Sunday, February 8, 2015


News Clips For The Day




http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/06/1362769/-Gov-Scott-Walker-seeks-to-fund-study-on-health-impacts-of-wind-power

Gov. Scott Walker seeks to fund study on 'health impacts' of wind power
Hunter
FRI FEB 06, 2015

Photograph – I don't like annoying noises either, but we can't get him to shut up.

What are the odds that the state governor who gained instant fame from his obsequious smarm in a phone call to what he thought was a Koch brother would come out with a demand that we study the terrible health dangers posed by—wait for it, savor it a moment—wind power.

The two-year, $68 billion budget proposal Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker unveiled Tuesday includes a request for $250,000 to study the health impacts of wind turbines.

Walker, who apparently considers himself a bit of an expert on the subject because so many people have called him a "blowhard," is seizing on a county declaration that a local wind farm has been making some nearby residents sick because of the low-frequency noise the gigantic fan blades make when they spin.

Last October, health officials in Brown County declared that eight turbines located at the Shirley Wind Farm posed a health hazard to residents. The chairwoman of the local board of health cited "ear pain, ear pressure, headaches, nausea" and "sleep deprivation" as symptoms among nearby residents. Local reports suggest Brown is the first county in the country to reach such a conclusion.

You know what? Fine. While the conclusion is, let's say, an unusual one, I'd even be willing to give Brown County the benefit of the doubt in their case. Maybe don't put the enormous modern mega-turbines practically on top of other people's houses; as someone who has apparently superhero-level hearing compared to everyone else in my own house I'll stipulate that very quiet little noises that go on at all hours of the day and night might indeed drive a person fairly and verily nuts. So at best, you've got a zoning issue. If we can get to the point in this nation where our most bitter health complaints over our energy sources are things like "makes an annoying noise when you stand near them" rather than, say, "cancer-causing lung-destroying death agents mixed with stuff that is modifying the planet's atmosphere in a manner that will almost certainly put many of the world's major cities under a good bit of water in the foreseeable future, sucks to be them" I think we'd all be pretty pleased with ourselves. (It's also a bit weird to have farm country complaining about the noise generated by windmills, given their historic ubiquity, and since if you've ever stood under one of those historic-y versions it can sound like someone stuffed a cat in a clothes dryer. But I digress.)

On the other hand, we'll go out on a limb here and suggest that $250,000 is probably more than Scott Walker has ever proposed spending on researching the effects of fracking compounds or even the ingredients of fracking compounds, and is probably more than he has budgeted for researching the effects of processing tar sands, or living near coal plants, or to investigate the side effects of having a train's worth of crude oil explode on your doorstep because an employee accidentally forgot to set the parking brake while he went out for a quick coffee. So no, we're not giving him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Chris Kunkle, the regional policy manager for the pro-wind group Wind on the Wires, said the study proposed in the budget is "just another example of Gov. Walker's targeting of an industry that is incredibly successful in largely every other state in the Midwest."

An industry Scott Walker doesn't like? Say it ain't so.



http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/wind-turbine-noise-not-linked-to-health-problems-health-canada-finds-1.2826206

Wind turbine noise not linked to health problems, Health Canada finds
Study involved 1,238 Ontario and P.E.I. homes near turbines
CBC News Posted: Nov 06, 2014

Photograph – During the study, researchers measured 4,000 hours of wind turbine noise in order to calculate indoor and outdoor noise levels at different homes in the study. (Reuters)

A Health Canada study has found no link between exposure to wind turbine noise and negative health effects in people.

Wind turbine noise did not have any measurable effect on illness and chronic disease, stress and sleep quality, Health Canada said.

However, the louder the wind turbine noise was, the more people reported being very or extremely annoyed, the department reported in a summary released today of the Wind Turbine Noise and Health Study.

The $2.1-million study, conducted with Statistics Canada in southern Ontario and Prince Edward Island, was launched in 2012. At that time, groups such as Wind Concerns Ontario had alleged that growing numbers of wind turbines were making people ill.
According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association, there are now enough wind turbines installed across the country to generate up to 8.5 gigawatts of energy, a 62-fold increase since 2000.

The study involved an adult in each of more 1,238 households at varying distances from wind turbines. The participants answered a questionnaire in person, and health measurements were taken, including blood pressure, heart rate, measures of sleep quality, and levels of the stress hormone cortisol in hair samples.

The researchers also measured 4,000 hours of wind turbine noise in order to calculate indoor and outdoor noise levels at different homes in the study.

No effects found on health
The study found no link between wind turbine noise and ill-effects including:
Symptoms such as dizziness and migraines.

Chronic illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Measures of stress levels, such as heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol.
Self-reported or measured quality of sleep.

"While some people reported some of the health conditions above, their existence was not found to change in relation to exposure to wind turbine noise," Health Canada said.
The study did find that as levels of wind turbine noise increased, people reported being more annoyed by various aspects of the turbines, from the noise itself and the aircraft warning lights on top of the turbines to the way they caused shadows to flicker.

Health Canada said the results of the study are considered preliminary until published in peer-reviewed scientific literature. It added that "detailed analysis and results will be shared with Canadians and the international scientific community over the next several months with updates provided on the Health Canada website."

Health Canada said the results will be used with other scientific research to:
Provide advice on health effects of wind turbine noise.

Support governments in making decisions, policies and advice related to wind power development.

The principal investigator of the study was David Michaud of Health Canada's health effects and assessment division. It also involved an expert committee that included more than two dozen government, academic and industry experts in fields ranging from acoustics to neurology and included four international advisers.


Comments

Chadd Weston
The issue is not wind turbine NOISE, rather I believe its related to wind turbine INFRASOUND emissions. 

Infrasound is rapid fluctuations in our surrounding barometric pressure, with large turbines, these fluctuations happen anywhere from 0.5 to 5 times every second. The frequency of this is around 1Hz, way below the human threshold of hearing (think about the lowest key on a piano at 27Hz). 

The presence of infrasound in homes near wind turbines is abnormally strong (check outhttp://www.kevi... 

winoforlife
Wind turbines represent the cleanest energy form out there next to solar power but the knee-jerk reactionists - who clearly have nothing better to do - would prefer coal-fired plants (possible the worst polluters on the planet) because that is the alternative in most areas that don't have hydro power. Save the bats!

JimEliot
It is nothing more than sad to see that it took 2.1 million dollars of tax money, which could have been utilized in hundreds of better ways, to prove the near tautology that wind turbine noise is unrelated to health problems. Why do we continually throw money of such magnitude out the window just to satisfy the paranoid delusions of a minority of people?

Citizen24601
@JimEliot 

It's better to err on the side of caution, I suppose. 
Just because most people think something will be harmless does not necessarily mean that it will be. 

Just saying that though, I think wind turbine power is a great idea.

Kidding Aside
ANY technology is presumed safe until proven otherwise after many decades. 

No human endeavor exists that has no undesirable side effects.

Hotman
That doesn't mean we should start locating these things in peoples back yards!

martinrodgercy
But the OIL cartel says the Turbines are BAD for their $$$$$$$$$$$Health and harper is listening to WHO ??????????????

cdnflag
How about a study on how they affect wildlife - birds, bats, insects (eg. migration). They are not benign.

Mike_B._
@cdnflag 
Says "[Wind turbines] are not benign." 

No source of energy is completely benign. 

However wind energy (and other renewable energy sources) typically have a much lower impact on the environment than fossil fuels.

KevinMcKinney
@cdnflag 

There have been several, actually, and while they are not completely 'benign', they are more so than the alternatives. Here's a useful factsheet:http://awwi.org/resources/summary-of-wind-wildlife-interactions-2/#section-literature-cited

meurig
So yet another study shows what the scientific community already knew - that "wind turbine syndrome" does not exist, except perhaps as a psychological condition. 

Now can we have some serious research into the health impacts of dirty energy? Let's have full disclosure of the contents of fracking fluid in every location where fracking is proposed, together with proper assessment of its toxicity. Let's have government funding for a detailed and fully independent study of the impact of uranium mining on workers and on people living downstream and downwind, and on their traditional food sources. 

And let's have some action where studies have shown dirty energy to be poisoning people - as is the case for several First Nations impacted by bitumen mining and upgrading in northern Alberta. 




“Last October, health officials in Brown County declared that eight turbines located at the Shirley Wind Farm posed a health hazard to residents. The chairwoman of the local board of health cited "ear pain, ear pressure, headaches, nausea" and "sleep deprivation" as symptoms among nearby residents. Local reports suggest Brown is the first county in the country to reach such a conclusion.... I'll stipulate that very quiet little noises that go on at all hours of the day and night might indeed drive a person fairly and verily nuts. So at best, you've got a zoning issue. … Chris Kunkle, the regional policy manager for the pro-wind group Wind on the Wires, said the study proposed in the budget is "just another example of Gov. Walker's targeting of an industry that is incredibly successful in largely every other state in the Midwest."

This smells like another Koch Brothers smear of alternative energy sources. The large Canadian study above found NO health effects, just in some cases some professed “annoyance.” The sounds of my air conditioner and my computer are mildly annoying if I focus on them, but I don't. I continue to type on my keyboard and I can't live without the air conditioner, so I don't feel that I have any problems. Enough on this subject.





http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/06/384383038/british-tribunal-rules-mass-surveillance-by-spy-agencies-was-illegal

British Tribunal Rules Mass Surveillance By Spy Agencies Was Illegal
Eyder Peralta
FEBRUARY 06, 2015

A tribunal in London has ruled that the United Kingdom's mass surveillance of cellphone and online communications violated human rights.

NPR's Ari Shapiro reports that the government had already tweaked the program in response to concerns.

Ari filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"The Investigatory Powers Tribunal was established in 2000 and this is the first time it has upheld a complaint about British intelligence agencies.

"For years, America's National Security Agency has intercepted communications from people around the world including in the U.K.

"British spy agencies used some of the information that the NSA intercepted from the U.K.

"The tribunal says that information sharing violated the European convention on human rights — specifically, parts of the convention relating to privacy and freedom of expression.

"The existence of this information-sharing program only came to light because of documents revealed by NSA leaker Edward Snowden."

The New York Times spoke to Ian Brown, a professor of information security and privacy at the University of Oxford. He told the paper this was a "landmark case," but things may not change all that much.

"This will not stop intelligence agencies from sharing information," Brown said. "But it's unlikely they will be able to conduct large-scale uncontrolled intelligence activities without more oversight."




"The Investigatory Powers Tribunal was established in 2000 and this is the first time it has upheld a complaint about British intelligence agencies. "For years, America's National Security Agency has intercepted communications from people around the world including in the U.K. "British spy agencies used some of the information that the NSA intercepted from the U.K. "The tribunal says that information sharing violated the European convention on human rights — specifically, parts of the convention relating to privacy and freedom of expression. "The existence of this information-sharing program only came to light because of documents revealed by NSA leaker Edward Snowden."... "This will not stop intelligence agencies from sharing information," Brown said. "But it's unlikely they will be able to conduct large-scale uncontrolled intelligence activities without more oversight."

Last week's story of the cameras, often hidden, taking shots of not only license plates and routes but people who are in the cars at first sounded like basis security activity in a time of terrorists, but when I saw that they were also keeping records of what public meetings the cars were going to I was startled. Later in the article it stated that gun shows had been monitored in this way, apparently because of gun smuggling rings. It still makes me uncomfortable, and I don't think it is needed to a degree that trumps our privacy rights. Whether I like it or not, this is not the USA that I grew up in. Of course we didn't have al-Qaeda menacing our population centers either. It's something I may have to compromise about.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dangerous-pathogens-and-mystery-microbes-ride-the-subway/

Dangerous pathogens and mystery microbes ride the subway
CBS NEWS
February 6, 2015,

Photograph – "PathoMap" created by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City highlights bacteria and other microbes detected in the subway system.  WWW.PATHOMAP.ORG

New York City's subway system has never been known for its cleanliness, but even the most jaded city dweller may be shocked and disgusted to learn just what types of microorganisms are lurking on the average subway pole.

A group of researchers led by Christopher Mason of the department of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medical College swabbed surfaces and collected specimens from the subway system to develop a map of what they called an "urban microbiome." The result, seen above, is called the PathoMap and it illustrates concentrations of 637 known bacterial, viral, fungal and animal microbes detected in the study.

The vast majority of the bugs Mason and his co-authors collected were non-pathogenic and represent normal bacteria present on human skin and the human body, the study published in the journal Cell Systems found.

The findings were "generally reassuring, indicating no need to avoid the subway system or use protective gloves," Weill Cornell Medical College said in a press release. Nearly half of the samples contained DNA profiles that scientists had never seen before.

Twelve percent of the bacteria found on the subway system were associated with disease. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria were found in 27 percent of the samples collected. Two samples turned up DNA fragments of Bacillus anthracis, which isanthrax, and three samples turned up a plasmid associated with Yersinia pestis, or Bubonic plague, the study said.

But researchers emphasized that there is no evidence that the scary bacteria are even alive, and there is also no evidence that they are linked to any instance of disease.

"They are instead likely just the co-habitants of any shared urban infrastructure and city, but wider testing is needed to confirm this," Mason said in the release.

No case of Bubonic plague has been reported in New York City since the study began, the study emphasized.

"Despite finding traces of pathogenic microbes, their presence isn't substantial enough to pose a threat to human health," Mason said in the release. "The presence of these microbes and the lack of reported medical cases is truly a testament to our body's immune system, and our innate ability to continuously adapt to our environment."

The PathoMap breaks down every point where swabs were taken at each of the city's subway stations -- including benches, turnstiles, stairway railings, train seats, poles, trash cans, and kiosks -- and the taxonomic classification of the bacteria, viruses and fungi that were found.

Nearly half of the DNA from all the samples, 48.3 percent, did not match any known organism, "which underscores the vast wealth of unknown species that are ubiquitous in urban areas," said co-lead author Ebrahim Afshinnekoo, a senior at Macaulay Honors College-Queens, who starting working on the project as a Tri-Institutional Computational Biology and Medicine Summer Student in 2013.

The study also found significant variation across the different subway lines and parts of the city. The Bronx was found to have the most diverse range of microbe species, followed by Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Staten Island was the least diverse.

The idea for the PathoMap goes back to 2010, when Mason picked up his daughter from day care and noticed that she and all of the other children were playing with the same toys and putting them in their mouths.

"What is on those toys, and the surfaces in this environment, and all the other environments, and how much is my daughter absorbing every day?" Mason was quoted on the PathoMap website.

The resulting study in 2013 led to the creation of the PathoMap, which used the subway system as a representation of the population of New York City.

The results of the study could be used by the city for long-term disease surveillance, response to bioterrorism threats, and long-term health maintenance, the researchers suggested.




“A group of researchers led by Christopher Mason of the department of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medical College swabbed surfaces and collected specimens from the subway system to develop a map of what they called an "urban microbiome." The result, seen above, is called the PathoMap and it illustrates concentrations of 637 known bacterial, viral, fungal and animal microbes detected in the study.... The findings were "generally reassuring, indicating no need to avoid the subway system or use protective gloves," Weill Cornell Medical College said in a press release. Nearly half of the samples contained DNA profiles that scientists had never seen before. Twelve percent of the bacteria found on the subway system were associated with disease. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria were found in 27 percent of the samples collected. Two samples turned up DNA fragments of Bacillus anthracis, which is anthrax, and three samples turned up a plasmid associated with Yersinia pestis, or Bubonic plague, the study said.... "Despite finding traces of pathogenic microbes, their presence isn't substantial enough to pose a threat to human health," Mason said in the release. "The presence of these microbes and the lack of reported medical cases is truly a testament to our body's immune system, and our innate ability to continuously adapt to our environment.".... Nearly half of the DNA from all the samples, 48.3 percent, did not match any known organism, "which underscores the vast wealth of unknown species that are ubiquitous in urban areas," said co-lead author Ebrahim Afshinnekoo, a senior at Macaulay Honors College-Queens.... The study also found significant variation across the different subway lines and parts of the city. The Bronx was found to have the most diverse range of microbe species, followed by Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Staten Island was the least diverse.... The results of the study could be used by the city for long-term disease surveillance, response to bioterrorism threats, and long-term health maintenance, the researchers suggested.”

The good news is that these little critters were mostly not dangerous and have not been linked to disease outbreaks. The map can be used to study public health issues. Certain parts of the city gave evidence of a greater variety of microbes, especially the most thickly inhabited such as Manhattan. 48% of the DNA didn't match any known organism. I've always assumed that the process of evolution is and always has been an ongoing thing, so maybe some of those unknown bacteria are actually new species. There are, however, so many animals and plants on earth that many of them have never been classified. There are gazillions of bacteria, protozoa, small mammals, oceanic lifeforms, insects, and other uncommon things in existence, which are at the base of the food chain and therefore important to our ecology, and until the invention of the microscope were totally unknown. I personally don't fear most of them. Our immunity systems take care of the problem most of the time without having to fall back on medications. This is interesting, but not frightening to me. Science, like the daily news, does turn up so many new things that it keeps me reading happily.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/should-the-west-arm-ukraine-against-russian-backed-rebels/

Should the West arm Ukraine against Russian-backed rebels?
CBS/AP
February 8, 2015

MUNICH - The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine aim to hold a summit in Minsk this week as they try to stem fighting in eastern Ukraine, officials in Germany and France said Sunday.

The plan for a meeting Wednesday in the Belarusian capital emerged from a phone call between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, described the call as "intensive."

The aim is to draw up a package of measures that breathes new life into a much-violated September peace plan. Seibert and the French government said preparations for the summit will take place Monday in Berlin, without elaborating.

There will also be a meeting in Minsk by Wednesday of the signatories to last September's accord, including Russia, Ukraine and representatives of separatists in eastern Ukraine, they said.

Before the summit Merkel, who met Friday night in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama in Washington Monday on a previously scheduled trip.

At an international security conference in Munich, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. and its European allies are "united in our diplomacy" on Ukraine. He said the U.S. supports efforts by France and Germany to produce a new plan to end the conflict that is now raging in east Ukraine.

Kerry denied that there is a U.S.-Europe rift over how to respond to the crisis and how to deal with Russia's role in it despite a debate over whether to arm the government in Kiev.

"There is no division, there is no split," Kerry said. "I keep hearing people trying to create one. We are united, we are working closely together."

His comments came amid reports of a deep trans-Atlantic rift over the Obama administration's consideration of providing defensive weaponry to Kiev. Germany and France oppose such a move, saying it could lead to an escalation and that they do not believe the conflict can be resolved militarily. Russia, which is accused of supporting separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, has said the introduction of U.S.-supplied weaponry will have grave consequences.

The United States and other Western countries contend Russia has supplied troops and equipment to the separatists in eastern Ukraine who have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since April. Russia denies the claims.

The top NATO commander, U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, said last week that Russia continues to supply the separatists with heavy, state-of-the-art weapons, air defenses and fighters.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaking alongside Kerry, reiterated that he considers delivering weapons "not just highly risky but counterproductive."

Kerry said the United States agrees that there is no military solution to the Ukraine crisis that has now killed more than 5,300 people, according to the United Nations.

At the same time, U.S. officials say Obama is rethinking his previous opposition to sending arms to Ukraine despite fears it could lead to a proxy war between Washington and Moscow. The officials have, however, suggested that any such weaponry would be intended to help Kiev defend itself once a peace agreement is reached.

Kerry likened the U.S.-European debate over arms to previous consultations over the breadth and strength of sanctions against Russia.

"The discussion taking place today is absolutely no different - it's tactical, it is not strategic," Kerry said. "On the fundamental goal with respect to Ukraine, we are absolutely united ... we want a diplomatic solution."




“At the same time, U.S. officials say Obama is rethinking his previous opposition to sending arms to Ukraine despite fears it could lead to a proxy war between Washington and Moscow. The officials have, however, suggested that any such weaponry would be intended to help Kiev defend itself once a peace agreement is reached. Kerry likened the U.S.-European debate over arms to previous consultations over the breadth and strength of sanctions against Russia. "The discussion taking place today is absolutely no different - it's tactical, it is not strategic," Kerry said. "On the fundamental goal with respect to Ukraine, we are absolutely united ... we want a diplomatic solution."

How can there be a diplomatic solution when there can't even be a real ceasefire? Just give them the weapons, and do it before Russia takes over all of Ukraine. Does anyone really doubt what their goals are?





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/republican-lawmaker-childbirth-resulting-from-rape-is-beautiful/

Republican lawmaker: Childbirth resulting from rape is "beautiful"
CBS NEWS
February 7, 2015

A Republican state legislator from West Virginia said Thursday that women should not be allowed to abort pregnancies resulting from rape because the child that could result from it is "beautiful."

"For somebody to take advantage of somebody else in such a horrible and terrifying and brutal way is absolutely disgusting," said West Virginia Del. Brian Kurcaba during a hearing on proposed new abortion restrictions, CBS Charleston affiliate WOWK-TV reports. "But what is beautiful is the child that could come as a production of this."

Kurcaba later said in a statement that his comments didn't fully represent his views, WOWK-TV reports.

"I apologize to anyone who took my comments about the sanctity of human life to mean anything other than that all children are precious regardless of circumstances," he said in the statement.

The bill under consideration would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. On Thursday, the state legislature's health committee voted down a proposal that would have made exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, and the bill is now headed for a up or down vote in the full House.

Kurcaba, a financial adviser and resident of Morgantown, West Virginia, was first elected to the statehouse last November. According to his campaign website, he was endorsed by West Virginians for Life, an anti-abortion group, during his primary and general election campaigns.

He becomes the latest Republican lawmaker to offer some eyebrow-raising comments on the subject of rape and abortion. In October 2012, then-Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock argued during a debate, "I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."

And perhaps the most infamous rape-related comments during that year came from then-Rep. Todd Akin, R-Missouri, who was running for a Senate seat as well. Akin said that women who were the victims of "legitimate rape" wouldn't become pregnant because "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."



http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/06/science-house-abortion-ban-fetal-pain

Fetuses Feel Pain at 20 Weeks, and 4 Other Anti-Abortion Myths
A look at some of the bad science routinely trotted out by anti-abortion advocates.
—By Kate Sheppard
| Thu Jun. 20, 2013

The House of Representatives passed a law on Tuesday banning abortions after 20 weeks across the country, based on the scientifically dubious claim that a fetus can feel pain at that point. The federal "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act" draws from a model bill promoted by the National Right to Life and mirrors laws that have passed in a dozen states in the last three years.

Where does this premise for a 20-week abortion ban come from? In the debate on Tuesday, House members repeatedly cited the research of Dr. Kanwaljeet "Sunny" Anand, a University of Tennessee professor of pediatrics, anesthesiology, and neurobiology who has promoted the idea that 20 weeks post-conception is the point when a fetus begins to feel pain. His work, which has been the go-to resource for anti-abortion groups, was mentioned at least four times on the House floor. Citing Anand's findings, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) argued that "the baby responds the same way you and I respond to pain, by recoiling." She went on to claim that the pain of a fetus at 20 weeks is "possibly more intense than that felt by older newborns."

But Anand is an outlier. A 2005 paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association surveyed the medical literature and found little evidence to support his conclusions. There is an established body of evidence that finds that fetuses start developing the biological pathways related to pain sensation at this stage of gestation, but there is not enough evidence to suggest that they can actually experience pain as we do. The majority of the scientific literature on the subject finds that the brain connections required to feel pain are not formed until at least 24 weeks.

This is, of course, not the first time fishy scientific arguments have been used to support anti-abortion policies. Last August, Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin ignited a controversy when he stated that victims of "legitimate rape" couldn't get pregnant because "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." The sponsor of the House 20-week ban, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), was also criticized last week for arguing in a hearing that the number of pregnancies resulting from rape is "very low."

Here's a brief run-down of the bad science that has been used to support anti-abortion policies:

Claim: Virtually no rape victims conceive.
Source: Dr. John Willke, former National Right to Life president
Why it's bunk: In a 1999 article, Willke, an "expert in human sexuality," used some really fuzzy math to argue that fewer than 400 victims of sexual assault get pregnant annually. (The reason? Hormones and stuff.) This idea, also found in medieval texts, has been repeated by lawmakers who don't believe abortion bans should make exceptions for rape.




"For somebody to take advantage of somebody else in such a horrible and terrifying and brutal way is absolutely disgusting," said West Virginia Del. Brian Kurcaba during a hearing on proposed new abortion restrictions, CBS Charleston affiliate WOWK-TV reports. "But what is beautiful is the child that could come as a production of this." Kurcaba later said in a statement that his comments didn't fully represent his views, WOWK-TV reports. "I apologize to anyone who took my comments about the sanctity of human life to mean anything other than that all children are precious regardless of circumstances," he said in the statement.... He becomes the latest Republican lawmaker to offer some eyebrow-raising comments on the subject of rape and abortion. In October 2012, then-Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock argued during a debate, "I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen." And perhaps the most infamous rape-related comments during that year came from then-Rep. Todd Akin, R-Missouri, who was running for a Senate seat as well. Akin said that women who were the victims of "legitimate rape" wouldn't become pregnant because "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Ignorance abounds in this country. You can bet that if a prominent Republican's daughter was raped and became pregnant she would get a timely abortion. Theories like women who are “legitimately raped” don't get pregnant can only hurt women's rights. Of course for years defense attorneys have been blaming rape victims to get their client off in the courts. This is part of the same thing – women are second class citizens.





http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2015/02/07/384107183/after-years-in-lockdown-rosa-parks-papers-head-to-library-of-congress

After Years In Lockdown, Rosa Parks' Papers Head To Library Of Congress
Audie Cornish
FEBRUARY 07, 2015

Photograph – Rosa Parks, shown in Seattle in 1956, saved postcards from Martin Luther King Jr. and notes about carpooling during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. They're now being cataloged by the Library of Congress.

Archivists at the Library of Congress are hard at work cataloging the papers of Rosa Parks, received on loan recently after a legal battle kept them under lock and key for the past decade.

Among the collection are a receipt for a voting booth's poll tax, postcards from Martin Luther King Jr., a datebook with the names of volunteer carpool drivers who would help blacks get to work during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and thousands of other historic documents.

Meg McAleer, a senior archives specialist working on Rosa Parks' papers, spoke with NPR's Audie Cornish about the documents. Excerpts are below — but to get Parks' full recipe for feather-light pancakes, you'll have to listen to the audio above.

Interview Highlights

On Rosa Parks' husband, Raymond

Actually, photographs of Raymond Parks are really rare. This is a photograph of Raymond Parks when he's in his 40s. He's, you know, a strikingly handsome man. Very very pale complexion, and at first Rosa Parks didn't like that when they were dating. She said that he was the first activist she ever knew in person. He was involved in the Montgomery branch of the NAACP, and at the time of their marriage he was very involved in organizing on behalf of the Scottsboro Boys, and in fact were holding meetings in their new home together, which is quite a dangerous thing to do.

An excerpt from a letter Parks wrote about Raymond's reaction to her arrest

"He was a madman, furious. His fury was directed at himself for being a financial failure — not having provided the material comforts necessary for a well-appointed home. He was angry with the driver for causing my arrest. He mentioned so often the fact that colored people were sitting on the same seat, the same day, and all of the other days, where I was arrested for not getting up. He also was very angry with me for refusing to give up the seat, and at least not getting off the bus. So many times he said he would have gotten off the bus. He said I had a goat head."

On how Rosa and Raymond Parks struggled following her arrest

Rosa Parks — because of her arrest, because of her activism — loses her job at the Montgomery Fair department store, where she was an assistant tailor. She wasn't fired, they just let her go. And Raymond Parks also loses his job as well. And neither one of them is able to find sustainable employment in Montgomery after that — because of their activism, absolutely. They are basically boycotted. …

This is a 1955 tax return, and of course her arrest is in December of that year, and their combined income is $3,749. So they're, you know, the working poor, but they're holding their head above water. And here is their tax return in 1959 when they're living in Detroit. Their combined income is $661. They have descended into deep, deep poverty.

On how the archives alter the perception of Rosa Parks

You know, we think of her as the quiet seamstress, and her writing just absolutely blew me away — the strength of it, the power of it, the courage of it. I mean, she's writing things down about the way things are in the South in ways that could get her killed, and she's unflinching in how she does it. …

It really kind of lets us hear her voice in a way that I don't think we've truly heard before. ... We know her actions, you know, we know the fact she refused to give up her seat, we know about her arrest, we know the whats. But this brings us into the psychological impact of that. We see her in a much more animated way — we know the events she attended, you know, who she was supporting, and so I think that this really shows her to be a very skilled, experienced civil rights worker.




“Photograph – Rosa Parks, shown in Seattle in 1956, saved postcards from Martin Luther King Jr. and notes about carpooling during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. They're now being cataloged by the Library of Congress. Archivists at the Library of Congress are hard at work cataloging the papers of Rosa Parks, received on loan recently after a legal battle kept them under lock and key for the past decade. Among the collection are a receipt for a voting booth's poll tax, postcards from Martin Luther King Jr., a datebook with the names of volunteer carpool drivers who would help blacks get to work during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and thousands of other historic documents. Meg McAleer, a senior archives specialist working on Rosa Parks' papers, spoke with NPR's Audie Cornish about the documents. Excerpts are below.”

Hopefully someone will publish her papers so the public can read them, or better still write a biography. She and her husband had a very painful life. Both lost their jobs and were never able to get another. I'd really like to know more personal detail about her.