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1. Assange On Tick Box Justice - Make This Case Bigger Than Me

Julian Assange
Speaking outside Belmarsh Magistrates Court yesterday, WikiLeaks Editor Julian Assange said: I call on all those people in Sweden that have seen evidence of abusive process to step forward, to not be scared to talk to their local newspapers, to not be scared to talk to the international press and to not be scared to talk to us. Come forward. Talk about it. I call on the Swedish press, many of you whom I've met, to be brave and to start talking about these problems in Sweden. I call upon editors in Sweden to open up your editorial spaces, let your bravest journalists speak. Let those people who have been victimised by these abuses of process speak because this is not just about me. It is not just about the pressure the United States brings to bear on the United Kingdom, upon Sweden and the media, it offers a real hope for reform of key aspects of the Swedish justice system. It offers hope for a reform of the EU arrest warrant system, that system of rubber stamp deportation. I call on you to make this case bigger than me.
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks Editor, YouTube
Related Links:
* Swedish Newspaper Aftonbladet Hosts Chat with Julian Assange
kgosztola, WL Central
* Tweet Record, Julian Assange Extradition Trial Judgement Day 2011-02-24
Information Release, The One Click Group et al
* The judicial authority in Sweden -v- Julian Paul Assange
Judiciary Of England And Wales

2. PayPal Avoids Moral Bankruptcy By Restoring Bradley Manning Account

While it is generally not our policy to comment publicly on account dealings, we are sharing the following statement to clarify information regarding the Courage To Resist organization’s PayPal account and their claim that this is somehow associated with their support of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning. We recently placed a temporary limitation of the Courage to Resist organization’s PayPal account as they had not complied to our stated policy requiring non profits to associate a bank account with their PayPal account. In a press release issued today, the Courage to Resist organization claimed that their resistance to follow our policy is because PayPal sought to withdraw funds from their checking account. Upon review, and as part of our normal business procedures, we have decided to lift the temporary restriction placed on their account because we have sufficient information to meet our statutory ‘Know Your Customer’ ob ligations. The Courage to Resist PayPal account is now fully operational.
Anuj Nayar, director of communications, PayPal
Related Links:
* PayPal cuts service to Courage To Resist for Bradley Manning support
Press Release, Bradley Manning Support Network
* Bradley Manning Advocacy Fund Launched
Information Release, Bradley Manning Advocacy Fund

3. PhRMa R&D Costs Are Much Lower Than Claimed

For decades, the pharmaceutical industry has claimed that its high prices for drugs in the developed world, are justified by the very high costs of research and development (R&D). Industry-funded economists at Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, produced a wholly artificial R&D cost of $1.3 billion for a new drug. That artificial estimate, which is widely cited by government and industry-- has served to hugely enrich the pharmaceutical industry. A just published article, Demythologizing the High Cost of Pharmaceutical Research, by Donald Light and Rebecca Warburton, debunks industry's inflated claim by dissecting the calculations in the authoritative Tufts-PhRMa supported study that concocted the extraordinary high R&D cost estimate.
Vera Hassner Sharav, AHRP

4. U.S. Supreme Court Betrays U.S. Consumer: Big Pharma Given Total Liability Shield for Vaccines

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), whose co-founders worked with Congress on the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (PL-99-660), is calling the U.S. Supreme Court's Feb. 22 decision giving drug companies total liability protection for injuries and deaths caused by government mandated vaccines a "betrayal" of the American consumer.
National Vaccine Information Center

5. 4/5ths of Medical Devices recalled by FDA were not approved using standard procedures

Dr Meryl Nass MD and other panelists at Anthrax Letters seminar, Washington, D.C., November 29, 2010
Steve Nissen et al hit another homer; the authors examine why bad medical devices (those eventually recalled) were initially approved by FDA, and learn it was due to skirting the standard review process. Does abbreviated review of products benefit the public in any way? Shouldn't this abbreviated approval process be eliminated for all but emergency use?
Dr Meryl Nass MD

6. ConDem Government Provokes £480m Worth Of Civil Unrest - UK Census 2011

Ladbrokes are offering 4/1 that more than 400,000 people will state their religion as “Jedi” in next month’s census. My opposition has nothing to do with US arms firm Lockheed Martin being paid £150million to organise the census, although that is offensive on many levels. These days the census is senseless. My point is simply what IS the point? In pre-internet, pre-hard-sell days when we didn’t have to submit every intimate fact about ourselves to buy a toaster, there was a point to us divulging 32 pages of personal details, every decade. But today when computer databases hold so much information it would take a six-year-old two minutes to find out the precise strain of crabs we picked up in 1983, why bother? Why is this government wasting £480million on an out-dated paper exercise when they’re telling councils to sack thousands of staff because they’re skint? Especially when only law-abidin g people will fill the census in, whereas those who have something to hide (illegal immigrants, benefits cheats, serial tax-avoiders) will use it to light-up a spliff. Cuts aside, the timing is a joke because we’ve never felt less trust towards the faceless people who run our lives. How much of the information we’ve given to civil servants in recent years, such as tax returns, child benefit records and health test results, have they mis-used or left in the back of cabs?
Brian Reade, Daily Mirror
Related Links:
* UK Census 2011: ConDem Government vs. Electorate Unrest
JP Floru, Adam Smith Institute
* UK ConDem Government Launches Census 2011 Bureaucratic Assault
Ian Dunt, politics.co.uk
* The census has become far too nosey
Philip Johnston, Daily Telegraph
* Census spies will track every home: Anger at 'intrusion of vast computer network'
Steve Doughty, Daily Mail

7. UK Census 2011 - Ridicule ConDem Government Competition

The biggest issue this week at BBW Towers was the launch of the 2011 census, a 32 page form on which the government demand you outline your proficiency in English, the state of your health, when you last worked, the identities of your overnight guests and the type of central heating you have. Those who fail to complete the form are liable for fines of up to £1000 and a criminal conviction. Throughout the week, we have made the case against this unwanted piece of state intrusion, with appearances on the Today programme, BBC News and ITV, as well as significant national media coverage. While the majority of the questions on the census are compulsory, you will not be forced to tell the government what your religion is. Indeed, there will be an "other" box provided in order for you to write in your own response. BBW would like to offer a prize of a free copy of our new book to the person to come up with the best comment to enter into the "other" box. Please e-mail your answers.
Big Brother Watch

8. Lord Chief Justice Attacks Legal Aid Plans

Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice, attacks plans to cut legal aid
Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice, said the proposed reform of public funding for civil cases will “damage access to justice” and lead to a “huge increase” in the number of people having to fight legal battles on their own. He also warned moves to keep legal aid in family cases where there is a risk of physical harm could provide a “perverse incentive for allegations of domestic violence” to gain access to funds. The plans have already met with widespread opposition from the legal profession, with actress Joanna Lumley adding her voice to the calls for Mr Clarke to rethink his plans. In a formal response on behalf of the judiciary to the proposals, Lord Judge said the Government's consultation paper "fails to recognise the depth of the problem". The judges' warning comes after legal experts said the proposals will cost more than they save and could leave more than half a million people "silenced in court ".
Tom Whitehead, Daily Telegraph

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