneration, often due to sun damage. My mother had it, so I may also in a few years.





Prison Rape Law A Decade Old, But Most States Not In Compliance – NPR
by CARRIE JOHNSON
June 06, 2014

The clock is ticking on a decade-long effort to prevent sexual violence inside American prisons. In a recent survey, the vast majority of states said they will try to comply with federal rules. But several others, led by Texas, have protested to the Justice Department.

Jan Lastocy served 15 months in a Michigan prison for attempted embezzlement — her first brush with the law. The assaults began when a new corrections officer showed up at the warehouse where she had been assigned to work as a secretary.

"The first time that I went — it happened with me — I went into the dry goods room and he told me that he knew I was ready because it had been too long and he was going to give me what I had been missing," Lastocy says.

She remembers the guard was standing behind a big plate of cake batter.

"And when I said no, he said, 'Do I have to get my pen out?' So I knew right away what he meant. If I didn't do what he told me, he was gonna write me a ticket," she says.

That ticket could stop her from getting out of the facility and going home to her husband and children in Michigan. So for the next six months, Lastocy suffered in silence, never telling anyone about the rapes.

"Part of the reason I never said anything is because the warden had made the comment that if it ever came down to the word of an inmate versus a guard, she would always believe the guard over the inmate," she says.

Justice Department official Mary Lou Leary, who works with states to stop sexual assault behind bars, calls Lastocy's case "completely appalling."

"It is an anathema to everything the justice system stands for," she says. "They may be inmates, but they are victims, and they need the same respect and care as any other victim of crime."

In 2003, Congress unanimously passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act, designed to educate inmates about their rights and provide them with a way to report crimes. (Lastocy was in prison in 1998, before the law went into effect; Michigan says it will try to comply with federal rules.)

It has taken nearly 11 years for the law, known as PREA, to take hold. A congressional commission spent years studying the problem, and the Justice Department took its time, too. Even after all this time, 46 states say they are still working on complying, and two are in full compliance. Judge Reggie Walton, who led a panel that developed standards for state and federal prisons, says he's troubled by those numbers.

"I feel that when we involuntarily detain people, which I have no problem with doing as far as individuals who commit crime, ... [then] we have an obligation to protect them," he says. "And I think it's very troubling that we don't have further compliance with the standards."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry would beg to differ. Earlier this year, he sent the Justice Department a letter arguing that the federal law on prison rape violates states' rights. Perry, a Republican, adds that it's too expensive and burdensome to follow the federal rules.

Advocates point out that Texas got nearly $4 million in U.S. grants to help fight prison rape. And, they say, Justice Department surveys of inmates suggest facilities in the state have among the highest rates of sexual victimization in the U.S.

Perry's office didn't agree to sit for an interview, but his letter to the Justice Department says Texas has taken steps to reduce prison rape on its own.

For his part, Judge Walton says the courthouse doors should be open for inmates who can't find relief anywhere else.

"Hopefully that will leave [the state] vulnerable to civil damages; maybe that will be an incentive," he says.

Back in Michigan, Lastocy finished her time and went home to her family. Months later, she got a call from investigators asking about the guard who assaulted her and several other women in the prison camp. One of those inmates had saved the guard's DNA and reported it to higher-ups. The guard was convicted and ultimately served five years.

Lastocy says the states need to move faster so no one else has to endure that kind of pain.

"I guess at this point all we can ask is that they try," she says. "But are they going to try a little bit, or are they going to try a lot?"





This story is another of those that I wish I hadn't read. There is a law on the books that prohibits prisons from allowing rape to go unpunished within the prison system. Most of the states promised to “try” to prevent sexual assault, but the state of Texas is leading a small minority who are protesting the requirement. Hopefully they feel that complying is difficult to accomplish, but they may simply feel that everything from endless solitary confinement and inedible food to something as horrific as rape is just part of the “punishment” that prisons should provide.I have heard that theory on prison discipline stated by some of my fellow citizens in the South.

Texas Governor Perry has written a letter stating that it is “too expensive and burdensome” to require this pathway to reporting rape, and that it is against “states rights.” That claim has been made by Southern states over everything from slavery to voting rights since I have been paying attention to the news, and that is a long time. According to this article, not only did the state of Texas get $4 million in US grants to fight rape, but it has one of the highest rates of sexual assault in the country. The article states that Perry said in his letter that Texas has “taken steps to reduce prison rape on its own.” That's just like when your teenager says “I was going to anyway,” when you get to the point of “making” him do his chores.

The US legislature, however, doesn't feel that way. In 2003, Congress unanimously passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act, designed to educate inmates about their rights and provide them with a way to report crimes.” Congress rarely votes unanimously for anything, so there must have been strong feeling about the matter. Putting teeth into the law needs to be done, however. “A congressional commission spent years studying the problem, and the Justice Department took its time, too. Even after all this time, 46 states say they are still working on complying, and two are in full compliance. Judge Reggie Walton, who led a panel that developed standards for state and federal prisons, says he's troubled by those numbers.” One rape victim, Jan Lastocy, said that her warden told her she would always believe the word of a guard over that of a prisoner, so she almost gave up. Judge Reggie Walton hopes to solve that problem, saying that his court is always open to victims seeking redress, and that “'Hopefully that will leave [the state] vulnerable to civil damages; maybe that will be an incentive.'”