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Study Dismisses Concerns that Psoriasis Treatment Could Trigger IBD – IBD News Today
Posted: August 16, 2017 at 5:45 pm
Taltz (ixekizumab), an approved antibody treatment for plaque psoriasis, targets a cytokine that is thought to play a role in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).That connection has caused concerns that administration of the drug might increase occurrence of IBDs in patients with psoriasis. So,Eli Lilly and Company, the maker of Taltz, conducted a study to determine if there was a significant correlation.
Results showed that rates of new IBD cases were observed in less than 1 percent of the psoriasis patients receiving Taltz. They reported that flares of pre-existing disease also were rare.
Titled Inflammatory bowel disease among patients with psoriasis treated with ixekizumab: A presentation of adjudicated data from an integrated database of 7 randomized controlled and uncontrolled trials, the study was published in the American Journal of Dermatology.
Taltz targets the cytokine interleulin-17 (IL-17). Previous studies have suggested a potential role of IL-17A in the pathogenesis (disease course) of IBD, although results have been inconclusive. According to a press releasepublished in theMedical News Bulletin, trials using antagonists of IL-17A have failed to prove effective against IBDs.
The Eli Lilly study study included data from 4,029 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who had received Taltz. Participants previously were enrolled in one of the seven clinical trials for Taltz already underway.
The study did have some limitations, including the fact that the study did not collect any information on the patients family histories before trial initiation, and the fact that there was no information collected on the duration of earlier therapies that could have led to IBD symptoms, namely before exposure to Taltz.
Because the trial is not fully conclusive, the authors recommend that dermatologists monitor patients with concomitant psoriasis and IBD who are receiving IL-17 antibody therapy and advocate for disclosing all the potential risks that IL-17A antagonist treatment could entail.
Plaque psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition that is characterized by the appearance of raised red scales, which are often itchy and painful. The condition has a significant genetic overlap with IBD and patients often develop certain IBDs, like ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohns disease, as co-morbidities.
In February 2015, research found that the genetic susceptibility to Crohns and psoriasis persisted for hundreds of thousands of years, dating back to pre-Neanderthals.
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Study Dismisses Concerns that Psoriasis Treatment Could Trigger IBD - IBD News Today
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Here Are The Signs That You May Have Psoriasis – Allure Magazine
Posted: at 5:45 pm
If youve noticed inflamed, scaly skin on your body and wondered what it is (and what the hell you should do about it) we have good news and bad news. The bad news is that it sounds like you have psoriasis. The good news is that youre most likely not turning reptilian. OK, the actual good news is that there are tons of treatments available! This is really really good news because probably the worst thing you can do when you have psoriasis is to do nothing and hope it goes away on its own. Actually, thats not completely true; well get into what the absolute worst thing you can do for psoriasis is in a little bit.
Dr. Joshua Zeichner , MD, explains it in the simplest terms: Psoriasis is a condition in which the immune system gets angry at the skin, leading to red, scaly plaques. Usually youll see it on elbows and knees but psoriasis can appear anywhere, including the scalp, lower back, nails, and even the genitals.
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Want to get even more specific? This is a genetic, autoimmune, inflammatory condition in which your skin cells divide too quickly and do not shed quickly enough, says Dr. Tsippora Shainhouse MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist in Beverly Hills and a clinical instructor at the University of Southern California. Thats what creates the inflamed, scaly plaques. According to Dr. Shainhouse, psoriasis is often associated with psoriatic arthritis, metabolic syndrome, elevated triglycerides, increased risk for heart disease, and obesity. Yikes. You can see why its not something you want to sleep on.
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You can generally tell that its psoriasis thanks to the main symptom of the aforementioned scaly plaques that can be pink, white, or even silvery. Sometimes these plaques will itch, crack, and possibly even bleed. There are also different subtypes of psoriasis, according to Dr. Shainhouse: Inverse psoriasis appears in the underarms and groin; palmo-plantar psoriasis causes itchy or painful peeling and pustules on the palms and soles; and guttate psoriasis is named after 'raindrops', because you get a sudden eruption of small pink, scaly spots all over the trunk, usually after exposure to Strep throat, Dr. Shainhouse says. A dermatologist will have to examine your skin for a concrete diagnosis.
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Once youve been diagnosed, you can discuss treatment plans with you dermatologist. Luckily, there are now quite a few different options available now for those suffering from psoriasis. According to Dr. Zeichner, your treatment will depend on how mild or severe your case is, as well as what kind of psoriasis you have. Mild cases of psoriasis may be treated with topicals anti-inflammatories including cortisones and Vitamin D creams, Dr. Zeichner says. More severe cases may require systemic medications like pills or shots to keep the inflammation calm. If you have scalp psoriasis, Dr. Zeichner suggests using over-the-counter tar shampoos, such as Neutrogena T-Gel , to relieve dandruff and itching.
Dr. Shainhouse seconds asking your doctor for topical or oral/injectable medications, depending on the severity of your psoriasis. You could also try an over-the-counter exfoliating product, but Dr. Shainhouse recommends getting advice from your dermatologist first. Exfoliating moisturizers can help to remove some of the thick scale, but this condition requires management by your dermatologist, she says.
Phototherapy could also be a viable option. UV light is generally a no-no in dermatology, since we know that too much can be associated with the development of skin cancer and melanoma, Dr. Shainhouse explains. However, it has an anti-inflammatory effect in psoriatic skin, and is a very useful option for reducing skin disease/symptoms.
Finally, Dr. Shainhouse also warns against doing certain things that could worsen your psoriasis. Picking at the scales is the last thing you should do. Rubbing and picking at the skin will actually worsen the spots, Dr. Shainhouse says. Psoriasis tends to develop in sites of skin trauma, including cuts and scratches. This is called the Koebner phenomenon. She also recommends maintaining a healthy body weight and avoiding drugs and alcohol, as obesity and substance abuse can also exacerbate psoriasis.
If you suspect you might have psoriasis, make an appointment with your dermatologist and check out the National Foundation for Psoriasis at http://www.psoriasis.org .
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Here Are The Signs That You May Have Psoriasis - Allure Magazine
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Mum determined to let strangers know daughter with severe psoriasis that leaves her covered in welts isn’t contagious – Mirror.co.uk
Posted: at 5:45 pm
A mum has come up with an adorable way to teach people not to fear her daughter who 'looks like she has a contagious disease.'
Ashley Nagy, 29, said 19-month-old Charlie regularly receives stares and cruel comments from strangers.
But now Ashley is hitting back showing her daughter is not 'contagious' by smothering her in kisses and giving her plenty of cuddles in public.
The little girl was diagnosed with psoriasis at four-months-old after the small red dots that appeared all over her skin, developed into large welts that would peel and flake-off.
The disease that affects more than 125 million people worldwide appears in flares and is often brought on by stress, illness and food intolerances.
Parents Ashley and Andrew, 32, from Queen Creek in Arizona, USA, have been accused by strangers of letting their daughter get 'severely sunburnt' and others drag their children away fearing she is 'contagious'.
To combat this, the mum-of-two smothers Charlie in kisses whenever anyone stares or reacts unusually to her in a bid to raise positive awareness of the disease.
Ashley, a real estate agent, said: "Psoriasis flare-ups happen sporadically, she'll be completely free and then in a matter of hours her skin will be covered from head to toe.
"They start off as wide, raised, red spots that then look like little whiteheads, after that they dry up to flake, crack and peel from her body.
"Strangers can be very cruel about it, when we've taken her to the playground the parents of other children have dragged their kids away thinking she's contagious.
"Most people move away, afraid they are going to catch whatever she has or move their kids away so she can't get to close or play with them.
"My response is normally to pick Charlie up and kiss her so that people can see she is not contagious and being near her isn't going to hurt anyone.
"A few people have made comments, some ladies said that I was a bad parent and couldn't believe I let her get so sunburned.
"Others have said they can't believe we have her out in public, but these are just very ignorant people so we ignore them.
"If I'm pushing her around in a stroller and see people staring at her, looking at her in pity or trying to move their children away I'll lightly touch her face and kiss her on the cheek.
"I want people to see that even though she has psoriasis they don't need to be afraid to touch and love her, I hope they see she's not contagious and are more compassionate.
"I don't put her in turtlenecks or hide her, I have her in shorts and am not ashamed of who she is and walk with pride, I know she's beautiful.
"While she has psoriasis, it doesn't define her because she has such a great personality - she's bubbly, funny, very sweet and at times she's freaking hilarious."
Charlie was two-months old when she had her first psoriasis flare-up, it started off as small reddish bumps that develop into larger patches.
Doctors believe she is one of the youngest patients to have such a severe case.
Ashley said: "The rash on her stomach looked like tiny little dots and despite getting antibiotics and more it didn't seem to clear, only getting worse.
"We were told she was one of the youngest patients with psoriasis that the dermatologist had ever seen
"Flare-ups can be caused by food, stress, skin trauma to many different things, even teething and toothache has caused her whole body to flare-up."
Due to the rarity of little Charlie having such an extreme form of psoriasis at such a young age, her parents nickname her their 'unicorn baby'.
They hope their cute phrasing will help to rebrand the disease and show to others that it's not something to fear.
Ashley said: "While we were in hospital, doctors, volunteers and nurses kept running in and out to observe her, because it was so rare to have psoriasis at her age.
"I decided to name her my 'unicorn baby' and referred to the skin problems as 'unicorn spots' because she's so rare and special.
"I chose to compare it to a unicorn as I thought it was something positive and less intimidating, as she gets older I'm sure it will help her see that her skin is beautiful."
Her parents combat the itchy and painful flare-ups that cover her head to toe with a specialist two-hour bathing routine.
In addition to putting her on a gluten and dairy-free diet, with a daily cod liver oil and aloe smoothie, which has stopped her from needing oral medication.
Ashley said: "Our nightly routine is bathing her in essential oils, occasionally we use bleach or oatmeal, then a specialist psoriasis shampoo.
"Then we lotion her right away so her skin doesn't crack with organic butter bees wax, that has essential oils and other ingredients.
"From there, we put her in an oversized cotton t-shirt so that the ingredients can soak into her skin and prevent flare-ups from friction that can be caused when her clothing is too tight."
The parents are now trying to raise awareness of their daughter's condition by educating others and dispelling the myth that psoriasis is a 'contagious disease'.
Ashley said: "I had to become as expert as possible on this disease, my daughter's my world and I won't shut down or give people attitude, I just want to educate them.
"I take it upon myself to fight for her until she can speak for herself, I've learned as much as I can about the disease and even created an awareness raising page."
Ashley is fundraising to help cover her Charlie's medical bills, check-ups and treatment, as well as donating to the Phoenix Children's Hospital who treated her during a bad flare-up.
She said: "Doctors told us they have treated babies with psoriasis but never this bad or for someone so young.
"It was really hard to get our insurance to cover her full medical bills as they have not experienced such a young case before and so have no other cases to compare her to."
You can donate at gofundme.com/help-charlie-fight-infant-psoriasis
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Why we should all embrace gene editing in human embryos – The Hill (blog)
Posted: at 5:45 pm
The first reportof gene editing in viable human embryos performed in the United Stateshas beenpublished. The landmark study demonstrates that gene editing technology can successfully repair faulty genes in the human germline a scientific term that refers to sperm or egg cells, zygotes, and embryos.
Correcting gene mutations in the germline is powerful because any such modifications are inherited by subsequent generations in a fixed, self-perpetuating configuration. To many, this represents the Holy Grail of modern medicine.
The ability to edit genes at the germline level brings immense prospects for human health and welfare. Clinical applications that have only ever existed in science fiction are now within the realm of reality. Scientists have developed basic tools that may soon be used to prevent a myriad of debilitating and fatal genetic diseases including Cystic Fibrosis, Tay-Sachs, certain types of cancer, and hereditary forms of Parkinson's Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and Alzheimer's Disease.
Despite the vast potential for good, gene editing for clinical purposes is controversial. Jennifer Doudna, a gene editing pioneer, stated she is "uncomfortable" with the clinical applications of the technology. She and others have previously argued for a moratorium on germline editing citing unknown risks, safety, and efficacy concerns.
However, the latest germline editing report suggests that many of the concerns against future use of gene editing technologies for gene repair in human embryos may be premature and overstated. The study sought to correct a mutated version of the MYBPC3 gene, which causes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heritable disease that leads to sudden cardiac failure, often in young athletes.
The study revealed that co-injecting the CRISPRCas9 system and sperm carrying the faulty MYBPC3 into healthy donor eggs corrected the pathogenic mutation. Importantly, the researchers overcame many of the problems associated with editing of human embryos that Chinese teams have experienced since 2015.
By injecting the gene editing system before the first cell division, the researchers discovered that mosaicism a characteristic of embryos that have a mix of edited and unedited cells could be avoided. This strategy led to highly precise and accurate editing, as evidenced by the lack of unintended off-target mutations in the embryos' genomes.
Progress aside, germline editing is not yet ready for primetime. Further research and considerable technology optimization are essential prerequisites for clinical use. Laws that prohibit clinical trials may be reconsidered, in due course, as the technology develops. That all takes time.
Researchers know this. Unfortunately, scientific progress is frequently susceptible to sensationalism.
Unjustified debates concerning germline editing often conjure up eugenics. Alluring and frivolous claims that reproductive technologies will inevitably be used to create tall, beautiful, superhuman geniuses with superb athletic abilities circulate ad nauseam. The myth of "designer babies" has become an emblem of misinformation.
Never mind that the quest to uncover specific intelligence gene(s) has proven to be an exercise in futility. Research shows that, while heritable, highly polygenic traits those determined by multiple genesare often determined by the collective contribution of hundreds of genes. For instance, hundreds of genetic variants in at least 180 genetic loci have been reported to influence height in humans.
Knowledge concerning the genetics of complex polygenic traits is vastly incomplete. The notion that scientists can tinker with a few genes let alone hundreds of them simultaneously, and know precisely how such manipulation will affect an individual is simply preposterous at this time. And it will likely remain so during our lifetimes.
That scientific fact favors gradual and thoughtful measures including legislation and policymakingto address actual concerns raised by germline editing. Entertaining dubious hypotheticals is a dangerous endeavor. And seeking to ban a technology over far-fetched contingencies is bad policy.
So be skeptical when encountering views that aver humans are entering a Brave New World. Be skeptical when scientific progress is reduced to a Frankenstein-like fable engineered to pollute thoughtful debate. The designer baby canard must be confronted.
We are indeed entering a new exciting world. One in which human ingenuity can and will be used to eradicate disease and suffering by pushing the boundaries of knowledge.
We should all embrace this momentous time in human history.
Paul Enrquez is a lawyer and scientist. His work focuses on the intersection of science and law and has been featured in legal and scientific journals. He explores gene editing as it relates to eugenics and the genetics of human intelligence in his recently published article "Genome Editing and the Jurisprudence of Scientific Empiricism."
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.
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Karate Kill – Film Threat
Posted: at 5:45 pm
Karate Kill harkens back to a politically incorrect era of filmmaking filled with Oh-My-God moments. From writer/director Kurando Mitsutake, Karate Kill is a martial arts movie featuring over-the-top gore, gallons of fake blood, and an abundance of nudity. I also forget to mention the racist cult leader, internet snuff films, and abundance of nudity.
Karate Kill is the nickname of the films hero, Kenji (Hayate). Overworked Kenji comes to Los Angeles from Japan to find his sister, Mayumi (Mana Sakura). Mayumi came to Los Angeles to study and become an actress. Kenjis investigation leads him to a seedy Japanese gentlemens club where Mayumi worked as a hostess. Then to a racist cult compound specializing in producing real internet snuff films where Mayumi has been enslaved.
a martial arts movie featuring over-the-top gore, gallons of fake blood, and an abundance of nudity.
Lets break Karate Kill down a little bit. The films karate and martial arts are above average but not the greatest. Moves are enhanced by canned sound effects and creative camera angles. Each fight ends with an over-the-top grotesque finishing move of dismemberment or a massive stream of blood. Early on, Kenji ends a fight by grabbing his opponents ear, rips it out of his head and tosses it into a glass of booze.
The story is filled with hokey melodrama. After the death of their parents, Kenji promises to always protect his sister by becoming a karate master. Lets just say that plan does not work. I mean it really doesnt work. From there the story is all about Kenji being just a step away from finding his sister. Kenji is also faced with the problem of guns and defeating bullets, which plays a significant role in the plot.
The villain is Vandenski (Kirk Geiger), the leader of an internet cult called Capital Messiah. Still fuming over the attack on Pearl Harbor (which he is way too young), Vandenski seeks revenge on the Japanese. The cult live-streams their outrage by torturing and murdering Japanese girls and pitting Japanese men against each other in death battles.
Kenji promises to always protect his sister by becoming a karate master. Lets just say that plan does not work.
No cult classic would be complete without gratuitous nudity. Practically, every woman in this film is topless at some point. The problem is the nudity is always associated with violence and almost crosses the line of misogyny. Who am I kidding? It not only crosses the line but goes for the touchdown. Im not a big proponent of political correctness in storytelling, but Karate Kill makes no attempt to put a little irony or wink into these moments.
Bad acting and hokey storyline aside, Karate Kill is filmed brilliantly. Director Mitsutake went through the trouble of planning each shot meticulously. He is constantly looking for the most interesting angle. During one battle, Mitsutake rotates the camera 360 degrees. This unique film style makes his low budget sets and locations look interesting too.
Karate Kill is going for a specific niche audience, who like martial arts, blood, and boobs. There is a lot to love in this film, but its the sadistic treatment of women that makes it hard to give a recommendation.
Karate Kill (2016) Written and directed by Kurando Mitsutake. Starring: Hayate, Mana Sakura, Asami, Kirk Geiger, Katarina Leigh Waters.
2 out of 5
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Karate Kill - Film Threat
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Google Fires Politically Incorrect Employee – Newsmax
Posted: at 5:45 pm
Google's firing of software engineer James Damore for daring to express politically incorrect ideas in an internal memo is the latest example of the political left's tyrannical propensity to suppress speech, thought and dissent.
Almost as troubling as the left's policing is its apparent obliviousness toward its own hypocrisy and the danger it poses to the liberal exchange of ideas. While constitutional issues may not be involved in the Google case because no state action is involved, moral shaming has become a chilling cudgel in the hands of leftist-dominated institutions.
In his memo, Damore notes that Google's political bias silences dissenting opinion supposedly to shield employees from offensive ideas and protect their psychological safety. "But shaming into silence," writes Damore, "is the antithesis of psychological safety. This silencing has created an ideological echo chamber where some ideas are too sacred to be honestly discussed."
Damore concedes that all people have biases but that open and honest discussion can highlight these biases and help us grow. He says he wrote the memo to encourage such a discussion about Google's biases, a discussion that is being silenced by "the dominant ideology."
Damore opines that both the political left and right have moral biases. "Only facts and reason can shed light on these biases," he says, "but when it comes to diversity and inclusion, Google's left bias has created a politically correct monoculture that maintains its hold by shaming dissenters into silence. This silence removes any checks against encroaching extremist and authoritarian policies."
He then details how this bias affects Google's explanation for the gender gap in the tech world and leadership positions: Its leftist bias tells it that the gap is due to differential treatment (discrimination and injustices). It then applies authoritarian measures that actually discriminate against men to achieve equal representation. This is the wrong approach, says Damore, because the gender gap is partially attributable to many biological differences between men and women, and because there are "non-discriminatory ways to reduce the gender gap."
Stated more simply, biologically based differences between the sexes in certain abilities and preferences, as opposed to gender bias and discrimination, are why there are fewer women in tech jobs and leadership positions. Redistributing these positions could be more harmful than helpful to employees and the company. We should think of people as individuals, not as interchangeable members of groups.
It's ironic that such leftist thinking purports to enhance the worth of women (or members of other allegedly victimized groups) but instead disrespects and devalues their human dignity by imposing groupwide remedies without regard to individual qualities and behavior.
We must recognize that Damore is making two separate but interrelated complaints. He is saying that Google is applying totalitarian groupthink to its gender bias problem and thus misanalyzing it; and that this same groupthink also prevents open and honest discussion of the problem by forbidding the expression of dissenting views.
It's one thing for Google honchos to strongly disagree with the thrust of Damore's substantive arguments concerning the reasons for the gender gap. But it's quite another for them to effectively ban dissent and summarily fire him for dissenting.
But this is nothing new for the left. For example, many leftists seek to ban debate on "climate change" through cultural fiat, declaring that an irrefutable scientific consensus has been established. In the name of science which by definition demands that such issues always remain open to challenge they shut down dissent. Similarly, they say certain views will not be tolerated on college campuses because they are offensive to certain people. On many of these same campuses, they commit violence to people and property to protest conservative speakers whose speech they think could lead to violence. Such preposterous thinking is as widespread as it is ludicrous. Through sophistry and semantic legerdemain, the left has ushered in an era of intellectual anarchy.
Leftists see themselves as stewards of enlightened thinking of liberal academic inquiry, tolerance and diversity but once again, they prove themselves to be Stalinist tailors of intellectual straightjackets who flagrantly violate the very spirit of free expression on which America was founded.
Leftists are ingenious manufacturers of twisted excuses to justify their indefensible actions. But intellectual honesty screams for an accounting in these cases. They might be fooling themselves into believing they are advancing the greater good, but they're not fooling those outside the intellectual prisons of their pride-spawned, self-congratulatory oppression.
David Limbaugh is a writer, author, and attorney. His latest book is, "The Emmaus Code: Finding Jesus in the Old Testament." Read more reports from David Limbaugh Click Here Now.
Creators Syndicate Inc.
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America Coming to Grips With an Incorrigible Trump – New York Magazine
Posted: at 5:45 pm
President Trump made a morally disturbing and politically divisive series of statements yesterday about last weekends violence in Charlottesville at what was supposed to be a press briefing on his plans for infrastructure investments. By now, most public officials have felt compelled to weigh in on his shocking self-identification with neo-Confederate efforts to protect monuments to slavery and Jim Crow, and his suggestion that counterprotesters in Charlottesville had as much or more to do with the breakdown in law and order as the motley crew of white supremacists who started the whole thing. As my colleague Margaret Hartmann explained, members of Trumps own party split between those who flatly repudiated him, those who defended him, and those who pretended he didnt say what he said.
But beyond the demerits of Trumps rambling argument, his outburst showed a president who is literally incorrigible, unable to rein in his worst impulses even after a period of reflection and despite the best efforts of the vast number of people advising him. As the New York Times reported:
Venting, his face red as he personally executed the defense of his own actions that no one else would, Mr. Trump all but erased any good will he had earned Monday when he named racist groups and called them repugnant to everything we hold dear.
His largely unprovoked presidential rant on Tuesday instantly sparked an even more intense critique, especially from Republicans.
Yes, the president has shattered all normal expectations about presidential behavior and has gloried in defying political correctness.But theres something new and worrisome about this latest incident. Michael Crowley put his finger on it today:
It was a Trump familiar to those who followed his wildly unorthodox campaign, but one rarely on display since his election unpredictable and politically incorrect to a degree unseen since his visit to the Central Intelligence Agency a day after he was sworn in, when he raged at the media over reports about the crowd size at his inauguration.
Trump-watchers have finally stopped looking for signs that hes going to pivot into becoming a president like most of the previous 44 (though he does greatly resemble Andrew Johnson). But if hes capable of backtracking into self-destructive and grossly divisive behavior almost immediately after being steered away from a palpably damaging statement, it is hard to discern any bright normative lines he might respect.
It is also difficult after this performance to harvest any misapprehension that Trump is just playing the fool to manipulate public opinion. There is no sense in which there is a popular majority for the causes he now seems to be defending, and its not like the neo-Confederate right is going to find itself another national political champion.
No, it is increasingly clear that with Donald J. Trump, what you see is what you get, and what we got in this presser gone mad was Archie Bunker on paranoia-inducing steroids. By contrast, his remarks on Monday condemning the white riot in Charlottesville looked forced, like a statement made as part of a plea bargain. The minute he had a chance, as stunned aides stood by, he set us straight.
It is going to be a very long three-and-a-half years, and if Trump runs for reelection after incidents like this one, his slogan might as well be Make America Hate Again.
Heyers mother, Susan Bro, spoke at her daughters memorial service Wednesday.
Trumps response to Charlottesville led CEOs to distance themselves from the president.
After Trump defended the very fine people at a neo-Nazi rally, the 41st and 43rd presidents joined other Republicans to repudiate bigotry.
He finished fifth at the GOP district convention and was attacked by out-of-state conservatives as a RINO, but John Curtis prevailed in the primary.
Shell temporarily fill the role vacated by Anthony Scaramucci.
Jerry Drake Varnell would have never tried to blow up a building without the FBIs help, his family says.
Donald Trump didnt just say something outrageous. He contradicted his own correction of an earlier outrageous statement. This is new and disturbing.
Helping an abnormal president appear sane is not a noble task.
And the GOPs heinous health-care bill may allow the Donkey Party to win them back.
Some argued that he was right to attack the left, but many Republican lawmakers reiterated that the violence was caused by white supremacists.
All of Mitch McConnells fundraising and Trumps endorsement only won Luther Strange a second-place finish and a runoff fight with Judge Roy Moore.
Ending cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers would inflict real pain on Americans.
Its a bold idea, and it faces steep hurdles.
The president condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists but defended the right-wing protesters who simply wanted to preserve their history.
Like all New York mayors, he cant help seeing a future POTUS in the mirror. But theres no reason to think voters will agree.
Lisa Theris, 25, was found naked on a rural Alabama highway.
Many of Trumps closest allies want the Breitbart mastermind gone, while others reportedly worry about the mischief he could make in exile.
In a deep-red House district, the mayor of Provo is the front-runner but is under attack as a RINO.
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Trump chooses fighting over healing – Politico
Posted: at 5:45 pm
Barack Obama had been president for roughly as long as Donald Trump when, on July 16, 2009, the black Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates was arrested on his front porch in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by a white police officer who thought he might be a burglar. At a news conference a few days later, Obama said the officer, Sgt. James Crowley, had acted stupidly. Conservatives were furious, saying Obama had sided against a policeman doing his job.
To defuse the tension and set an example of racial reconciliation, Obama hosted the professor and the policeman at the White House for a beer. He also conceded error: I could have calibrated those words differently, Obama said. He called the episode a teachable moment for the nation.
Story Continued Below
In his explosive Tuesday news conference, President Donald Trump seized a far more dramatic moment not so much to teach as to fight. He admitted no fault, calibrated no words, and in the eyes of Republicans and Democrats alike inflamed rather than defused racial tension.
It wasnt just that Trump defended the pro-Confederate sympathies of a group of demonstrators heavily populated by anti-Semitic white supremacists, or that he seemed to draw equivalence between them and what he called a very violent group of alt-left counter-protesters who opposed them.
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Along the way, he castigated Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is fighting brain cancer; refused to endorse the job security of his embattled senior aide Stephen Bannon (or Mr. Bannon, as Trump called him); snapped at the dishonest reporters who questioned him; and turned a question about Charlottesville, a city mourning a 32-year-old resident killed on Saturday, into a plug for the vineyard he owns nearby. (I own actually one of the largest wineries in the United States. Its in Charlottesville.)
It was a Trump familiar to those who followed his wildly unorthodox campaign, but one rarely on display since his election unpredictable and politically incorrect to a degree unseen since his visit to the Central Intelligence Agency a day after he was sworn in, when he raged at the media over reports about the crowd size at his inauguration.
And even by the standards of a politician who has repeatedly shocked his critics and dazzled admirers with his flouting of convention, Trumps performance stood out.
A team of the country's most eminent behavioral psychologists, cultural historians, statesmen and clergy could have been asked to design the worst leader imaginable for this moment and Trump would have exceeded their imaginations, said Mark Salter, a former longtime chief of staff and speechwriter to McCain. (Trump lashed out at McCain for voting against a Republican health care bill last month.)
Leaders of the Republican establishment also scrambled to distance themselves from Trump and his comments his third effort since the violence erupted on Saturday. "We must be clear," House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted. "White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity."
But segments of the pro-Trump right were downright delighted. Potus Comes Roaring Back With Press Smackdown at Trump Tower, cheered one Breitbart News headline. Doubles Down, declared another.
Such headlines raise the question of whether Trump is consciously scandalizing the political mainstream in an effort to re-energize voters who thrilled to his taboo-busting style during the 2016 campaign.
But to Trumps harshest critics, Tuesday was merely a sign that Trump who aides said was not supposed to take questions at a news event meant to promote his infrastructure plans has no self-control or sense of propriety.
I think this guy is deeply ill. I really do, former Democratic Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said on MSNBC shortly after Trump spoke.
Either way, left in the dust was any sense of tradition or continuity with the way past presidents have handled similar moments and the subject of race in America. An empathetic, lip-biting Bill Clinton, whose first term included the racial trauma of the O.J. Simpson trial, kicked off a national dialogue on race, appointing a panel of esteemed race relations experts.
Speaking at the memorial service for five Dallas police officers murdered by a radicalized black man last July, former president George W. Bush cited scripture, spoke of empathy and urged Americans to reject the unity of fear for the unity of hope, affection and high purpose.
Obama repeatedly confronted Americas open racial wounds as president.
Asked to contrast Obamas 2009 beer summit with Trumps response to Charlottesville, Dan Pfeiffer, Obamas former White House communications director, was almost at a loss for words.
It's hard to compare Obama and Trump or Trump and any other sentient human with an ounce of empathy or self-awareness, Pfeiffer said. Obama made a statement when more facts came out and made it clear that first statement was incorrect, he took responsibility. Trump has proven time and time again that he is incapable of such an approach.
That was hardly Obamas only response to racial strife. In July 2015, Obama sang "Amazing Grace at the funeral of a pastor who was one of nine African-Americans massacred by a white gunman in a Charleston, South Carolina, church.
And after a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman in July 2013 on charges that he murdered the black teenager Trayvon Martin, Obama offered words that echo Tuesdays bipartisan response to Trump.
"Those of us in authority should be doing everything we can to encourage the better angels of our nature, Obama said at the time, "as opposed to using these episodes to heighten divisions."
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Trump chooses fighting over healing - Politico
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FCC Censorship Rules Vary for Broadcast, Cable, and Streaming – Variety
Posted: at 5:44 pm
Its about halfway through the fifth season of Orange Is the New Black when Elizabeth Rodriguezs recently un-incarcerated, always opinionated Aleida sums up the plight of female-forward broadcast television writers everywhere with one simple, well-crafted exchange.
Can I say bitches? she asks a local newscaster and then, when she gets the green light, immediately and involuntarily exclaims, s. The journalist, played by Thea McCartan, responds she cant say that, to which Aleida replies, What kind of fing bulls rule is that?
Although the writers may have simply been trying to show that Aleida was not as media savvy as she was street smart in this episode, which was written by co-exec producer Lauren Morelli, in a lot of ways, were all like Aleida, says writer-producer Carolina Paiz.
After years of working on broadcast TV, Paiz understands Aleidas frustrations. On network shows, she notes, Were constantly censoring or told to self-censor. Even before the FCC has a way to weigh in, Standards and Practices is all over us.
Paiz recounts her frustration from working on one unidentified show that had plenty of violence, but required the writers to go back and forth and come up with 20 different racial slurs to see which one was more acceptable than the other. She was also on ABCs Greys Anatomy earlier in its run when writers were told that they couldnt say vagina on a medical show but penis was OK thus resulting in terms like vajayjay entering our lexicon. (A representative for ABC confirmed to Variety that vagina is now acceptable language.)
Ron Simon, curator of TV and radio at the Paley Center for Media, notes that since 1934 over-the-air television and radio has been regulated, including a safe harbor period between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Although the First Amendment prohibits outright censorship or interference with broadcasters right to free speech, during these hours content the FCC deems indecent material may not be broadcast because kids are arguably most likely to hear it.
Simon says most of the recent viewer complaints have come from live events, such as CNNs decision to air the audio of Donald Trumps Access Hollywood hot mic interview during the election or Stephen Colberts late-night monologue where he claimed to know the only thing the president is good for. Neither were within the FCCs jurisdiction.
It seems very arbitrary, if you look at the complaints, Simon says. Hes not sure how much the average viewer has made a distinction between what is and isnt regulated by the FCC.
Of course networks have their own rights to self-censor and Paizs experience with broadcast Standards and Practices is not unique. Museum of Broadcast Communications television curator Walter J. Podrazik says he has seen a desire not to offend from the business side since the days of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, and Rob and Laura Petrie, sleeping in separate beds. He points to a scene in a televised production of the play No Time for Sergeants that aired in 1955 during The United States Steel Hour as an example. In the play, Andy Griffiths character, Will Stockdale, is on latrine duty and decides to make all the toilet seat covers stand at attention and flush when his superior walks though. But the gag was deemed inappropriate for television audiences, so an orchestra played instead. Even by 1971, Podrazik says, it was a big deal when audiences heard a toilet flush in one of the first scenes of All in the Family.
What is offensive or what is an imposition has sort of changed over the years, Podrazik says. But he adds that writers and directors are crafty enough to get around it and convey it without having to say the words.
Foxs Empire only used the most derogatory word for a gay man in the pilot (in 2015), since becoming more creative when reaching for terms an old-school music mogul might use to hurt his gay son. ABCs Modern Family made light of an emotional situation in 2012 by bleeping the tirade of f-bombs that the young Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) unleashes during a wedding ceremony. But this year NBCs The Carmichael Show aired the n-word unedited during primetime albeit with a parental advisory notice appearing ahead of the broadcast. These examples all serve the argument that words can be hurtful, but hearing them can add to the authenticity of characters, diminish their shock potential and reclaim their ownership.
ABCs anthology drama American Crime, which ended with its third season this year, was never gratuitous with foul language, but it did incorporate it into the show to capture the reality of its characters vocabulary. Its work-around for the FCC? A short cut to black.
Michael J. McDonald, one of American Crimes executive producers, says early viewers thought something might be wrong with their screens, but now, people are used to it, and when you watch it, you just fill in the word. McDonald appreciates that ABC allowed these cutaways because it implies theyre not shying away from the language being spoken. Theyre almost saying, Were censoring this because we have to.
American Crime still had to fight battles for certain terms, though. Lollipop is not an acceptable euphemism for oral sex, according to the ABC S&P, and dick is banned as well, which McDonald says is innately misogynistic, considering you can say bitch as many times as you want in an episode. It is interesting to note, too, that when licensed on Netflix and airing in other countries, American Crime plays its scenes with the words intact.
Cable networks that are not as beholden to advertisers have slightly fewer censorship rules to which to adhere, but most are still selective with their language. Although shows on FX have used the f-word for years, and The People v. OJ: American Crime Story ran the gamut of racist and sexist commentary when depicting the infamous Mark Fuhrman tapes, its 2017 anthology Feud was the first to use the c-word.
Id like to get to the point where theres virtually no censorship, and were pretty close, FX chief John Landgraf told journalists during his executive session at the summer 2015 Television Critics Assn. press tour. Landgrafs policy is to use as few offensive epithets toward women and minorities as possible.
When they are used, they tend to be used in a context where you see theyre used by a character that is doing something wrong, and its pretty clear theyre doing something wrong, he says.
Oddly, this issue is compounded by something for which many networks have been commended: a push for diversity. As series push to include more characters speaking foreign languages, there comes the problem of what is inflammatory in one country isnt in another even if those countries speak the same language, as McDonald found on American Crime. Similarly, Paiz says she once worked on show that had a character named Jesus. S&P was fine with his name if it was used with the Latino pronunciation, but she says they dug in their heels that his friends were not refer to him with the Anglicized one.
I come from Latin America and they censor words that we say in Spanish in ways that make no sense, says Paiz. She was also told that under no circumstances could she use the Latino insult pendejo, which literally translates to pubic hair but can also be used pejoratively to call someone a stupid or contemptible person, because they had gotten complaints about it before.
Paiz understands the reasoning behind these rules, even if they do feel arbitrary, but McDonald points out that an hour on social media on which children spend a great portion of their day can bring up more scathing language than anything available on scripted television. He believes cursing and strong language definitely have their places on television, just not on all shows.
I dont think people are going to be watching American Crime and think, Oh, dear lord. They said the f-word!, McDonald says. You already have chosen to watch our show and know what the subject matter is. I think if you dropped the f-word and the n-word into an episode of The Middle, that might be a little more shocking to a family.
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The architecture of censorship – The Hindu
Posted: at 5:44 pm
Independence Day is an occasion to celebrate freedom from a colonial regime that not only cast chains of economic and political bondage upon Indians, but also fettered their freedom to think, dissent, and express themselves without fear. Demands for a right to free speech, and for an end to political, cultural and artistic censorship, were at the heart of our freedom struggle, and which culminated in the celebrated Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. Last week, however, two events revealed that 70 years after Independence, the freedom of speech still occupies a fragile and tenuous place in the Republic, especially when it is pitted against the authority of the State. The first was the Jharkhand governments decision to ban the Sahitya Akademi awardee Hansda Sowvendra Shekhars 2015 book, The Adivasi Will Not Dance, for portraying the Santhal community in bad light. And the second was an order of a civil judge at Delhis Karkardooma Court, restraining the sale of Priyanka Pathak-Narains new book on Baba Ramdev, titled Godman to Tycoon.
Neither the ban on The Adivasi Will Not Dance, nor the injunction on Godman to Tycoon, are the last words on the issue. They are, rather, familiar opening moves in what is typically a prolonged and often tortuous battle over free speech, with an uncertain outcome. Nevertheless, they reveal something important: censorship exists in India to the extent it does because it is both easy and efficient to accomplish. This is for two allied reasons. First, the Indian legal system is structured in a manner that achieving censorship through law is an almost costless enterprise for anyone inclined to try; and second, the only thing that could effectively counteract this a strong, judicial commitment to free speech, at all levels of the judiciary does not exist. Together, these two elements create an environment in which the freedom of speech is in almost constant peril, with writers, artists, and publishers perpetually occupied with firefighting fresh threats and defending slippery ground, rather than spending their time and energy to transgress, challenge and dissent from the dominant social and cultural norms of the day.
The Jharkhand governments ban on The Adivasi Will Not Dance followed public protests against the writer, with MLAs calling for a ban on the book on the ground that it insulted Santhal women. The legal authority of the government to ban books flows from Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (which, in turn, was based upon a similarly worded colonial provision). Section 95 authorises State governments to forfeit copies of any newspaper, book, or document that appears to violate certain provisions of the Indian Penal Code, such as Section 124A (sedition), Sections 153A or B (communal or class disharmony), Section 292 (obscenity), or Section 295A (insulting religious beliefs). Under Section 96 of the CrPC, any person aggrieved by the governments order has the right to challenge it before the high court of that State.
The key element of Section 95 is that it allows governments to ban publications without having to prove, before a court of law, that any law has been broken. All that Section 95 requires is that it appear to the government that some law has been violated. Once the publication has been banned, it is then up to the writer or publisher to rush to court and try and get the ban lifted.
The CrPC is therefore structured in a manner that is severely detrimental to the interests of free speech. By giving the government the power to ban publications with the stroke of a pen (through a simple notification), the law provides a recipe for overregulation and even abuse: faced with political pressure from influential constituencies, the easiest way out for any government is to accede and ban a book, and then let the law take its own course. Furthermore, litigation is both expensive and time-consuming. Section 95 ensures that the economic burden of a ban falls upon the writer or the publisher, who must approach the court. It also ensures that while the court deliberates and decides the matter, the default position remains that of the ban, ensuring that the publication cannot enter the marketplace of ideas during the course of the (often prolonged and protracted) legal proceedings.
The most noteworthy thing about the Karkardooma civil judges injunction on Godman to Tycoon is that it was granted without hearing the writer or the publisher (Juggernaut Books). In an 11-page order, the civil judge stated that he had given the book a cursory reading, and examined the specific portion produced by Baba Ramdevs lawyers in court which he found to be potentially defamatory. On this basis, he restrained the publication and sale of the book.
In this case, it is the judicial order of injunction that is performing the work of Section 95 of the CrPC. Effectively, a book is banned without a hearing. The book then stays banned until the case is completed (unless the writer or publisher manages to persuade the court to lift the injunction in the meantime). Once again, the presumption is against the rights of writers, and against the freedom of speech and expression.
In fact, the Karkardooma civil judges injunction order is contrary to well-established principles of free speech and defamation law. Under English common law which is the basis of the Indian law of defamation it is recognised that injunctions, which effectively amount to a judicial ban on books, have a serious impact upon the freedom of speech, and are almost never to be granted. The only situation in which a court ought to grant an injunction is if, after hearing both sides in a preliminary enquiry, it is virtually clear that there could be no possible defence advanced by the writer or publisher. The correct remedy, in a defamation case, is not to injunct the book from publication on the first hearing itself, but to have a full-blown, proper trial, and if it is finally proven that defamation has been committed, to award monetary damages to the plaintiff.
In 2011, the High Court of Delhi held that this basic common law rule acquired even greater force in the context of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, and reiterated that injunctions did not serve the balance between freedom of speech and a persons right to reputation. The high court reaffirmed the basic principle of our Constitution: that the presumption always ought to be in favour of the freedom of speech and expression. In this context, the Karkardooma civil judges order granting an injunction before even hearing the writer and publisher is particularly unfortunate.
While the banning of The Adivasi Will Not Dance reflects the structural flaws in our criminal law that undermine the freedom of speech, the injunction on Godman to Tycoon reveals a different pathology: even where the law is relatively protective of free speech, it will not help if judges who are tasked with implementing the law have not themselves internalised the importance of free speech in a democracy.
The first problem is a problem of legal reform. The solution is obvious: to repeal Sections 95 and 96, take the power of banning books out of the hands of the government, and stipulate that if indeed the government wants to ban a book, it must approach a court and demonstrate, with clear and cogent evidence, what laws have been broken that warrant a ban. The second problem, however, is a problem of legal culture, and therefore, a problem of our public culture. It can only be addressed through continuing and unapologetic affirmation of free speech as a core, foundational, and non-negotiable value of our Republic and our Constitution.
Gautam Bhatia, a Delhi-based lawyer, is the author of Offend, Shock, or Disturb: Free Speech Under the Indian Constitution
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The architecture of censorship - The Hindu
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