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In other words, if the FDA says something is safe, it does not matter if that decision is wrong or the result of misrepresentation, fraud or deception on the part of the world’s pharmaceutical companies.
There is no way to sue the FDA for being wrong and costing millions of unsuspecting Americans their lives. That result leaves millions of Americans unprotected from an industry responsible for innumerable preventable deaths in the US from use of these drugs and their side effects.
My husband died and there is no recourse. However, if he was holding a hot cup of coffee from McDonald’s, we could have litigated this!
Pharmaceutical companies and our government, in the eyes of the Supreme Court, are putting profits before people. This decision has to be reversed.
Toiling to resolve their populist tendencies with artiness, ‘Resistance Is Futile’ might be the most emotionally honest Manic Street Preachers album yet.
It’s perhaps fitting for a band as multi-faceted in their identity and approach as the Manic Street Preachers that the title of their 13th album, Resistance Is Futile, should have such an ambiguous meaning. In the context of the political upheaval of the last few years, is it a call to arms to confront changing times, or is it an acceptance of defeat in the face of it? There hasn’t even been any hard clues as to the band’s intentions going forwards, with songwriter and chief spokesperson / propagandist Nicky Wire describing Resistance Is Futile as “either a new era or the end”.
Of course, the Manics have been in this kind of sentimental territory before with 2010’s Postcards From A Young Man, which was billed by Wire as “one last shot at mass communication”, but this is a band that’s always reserved the right to contradict itself. The It’s possible to see Resistance Is Futile as the third creative re-grouping of the Manics’ career, after the disappearance of their talismanic songwriter Richey Edwards forged the defiant Everything Must Go and the prospect of irrelevance sparked the glorious re-birth of 2007’s Send Away The Tigers.
But where those two triumphs were born out of tragedy and necessity, Resistance Is Futile comes off the back of a very successful and creatively fertile period for the Manics. After the consecutive glories of 2013’s pastoral, folk-influenced Rewind The Film and the fearless, European artiness of 2014’s Futurology, two very different records, there doesn’t seem to be any external compulsion for Wire’s existential attitude this time around, other than the long-term future the Manics see for themselves. Perhaps it’s the 20th anniversary The Holy Bible and Everything Must Go tours (not to mention the pretty hilarious Wales Euro 2016 anthem…) that’s brought this on, but it now seems to be a question of what the Manics want from themselves, all now a year away from their fifties, as opposed to what others might expect of them.
Both musically and thematically, Resistance Is Futile seems to be attempting to reconcile two contradictory versions of the Manics that they’ve flitted between in various stages of their long career: the one looking optimistically towards the future, of rousing anthems and fearless rhetoric, which brought us Everything Must Go and Send Away The Tigers, and the pensive and melancholic Manics, the regret-filled and self-doubting Manics that recorded This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours and Rewind The Film. It wrestles to resolve their populist tendencies with their artful ones, to address the turmoil of the outside world and their place within it, and does so pretty successfully, barring a handful of ideas that don’t really work.
As such, Resistance Is Futile is arguably the most honest Manics album, though far from being their best. The album’s mood is set immediately with the lush, string-swept ‘People Give In’. Beset with worry, insecurity and a sense of all things being transitory, James Dean Bradfield exuding empathy with simple truths like “people get tired / people get old”, it’s the Manics at their most humanistic – downcast, yet defiant and stoic.
Exceptional lead single ‘International Blue’, dedicated to post-war French artist Yves Klein, is a precision-targeted exocet missile of FM rock, anthemic in the same way as ‘Motorcycle Emptiness’ and peacocking with autumnal joy. It’s a bit of an outlier for the record in general, as it’s by far the most radio-friendly moment, but there’s other moments of panorama too. The reflective ‘Distant Colours’ is a sullen beauty, bemoaning the loss of ideology and certainties in the modern world and blown up to the “widescreen melancholia” that Wire feels encapsulates the album as a whole. The Manics, who’ve always been switched-on, have seen an awful lot of social, political and pop music change in their time, find themselves in a great position to critique the state of the world in 2018, even though we’re dimensions away from the punk and nihilist attitude of Generation Terrorists.
The same sentiment is echoed later in the glorious ‘Hold Me Like A Heaven’, with Bradfield sounding bewildered and pained when he looks at atomised, alienated Britain in 2018 beset with cultural nostalgia (“all the ties that bind have come undone… what is the future of the future?”). Nicky Wire delivers a very personal moment on ‘Liverpool Revisited’, echoing the sentiments of 1998 song ‘S.Y.M.M.’ regarding the Hillsborough disaster, only this time applauding the courage and stamina of the victims’ families. Wire takes the microphone himself on muted album closer ‘The Left Behind’, taking a phrase popularised during the Brexit referendum and turning it into a rumination on the Manics’ current state.
The musical polarisation between classicism and futurism is perhaps illustrated best by comparing two of Resistance Is Futile’s best tracks. The machine throb underpinning ‘Sequels Of Forgotten Wars’ is a continuation of Futurology’s pan-European outlook, while the orchestrated, detailed pop of ‘Dylan & Caitlin’, a duet sung with Welsh chanteuse The Anchoress, tells the story of the Thomases’ alcohol-fuelled romance. It fits into a great lineage of Manics duets (‘Little Baby Nothing’ and ‘Your Love Alone Is Not Enough’ being the very best, obvs) and is the kind of thing that only they can do and make it work.
However, there are a small handful of moments on Resistance Is Futile that aren’t as resonant as the majority of the tracks. The low-key ‘Vivian’, concerning photographer Vivian Maier, is intelligent but lacks the musical heft to register proper impact with the listener. The back-to-back ‘In Eternity’, which turns potentially interesting European art-rock influences into a bit of a slog, and the clumsy rocker ‘Broken Algorithms’ threaten to derail the album entirely near the end, before the expansive ‘A Song For The Sadness’ picks things up just as they’re petering out. But they’re minor complaints in the context of an album that stands up wonderfully to repeated listens, just like its immediate predecessor Futurology.
Listen to Resistance Is Futile by Manic Street Preachers here via Spotify, and tell us what you think below!
Thebes Group is proud to extend its foundation as an Assured IT Services provider by offering innovative training methods for outstanding talents – to enter or further their progress in the world of IT. Graduates from the Thebes’ Academy are trained to the latest industry standards, ensuring they provide the appropriate level of skills and capabilities for today’s enterprise. Thebes Academy is designed to enable entry into the IT industry via an Academy Programme or Graduate programme.
Our Academy is rigorous and participants are trained in a series of courses focusing on core services in technical areas. Foundation training modules include an understanding of product, methodology, and technical architecture along with a deep dive into real scenarios case studies.
Thebes’ Academy encompasses 4 Levels of training and can extend to a fifth-year progression.
Level 1 – 3: Includes an Academy Programme followed by a two year ‘Post Academy’ programme. Both are undertaken while working in either a Network Operations Centre (NOC), Service Desk or within Cloud Services.
Level 4: Includes either a two-year Post Academy Higher programme or a Graduate Programme. Both programmes are undertaken while working within a Technical Operations Centre (TOC), within Government Risk & Compliance (GRC), Cyber or IT Service Management (ITSM).
Talented, outstanding performers at the Academy are further tested as they are immersed in active projects to review documentation, become actively involved in decision-making, and handle stand-alone tasks. They have an opportunity to be involved in supporting our clients onsite, providing first line support on a service desk, requisitioning, operational support and other critical IT functions.
All candidates undergo Pre-Employment Screening to ensure they are legally entitled to work in the UK, and will not compromise the integrity of our clients’ businesses.
in IT Systems & Networking.
candidates who can contribute to our growth.
LightSquared and former FCC chief engineer Edmond Thomas on Wednesday said the GPS test devices that were used by the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee (PNT EXCOM) to test its new network were rigged by “manufacturers of GPS receivers and government end users to produce bogus results.” The company said that devices from GPS manufacturers, which have claimed LightSquared’s network interferes with GPS communications, were “cherry picked” in secret and that independent authorities were not allowed to partake or oversee the tests or test results. In addition, LightSquared said the tests focused on obsolete technology that is only used in “niche market devices” and that are “least able to withstand potential interference” from wireless networks. Read on for more.
After a list of the test devices was released to LightSquared, the company found that the only mass market device that reportedly failed the government’s tests actually “performed flawlessly during Technical Working Group” testing. The government also reportedly tested LightSquared’s network at a power level that is 32-times greater than the level at which it will actually operate.
LightSquared is relying on FCC approval to solidify a contract with Sprint to help build out the carrier’s 4G LTE network. Sprint most recently gave LightSquared an additional 30 days to gain FCC approval, but the government has said none of LightSquared’s proposed fixes will help it gain approval.
“Transparency is the only way taxpayers can be assured that the testing process is not manipulated to benefit one particular set of self interests,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday. “LightSquared is confident that a fair process will allow the company to move forward with its plan to deliver wireless broadband to hundreds of millions of consumers.” LightSquared’s full press release follows below.
RESTON, Va., January 18, 2012 – LightSquared said today that the process used to test GPS devices by Air Force Space Command on behalf of the Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Executive Committee (PNT EXCOM) was rigged by manufacturers of GPS receivers and government end users to produce bogus results, and revealed details of the testing to document its accusations.
PNT EXCOM advises and coordinates among U.S. government agencies on GPS matters and is comprised of representatives from those agencies with GPS expertise. LightSquared has called on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to objectively re-evaluate this initial round of testing and also to evaluate mitigation proposals the company has proposed. Additionally, the company has called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the NTIA to conduct the second round of tests on high-precision devices at an independent laboratory to ensure objectivity and transparency.
In a call with reporters, Jeff Carlisle, LightSquared’s Executive Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy; and Geoff Stearn, LightSquared’s Vice President for Spectrum Development; outlined how GPS industry insiders and government end users manipulated the latest round of tests to generate biased results. Also on the call was Edmond Thomas, former chief engineer at the FCC who explained how fair and accurate testing should be conducted.
1. Testing was shrouded in secrecy, no transparency. The GPS manufacturers cherry-picked the devices in secret without any independent oversight authority in place or input from LightSquared. The GPS manufacturers and the government end users put non-disclosure agreements in place for the PNT EXCOM’s tests, preventing any input by an independent authority or from LightSquared before the tests began. This secrecy made it impossible for independent experts to properly oversee or challenge the process and results, thereby leaving taxpayers who paid for the testing no option but to take the PNT EXCOM’s word for it.
2. The testing protocol deliberately focused on obsolete and niche market devices that were least able to withstand potential interference. When LightSquared finally obtained a list of the devices tested, after all testing in this first phase of tests had been completed, it was able to determine that the testing included many discontinued or niche market devices with poor filters or no filters. The units tested represent less than one percent of the contemporary universe of GPS devices. In fact, the only mass market device alleged to “fail” during this round of testing performed flawlessly during the Technical Working Group testing, which used best practice protocols agreed to by all parties, thus raising doubts about the integrity of PNT EXCOM’s process.
3. The testing standard does not reflect reality. To guarantee favorable results, the PNT EXCOM selected an extremely conservative definition of failure – one dB of interference. Independent experts agree that a one dB threshold can only be detected in laboratory settings and has no impact on GPS positional accuracy or user experience. In fact, GPS devices are designed with the ability to withstand eight dB or more of loss of sensitivity due to man-caused and natural interference. By setting the definition of interference at one dB, the testing was rigged to ensure that most receivers would fail. It should be noted that PNT EXCOM and others have justified the one dB threshold by citing an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standard. However, that standard explicitly states that it does not apply to general purpose GPS receivers.
GPS and government end users should have opened the process for transparent review, chosen a representative sample of devices that reflect the scope of general purpose GPS receivers in the marketplace today, applied best practice standards to the testing protocol, and – most importantly, the tests should have been conducted by an independent laboratory rather than by the GPS manufacturers themselves, since they had a large incentive to ensure that the tested receivers would not pass the testing.
Why did the government choose to ignore LightSquared’s proposed power levels?
Why did the government choose a power level 32 times greater than the level at which LightSquared will operate?
Why did the test protocol select the 1dB degradation to noise as the interference standard, since it does not apply to general purpose GPS receivers and GPS units are typically designed with an 8dB level of tolerance?
Who determined what acceptable interference is for the current round of testing?
Why was the testing conducted using outdated/discontinued devices rather than a representative sample of what is currently in the market?
Isn’t it a violation of conflict of interest laws for representatives of GPS manufacturers to sit on the PNT advisory board and play a central role in its consideration of LightSquared when those companies are actively lobbying on the same issue?
Is it fair that taxpayers funded a testing regime they cannot review?
LightSquared has agreed to meet every technical guideline requested by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), FCC and NTIA and will continue to work in collaboration with the federal government to resolve the GPS interference issues. The secretive behavior of the PNT EXCOM indicates a co-opted process. The inappropriate influence of the private sector on their decision-making has been brought to the attention of NASA’s Inspector General in a separate conflict of interest complaint filed by LightSquared.
LightSquared is asking for fair and transparent oversight of the testing process by the FCC and NTIA, much like the agencies provided in the first round of testing that was openly agreed to by all parties. Transparency is the only way taxpayers can be assured that the testing process is not manipulated to benefit one particular set of self interests. LightSquared is confident that a fair process will allow the company to move forward with its plan to deliver wireless broadband to hundreds of millions of consumers.
What does Oxypoda grandipennis mean as a name of something?
Oxypoda grandipennis is a species of Oxypoda, described by Casey in 1911.
Go to the thesaurus of Oxypoda grandipennis to find many related words and phrases!
It’s been a big year for MGS distribution. Having been bought out from holding group Steerwell by Movado Group International (MGI) it has become part of a globally networked power player.
It has meant a change in job title for him – he was previously sales and marketing director – and it means he now reports to the US via Switzerland, making him something of an international figure in the watch world.
It’s all great news for a man who started out on the road as a Boss rep and it shows how far he has come in his 14 years in the trade, now heading up one of “the big four or five” groups.
Steve credits his team for the successful running of the brands, saying that his favourite part of the job is the satisfaction he gets from watching staff develop – so far four reps have progressed to brand manager level and are making real careers for themselves.
But of course he is the steadying hand and MGI haven’t altered the way he runs things. After all, Steve has seen turnover lift by an impressive 166% in MGS’s five-year existence as a joint venture between Steerwell and Movado. MGI obviously got to see what was a very effective operation, so they bought it and Steve continues to run it.
Running the UK operation doesn’t mean less influence on the end product. He instigated the idea for Boss to trial a watch and cufflink set in the UK. It’s now a global success. He’s extended the line of thought and also trialled watch and fragrance sets. They too have been hugely successful and will get a wider roll out.
Steve Brydon of MGS was selected as a London Watch Show Power Player in the WatchPro Hot 100 2013 in association with The Company of Master Jewellers. To read a digital version of the book in full online, click here.
From the makers of Starbound, Wargroove by Chucklefish arrives on PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One on February 1st, 2019. Coming soon to PlayStation 4.
London, England – January 23, 2019. Chucklefish LTD. – Chucklefish is proud to announce that the wait for Wargroove is finally over with a launch date of February 1st on PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One, priced at £15.99 / $19.99 / 16.99€, and available to play in 10 languages. Don’t worry PlayStation 4 fans, Wargroove will also be making its way to the platform soon!
The news was announced via Nintendo Europe’s Indie Highlights Showcase, where it also revealed the Wargroove announcement trailer featuring an incredible animation from the London-based animation studio, The Line. Wargroove is available to pre-purchase and pre-download on Nintendo Switch now, and open to wishlisting on Steam.
This entry was posted on November 17, 2014 by PLADInc.
Indialantic, FL -- PLAD, INC. recently showcased its revolutionary Portable Lift Assist Device at this year’s EMS World Expo in Nashville, TN.
“We recently launched our new Portable Lift Assist Device at EMLRC's ClinCon 2014 with overwhelming support and positive feedback,” stated Bobby Clark, Chief Executive Officer of PLAD, Inc. “We were excited to demonstrate the PLAD again at the EMS World Expo to key decision makers in our industry."
“The product speaks for itself and will be showcased at an amazing event," stated Matthew Nicoletti, Managing Partner of PLAD, Inc.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reported that approximately 81,000 firefighters in the United States were injured during 2002 at a cost of $3–8 billion. Most injuries to firefighters occur on the fireground, and many of these injuries are musculoskeletal-related. The musculoskeletal system’s primary functions include supporting the body, allowing motion and protecting vital organs. Sprains and strains, including those of the low back and abdominal regions, account for most of the musculoskeletal injuries in firefighters. And back injuries represent the vast majority of these injuries. Further, low back injury is the most common injury related to early retirement from the fire service.
The high rate of low back injuries can be attributed to the high-risk activities that firefighters are expected to perform, such lift assists. These tasks are often accomplished while the body’s posture is ergonomically unsound or on unstable ground.
To purchase a Portable Lift Assist Device (P.L.A.D), please visit: www.pladinc.com. To view the P.L.A.D. in action, visit http://youtu.be/QxrqmwW_Vzs and http://youtu.be/AHX3sXqtGrA.
In professions such as firefighting, nursing, and first responders back injuries are a common problem when performing lift assists on individuals while on the job. Statistics show that in these professions, especially within the field of Emergency Medical Services, the rate of back injuries is very high with an increasing percentage of those back injuries being career ending. These back injures not only impact these individuals’ lives, but there is a large resource and monetary impact from Workman’s compensation claims that can cripple municipalities. Prior to the PLAD, there has not been a solution to lift assists that takes the possibility of back injuries out of the equation.
Firefighter Mike Pannucci was finishing up medic school when he was tasked with a final project that required him to provide a solution to a current problem the industry faces and present that solution to the class. From his experience as a firefighter, he knew exactly what he wanted to base his project around and that would be the growing number of back injuries associated with lift assists. From this class, this assignment, the PLAD was conceived.
Looking for assistance to help design and fabricate a device that could safely lift an individual, Mike turned to longtime friend and designer, Bobby Clark. Together, the two worked successfully on finding the right balance between a device that was extremely portable and could easily be deployed to safely and comfortably lift a person to a seated position. They went through several iterations of the PLAD until the final product that is available today got their final stamp of approval.
PLAD's main mission is to eliminate the possibility of back injuries from performing lift assists. By creating a lifting device that is light weight and extremely portable, countless other benefits were also created in the process. In the case of firefighters, multiple teams of two no longer are required to assist in a lift where the individual weights over a certain amount. A team of two can easily deploy the PLAD and safely lift an extremely heavy individual without compromising themselves thus freeing up additional resources, which otherwise would be needed for a team lift. Commonly, when performing lift assists, it can be time consuming just trying to figure out the approach to lift the individual. With the PLAD, that guess work is a non-factor because the PLAD can be deployed within a couple of minutes, which greatly shortens the time the fallen individual is in a compromising position.
Now that you are aware of the PLAD, the most portable lift assist device available, can you afford to send your team out in the field to perform a lift assist with the possibility of one of them injuring their backs? Would you perform that lift assist yourself?
A vicious crime against humanity was once again wrought yesterday, the first of its magnitude on American soil. Our fear and rage are both inevitable and understandable; and it is indeed vitally important that those who prepared and executed the crime be brought to justice as soon as possible in an international court of law.
But it is incumbent on every peace-loving American citizen to stand up against the strident calls for massive retaliation, even when they come from elected officials and even after the perpetrators have been identified beyond question. Ideologically inspired terrorism cannot be suppressed by conventional military means, and in particular not by raining fire on the civilian populations of countries whose governments are thought to harbor or sponsor terrorists.
The cause of terrorist acts such as these is not a collective madness, religious fanaticism or "cowardice", but cold rational reflection by small numbers of exceptionally aggrieved and alienated people who are driven to desperation by perceived chronic injustices to which they can see no peaceable solution.
To really put an end to such acts, in addition to finding, arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating such people, we have got to tighten our belts and open our minds and hearts.
We need to pay a whole lot more attention to the terrible things that are happening day by day to people around the world than we have been in the habit of doing up to now; and we must join more wholeheartedly in the world-wide effort to eliminate human suffering and inequity, and broaden the realm of justice.
That is the work of spiritually centered thinkers, social activists and statesmen. It is not the work of soldiers.
Seeking a dedicated individual to conduct rights and clearances for independent documentaries. This position is ideal for IP lawyers, law students or journalists with an interest in film or television, and aspiring entertainment lawyers.
Legal experience or special counsel experience & excellent writing skills, good communication skills and contracts know how.
Interlock Media, Inc. located in Kendall Square, MA, is an activist film company that points to solutions for environmental, human rights and public health challenges. We support informed policy by producing entertaining documentary and dramatic media works.
This page collects older news items from the home page.
8 Oct. 2015: I have moved debtox.info to another web hoster due to problems with the services from KPN. There might still be some glitches; if you run into unexpected behaviour, please let me know.
13 August 2015: the site has a new look and feel! I moved everything from a php-based web-builder application to plain html. This makes it easier for me to maintain, and to move to another webhoster, if needed. The important old php links should redirect automatically to the new html pages. Some glitches may occur .... so please contact me if you hit an unexpected result.
7 August 2015: moved my DEBtox Research activities to a dedicated website: www.debtox.nl. This info site will remain the place with information on models, sorftware, e-books, publications and courses.
March 2015: the hits counter at the bottom of the page has now exceeded 100,000 hits!
21 June 2012. Check out Roman Ashauer advertising TKTD modelling in SETACs newsletter over here.
5 May 2012. On the discussion board, I started a forum on "Ecotox Essays".This forum will present short opinions and critical comments on an ecotoxicological topic. I will try to regulary write a contribution, but I also highly welcome contributions from others! See the board for further details.
Also at the 2019 SETAC conference in Helsinki, there will be the spectacular “GUTS to the Max”: Mechanistic Effect Models Hackathon, organised by Roman Ashauer. More information.
For 2019, a new round of the DEB telecourse is planned, and also a classroom part (1-6 April), followed by workshops (8-9 April), and the international DEB symposium (10-12 April). This time, the location will be Brest, France. More information is provided on the symposium website. Application to the DEB2019 school is open and the deadline is extended to February 15, 2019.
If you are a young environmental scientist, make sure to check out the YES meeting in Ghent, 5-10 February 2019. I will be teaching a short course on DEBkiss there. Registration deadline is 18 December 2018.
Dedicated 2-day GUTS course, geared towards professionals in risk assessment of pesticides. 16-18 October, Wageningen, the Netherlands. More information.
As part of the 2019 SETAC conference in Helsinki, Sandrine Charles is organising a 1-day short course on GUTS (on 26 May 2019). Download the flyer.
Sandrine is also organising a more extensive winter school 6-10 January 2020 (in Lyon, France) focussing on ecotox effect models.
27 August 2018: the EFSA opinion on TKTD models is now available over here. This opinion will be pivotal for the application of GUTS and DEBtox in environmental risk assessment (in particular for pesticides).
26 March 2018: the 2018 round of the TKTD modelling summer course DynModTox has been cancelled.
24 August 2016. We just finished the third round of the DynModTox summerschool in Denmark. Some impressions from the 2016 course over here.
Wednesday 13 January, at the VU University, Carlos Teixeira defended his thesis entitled "Application of Dynamic Energy Budget theory for conservation relevant modelling of bird life histories." Announcement (in Dutch).
On 2 June 2015, James Maino successfully defended his thesis entitled "The Importance of Body Size: Scaling of Physiological Traits in Insects" at the VU in Amsterdam. Announcement over here.
On 8 May, Bas Kooijman will deliver his farewell speech at the VU University, which also marks the end of the Dept. of Theoretical Biology at this university. See the announcement (in Dutch). The trilogy booklet with Bas' inaugaral and farewell speeches can be downloaded over here.
On 28-30 April 2015, there will be the fourth international DEB symposium in Marseille, France. Abstract submission is closed.
As of 1 March 2015, Tjalling Jager has left the VU University to continue as a self-employed researcher under the name DEBtox Research. I will remain associated with the VU as a guest of the department of Animal Ecology. February-April 2015, there will be a new round of the DEB course. Part in tele-mode, and part hands-on in Marseille, France. More info. This will be the last course organised by Bas Kooijman, so don't miss it!
14 January, we had the succesful defense of Alpar Barsi, who's CREAM project was supervised by Virginie Ducrot and myself. His thesis can be found here.

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