Daily Archives: February 24, 2017

Biopreparat – Wikipedia

Posted: February 24, 2017 at 7:05 pm

Biopreparat (Russian: , "Biological substance preparation") was the Soviet Union's major biological warfare agency from the 1970s on. It was a vast, ostensibly civilian, network of secret laboratories, each of which focused on a different deadly bioagent. Its 30,000 employees researched and produced pathogenic weapons for use in a major war.

Biopreparat was established in 1973 as a "civilian" continuation of earlier Soviet bio-warfare programs (see Soviet biological weapons program). The project was reportedly initiated by academician Yuri Ovchinnikov who convinced General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev that development of biological weapons was necessary.[1] The research at Biopreparat constituted a blatant violation by the Soviet Union of the terms of the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972 which outlawed biological weapons. Its existence was steadfastly denied by Soviet officials for decades.

In April 1979, a major outbreak of pulmonary anthrax in the city of Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) caused the deaths of 105 or more Soviet citizens. Sverdlovsk contained a Biopreparat facility. The Soviet Union attempted to cover up reports of the incident, but details leaked out to the West in 1980 when the German newspaper Bild Zeitung carried a story about the incident. Moscow described allegations that the epidemic was an accident at a biological warfare facility as "slanderous propaganda" and insisted the anthrax outbreak had been caused by tainted meat.

The first senior Soviet biological weapons engineer to defect to the West was Vladimir Pasechnik (19372001) who alerted Western intelligence in 1989 to the vast scope of Moscow's clandestine program. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and U.S. President George H. W. Bush put pressure on Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to open up Russia's germ warfare facilities to a team of outside inspectors. When the inspectors toured four of the sites in 1991, they were met with denials and evasions. Production tanks, the purpose of which seemed to be to manufacture large quantities of hazardous materials, were clean and sterile when presented to inspectors. Laboratories had been stripped of equipment before being presented to inspectors.

Pasechnik's revelations that the program was much greater in scope than previously suspected were confirmed in 1992 with the defection to the United States of Colonel Kanatjan Alibekov (b. 1950), the First Deputy Director of Biopreparat. Alibekov (now known as Ken Alibek) held his role in Biopreparat from 1988 to 1992. He claimed that development of new strains of genetically engineered weapons was still continuing.

Alibekov later wrote the book Biohazard (1999) detailing publicly his extensive inside knowledge of the structure, goals, operations and achievements of Biopreparat. He was also featured in the October 13, 1998 episode of Frontline (PBS TV series).

The Biopreparat complex suffered with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since then several large bioweapons production lines have been officially closed. Its current state is unknown, however it is likely that Biopreparat and successor entities continued bioweapons research and development at least through the 1990s.[1]

Biopreparat was a system of 18, nominally civilian, research laboratories and centers scattered chiefly around European Russia, in which a small army of scientists and technicians developed biological weapons such as anthrax, Ebola, Marburg virus, plague, Q fever, Junin virus, glanders, and smallpox. It was the largest producer of weaponized anthrax in the Soviet Union and was a leader in the development of new bioweapons technologies.

The project had 18 major labs and production centers:

Pathogens that were successfully weaponized by the organization included (in order of completion):

Annual production capacities for many of the above listed pathogens were in the tens of tons, typically with redundant production facilities located throughout the Soviet Union.

[1]

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Biopreparat - Wikipedia

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‘Ideation’ is complex, convoluted, not-so-funny satire – Marinscope Community Newspapers

Posted: at 7:05 pm

I cant have a single conversation these days without what Messr. Trump has decreed or done in the last 12 minutes intruding.

Similarly, I can no longer see a topical play without shuddering because I keep picturing his apparent belief that all journalists except those who toil for Fox should be drawn and quartered.

Consider Ideation, a Marin Onstage production directed by Queenelle Minet at the Belrose Theatre in San Rafael.

Its a creepy serio-comedy that builds to a crescendo of, well, ambiguity.

Minet, in the program, says she likes the plays unique ability to make us laugh and feel horrified at the same time.

Unfortunately, the laughs are rare.

Ideation readily plays into all my night terrors, especially with germ warfare being about the only apocalyptic item not on Trumps wish list.

Sandeep, a Harvard-educated engineer from India competently portrayed by Heren Patel, wonders if the mysterious, secretive Senna Project he and his think-tank colleagues are working on is really a plan to kill brown guys named Mohammed, foreigners people who look like him.

Is the project meant to save humanity?

The four co-workers start to worry that their backers are involved in a sinister conspiracy.

And as the corporate consultants paranoia grows, they begin to become excessively suspicious of each other.

Ben Ortega as Brock, who futilely strives to be cool and always think logically, provides the funniest moment when hes so overwhelmed with possibilities he stammers.

And stammers. And stammers.

Another amusing interlude occurs when three members of the ensemble cast search hither and yon for electronic bugs, laying waste to anything in their way.

And I grinned when smiley and frowny faces are used to illustrate grim scenarios on the blackboard.

But its impossible not to wince when the dialogue focuses on liquidation facilities and a doomsday virus, or choosing between crematoria, a mass grave or burial by sea (in sinkable shipping containers).

Ted (Len Shaffer), whose southern accent vanishes from time to time, reminds them theyve been asked to save the human race from extinction.

But Brock asks, What are we gonna do with all the bodies?

Upwards of 2 million of them.

Later, however, he tongue-lashes the groups lady boss, Hannah, for being worried about imaginary people in imaginary death camps.

Bringing to the forefront of my mind shades of Nazi Germany.

Interestingly, Marianne Shine, who plays Hannah a tad stiffly, has dedicated her performance to her father, a Holocaust survivor.

The fifth actor, Jeremy Judge, is Scooter, 22-year-old intern squeezed onto the team through nepotism, again reminding me of our peerless leaders penchants.

The entire cast, which needed to memorize and understand an inordinate number of phrases and concepts, deserves at least a B for its efforts.

Playwright Aaron Loeb only merits a C, though for coming up with a laborious peek at mental masturbation, a satire unduly convoluted, complicated and complex.

Loquacious to the nth degree.

Even the title which means a creative process of forming new notions isnt a word Ive ever used in a polite sentence.

Ideation premiered at San Francisco Playhouse a few years back and then moved to off-Broadway.

It lasts only 90 minutes and has no intermission. But its exhausting since it contains about 1,768 thoughts and what seems like 2,958,854 words.

And it still doesnt answer any of the big questions it poses.

Ideation will run at the Belrose Theatre, 1415 5th Ave., San Rafael, through March 4. Night performances, 8 p.m. Fridays and Sundays; matinees, 2 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets: $12 to $24, subject to change. Information: 415-290-1433 or http://www.marinonstage.org

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Trump administration signals new war on drugs, crackdown on marijuana use – ThinkProgress

Posted: at 7:03 pm

During his press conference on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked whether the Trump administration plans to crack down on states like Colorado and Washington that have legalized recreational marijuana.

Spicer signaled that the Trump administration will break with the Obama administrations policy of not enforcing federal law criminalizing marijuana in states that have taken a different approach.

There are two distinct issues heremedical marijuana and recreational marijuana, Spicer replied. Medical marijuanaIve said before that the president understands the pain and suffering that many people go through who are facing especially terminal diseases and the comfort that some of these drugs including medical marijuana can bring them.

But when the topic turned to recreational marijuana, Spicer conflated it with opioids and indicated the Trump administration is equally opposed to people using it.

When you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in some the states in the country, the last we should be doing is encouraging people, Spicer said. There is still a federal law that we need to abide by when it comes to recreational marijuana and other drugs of that nature. So, I think there is a big difference between medial marijuana which the states where its allowed have set forth a process to administer and regulate that usage, versus recreational marijuana and thats a very, very different subject.

In response to a follow-up question about whether the federal goverment [is] going to take some sort of action around this recreational marijuana in some of these states, Spicer said that while its a question for the Department of Justice, he does think you will see greater enforcement of it.

Spicers comments dont bode well for those who support relaxing marijuana laws. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is staunchly anti-marijuanahe said last year that good people dont smoke marijuana and called Obama-era drug policy reforms a tragic mistake.

His comments also represent a break from what Trump said during his campaign, when he said, in terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state by state.

But the Trump administrations inconsistent interpretation of which issues are states issues and which are federal was on display during other parts of Thursdays news conference.

In a statement sent to ThinkProgress, Marijuana Majority chairman Tom Angell cited a Quinnipiac University poll that was released Wednesday and shows 71 percent of Americans oppose efforts to enforce federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized it.

If the administration is looking for ways to become less popular, cracking down on voter-approved marijuana laws would be a great way to do it, Angell said. On the campaign trail, President Trump clearly and repeatedly pledged that he would leave decisions on cannabis policy to the states. With a clear and growing majority of the country now supporting legalization, reneging on his promises would be a political disaster and huge distraction from the rest of the presidents agenda.

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Opponent of Duterte’s drugs war arrested in Philippines on drug charges – Reuters

Posted: at 7:03 pm

MANILA A Philippine senator and staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs was in police custody on Friday following her high-profile arrest for drugs offences that she described as a vendetta that would fail to silence her.

Leila de Lima, who last year led a Senate probe into alleged extrajudicial killings during Duterte's anti-drugs campaign, said the arrest was payback for taking on a president who had acted like a dictator.

On Tuesday she called Duterte a "sociopathic serial killer" who had a "criminal mind".

"The truth will come out at the right time," de Lima told reporters outside the Senate office where she spent the night, moments before law enforcers marshaled her into a waiting van.

De Lima, her former driver and bodyguard and a former prison official were ordered arrested after a judge found merit in criminal charges filed by the justice ministry last week.

She faces two more drug-related charges in the same court and described the cases as "all lies".

Bail is not permitted under the charges and if found guilty, de Lima faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, a close ally of Duterte, described her arrest as a victory of the war against drugs, adding "no one is above the law, not even a senator".

But de Lima's supporters quickly came to her defense, with Vice President Leni Robredo describing the arrest as "political harassment".

Senator Paulo Benigno Aquino, a cousin of former president Benigno Aquino, called it "a concern for anyone who will dissent on any of the policies of this administration".

The criminal complaint alleged de Lima received 5 million pesos ($99,850) from a former prison official when she was justice minister between 2010 and 2016.

The allegations she was in cahoots with drugs gangs surfaced when she led a Senate investigation, which probed alleged summary executions during Duterte's bloody drugs war and a pattern of similar killings over the 22 years in which he was mayor of Davao City.

That investigation found no proof of wrongdoing by Duterte, who disparaged de Lima almost daily in televised speeches in which he made lurid allegations about her private life and even suggested she hang herself.

She filed a complaint with Supreme Court to try to muzzle the president.

At the heart of de Lima's campaign has been the 7,700 deaths since Duterte took office eight months ago, more than 2,500 in police operations. The cause of many of the other deaths remain in dispute and human rights groups believe many of them were extrajudicial killings.

De Lima was removed as head of her Senate probe by Duterte's allies and days later came under investigation herself in a congressional inquiry in which witnesses, several of them convicts, identified her as a key player in the narcotics trade.

Phelim Kine of the New York-based Human Rights Watch said Duterte had "effectively expanded his 'drug war' from the urban poor to the legislative branch" by arresting de Lima.

(Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato and Martin Petty; Editing by Nick Macfie)

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL An Islamic State car bomb killed more than 50 people on Friday in a Syrian village held by rebels, a war monitor said, a day after the jihadist group was driven from its last stronghold in the area.

WASHINGTON A proposal the Trump administration is considering to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization has stalled over warnings from defense and intelligence officials that the move could backfire, according to officials familiar with the matter.

KUALA LUMPUR VX nerve agent, a chemical the United Nations classifies as a weapon of mass destruction, was used to kill the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a bizarre murder in Malaysia last week, police said on Friday.

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How Rodrigo Duterte’s War On Drugs Looks In Colombia – Worldcrunch

Posted: at 7:02 pm

-OpEd-

BOGOT Any Colombian observing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs might remember our former president Csar Gaviria.

Gaviria, who governed in some of the worst days of our drug violence, is a lightweight compared to Duterte. The highly popular Filipino leader has no qualms about employing language that few presidents would use. He used expletives in describing former U.S. president, Barack Obama, and has said some nasty stuff about the Pope too. Its nice to see our Colombian leaders outdone in brutality for a change.

In spite of my animosity toward Gaviria's administration, I cannot place him on the same level as Duterte and his program. Gaviria's war on drugs did not include a brazen call to physically eliminate drug users and small-time dealers as Duterte did in his campaign with frightening results. Amnesty International estimates there are more than 1,000 extrajudicial killings a month in the Philippines.

Inevitably, when you give state agencies carte blanche to kill over and above the established, official targets (which is horrible enough), opportunistic violence proliferates. Recently Filipino police kidnapped, tortured and killed a Korean businessman; policemen had apparently sought to involve him in drug dealing in order to extort money from him.

Csar Gaviria in Mexico, in 2015 Photo: Ivan Stephens/El Universal/ZUMA

There is another way to view this. The Philippines has a different culture to Colombia and half its GDP per person. It has suffered lengthy periods of internal fighting and faces two significant insurgencies: one of Maoist guerrilla groups and the other Islamist (or an amalgam of radical Islamist groups). The government is talking to both.

Earlier this year when Duterte began formal dialogue with the Maoists, the first point of discussion was farming and land, much like in Colombia. But Duterte was prepared to take his reformist agenda much further than his Colombian counterparts have in their wildest moments of generosity. In the Philippines, the government is considering a rearrangement of the countryside as a key component of long-term national growth.

This suggests that the affairs of distant countries may not be as different as they seem from afar. Peacemaking does not need a dogmatic outlook but it needs basic understanding. This goes further in resolving, or at least improving the solutions to, our problems.

The sociologist Tzvetan Todorov, who recently died in Paris, understood this. He rejected the now prevalent idea that anything attractive must be right and true. For Todorov, heroes are not people who sacrifice their lives but those who can recover other people's fragile, passing humanity. I couldn't agree more.

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Push to expand gambling underway in Missouri and Illinois – STLtoday.com

Posted: at 7:02 pm

JEFFERSON CITY Missouri and Illinois residents soon could have thousands of new slot machines clanging and blinking in their midst.

In Missouri, two lawmakers are pushing plans to legalize video gambling in bars and fraternal organizations as a way to generate money for education.

In Illinois, Sen. James Clayborne, D-Belleville, has introduced a proposal to allow slot machines at the Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, a car racing track located just minutes from downtown St. Louis.

In both states, the proposals would allow video gambling in establishments where it has previously been prohibited.

In Missouri, the legislation would allow up to five video gambling machines in taverns and restaurants and up to 10 machines in benevolent organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The state would then collect a split of the money generated by the machines.

Missouri Rep. Bart Korman, R-Warrenton, is sponsoring one of the measures. He said the revenue could help pad the states checkbook.

When you look at the budget situation we have, I think its something we need to have a conversation about, Korman said.

In particular, hed like to see revenue generated by the slot machines to go toward schools.

The cost of busing is an important issue in rural areas, Korman said. Student transportation has been cut year after year.

A similar proposal sponsored by Missouri Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, would earmark 35 percent of the receipts generated by video gambling to higher education.

The legislation is similar to a measure approved in Illinois in 2009; it didnt get underway until 2012.

Since then, Illinois has seen an explosion in the number of establishments offering video gambling. In four years, the number of businesses with at least go-karts and off-road vehicles.

Gateway spokeswoman Susan Ryan said the proposal would help diversify the facility's income stream.

"The long-term success of this business requires a diverse revenue base including non-racing entertainment options such as festivals, charity events, private parties, concerts and gaming," Ryan said in a statement.

Clayborne, whose proposal has not been scheduled for a debate, could not immediately be reached for comment. His proposal is separate from a larger gambling proposal that was floated as part of a package designed to end Illinois long-running budget stalemate.

Under that proposal, Illinois would get new casinos in Chicago and its south suburbs, Waukegan, Carterville, Rockford and Danville.

The casino industry in both states is primed to fight the expansion of slots.

The Illinois Casino Gaming Association is opposing Claybornes idea, primarily because it could lure gamblers away from the Casino Queen, located less than five miles away in East St. Louis.

Its just such a big proposal and the Casino Queen is so close by, said association executive director Tom Swoik.

The Missouri Gaming Association, which represents 13 casinos, opposes the expansion of video gambling in Missouri because it also would cut into the casino market, executive director Mike Winter told the Post-Dispatch.

Illinois experience offers evidence that casinos have been affected by the explosion of video gambling.

In December 2007, for example, Illinois fleet of riverboats was drawing 1.3 million visitors. A decade later, that number had dropped to under 950,000 visitors. Receipts also have dropped in the past decade.

Illinois law also has led to a new breed of gambling parlors.

Business owners have launched chains of so-called gambling cafes hoping to draw customers who wouldnt otherwise go to bars. A chain called Lucys Place, for example, was originally designed to attract women over 40. Other similar operations are named Nikkis, Dottys and Pennys.

In Missouri, it remains unclear if Gov. Eric Greitens supports an expansion of gambling. His office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said he opposes gambling revenue as a way to fix the state budget. But he wont block the proposal from coming to the Senate floor for a debate.

Im not a fan of legalizing gambling to plug any hole for anything, Richard said. The Senate is supposed to be for open and fair discussion, so thats what I try to do, regardless of my support or not.

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Here’s what’s next in video game gambling in AC – NorthJersey.com

Posted: at 7:02 pm

Pharaoh's Secret Temple is one of the first video game gambling offerings in North America - so far the games only can be played in Atlantic City at four casinos, including Tropicana.(Photo: Noah K. Murray/Special for the Record)

It started with Danger Arena a first-person action game in the realm of Call of Duty.

Next came Pharaohs Secret Treasure a Match 3 game a la Candy Crush.

Next month, the latest in video game gambling offerings at Atlantic City casinos will be Nothing But Net a basketball shooting game. (For all the details on this new industry, and why Atlantic City's casinos are the first in North America to have the games, click my story here.)

I think this might be our first really big hit, said Blaine Graboyes, CEO of GameCo., the company behind these games. Its so easy to play just one big button. Anyone can do it. With Danger Arena, if you dont play Xbox or PlayStation, youre probably not going to be very good.

Graboyes told me that a customer gets 12 shots, with each valued at a different amount. Thats the variable that intersects with the skill get a bunch of high value chances, and you are more likely to get enough points to break even or perhaps win money. The animation lets you know what each shot is worth.

Net will be in Tropicana and the three Caesars properties in Atlantic City, and Graboyes said all seven AC casinos likely will be offering video game gambling in the next 30 days. Atlantic Citys months-long monopoly on these games wont last, however, as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut also will launch these games in March.

Graboyes said he just finished the application process to Nevada regulators, setting up the possibility of Las Vegas casinos joining the party sometime this summer.

While the couple of dozen video game gambling machines are dwarfed by the slot machine inventory, more and more such games are on the way. Look for hidden object games, fighting, racing, space combat, and bubble shooter, Graboyes said.

We are working to appeal to all gamers the average age is 35, and its 50-50 male and female, he added.

Look for big name brands on new games, too think Terminator, Mission Impossible, Ferris Bueller, Paranormal, and so forth.

Finally, Graboyes enthusiastically confirmed that he has the same experience people-watching around these games as I do. He even mentioned a spot where I visited last week the 10 North Lounge at Tropicana in Atlantic City.

Isnt it interesting? asked Graboyes. Its like they just dont know what to do when they approach the games. Theyll almost be afraid to touch it, like the game might bite them. Ive seen people stand by them for 10 minutes, just looking.

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William Hill’s potential next CEO backs curbs on TV gambling adverts – The Guardian

Posted: at 7:02 pm

William Hill announced a 1% rise in pre-tax profit. The government is reviewing the harm TV gambling advertising may cause. Photograph: Neil Hall/Reuters

The man tipped to lead the UKs second-biggest bookmaker has broken ranks with the industry by offering support for a curb on TV gambling adverts.

Betting companies have largely rejected suggestions that their ads are seen by too many vulnerable people and children, but William Hills finance director said he understood peoples concerns.

I have teenage children and we are sympathetic to some sort of curb or some sort of review around the level of advertising, said Philip Bowcock.

Asked if companies were glamourising gambling, he claimed William Hill was more cautious than some high street rivals.

You could say that we are a little bit more corporate, but we try and be responsible about what we promote, he said.

Bowcock, the interim CEO after the departure of James Henderson last July following successive profit warnings, is among the favourites to be named chief executive, with a decision due within weeks.

His comments on advertising, as the company announced a 1% increase in pre-tax profit to 226m, come as the government reviews the potential harm caused by fixed-odds betting terminals and TV advertising.

The gambling industry has largely been defensive about the impact on children of TV advertising, which is banned before the 9pm watershed, except during sports events. The Remote Gambling Association, which counts William Hill among its members, rejected the need for curbs on the industry last year. And the Association of British Bookmakers has pointed to voluntary measures such as scrapping adverts for free bets before the watershed.

But one industry source said backing restrictions on daytime TV ads may benefit William Hill.

If youve got hundreds of shops with your name in the window, youve got much greater exposure than someone like Sun Bets, who have to do stunts with pies to get their name into the market, said the source, referring to the controversial incident involving the Sutton United reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw.

GambleAware recently launched adverts highlighting the risks of addiction. The ads, one addressing fruit machines and one highlighting online gaming, appear on YouTube for internet users in the north-east and north-west of England, but could be rolled out nationally.

The charity wants gambling companies to agree to one of its adverts being broadcast for every 20 of their own.

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FA and Gambling Commission probe Sutton goalkeeper Wayne Shaw’s pie-eating – Sky News

Posted: at 7:02 pm

Sutton goalkeeper Wayne Shaw is at the centre of a betting probe after eating a pie on the substitutes' bench during an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.

The 46-year-old has admitted he knew Sun Bets were offering 8-1 odds against him doing so.

Both the Gambling Commission and the Football Association are now investigating whether the incident broke any rules.

:: Pie-eating goalkeeper Wayne Shaw resigns from Sutton Utd

Nicknamed the 'Roly Poly Goalie' because of his 20st weight, 46-year-old Wayne Shaw is employed by Sutton as a reserve goalkeeper and as part of the coaching team.

He said: "A few of the lads said to me earlier on, 'What is going on with the 8-1 about eating a pie later on?'

"As I say, Sun Bets had me at 8-1 to eat a pie. I thought I would give them a bit of banter and let's do it. All the subs were on and we were 2-0 down.

"I went and got it at half-time from the kitchen, I had it all prepared and ready to go. It was meat and potato.

"I think there were a few people (who backed it). Obviously we are not allowed to bet. I think a few of the mates and a few of the fans. It was just a bit of banter for them.

"It is something to make the occasion as well and you can look back and say it was part of it and we got our ticket money back."

Gambling Commission enforcement and intelligence director Richard Watson said: "Integrity in sport is not a joke and we have opened an investigation to establish exactly what happened.

"As part of that we'll be looking into any irregularity in the betting market and establishing whether the operator has met its licence requirement to conduct its business with integrity."

The FA is also looking into the incident, saying in a statement that they are "investigating whether there has been a breach of FA regulations in relation to betting".

The FA rulebook says: "A participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on (i) the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, a football match or competition."

Speaking on BBC 5 Live, Sutton chairman Bruce Elliott said: "Wayne is a top man. I didn't know anything about it. He has got himself in the papers again and the fame obviously has gone to his head a little bit, but we will soon bring him back down to earth, don't worry about that."

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Gambling is state policy – Scranton Times-Tribune

Posted: at 7:02 pm

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A slots parlor at the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino. State lawmakers and the Wolf administration are poised to extract even more revenue from gambling. (Times-Tribune File)

State government leaders long have gambled with the states financial health. They rolled snake eyes, for example, when they vastly increased public pension benefits in 2001 without a mechanism to pay for it. So there is symmetry in their current efforts to make more gambling the answer to the financial problems that their own wayward bets have produced.

The state government has a systemic deficit of about $3 billion. That is the accumulated effect of lawmakers refusing to modernize state tax policy and pretending at meaningful pension reform all for fear of the political risk.

But for politicians, there is no risk to expanding gambling, taxes on which are collected by third parties casinos, racetracks and lottery agents rather than directly by the state.

Its no wonder, then, that lawmakers already are pondering casino-operated internet gambling and fantasy sports gambling. And, during budget hearings this week, state lottery Director Drew Svitko told legislators that the administration wants to put lottery games online.

What were not talking about is just selling our existing product online ... as much as were talking about selling a new type of product, an interactive, engaging, more relevant product to a different audience, he said.

Unlike many past gambling proposals, this one at least is honest. At the beginning, advocates pressed casino gambling as a means to capture dollars that Pennsylvanians already were losing in Atlantic City. The objective was not to create new gamblers, they said, but to capture existing gamblers.

That, of course, was baloney. The reason for the interest in internet gambling is that even existing gamblers get old. Some even die. To capture new generations of gamblers, the enterprise must venture into cyberspace, where younger people live on their multiple devices. The administration admits, at least, that the new initiative is aimed at a different audience.

Pennsylvania casinos already produce more state revenue than in any state other than Nevada. Gamblers lost $3.21 billion to Pennsylvania casinos in the 2016 calendar year, $1.39 billion of which went to Harrisburg in taxes.

In the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the state lottery sold a record $4.13 billion worth of tickets, paid out a record $2.63 billion in prizes and turned over $1.12 billion to the treasury.

Yet that is not enough for gambling-happy legislators who embrace indirect taxes while ignoring the social dysfunction that it fosters (note the frequent reports of arrests of people who steal from employers and civic groups to cover their legally accrued gambling debts).

Pennsylvania has enough gambling to satisfy old and new gamblers alike. Lawmakers and the administration should stop being croupiers and start working to reform state tax policy, fix the pension systems and foster the economic growth needed to resolve the states crisis.

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