Daily Archives: January 14, 2016

Psoriasis – eMedTV: Health Information Brought To Life

Posted: January 14, 2016 at 6:42 pm

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that causes areas of thickened, swollen, and red skin, often covered with silver scales.

In people without psoriasis, skin cells grow deep in the skin and slowly rise to the surface. This process is called cell turnover, and it takes about a month. With psoriasis, it can happen in just a few days because the cells rise too fast and pile up on the surface.

This disease affects 2 percent to 2.6 percent of the United States population, or between 5.8 and 7.5 million people. Anyone can get psoriasis, but it occurs more often in adults. Sometimes there is a family history of the disease. Certain genes have been linked to it, and men and women get psoriasis at about the same rate.

This condition begins in the immune system, mainly with a type of white blood cell called a T cell. T cells help protect the body against infection and disease. With psoriasis, T cells are put into action by mistake. They become so active that they set off other immune responses. This leads to swelling and fast turnover of skin cells.

People with this condition may notice that sometimes the skin gets better and sometimes it gets worse. Things that can cause your symptoms to worsen include:

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Psoriasis – KidsHealth

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When Jackie was 15, patches of skin near her elbows turned thick and red and began to itch. Sometimes it would get a little better. Other times it got worse. But it never seemed to go away.

Jackie's doctor told her she had a condition known as psoriasis. He recommended a prescription cream and suggested Jackie get outside for 20 minutes in the early mornings before the sun got too strong.

Psoriasis (pronounced: suh-RYE-uh-sus) is a disease that causes skin cells to build up on the surface of the skin. There they form itchy, red areas (called plaques) and thick scales. Psoriasis can appear anywhere on the body, but is usually found on the scalp, knees, elbows, and torso.

Psoriasis can get better then worse again. It may seem to disappear and then come back. Once someone has it, though, the tendency to get outbreaks isn't likely to go away permanently. For many people, psoriasis isn't a big deal. For others, it can be quite serious.

Right now, there's no cure for psoriasis, but there are good ways to treat it. Eating healthy foods, using moisturizers, and keeping weight in a normal range seem to help for some people. If psoriasis gets bad, though, most people need to see a doctor.

Doctors aren't sure why people get psoriasis, but they do know how the disease works. We all have a kind of white blood cell, called a T lymphocyte (or T cell), in our blood. These cells are part of the immune system. They travel through the bloodstream fighting off bacteria, viruses, and other things that make us sick. Psoriasis causes a person's T cells to mistakenly attack healthy skin as if they were trying to fight an infection or heal a wound.

When psoriasis triggers T cells to attack healthy skin, the body's immune system reacts as it would to a wound or infection it sends more blood to the area to make skin cells and white blood cells.

Our skin cells are made deep in the skin. Normally, they take about a month to rise to the surface. Once they get there, they die and are sloughed off. With psoriasis, this process is sped up. Skin cells rise to the surface in a few days instead of a month.

The dead skin and white blood cells can't be shed quickly enough. They build up on the surface of the skin as thick red patches. As the skin cells die, they form silvery scales that eventually flake off.

You can't catch psoriasis from another person. You may inherit the genes that make you more likely to get it, though. About 40% of people with psoriasis have a family member who has the disease.

Some of the things that can increase the chances of a psoriasis outbreak are:

People with psoriasis will probably notice one or more of these things:

There are different types of psoriasis:

If you think you might have psoriasis, it's a good idea to see a doctor. He or she will look at your skin, scalp, and nails. The doctor will also ask questions if anyone in your family has psoriasis, if you've been ill recently, or if you've started a new medication.

In some cases, the doctor may remove a sample of skin (known as a biopsy) to examine it more closely. A biopsy can help doctors decide whether someone has psoriasis or another condition with similar symptoms.

There are lots of ways to treat psoriasis. Different treatments work for different people, so doctors often try a few to find the one that works best:

A doctor might try one therapy for a while and then switch to another. Or a doctor may combine different therapies. It's all about finding one that works for each person.

Sometimes what works for a while might stop working. This is one reason why it's important to work closely with a doctor. Trying out new treatments can get a little frustrating, but most people eventually find one that works.

Making healthy choices can help with psoriasis. Here are some things you can do:

People who have psoriasis may feel self-conscious about how it looks. That's one reason why some people turn to a trained therapist or join a support group of people who understand what they might be going through.

The key to psoriasis treatment is keeping up on whatever your doctor prescribes. If that means applying an ointment twice a day, then find a way to remind yourself to do it (like setting an alarm on your phone) so you don't forget. Psoriasis is one of those things that you need to stay focused on treating, even when you're feeling OK.

Reviewed by: Rupal Christine Gupta, MD Date reviewed: April 2015

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Psoriasis – American Family Physician

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1. Gudjonsson JE, Elder JT. Psoriasis: epidemiology. Clin Dermatol. 2007;25(6):535546....

2. Langley RG, Krueger GG, Griffiths CE. Psoriasis: epidemiology, clinical features, and quality of life. Ann Rheum Dis. 2005;64(suppl 2):ii18ii23.

3. Capon F, Trembath RC, Barker JN. An update on the genetics of psoriasis. Dermatol Clin. 2004;22(4):339347.

4. Menter A, Gottlieb A, Feldman SR, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: Section 1. Overview of psoriasis and guidelines of care for the treatment of psoriasis with biologics. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008;58(5):826850.

5. Kimball AB, Gladman D, Gelfand JM, et al. National Psoriasis Foundation clinical consensus on psoriasis comorbidities and recommendations for screening. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008;58(6):10311042.

6. Griffiths CE, Barker JN. Pathogenesis and clinical features of psoriasis. Lancet. 2007;370(9583):263271.

7. Habif TP. Psoriasis and other papulosquamous diseases. In: Clinical Dermatology. 5th ed. Hanover, N.H.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010:264275.

8. Reich K. Approach to managing patients with nail psoriasis. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2009;23(suppl 1):1521.

9. Gottlieb A, Korman NJ, Gordon KB, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: Section 2. Psoriatic arthritis: overview and guidelines of care for treatment with an emphasis on the biologics. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008;58(5):851864.

10. Taylor W, Gladman D, Helliwell P, Marchesoni A, Mease P, Mielants H; CASPAR Study Group. Classification criteria for psoriatic arthritis: development of new criteria from a large international study. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54(8):26652673.

11. Krueger G, Koo J, Lebwohl M, Menter A, Stern RS, Rolstad T. The impact of psoriasis on quality of life: results of a 1998 National Psoriasis Foundation patient-membership survey. Arch Dermatol. 2001;137(3):280284.

12. Gelfand JM, Feldman SR, Stern RS, Thomas J, Rolstad T, Margolis DJ. Determinants of quality of life in patients with psoriasis: a study from the US population. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2004;51(5):704708.

13. Horn EJ, Fox KM, Patel V, Kimball AB, Gordon KB, Lebwohl MG. Treatment satisfaction and health-related quality of life among individuals with psoriasis: National Psoriasis Foundation Survey Findings. Psoriasis Forum. 2008;14(2):2734.

14. Rapp SR, Feldman SR, Exum ML, Fleischer AB Jr, Reboussin DM. Psoriasis causes as much disability as other major medical diseases. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1999;41(3 pt 1):401407.

15. Hsu S, Papp KA, Lebwohl MG, et al.; National Psoriasis Foundation Medical Board. Consensus guidelines for the management of plaque psoriasis. Arch Dermatol. 2012;148(1):95102.

16. Menter A, Korman NJ, Elmets CA, et al.; American Academy of Dermatology. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Section 3. Guidelines of care for the management and treatment of psoriasis with topical therapies. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2009;60(4):643659.

17. Drugdex system. http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/healthcare/healthcare_products/a-z/drugdex_system/. Accessed May 8, 2012.

18. Menter A, Korman NJ, Elmets CA, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: Section 5. Guidelines of care for the treatment of psoriasis with phototherapy and photochemotherapy. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2010;62(1):114135.

19. Stelara (ustekinumab) [package insert]. Horsham, Pa.: Janssen Biotech; 2012. http://www.stelarainfo.com/pdf/PrescribingInformation.pdf. Accessed May 8, 2012.

20. Clinical pharmacology. http://www.clinicalpharmacology.com [login required]. Accessed January 4, 2012.

21. Del Rosso JQ, Kim GK. The rationale behind topical vitamin D analogs in the treatment of psoriasis: where does topical calcitrol fit in? J Clin Aesthetic Derm. August 2010. http://www.jcadonline.com/the-rationale-behind-topical-vitamin-d-analogs-in-the-treatment-of-psoriasis-where-does-topical-calcitriol-fit-in/. Accessed May 8, 2012.

22. Menter A, Korman NJ, Elmets CA, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: Section 4. Guidelines of care for the management and treatment of psoriasis with traditional systemic agents. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2009;61(3):451485.

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psoriasis | pathology | Britannica.com

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Psoriasis,psoriasis kenxro/Shutterstock.coma chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin disorder. The most common type, called plaque psoriasis (psoriasis vulgaris), is characterized by reddish, slightly elevated patches or papules (solid elevations) covered with silvery-white scales. In most cases, the lesions tend to be symmetrically distributed on the elbows and knees, scalp, chest, and buttocks. The lesions may remain small and solitary or coalesce into large plaques that often form geometrical patterns with a central area of normal skin. In many cases the nails become thickened, irregularly laminated, and brittle. In addition to plaque psoriasis, there are four other types of psoriasis, including guttate, pustular, inverse (or flexular), and erythrodermic.

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated (or autoimmune) disorder that occurs when immune cells known as T lymphocytes, or T cells, attack healthy skin cells in both the nonvascular horny outer layer of the skin and its deeper vascular layer. This attack causes the life span of the skin cells to shorten to about 3 to 5 days (skin cells normally live about 20 to 28 days) and forces the cells to reproduce more rapidly than normal. Psoriasis occurs in both sexes with equal frequency, being most prevalent between the ages of 10 and 30. It is most often seen in northern climates. An estimated 2 to 3 percent of the U.S. population is affected by psoriasis. In contrast, between 0.05 and 0.3 percent of Asians experience the condition. In European countries the incidence of psoriasis is highly variable, affecting anywhere from less than 1 percent to more than 6 percent of populations.

The onset of psoriasis is usually gradual but occasionally explosive. Precipitating factors may include injury to the skin, acute infection, and psychological upsets. Ordinarily, the lesions become less severe and sometimes disappear during the summer, possibly owing to the effect of sunlight. The severe complications of psoriasis are extensive sloughing of the outer layer of the skin, with resulting inflammation, and psoriatic arthritis. Generally, however, individuals with psoriasis are in relatively good health. The variability in the progression and severity of the disorder has led researchers to suspect that the underlying causes of psoriasis are the result of complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors.

There is no permanent cure for psoriasis, but there are a variety of treatments aimed at relieving the associated skin symptoms. Topical treatments for psoriasis come in different forms (e.g., creams and gels) and generally provide relief from inflammation and scaling. Some, such as retinoids (derivatives of vitamin A) and synthetic forms of vitamin D, work by slowing skin cell reproduction, whereas others, such as corticosteroids, coal-tar ointment, and salicylic acid, work by reducing inflammation. Psoriasis can also be treated with phototherapy, in which the skin is exposed to ultraviolet light. While phototherapy can be highly effective, it does have side effects, including pain, irregular pigmentation, and scarring. In addition, long-term treatments are associated with an increased risk of skin cancer. Oral medications are also available to treat psoriasis but are often used as a last resort. This is because the drugs that are most effective in treating psoriasis suppress the immune system, making patients susceptible to a multitude of infections and illnesses that can be life-threatening. Oral drugs that are used to reduce inflammation include methotrexate, cyclosporine, and azathioprine. Oral drugs called biologics (because they are made from human or animal proteins) modulate the immune system by attacking immune cells that are working improperly. Several biologics have been approved for psoriasis, including alefacept (Amevive), infliximab (Remicade), and etanercept (Enbrel).

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Censorship – Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Censorship is when an authority (such as a government or religion) cuts out or suppresses communication.

This has been done widely. All countries, religions and societies have their limits as to what can be said, or written or communication by art or nowadays by computer.

Certain facts are changed or removed on purpose. This may be done because it is considered wrong, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or other authority. This can be done for different reasons.

A censor is a person whose job is to look at all types of media and remove material. There are many reasons to censor something, like protecting military secrets, stopping immoral or anti-religious works, or keeping political power. Censorship is almost always used as an insult, and there is much debate over what censorship is and when it is okay.

When there is freedom of speech and freedom of the press, most information can published. However, even in developed countries with much freedom of the press, there are some things that cannot be published. For example, journalists are usually not allowed to publish many secrets about the military, like where troops will be sent on a mission. Pornography is censored in some countries because it is seen as not moral. For these reasons, the government might arrest anyone who publishes it.

Most often things are censored for one or more of the following reasons:

There is much debate about when censorship should be allowed. For example, U.S. President Richard Nixon censored the New York Times when they tried to publish articles about the Pentagon Papers, a group of classified military documents that showed that Nixon and the military lied about the Vietnam War. The Supreme Court in New York Times Co v. United States overturned the censorship, saying that Nixon had not shown it would be dangerous to the military, just embarrassing. In other countries, journalists and bloggers (who are usually not seen as journalists) are sometimes arrested for saying bad things about the government. In Egypt, Kareem Amer was famously arrested for insulting Islam and calling the president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, a dictator. [2]

Governments are not the only ones who censor information. For example, when the history department at Middlebury College did not allow professors to accept Wikipedia as a source in papers, some said it was censorship.[3] This was because the department was telling professors (who usually have academic freedom) what works they should and should not accept. Sometimes, a group or a website will not allow some facts, articles, and pictures that they do not think should be seen. There is much debate over the difference between censorship and editing, that is, deciding what should or should not be published.

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Against Censorship :: essays research papers

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Censorship

Today I would like to talk about

censorship. Censorship is the removal of information from the public. Today censorship is a

phase of social control. It is becoming more and more common all over the world today. It

reaches as far as political power and public opinion. Often censorship is undertaken by

governments. Censorship is closely tied in as a concept with freedom of speech and other forms

of human expression. The censorship of opinion for the most part was restricted to the control

of speech rather than of printing. The censorship of free speech attempted to control the

audience. The purpose of this speech is to give information regarding censorship knowledge.

Censorship occurs when expressive materials, like books, magazines, films and videos, or works

of art, are removed or kept from the public. Censorship also occurs when materials are

restricted to particular audiences, based on their age or other characteristics. A few types of

censorship are political, religious, and the the censorship of music, but there are many more.

Political censorship occurs when the government conceals secrets from their citizens, while

religious censorship is when any material of a certain faith is removed. This often involves a

dominant religion forcing limitations on less dominant ones. Many musicians protested against

censorship in music and pushed for more freedom of expression. Considerable amounts of music

has been banned since the 1950's all the way to the present. One example is that

many states in the U.S. decided to make it illegal for selling N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton

album and the fines for catching anyone would go from $10,00 to $100,00 depending on how

many minors were involved.

When a society has freedom, citizens can collect and distribute any information they want

without any restraints. Another example is that in the Canadian Charter of Rights and

Freedoms, it clearly states that Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: the

freedom of thought, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of

communication." which means that this material in any form cannot be altered by the government

in any way. Also, citizens have the right to access information in all forms of media to be able to

watch, read or listen to whatever they want. The concept of freedom involves protecting the

rights of all individuals to pursue the types of information and to read anything that interests

them. The society has the right to voice opinions and try to persuade others to adopt their

opinions. Censorship believes that certain materials are too offensive, or present ideas that are

too hateful and destructive to society, that they simply must not be shown to the public. I think

everyone has a voice and an opinion and unfortunately, sometimes their voice is censored and

denied the right to express their opinion because it is different. I think censorship is wrong

because it denies an individual the chance to be heard simply because they have different ideas.

The only solution to the problem is to voice our opinion.

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Futurism – Art Movements

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An Italian avant-garde art movement that took speed, technology and modernity as its inspiration, Futurism portrayed the dynamic character of 20th century life, glorified war and the machine age, and favoured the growth of Fascism.

The movement was at its strongest from 1909, when Filippo Marinettis first manifesto of Futurism appeared, until the end of World War One. Futurism was unique in that it was a self-invented art movement.

The idea of Futurism came first, followed by a fanfare of publicity; it was only afterwards that artists could find a means to express it. Marinettis manifesto, printed on the front page of Le Figaro, was bombastic and inflammatory in tone set fire to the library shelves flood the museums suggesting that he was more interested in shocking the public than exploring Futurisms themes.

Painters in the movement did have a serious intent beyond Marinettis bombast, however. Their aim was to portray sensations as a synthesis of what one remembers and of what one sees, and to capture what they called the force lines of objects.

The futurists representation of forms in motion influenced many painters, including Marcel Duchamp and Robert Delaunay, and such movements as Cubism and Russian Constructivism.

Representative Artists: Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Giacomo Balla Umberto Boccioni Carlo Carr Gino Severini

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Singularity: The Influence Of New Order

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Simon Stephens is a playwright, previously Resident Dramatist at the prestigious Royal Court Theatre (UK) and he is currently Artist Associate at the Lyric in Hammersmith, London. He's won numerous awards, most recently for his script for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which won an Olivier and a Tony. He was also bassist in the band Country Teasers. Photo by Kevin Cummins.

I grew up wanting to write because of the music that I heard not because of the plays that I saw or the books that I read.

I went to the kind of school where admitting to a love of literature or an interest in theatre would lead to getting your head kicked in. So I kept these things to myself. But I could be fearless about music. And I grew up in Stockport, on the edge of a city where the best music in the world was being made.

The angst and the shit of a teenage suburban life were soothed by the dissonant snarl of Mark E Smith and melancholic comedy of Morrissey and the promise of swagger and glory of the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses. And then there was New Order.

I would stay up until two in the morning on a Sunday night listening to Manchesters bespoke John Peel, Tony Michaelides Last Radio Programme and it was there that I properly heard New Order for the first time. The gorgeous rumble of Blue Monday might have been one of those surprisingly cool chart sensations that existed on the more alert peripheries of my 12-year-old consciousness but I never properly listened to it. It was Perfect Kiss that ripped my skull open.

It is an astonishing song. Astonishing because of its gorgeous rhythms and haunting, deeply sad and weirdly uplifting melody but astonishing, to my teenage head, because of the jarring drama of Bernard Sumners lyric. For eighteen months the couplet pretending not to see his gun I said lets go out and have some fun rattled round my head. What world was being opened by this mans pop heart? A word of secrecy and danger and battered attempts at friendship and compassion. I remember playing the song to my friends and trying to get them to see how much of a work of genius the song was. Im not sure they ever got it like I did. But when I look at my plays now I think that the same tension between danger and compassion underpins all the stories I have tried to tell in the plays that I have written. Like Im still trying to see if people get it in the way that New order palpably did.

Lowlife the album Perfect Kiss came from was a masterpiece. I listened to it constantly. Technique though was something else altogether. Coming, in my blurred inaccurate memory, in the wake of the arrival of Stone Roses and Happy Mondays on Top of The Pops it took their swagger and with humour and grace and deeper proper sadness made those two brilliant bands look like children. It is, I think, the best album of the eighties.

Ive listened to it now for twenty-five years. With its ecstasy driven rhythms and glorious melodies it still catches me by surprise. And those dramas are there. That search for the possibility of love or compassion in a battered Manchester that had yet to be changed by the investments of the nineties haunted me and made sense of that 192 bus route from Stockport into town.

It is an album that sits in the metabolism of my play Port. Port is a play that dramatizes the life of a girl growing up around the same time that I did in the same town with the same sense of self and yearning for escape. It was directed by Marianne Elliot at the Royal Exchange Theatre in 2002 and revived by her at the National theatre in 2013.

The music of Manchester at that time was rich in its spirit and used in its sound design.

In the scene change from the first scene where her Racheal, the plays heroine, watches her Mother leave her forever to the second where she has become a surrogate mother for her brother, she grows from the age of 9 to the age of 11. On the huge cavernous stage of the Royal Exchange and ten years later in the enormous Lyttleton stage at the National Marianne and sound designer Ian Dickinson cranked All The Way to a maximum volume as Racheal faced her future.

In those huge rooms Bernie sang out. It takes years to find the nerve to be apart from what youve done, to find the truth beside yourself and not depend on any one.

What a glorious lyric to hear hollering around the magical halls of Englands greatest theatres. Every time I heard it in performance, and when I hear it still, its hard to stop the hairs on my arm from standing on end. Bernie was singing Racheals song. But he was singing a song that cut to the quick of my teenage sense of self and still, to a degree, my sense of self now. With that quicksilver mix of tenderness and defiance that always galvanised me. He is a writer who makes me want to write. Always was. Always will be.

I am very, very glad he and his band are back. We are far richer for their presence.

-Simon Stephens

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Big Bang Theory

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You are here: Science >> Big Bang Theory

Big Bang Theory - The Premise The Big Bang theory is an effort to explain what happened at the very beginning of our universe. Discoveries in astronomy and physics have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that our universe did in fact have a beginning. Prior to that moment there was nothing; during and after that moment there was something: our universe. The big bang theory is an effort to explain what happened during and after that moment.

According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence as "singularity" around 13.7 billion years ago. What is a "singularity" and where does it come from? Well, to be honest, we don't know for sure. Singularities are zones which defy our current understanding of physics. They are thought to exist at the core of "black holes." Black holes are areas of intense gravitational pressure. The pressure is thought to be so intense that finite matter is actually squished into infinite density (a mathematical concept which truly boggles the mind). These zones of infinite density are called "singularities." Our universe is thought to have begun as an infinitesimally small, infinitely hot, infinitely dense, something - a singularity. Where did it come from? We don't know. Why did it appear? We don't know.

After its initial appearance, it apparently inflated (the "Big Bang"), expanded and cooled, going from very, very small and very, very hot, to the size and temperature of our current universe. It continues to expand and cool to this day and we are inside of it: incredible creatures living on a unique planet, circling a beautiful star clustered together with several hundred billion other stars in a galaxy soaring through the cosmos, all of which is inside of an expanding universe that began as an infinitesimal singularity which appeared out of nowhere for reasons unknown. This is the Big Bang theory.

Big Bang Theory - Common Misconceptions There are many misconceptions surrounding the Big Bang theory. For example, we tend to imagine a giant explosion. Experts however say that there was no explosion; there was (and continues to be) an expansion. Rather than imagining a balloon popping and releasing its contents, imagine a balloon expanding: an infinitesimally small balloon expanding to the size of our current universe.

Another misconception is that we tend to image the singularity as a little fireball appearing somewhere in space. According to the many experts however, space didn't exist prior to the Big Bang. Back in the late '60s and early '70s, when men first walked upon the moon, "three British astrophysicists, Steven Hawking, George Ellis, and Roger Penrose turned their attention to the Theory of Relativity and its implications regarding our notions of time. In 1968 and 1970, they published papers in which they extended Einstein's Theory of General Relativity to include measurements of time and space.1, 2 According to their calculations, time and space had a finite beginning that corresponded to the origin of matter and energy."3 The singularity didn't appear in space; rather, space began inside of the singularity. Prior to the singularity, nothing existed, not space, time, matter, or energy - nothing. So where and in what did the singularity appear if not in space? We don't know. We don't know where it came from, why it's here, or even where it is. All we really know is that we are inside of it and at one time it didn't exist and neither did we.

Big Bang Theory - Evidence for the Theory What are the major evidences which support the Big Bang theory?

Big Bang Theory - The Only Plausible Theory? Is the standard Big Bang theory the only model consistent with these evidences? No, it's just the most popular one. Internationally renown Astrophysicist George F. R. Ellis explains: "People need to be aware that there is a range of models that could explain the observations.For instance, I can construct you a spherically symmetrical universe with Earth at its center, and you cannot disprove it based on observations.You can only exclude it on philosophical grounds. In my view there is absolutely nothing wrong in that. What I want to bring into the open is the fact that we are using philosophical criteria in choosing our models. A lot of cosmology tries to hide that."4

In 2003, Physicist Robert Gentry proposed an attractive alternative to the standard theory, an alternative which also accounts for the evidences listed above.5 Dr. Gentry claims that the standard Big Bang model is founded upon a faulty paradigm (the Friedmann-lemaitre expanding-spacetime paradigm) which he claims is inconsistent with the empirical data. He chooses instead to base his model on Einstein's static-spacetime paradigm which he claims is the "genuine cosmic Rosetta." Gentry has published several papers outlining what he considers to be serious flaws in the standard Big Bang model.6 Other high-profile dissenters include Nobel laureate Dr. Hannes Alfvn, Professor Geoffrey Burbidge, Dr. Halton Arp, and the renowned British astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle, who is accredited with first coining the term "the Big Bang" during a BBC radio broadcast in 1950.

Big Bang Theory - What About God? Any discussion of the Big Bang theory would be incomplete without asking the question, what about God? This is because cosmogony (the study of the origin of the universe) is an area where science and theology meet. Creation was a supernatural event. That is, it took place outside of the natural realm. This fact begs the question: is there anything else which exists outside of the natural realm? Specifically, is there a master Architect out there? We know that this universe had a beginning. Was God the "First Cause"? We won't attempt to answer that question in this short article. We just ask the question:

Does God Exist?

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U.S. National Security Agency News – The New York Times

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National Security Agency has found way to replace program that collected Americans' emails in bulk; it continues to analyze social links revealed by American's email patterns, but without collecting Internet metadata within United States, and with less oversight by Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. MORE

Judge Richard J Leon of United States District Court for District of Columbia orders National Security Agency to stop collecting records for an individual Verizon customer, just weeks before program is scheduled to be shut down and replaced; says program is most likely unconstitutional. MORE

European Parliament issues strongest support yet for Edward J Snowden, recognizing him as 'whistle-blower and international human rights defender'; designation is non-binding and while former National Security Agency contractor is currently in Russia, no countries in Europe have offered Snowden permanent asylum to date. MORE

Federal appeals court allows National Security Agency bulk phone records program to continue until it will end as decreed by bill passed by Congress, thereby avoiding definitive ruling on whether program is violation of Fourth Amendment's constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. MORE

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward J Snowden opens Twitter account, garnering more than 160,000 followers in single hour; opening Tweet contains joke about NSA phone surveillance. MORE

Newly declassified report on NSA surveillance program under Pres George W Bush contextualizes clash in 2004 between Bush and his attorney general, who was hospitalized at time, over program's scope and legality; bedside debate led to president retroactively authorizing collection of domestic phone records, which have since been deemed illegal. MORE

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rules NSA may continue collecting phone records of millions of Americans until new law set to ban practice goes into effect in late November 2015. MORE

Documents provided by former National Security Agency contractor Edward J Snowden reveal that AT&T's collaboration with agency on Internet spying operations was far more extensive than that of other telecommunications companies; unique and especially productive partnership provided NSA with billions of emails as well as assistance in wiretapping of all Internet communications at United Nations headquarters. MORE

Release of 350 page document from 2010 sheds light on surveillance program established by Bush administration to counteract terrorism after September 11; call records of millions of Americans obtained by National Security Agency under secret interpretation of provision in Patriot Act was deemed illegal by appeals court ruling in early May. MORE

Obama administration announces that National Security Agency will no longer be permitted to keep old phone records used to analyze links between callers in search of terrorism suspects after Nov 29, 2015. MORE

National Security Agency sponsors dozens of free overnight and day camps around country that aim at introducing middle- and high-school-age students to cyber-security tools and techniques; camps are part of effort to reach out to potential recruits for next generation's cybersecurity workforce. MORE

American Civil Liberties Union asks federal appeals court to shut down part of National Security Agency program that collects American phone records in bulk, move that may set up conflict between regular court system and secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. MORE

WikiLeaks releases American intelligence document containing telephone numbers of high-ranking German government officials, including Chancellor Angela Merkels top aides and senior figures from previous administrations; document, dating back to 1990s, adds to controversy surrounding United States intelligence service practices. MORE

Newly leaked material by Wikileaks revisits question of when and how much spying National Security Agency did on German government and Chancellor Angela Merkel; files also cover discussions about Germany's position on Greek debt crisis. MORE

Embattled Brazilian Pres Dilma Rousseff plays down concerns about 2013 spying scandal during White House visit, saying she has accepted Pres Obama's pledge that National Security Agency's wiretapping has ended; Rousseff's visit seems focused on courting American investment as she grapples with tanking economy at home. MORE

American Civil Liberties Union says it will ask United States Court of Appeals for Second Circuit to issue injunction to halt once-secret National Security Agency program in which records of domestic phone calls were collected in bulk; NSA was given go-ahead to resume program by Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and ACLU request may pit two courts against one another. MORE

Mattathias Schwartz First Words column contends word 'relevant,' when used by National Security Agency, expands to include all information gathered in bulk collection of phone records; says use of word allows spying on citizens with impunity, since no information is irrelevant. MORE

French government reacts with modulated response to information published by WikiLeaks and media groups that United States' National Security Agency spied on French presidents and other senior officials from 2016 to 2012. MORE

British intelligence documents provided by former National Security Agency contractor Edward J Snowden to The Guardian news media describe American drone strikes that killed Khadim Usamah, along with other such airstrikes and counter-terrorism efforts; documents raise possibility British intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters aided American targeted strikes. MORE

WikiLeaks releases documents saying United States National Security Agency eavesdropped on last three French presidents, Francoise Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac. MORE

Harald Range, Germany's federal prosecutor, announces that he has dropped formal investigation of accusations that National Security Agency eavesdropped on cellphone owned by Chancellor Angela Merkel, citing lack of evidence. MORE

Classifed National Security Agency documents provided by Edward J Snowden indicate Obama administration, sans public notice, has expanded agency's warrantless surveillance of Americans' international internet traffic to hunt for evidence of malicious computer hacking; disclosures come at time of pernicious cyberattacks, but also of increased scrutiny of legal rights for more government surveillance. MORE

Op-Ed article by Edward J Snowden expresses satisfaction that two years after he revealed extent of National Security Agency's surveillance of American citizens, there is now wide consensus that such activities were illegal and many of them have been stopped; warns that while progress has made, right to privacy is still under threat. MORE

News Analysis; Pr
es Obama's revision of National Security Agency's phone record collection program seeks to tailor program to his own competing aims of addressing privacy concerns while preserving means of monitoring terrorist activity; in so doing, Obama has solidified his ownership of controversial program begun by predecessor George W Bush. MORE

Senate passes bill scaling back federal government's extensive surveillance of American phone records, and Pres Obama signs it; legislation signifies significant overhaul of national security policy formed after 9-11 terrorist attacks, and is rebuke to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who fought forcefully against lessening government surveillance powers. MORE

Sen Rand Paul's libertarian stance on national security issues, including his rather lonely fight against National Security Agency's surveillance of American citizens, has endeared him to supporters of his father Ron Paul during former congressman's past presidential bids; many of the elder Paul's backers have been slow to warm to Sen Rand Paul, questioning his commitment to his father's ultra libertarian ideals. MORE

Obama administration is pressing Senate not to substantially alter House-passed USA Freedom Act, given that authorizations for National Security Agency have lapsed and any changes to bill's provisions would necessarily entail lengthy negotiations that could delay agency's reinstatement. MORE

Congressional Memo; Sen Mitch McConnell, after losing battle to extend National Security Agency programs, is being forced to embrace a House-passed NSA overhaul that he fears will weaken national security. MORE

News Analysis; interviews with intelligence experts suggest that there are several available workarounds as National Security Agency grapples with temporary expiration of Patriot Act provisions that allowed it to gather phone records en masse; key aspect is 'grandfather clause' that maintains powers for any investigation that was begun before June 1, 2015; records can also be obtained by grand jury subpoena if necessary. MORE

Provisions of Patriot Act allowing government to amass phone records temporarily expires following caustic Senate session in which Sen Rand Paul blocked extension; revised edition of law, which will curtail some bulk data collection by National Security Agency, is likely to pass in coming week; developments reflect profound shift in American attitudes toward data collection since days following Sept 11 attacks. MORE

Republican Sen Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has been shunned and mocked by colleagues in his party, succeeds in temporarily blocking vote on renewal of section of Patriot Act that gives broad surveillance authority to National Security Agency. MORE

Battle in Congress over National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records is being waged among different Republican factions, with defense hawks squaring off against libertarians and new members clashing with old; Senate has been tasked with creating passable compromise bill, feat likely to prove challenging. MORE

Pres Obama presses Senate to pass legislation known as USA Freedom Act, warning that allowing National Security Agency's domestic surveillance programs to lapse will make country more vulnerable to terrorist attack. MORE

Editorial welcomes fact that provisions within Patriot Act giving federal authorities broad surveillance powers, which led to National Security Agency's collection of bulk phone data, are set to expire; calls for thorough debate regarding such surveillance powers and underscores necessity of balancing such powers with meaningful judicial oversight. MORE

Obama administration urges Congress to reach deal on legislation governing National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records before June 1 deadline, warning that failure to do so will leave United States vulnerable to terrorist attacks. MORE

Pres Obama issues warning to Senate about risks attendant upon lawmakers failing to renew surveillance programs authorized by USA Patriot Act; it is unlikely that lawmakers will pass extension before scheduled expiration date, which means Obama administration and National Security Agency will lack legal authority to carry out such programs for some time. MORE

Congressional leaders, with deadline looming, take unusual step of working during recess to reach agreement on changes to USA Freedom Act that would rein in National Security Agency's phone data collection authority. MORE

Obama administration is examining how expiration of three counterterrorism laws allowing government to collect telephone and other data will affect future of effort, even as bulk collection of phone records winds down; at issue is treatment of phone records already collected by government and investigations already under way; Senate remains divided on whether to continue or replace National Security Agency's phone records program. MORE

Senate's failure to advance legislation on National Security Agency reform highlights discord among Republican leaders; after failing to get extension of federal government's bulk collection of phone records program, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has found promises he made about Senates operation hard to keep. MORE

Senate rejects legislation that would revise Patriot Act to limit federal government's bulk collection of phone records; vote, and subsequent failure of short-term measure to extend program beyond June 1 expiration date, raises likelihood that government will lose access to phone records after deadline, creating security vulnerability. MORE

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward J Snowden, facing espionage charges in United States and living in exile in Russia, is speaking by video to audiences worldwide and gaining victories both in Congress and federal court; has no apparent prospect of leaving Russia soon, as prosecutors show no inclination to offer him acceptable plea bargain. MORE

News Analysis; House vote to end and replace National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records is striking because open debate about cost of national security has been rare in 14 years since Sept 11 attacks; highlights question of where to draw line between advantages of secrecy and demands for openness in shadow of war on terror that shows no sign of abating. MORE

House of Representatives approves, 338 to 88, bill to halt National Security Agency's collection of data related to Americans' phone records under Patriot Act; vote places high pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring Senate, which is more divided on issue, into line with House ahead of June 1 deadline. MORE

Brian McFadden The Strip comic offers up variety of real-life conspiracies that American voters should be concerned about, such as current campaign financing laws, police brutality and National Security Agency spying on Americans. MORE

Federal appeals court's decision that National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records is illegal
complicates bipartisan effort in Congress to overhaul program. MORE

United States Court of Appeals rules National Security Agency program that is systematically collecting Americans' bulk phone records is illegal; three judges say Patriot Act does not cover domestic calling records; provision is set expire June 1, and ruling is liable to ratchet up Congressional tension. MORE

Editorial applauds ruling by three-judge federal appeals panel, which determined National Security Agency's collection of Americans' phone records is illegal; holds decision is just in time as Congress is now in debate over reauthorizing section of Patriot Act that allows government to sweep records of those suspected of involvement in terrorist acts. MORE

German Chancellor Angela Merkel finds herself in midst of domestic controversy over depth and extent of country's role in European spying; 2002 agreement on intelligence sharing between Germany and United States is under duress after reports that German intelligence agency BND indulged in spying on corporations and individuals at behest of National Security Agency. MORE

Germany's foreign intelligence service, knows as BND, is being accused of spying on European companies, and possibly individuals; reports say monitoring was done at request of National Security Agency, which BND denies. MORE

News Analysis; proposal to limit bulk collection of domestic telephone data, centerpiece of legislation advancing in Congress, is meeting little opposition from National Security Agency itself; lack of pushback from the agency underscores just how dubious insiders were about the program from the start. MORE

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