In a case that raises questions about online journalism and privacy rights, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a formal request to an independent news site ordering it to provide details of all reader visits on a certain day.

The grand jury subpoena also required the Philadelphia-based Indymedia.us Web site “not to disclose the existence of this request” unless authorized by the Justice Department, a gag order that presents an unusual quandary for any news organization.

Kristina Clair, a 34-year old Linux administrator living in Philadelphia who provides free server space for Indymedia.us, said she was shocked to receive the Justice Department’s subpoena. (The Independent Media Center is a left-of-center amalgamation of journalists and advocates that – according to their principles of unity and mission statement – work toward “promoting social and economic justice” and “social change.”)

The subpoena (PDF) from U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison in Indianapolis demanded “all IP traffic to and from www.indymedia.us” on June 25, 2008. It instructed Clair to “include IP addresses, times, and any other identifying information,” including e-mail addresses, physical addresses, registered accounts, and Indymedia readers’ Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and so on.

“I didn’t think anything we were doing was worthy of any (federal) attention,” Clair said in a telephone interview with CBSNews.com on Monday. After talking to other Indymedia volunteers, Clair ended up calling the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, which represented her at no cost.

Under long-standing Justice Department guidelines, subpoenas to members of the news media are supposed to receive special treatment. One portion of the guidelines, for instance, says that “no subpoena may be issued to any member of the news media” without “the express authorization of the attorney general” – that would be current attorney general Eric Holder – and subpoenas should be “directed at material information regarding a limited subject matter.”

Still unclear is what criminal investigation U.S. Attorney Morrison was pursuing. Last Friday, a spokeswoman initially promised a response, but Morrison sent e-mail on Monday evening saying: “We have no comment.” The Justice Department in Washington, D.C. also declined to respond.

Kevin Bankston, a senior staff attorney at the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, replied to the Justice Department on behalf of his client in a February 2009 letter (PDF) outlining what he described as a series of problems with the subpoena, including that it was not personally served, that a judge-issued court order would be required for the full logs, and that Indymedia did not store logs in the first place.

Morrison replied in a one-sentence letter saying the subpoena had been withdrawn. Around the same time, according to the EFF, the group had a series of discussions with assistant U.S. attorneys in Morrison’s office who threatened Clair with possible prosecution for obstruction of justice if she disclosed the existence of the already-withdrawn subpoena — claiming it “may endanger someone’s health” and would have a “human cost.”

Lucy Dalglish, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of The Press, said a gag order to a news organization wouldn’t stand up in court: “If you get a subpoena and you’re a journalist, they can’t gag you.”

Dalglish said that a subpoena being issued and withdrawn is not unprecedented. “I have seen any number of these things withdrawn when counsel for someone who is claiming a reporter’s privilege says, ‘Can you tell me the date you got approval from the attorney general’s office’… I’m willing to chalk this up to bad lawyering on the part of the DOJ, or just not thinking.”

Making this investigation more mysterious is that Indymedia.us is an aggregation site, meaning articles that appear on it were published somewhere else first, and there’s no hint about what sparked the criminal probe. Clair, the system administrator, says that no IP (Internet Protocol) addresses are recorded for Indymedia.us, and non-IP address logs are kept for a few weeks and then discarded.

EFF’s Bankston wrote a second letter to the government saying that, if it needed to muzzle Indymedia, it should apply for a gag order under the section of federal law that clearly permits such an order to be issued. Bankston’s plan: To challenge that law on First Amendment grounds.

But the Justice Department never replied. “This is the first time we’ve seen them try to get the IP address of everyone who visited a particular site,” Bankston said. “That it was a news organization was an additional troubling fact that implicates First Amendment rights.”

This is not, however, the first time that the Feds have focused on Indymedia — a Web site whose authors sometimes blur the line between journalism, advocacy, and on-the-streets activism. In 2004, the Justice Department sent a grand jury subpoena asking for information about who posted lists of Republican delegates while urging they be given an unwelcome reception at the party’s convention in New York City that year. A Indymedia hosting service in Texas once received a subpoena asking for server logs in relation to an investigation of an attempted murder in Italy.

Bankston has written a longer description of the exchange of letters with the Justice Department, which he hopes will raise awareness of how others should respond to similar legal demands for Web logs, customer records, and compulsory silence. “Our fear is that this kind of bogus gag order is much more common than one would hope, considering they’re legally baseless,” Bankston says. “We’re telling this story in hopes that more providers will press back and go public when the government demands their silence.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/09/taking_liberties/entry5595506.shtml?tag=mncol;txt

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/health/swine_flu/091109-queens-schoolchildren-swine-flu-shots

My computer is out of commission right now, so I wont be around for a little while. Do not panic! I shall rectify the situation using p0wers of persuasion and favours. SOMEBODY GAVE ME A TROJAN!

Une femme de 42 ans est décédée mardi soir des complications de la grippe A(H1N1), en Montérégie.

La dame était en bonne santé, mais elle souffrait d’un problème d’asthme léger.

Elle avait été hospitalisée le 30 octobre dans un centre de la région puis transférée dans un hôpital montréalais. Les symptômes grippaux s’étaient manifestés la veille seulement.

La victime travaillait au service informatique de l’Hôpital Anna-Laberge de Châteauguay. Elle n’était toutefois pas en contact avec des patients.

Elle avait été vaccinée deux jours avant son hospitalisation, mais l’immunité du vaccin se développant au cours des 10 premiers jours après avoir reçu la dose, elle n’était pas protégée.

Il s’agit du premier décès relié au virus dans cette région depuis le début de la deuxième vague de la grippe. Au cours des deux derniers mois, 132 personnes ont été hospitalisées en Montérégie, dont 13 dans un état jugé sévère.

C’est le troisième décès à survenir au Québec depuis le 30 août. Une femme de 85 ans de Québec et une autre de 26 ans de Gatineau ont également été foudroyées par la grippe A(H1N1).

(sources: Gouvernement du Québec, LCN)

http://matin.branchez-vous.com/nouvelles/2009/11/h1n1_deces_en_monteregie.html

BIVERKNINGAR AV VACCINET

Vanliga:
o Ömhet, rodnad och smärta vid injektionsstället och i armen.
o Influensasymtom av typen feber, frossa, trötthet.
o Huvudvärk av lite kraftigare karaktär.
o Värk i kroppen och allmän sjukdomskänsla.
Mindre vanliga:
o Illamående.
o Kräkningar.
o Magont.
o Diarré.
o Yrsel.
o Utslag.
o Sömnlöshet.
Sällsynta:
o Påverkan av nervsystemet genom att antikroppar som bildas också angriper kroppens egen nervvävnad. Det kan leda till tillfällig förlamning, som i de allra flesta fall går tillbaka med eller utan behandling.
Hur många som  drabbats:
o Mer än 200 rapporter om biverkningar har lämnats in till läkemedelsverket. Ytterligare 500 rapporter har lämnats in av privatpersoner.
o 37 patienter har fått allergiska reaktioner som bedömts haft en koppling till vaccinet.
15 av dem har ansetts vara allvarliga.
o Totalt är det drygt 20
rapporter om allvarliga biverkningar som kommit in till läkemedelsverket.
Kommentar från Annika Linde, Smittskyddsinstitutet:
o ”Vi har inte sett några allvarliga biverkningar i någon högre grad hittills. Biverkningsgraden är som förväntat utifrån de förstudier som gjorts.”
Källa: Läkemedelsverket och vårdguiden.

VILKA SKA INTE TA VACCIN?

Du som är sjuk:
o Du som har en pågående infektionssjukdom, exempelvis med feber eller luftvägsinfektion, ska vänta med vaccineringen tills några dagar efter att du har blivit frisk.
Du som är mycket allergisk mot ägg:
o Om du kan vaccinera dig
eller inte beror på hur allergisk du är. Din läkare kan bedöma om du kan vaccineras eller inte. Det finns ett annat typ av vaccin, Celvapan, som inte köpts in till Sverige. Det innehåller inga tillsatser och är ett cellbaserat vaccin vilket innebär att även äggallergiker kan ta det.
Du som har lämnat prov och vet säkert att du redan haft svininfluensan:
o Om du inte har lämnat prov kan du inte veta helt säkert om du haft svininfluensan och rekommenderas därför att  vaccinera dig. Du som har lämnat prov och fått bekräftat att du haft svininfluensan är immun och behöver inte vaccinera dig. Det är inte farligt att
ta vaccinet även om du redan har haft svininfluensan.
Källa: Vardguiden.se

NÄR BÖRJAR DET VERKA?

Så många dagar/ veckor tar det innan du har fullt skydd.
o En till två veckor. Det kan vara individuellt, vissa har snabbare immunsystem än andra.
Dröjer det olika länge för olika grupper?
o För de som har haft en likartad influensa tidigare, framför allt äldre människor, går det snabbare att bygga upp immunförsvaret. Då har man en grundimmunitet att bygga vidare på.
o För barn tar det längre tid. Kroppen börjar reagera på vaccinet omgående, men man har inte ett fullgott skydd förrän efter ungefär två veckor.
Hur vanligt är det att man får svininfluensa efter vaccin?
o Man kan smittas under de första dagarna, men i nuläget finns inga uppgifter på hur
vanligt det är. Enligt Annika Linde kan vi dock räkna med att många kommer att insjukna
efter det att de fått vaccinet men innan det hunnit verka och ger fullgott skydd.
Hur länge är man skyddad?
o Vanligt influensavaccin ger skydd i nio månader. Det här vaccinet anses vara bättre men man vet inte exakt hur länge det ger skydd. Tester ska göras för att följa hur antikroppsnivåerna sjunker och utifrån det ska längden på skyddet avgöras.
Hur säkert är skyddet?
o Mer än 95 procent. Det är en jättebra siffra, för det finns inget vaccin som egentligen ger ett hundraprocentigt skydd efter en spruta.
Källa: Annika Linde, Smittskyddsinstitutet.

HUR LÄNGE SITTER DET I?

Vilka grupper behöver ta två doser?
o Barn 3–12 år. De har inte mött liknande virus tidigare och har inget immunförsvar för detta.
o De som tillhör riskgruppen med sänkt immunförsvar, de som till exempel har hiv eller får cellgifter. Två doser behövs på grund av det nedsatta immunförsvaret.
Vilka grupper behöver inte ta en andra dos?
o Gravida.
o Friska från 13 år och uppåt.
o Riskgruppspatienter med friskt immunförsvar.
Vid vilken tidpunkt ska man ta andra dosen?
o Det ska gå minst tre veckor mellan det första och andra  vaccinationstillfället. Under den tiden hinner immunförsvaret landa ordentligt. Man kan vänta längre tid innan man tar den andra dosen, upp till sex månader.
Källa: Annika Linde, Smittskyddsinstitutet.

http://www.expressen.se/Nyheter/1.1772492/sa-paverkas-din-kropp-av-vaccinet

Normally people do not drop dead after taking a vaccine. More commonly, the adverse effects of taking a vaccine take a while to show up, as only later victims develop autism, dementia, neurological disorders, paralysis, infertility or cancer (among a wide variety of other conditions). However, numerous reports are now coming in from all over Europe of people becoming seriously ill and even dropping dead after getting injected with the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.

*In Sweden, there have been over 350 reported serious adverse reactions to the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, and there have been five people who have died there after taking the vaccine.  Reportedly there is now a media blackout on reporting any additional deaths from the swine flu vaccine as the authorities do not want to discourage people from getting the vaccine.

*In Northern Ireland, a 15-year-old boy fell seriously ill and was on the verge of death less than 24 hours after receiving the swine flu vaccine.

*A 64 year old woman in Hungary recently dropped dead two days after she received the swine flu vaccine.

*The Flu Case website is reporting on other deaths from the swine flu vaccine in Europe, but so far those reports have not been confirmed.

In addition, on our sister site Bird Flu Pandemic, our readers have been reporting numerous horror stories regarding the swine flu vaccine…..

Pina:

my daughter is a nurse. She was at another clinic as a patient one day after H1N1 vaccines started. The staff there let her know that one man collapsed after getting the shot. A nurse that she went to school with had the vaccine and her arm went partially paralyzed. The feeling came back into her arm slightly and now she is in sheer pain.  Don’t get the H1N1 shot, or flu shots if you haven’t.please.

Ann:

My friend was diagnosed w/GBS today. She had the H1N1 vaccine on Tuesday. She woke up friday morn. with one side of her face paralized, now almost her whole face is paralized. She is starting blood and plasma transfusions tonight. She will be transferred to Barnes hospital soon for more extensive testing. To those who laugh at the severity of this strange, unknown sickness and vaccine I hope you stay informed and not ignorant.

Carrie:

I am a healthcare employee…..the only vaccine offered to employees was the live vaccine. I decided to get it and be the “guinea pig” instead of my toddler. Received the nasal spray on Tuesday, woke up Wednesday with a sore throat and stuffy nose, Thursday had a terrible chest congestion/cough with fever and splitting headache, Friday all symptoms were worse and I couldn’t breathe! I was diagnosed on Friday with H1N1 and pneumonia….. good thing I got the vaccine, huh?

The reality is that the swine flu vaccine is untested and unsafe.  The vaccine manufacturers have been given blanket immunity by Congress so you cannot sue them if something goes wrong.  There are going to be many more serious side effects and many more deaths from the swine flu vaccine.  Make sure that your family is not the next vaccine horror story.

http://organichealthadviser.com/archives/h1n1-swine-flu-vaccine-deaths-being-reported-all-over-europe

WARSAW, Poland – Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday that his government won’t buy vaccines for swine flu that have not been properly tested or from producers who won’t take responsibility for possible side effects.

Tusk told reporters that vaccine producers were pressuring governments to buy, but were also demanding that all responsibility and compensation for possible negative side effects fall upon government shoulders.

“Today we are dealing with great pressure from pharmaceutical firms … we are dealing with expectations that hundreds of millions of zlotys (dollars) will be spent on vaccine while no one wants to guarantee that it has no side effects,” he said.

He stressed that the few dozen swine cases in Poland have been mild and no deaths have been reported.

Some independent health experts have been advising vaccination after a recent surge in flu cases in neighbouring Ukraine saw more than 700,000 cases and 109 deaths of people with flu-like illness in recent weeks.

Fourteen of the fatalities were swine flu cases, Polish news agency PAP reported, citing Ukraine’s chief doctor Oleksandr Bilovol.

Polish health officials said a military medical laboratory in Pulawy was testing samples taken in Ukraine from sick people. Poland is also sending face masks to Ukraine.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization said that the swine flu virus has become the predominant flu strain worldwide.

In some countries, swine flu accounts for up to 70 per cent of the flu viruses being sampled, according to Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s top flu official.

While most people recover from the illness without needing medical treatment, officials are also continuing to see severe cases in people under 65 – people who are not usually at risk during regular flu seasons.

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/live/article/361921–polish-pm-poland-not-buying-swine-flu-vaccination-unless-it-has-been-properly-tested

*How convenient. She dies of swine flu two days after receiving the vaccine. It must be an incredible coincidence.*

A 42-year-old Quebec woman has died from complications resulting from the H1N1 virus.

It is the third death in the province since September.

The woman, who worked at the Monteregie Health and Social Services Centre, died Tuesday night.

Public health officials said the woman was not a nurse or front line worker who was in contact with patients.

She had also received the H1N1 vaccination on Oct. 29, two days before coming down with symptoms of the flu.

http://www.advisingvideo.com/index.php/zeitgeist-movement/new-world-order-news/145-quebec-woman-dies-after-h1n1-vaccine

LEGAZPI CITY: The resident volcanologist in Bicol has warned that Mayon Volcano may erupt anytime as indicated by its bulging edifice and other signs of abnormalities, such as volcanic quakes, sulfur gas emissions, lava dome at the crater rim, crater glow and ash explosion. Mount Mayon’s alert status remains at Level 2, which means the volcano remains in a state of unrest that from all indications may lead to a magmatic explosion.

“The magma beneath the Mayon Volcano is building up towards the crater, which signifies a heightened unrest that might lead to a hazardous explosion anytime,” said Ed Laguerta, resident official of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in Bicol.

He said Phivolcs’ ground deformation survey shows the volcano has been inflated by 9.0mm since February 2008 as it continues to swell by 5.0mm.

Laguerta said that the sulfur dioxide gas emitted by the volcano continues to swing within the range of 206 tons to 252 tons a day in the past three days. He said the agency’s FlySpec instruments failed to read sulfur gas emission rate on Wednesday because of cloudy skies.

“The bad weather condition affecting Albay hinders thorough monitoring of volcanic activity,” he said.

On Wednesday, boulders as big as cars tumbled down from the foot of Mayon to the national highway of Padang following the heavy rainfall because of northeast monsoon affecting Luzon and Visayas regions.

The regional center site and seats of the national government agencies in Padang were almost swept by rampaging flash floods associated with volcanic activity.

In Camalig town, Dante Baclao, chief provincial engineer, said the dike that protects the area from rampaging flash floods has collapsed.

Navy Lt. Darwin Nieva, Regional Disaster Coordination Council spokesman, said the moderate to heavy rains spawned by the northeast monsoon caused volcanic debris to cascade down the volcano’s slopes. The rains also submerged portions of the Maharlika Highways in the town of Camalig and Barangay Padang in floodwaters.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol has also issued a General Flood Advisory raising alert status in areas prone to floods, lahar and landslides. These are Cadacan and Matnog rivers in Sorsogon; Cabuyan, Bato and Pajo rivers in Catanduanes, and Mayon Volcano slopes and river channels in Albay.

“The OCD advisory directed all local disaster council in these areas to be on heightened alert for possible lahar, floods and landslides brought by moderate to heavy rains,” Nieva said.

Phivolcs seismic networks at the Lignon Hill observatory detected six high and low frequency earthquakes on Wednesday, bringing to 110 the total volcanic quakes recorded in a week (October 26 to November 1).

Gov. Joey Salceda of Bicol reiterated to the military and police the need to keep the off-limit regulation strictly enforced in the 6-km radius Permanent Danger Zone and the 7-km Extended Danger Zone on the southeast flank of the volcano.

Salceda had said the province is be facing a combo disaster should Mayon Volcano erupt amid the bad weather condition.

He also advised the residents near the volcano’s river channels and in areas on the path of lahar flow in the southeast sector to stay alert, especially during heavy and prolonged rainfall.

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/component/content/article/42-rokstories/5412-mount-mayon-may-explode-anytime–phivolcs-official

After infected cases double again in the Ukraine plague approaching the
1 million mark, the World Health Organization (WHO) is holding back gene sequences which could provide evidence of the mutation or recombination of the H1N1 or novel virus.

The numbers of cases from the latest update from Ukraine total 910, 640 hospitalized and Influenza cases (including acute respiratory illess). A total of 135 people have die according to official statistics.

The number of cases in Ukraine continues to expand. The number of patients with H1N1 symptoms is now approaching 1 million. Cases have been increasing at almost 200,000 per day, so it is likely that tomorrow’s report will have over 1 million cases. This rapid spread increases concern that the 15 sequences at Mill Hill contain one or more of these small changes, which has led to a delay in the announcement of sequence results.

More detail on the sequences at Mill Hill is overdue. The rapid spread of H1N1 in Ukraine demands rapid sequence results. Continued delay will only raise speculations and concerns.

http://preventdisease.com/news/09/110709_more_cover-ups_ukraine_plague_cases_double.shtml