10 Ways Not To Make Your Friends Libertarian – Being Libertarian

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Libertarians are, in all honesty, the cringe lords of Facebook. Theyve become the Jehovahs witnesses of the internet.

Libertarianism is a movement with a ton of wonderful people in it, many simply read paperwork on economics and policy, are very smart and go on to living productive and happy lives. That said, it seems like these are only one in every dozen. The rest are a combination of Chris Cantwell, James Weeks, and a bunch of people somewhere on the spectrum, they are not the best marketers.

Ive made a list of ten things libertarians seem to be doing (common and bizarre trends) which are not helping in making their movement a thing.

Lets explain something very basic. If you want to be a person, be a freaking person! Theres nothing more bizarre, or weird, than when someone sees a Facebook profile of a dude they know, went to school with, or are related to, and its just some ugly Facebook profile photo of a dumb meme saying some libertarian buzzword.

Have a photo with friends!

Have a photo looking good!

Have a photo visiting a cool location!

Do not be some junk mass produced meme!

This is something that belongs higher on the list, but its something to just get out of the way early on.

I have questions for many libertarians: Do you hold a masters or PhD in economics? Are you some sort of successful business owner? Are you someone of really any relevance in this world?

Look at the podcasts, the blogs, the candidates, and more. Its all people who, wellarent anybody.

However, its all Oh, like my Facebook page devoted to me! I have a dozen of them!

Its great to be smart. Its great to want to be a face in a movement. Its not great to come off as an egotistical prick Im looking at you Steve Patterson.

This one I just dont really get, the economy and world is a wonderful place, and Ive noticed a lot of libertarians (more so the Ron Paul people) saying the world will come to an end if libertarianism doesnt take over. Ive flat out had people say America is in the verge of becoming a third world nation, and thats just silly.

Life is awesome, and whether its Trump, Bernie, Clinton, or whoever, America and the world has a positive future.

This is where we enter the world of creepertarians.

Yes, I want prostitution to be legal. Yes, I think it is a big issue for some people. However, unless you are a woman, just dont make this your issue. The numbers of creepy people I see who fixate on this random issue (all of whom tend to be socially autistic males) needs to stop.

This is a Libertarian Party problem and its a big one. The LP, to survive, needs big and powerful names.

We need to get on the phone with every millionaire and billionaire who didnt vote for Trump or Clinton and find out if they are compatible with libertarianism. We need to go beg Jeff Flake, Rand Paul, Bill Weld and Justin Amash to be in the liberty movement.

When I see these non-candidates being taken as serious contenders, I laugh and so do non libertarians.

I have never had a drink of alcohol. I have never smoked pot. I have never smoked a cigarette. I have never consumed any caffeine. I dont plan to.

This is where I sadly had an issue with Gary Johnson, a guy I really admire.

I idolize Gary Johnson as the libertarian governor who would climb mountains and build companies. Im not so fixated on him running around talking about how much he loves marijuana.

Now, with Gary its kind of cool. Having a guy that successful actually saying how he has casually smoked marijuana and is still a giant success is cool. However, when less successful libertarians run around talking about their bag of pot, we have an issue.

Remember, every time a libertarian wears a fedora, three Bernie backers are born.

Julie Borowski is probably the best speaker in the liberty movement now who actually makes good content. To see a bunch of freaky dudes online say very perverse things to her in the comments on her Facebook is gross.

Also, this goes beyond Julie into how a lot of libertarians treat women in general. Some just need to grow up.

Want libertarianism to work?

Talk about deregulation in the energy markets cutting costs to ten bucks a barrel.

Talk about making it so undocumented workers will get amnesty.

Talk about the FDA being restructured to allow for massively lower priced pills.

Talk about a practical plan to cut taxes in half.

Talk about how great itd be to have a generation that didnt have to go to war.

The NAP is a philosophical BS statement that no non- libertarian understands and those who run on about it should just get a community college philosophy class to teach at.

Taxation is theft is a meme, taxes need to exist. This is a dumb radicalism.

And the biggest of them all, number one

One big mistake, is that too many libertarians get obsessed with this and become little else than someone obsessed with politics. Travel the world. Succeed in academics or business. Take up cool hobbies such as music, art, archery or whatever. Do not be that jackass posting twenty times a day on Facebook about some stupid topic.

Thats all Ive got.

This post was written by Charles Peralo.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

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10 Ways Not To Make Your Friends Libertarian - Being Libertarian

City candidates: Libertarians plan to run on big ideas – The Daily News Online

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BATAVIA Libertarians in Genesee County know they have three Batavia City Council candidates that match their philosophy.

If the election goes their way, the party also believes it could have a working majority on most issues.

We could flip the script in how this city how things are run, said Jim Rosenbeck, the Genesee County Libertarian Partys secretary. There are people on the council that are very Libertarian at least on some issues. We could make serious changes.

Rosenbeck and Lisa Whitehead, who were endorsed for City Council at the Genesee County Libertarian Partys inaugural convention in 2013, received the same honor Monday.

Rosenbeck and Whitehead will be joined by Mark Potwora, the local partys vice chairman, in a challenge for a trio of at-large seats up for election in November. They see it as an honest one.

Were going to offer an unashamably libertarian position on the issues, without being insulting or derogative to the other people that have served, Rosenbeck said. Its simply a different view that we consider wiser heading forward.

That means a platform calling for decisive action, Whitehead told party members. And a less obtrusive one, Potwora added.

The citys managerial style is at its apex, Whitehead said, and its not generating results.

We have the mall, which is being kicked down the road, she said. Council seems to create these answers and not follow through on them. We have the police station, weve done surveys, task forces, and it falls through.

There are many issues that tend to fall through the cracks, she continued. Its a managerial issue. Going forward, we need to make a change in that spot.

Potwora said there are solutions to issues like where you park your car, or how frequently you mow your lawn.

Whatever the problems are, I think we can do it on our own, rather than the city making it a certain way, Potwora said. Help your neighbor mow their lawn, not rat them out (to the city).

Potwora, Rosenbeck and Whitehead were nominated by unanimous acclaim during a party convention at T.F. Browns on Monday, but will have to secure petitions to qualify for the ballot.

The partys status in New York determined by a below 50,000-vote turnout of its gubernatorial candidates technically makes them run as independent candidates.

Convention attendees heard from Larry Sharpe, a contender for the partys candidate for governor in 2018, and New York State Chairman Mark Glogowski.

What we need is a very clear image of what we stand for its the way you live, Glogowski said in a in-person expression of optimism about the partys growth in chapters and members.

Sharpe focused on making personal connections. Talking via Skype, he discussed the City Centre issue with the candidates.

Libertarians cant make the first response to the question be the one about taxpayers paying for it, he counseled them some people wont care.

Id want to start with that its a terrible eyesore, Sharpe said.

It diverts from improving parks and roads that people use, Potwora said. It embarrasses a community that wants its city to look its best. Let someone buy it and fix the site up.

Thats the libertarian answer, Sharpe said. Thats what you need, to have the answers, the kind of conversation that will get things moving forward at a local level. Those conversations will help tremendously.

Rosenbeck said he favored getting out of the mall business, but allowed a vision that went farther. Could the citys white elephant become, under private investment, an enlarged draw for youth hockey by replacing it with rinks and the Falletti Ice Arena replaced with a new police station adjoining the existing fire station?

I know that sounds pie in the sky, but I want us to look at big answers, Rosenbeck said. If were going to run on just who has to pay for the flowers on Main Street, go elect a Republican or Democrat. Thats not what were here for.

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City candidates: Libertarians plan to run on big ideas - The Daily News Online

Schmidt exploring Libertarian congressional run – Glens Falls Post-Star (blog)

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Christopher Schmidt, a political activist from Washington County, on Monday announced he has established a committee to explore running for Congress in the 21st District in 2018 on the Libertarian Party line.

Schmidt said he is hoping as soon as possible to formally announce his candidacy once his committee finishes its analysis.

The momentum is building right now. As a Libertarian in the North Country, I know I can change the narrative, he said in a telephone interview on Monday.

Schmidt, age 30, is a day laborer, writer and political activist who has been vocal on redrawing voting districts in Queensbury and Glens Falls, and in opposition to Glens Falls Police Department using tasers.

He is temporary chairman of the newly-formed Washington County Libertarian Party and was a co-founder of the Warren County Libertarian Party.

Schmidt, if he gets on the ballot, would challenge U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro.

Patrick Nelson of Stillwater, a political activist and Bernie Sanders delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, is seeking the Democratic nomination.

At least two Green Party members are seriously considering the congressional race, Matt Funiciello, the Green Party candidate in 2014 and 2016, has said.

Schmidt, in a press release, said nearly a dozen individuals are serving on his exploratory committee.

He would not identify committee members on Monday.

Theres a range of people. Im hoping that we can get our official list for the media in the future, but definitely people that have been involved in the Libertarian movement from here out to Jefferson County, even surrounding counties, he said.

At first it was going to be a write-in (campaign.) But then I got some support and now theres some people that want me to be on the ballot and theyre willing to get the 3,500 signatures, he said.

Because the Libertarian Party does not have ballot status in New York, the partys House candidates must run as independents, which requires at least 3,500 valid signatures on nominating petitions, a daunting task in comparison with established political parties.

Republican and Democratic candidates need collect only 1,250 valid signatures from enrolled party members in the congressional district to get on the ballot.

Candidates on other established ballot lines in the 21st District require from three to 1,237 signatures 5 percent of enrollment based on current enrollment statistics.

The most recent local Libertarian congressional candidate was Eric Sundwall in the 2009 special election after Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport, was appointed to the U.S. Senate.

Sundwall was disqualified from the ballot when the state Board of Election ruled that only 2,900 of 6,730 signatures on his nominating petitions were valid.

Sundwall, at the time, said the Board of Elections invalidated many signatures based on minor technicalities.

Follow staff writer Maury Thompson at All Politics is Local blog, at PS_Politics on Twitter and at Maury Thompson Post-Star on Facebook.

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Chaired by a Libertarian from Augie, in wake of Republican repeal of IM 22, a legislative task force is ready to … – Watertown Public Opinion

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PIERRE There is plenty on the plate already for the 15 members of the Legislatures task force on initiatives, referrals and constitutional amendments who convene later this month.

Presentations and testimony pack two days of meetings on Tuesday, June 20, and Wednesday, June 21.

Rep. David Lust of Rapid City, a former House Republican leader, sponsored the legislation creating the task force.

During the first House debate on it, Lust said: I think this is prudent policy and I hope good things come from the task force.

He said a task force isnt normally his preferred option. He described them generally as cul de sacs where good ideas go to die.

Lust defended the proposed membership, saying by design it had more citizens than has been usual for legislative studies.

Thats who does initiative and referendum measures. I think its very important that it not be comprised of legislators, he said.

South Dakota voters had approved Initiated Measure 22 in the November 2016 election. Among the provisions, IM 22 strictly prohibited conflicts of interest and restricted campaign contributions.

"HB 1141 was a way for me to encourage the legislature to step-back and take a less reactionary approach to IM 22 and the rush to reform the initiative and referendum process. As you know there were many bills designed to 'fix' the initiative and referendum process all on the heels of IM 22. It makes more sense to approach the process more deliberately and with a larger perspective," Lust said Tuesday.

Republican legislative leaders filed a lawsuit in state court seeking to throw out IM 22. On Dec. 8, Circuit Judge Mark Barnett suspended it, entirely, from taking effect.

While waiting to proceed to the South Dakota Supreme Court, Republican legislators repealed IM 22. Lust was one of the 13 House members who voted against the IM 22 repeal, HB 1069.

The session then turned to replacing various parts of IM 22 with lawmakers own versions. Neither sides lawmakers, however, offered a replacement for a public-financing plan for election campaigns that was part of IM 22.

The task force starts work at 9 a.m. CT on June 20. The first-day agenda calls for task force members to:

Discuss the goals for the task force;

Consider the history of South Dakotas processes for voters to directly legislate or amend the state constitution;

Hear testimony from the three offices involved in the processes the Legislative Research Council, the state attorney general and the secretary of state; and

Analyze South Dakota in comparison with other states.

The second-day agenda for June 21, again starting at 9 a.m. CT, opens with approximately two hours of public testimony.

Then comes one hour of discussion among task force members regarding any proposals.

Running the show is Emily Wanless of Sioux Falls, who is a faculty member at Augustana University. House Speaker Mark Mickelson, R-Sioux Falls, chose her in part because she is a Libertarian Party member.

Vice chairman is Rep. Don Haggar, R-Sioux Falls, who is House speaker pro tem.

Lusts initial version called for seven members: the secretary of state; the attorney general; a member of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry; two House members appointed by the speaker; and two senators appointed by the Senate president pro tem, who is Sen. Brock Greenfield, R-Clark.

House Republican leader Lee Qualm of Platte at a House committee hearing amended the bill to call for 15 members. They included:

Two Republicans and one Democrat from the House, chosen by the House speaker;

Two Republicans and one Democrat from the Senate, chosen by the Senate president pro tem;

The secretary of state and the attorney general;

One member appointed by the governor;

Two members from the state Board of Elections;

One member of the faculty from a political science department at university or college in South Dakota, chosen by the House speaker;

One member representing the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry;

One member representing the South Dakota Municipal League; and

One member representing the South Dakota Association of County Commissioners.

That version of Lusts legislation squeaked through House on a 39-29 vote for approval. Democrats and many Republican ultra-conservatives opposed it.

The Senate switched up membership with an amendment from the Senate Democratic leader, Billie Sutton of Burke.

The Sutton amendment gave the governor two appointments: One from a business background and the other from an agricultural setting; with the requirement they be from different political parties.

In turn senators took away the chamber of commerce seat. Senators also:

Required the elections board appointees come from different political parties;

Decided the House speakers faculty appointment should be an independent or from a minor political party; and

Allowed the municipal league and county commissioners to choose their appointees.

The Senate voted 27-8 for its version of HB 1141. The only yea among the six Democrats came from Sutton.

The House agreed with the Senate amendments 46-19, picking up yeas from some who opposed the bill on its first run through the chamber.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed it into law March 10.

The law sets the task force budget at $21,000. It says the task force should report to the Legislature and the governor before the start of the 2018 legislative session.

It also says the task force should operate similar to an interim legislative committee, with authority to offer draft legislation and policy recommendations. That is despite only six members being senators or representatives.

The Legislatures Executive Committee, headed by Mickelson this year, shall supervise the task force, according to the law.

Wanless fulfills the speakers faculty appointment. The three House members are Haggar, Rep. Tim Reed, R-Brookings, and Rep. Karen Soli, D-Sioux Falls.

The senators are Republicans Jim Bolin of Canton and Ernie Otten of Tea, and Democrat Reynold Nesiba of Sioux Falls.

Nesiba spearheaded the successful initiative that restricted the state-airplane use by Mike Rounds, who then was the Republican governor, and now is a U.S. senator.

Duane Sutton, a Republican former legislator from Brown County, is the county commissioner. Yvonne Taylor, who is executive director for the municipal league, represents her membership.

The governors duo are Will Mortenson, a Republican lawyer from the Fort Pierre ranching family, and University of South Dakota president Jim Abbott, a lawyer and a Democratic former legislator. Abbott was the partys nominee for governor in 2002.

The elections board members are Republican Pam Lynde, the Deuel County auditor, and Democratic former legislator Linda Lea Viken, a Rapid City lawyer.

Secretary of State Shantel Krebs and state Attorney General Marty Jackley are non-voting members of the task force.

Krebs is a candidate for the Republican U.S. House nomination. She is running against Republican Dusty Johnson, a former state Public Utilities Commission member and Daugaards first-term chief of staff.

Jackley is a candidate for the Republican governor nomination in what so far is a four-candidate field.

One of the other Republicans is U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, who wants to make history as South Dakotas first woman to serve as governor.

Not everyone supported the task forces creation. House Democratic leader Spencer Hawley of Brookings said it was another step to control initiated measures. So please dont tighten it up any more, Hawley said.

Lusts legislation would take decisions away from legislators and pushes them onto a task force, said Rep. Spencer Gosch, R-Glenham. We no longer get a say. Were just supposed to swallow whatever comes out, he said.

Rep. Tona Rozum, R-Mitchell, defended it. Were throwing a lot of stuff at the wall this year, she said, and quite a bit of it is sticking at this point.

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Chaired by a Libertarian from Augie, in wake of Republican repeal of IM 22, a legislative task force is ready to ... - Watertown Public Opinion

Hull’s Libertarian candidate Will Taylor on what the party is all about – Hull Daily Mail

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First-time general election candidate Will Taylor is raising the profile of the fledgling Libertarian Party in his home city.

He is one of only four party candidates standing across the country.

Living off Anlaby Road, he's challenging for the Hull West and Hessle seat.

READ MORE: Libertarian Will Taylor aims to break election mould in Hull

While he doesn't expect to win, the campaign has given him the opportunity to get his party's message across to a wider audience.

He said: "The Libertarian Party is all about live and let live as long as you are not doing any harm.

"We don't think the government has any right to interfere with your life.

"We have five basic principles that we want to see introduced.

"We want to see the amount of tax we pay reduced as we currently pay around 37 per cent of our income in tax. To do that we have got to cut out a lot of wasteful government spending.

"In terms of immigration, we are very much pro-Brexit but we don't mind people coming into the country so long as they fit in and are prepared to work.

"We would like to see businesses get on and allowed to be businesses. There is too much bureaucracy and red tape, I see and hear that all the time from local businesses in Hull.

"Finally, I want politicians to be made accountable. They spend far too much time down in London in their ivory towers."

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On Wisconsin Islands, a Warm Welcome and Brisk Waters – New York Times

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New York Times
On Wisconsin Islands, a Warm Welcome and Brisk Waters
New York Times
This week's U.S. Islands special package celebrates the charming, often dreamy life to be found off American coasts and within its lakes. Below, Robert Lillegard writes about Wisconsin's Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior, which offer stunning sea caves ...

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On Wisconsin Islands, a Warm Welcome and Brisk Waters - New York Times

On a Georgia Island, a Lot of Good Food and Plenty of Nothing – New York Times

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On a Georgia Island, a Lot of Good Food and Plenty of Nothing
New York Times
This week's U.S. Islands special package celebrates the charming, often dreamy life to be found off American coasts and within its lakes. Below, Kim Severson writes about Cumberland Island, Ga., full of charm but not easy to get to. Padre Island, in ...

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On a Georgia Island, a Lot of Good Food and Plenty of Nothing - New York Times

Rosario Resort and Spa in the San Juan Islands combines luxury with Seattle history – KING5.com

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Anne Erickson, KING 8:00 PM. PDT June 05, 2017

ORCAS ISLAND, WASH. - Rosario Resort and Spa on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands won for Best Oceanside Resort and Best Renewed Hotel in Evening's Best Northwest Escapes viewer's poll. Technically, this resort is on the Salish Sea, but were not complaining.

The property used to be a retirement home for Seattle shipping magnate and mayor, Robert Moran - the man who helped the city rebuild after the Great Seattle Fire. Now its a getaway with modern, luxury suites and a full service marina.

The home that Moran built the Moran Mansion now houses a historical museum, a spa with a saltwater soaking pool, a lounge and a restaurant. The Mansion Restaurants executive chef, Raymond Southern, prepares San Juan Island foraged, farmed and grown cuisine that is as perfect as the view from the dining room.

The Moran Mansion also makes its own music a 1913 Aeolian pipe organ with more than 1,900 pipes wraps around a mezzanine music room. And Rosarios GM, Christopher Peacock, plays it like a virtuoso.

Robert Moran built this island getaway under doctors orders. He was told he only had months to live, and needed to slow down. Moran built this unique retirement home between 1906 and 1909, then retired to the San Juan Islands. Moran proved his doctor wrong, enjoying island life until passing away in 1943.

2017 KING-TV

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Rosario Resort and Spa in the San Juan Islands combines luxury with Seattle history - KING5.com

UNHCR Aegean Islands Factsheet – April 2017 – ReliefWeb

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HIGHLIGHTS

30,824 Number of arrivals on islands since the 2016 EU-Turkey Statement

1,156 Number of arrivals on the islands in April 2017

948 Number of people hosted in improved accommodation on the islands

530 Asylum-seekers transferred from the islands to state-run sites or UNHCR accommodation on the mainland

OPERATIONAL CONTEXT

The Aegean islands have been at the forefront of the 2015/2016 European Refugee Emergency with over 1 million people arriving in total, the vast majority from refugee producing countries. Before 20 March 2016, the population was transient, with arrivals remaining on the islands for a limited time, sometimes hours or a few days, before continuing their journey. The situation changed after the closure of the so-called Balkans route and the implementation of the Joint EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016. Arrivals decreased significantly, the length of stay on the island increased, and the needs of the refugee and migrant populations on the islands changed, especially for people and families with specific needs.

Currently, according to the authorities, over 13,800 people are hosted on the Aegean islands; UNHCR estimates that this number could be lower. Some 964 are accommodated in urban facilities run by UNHCR and funded by the European Commission (EC). The Greek Government, supported by UNHCR and the broader humanitarian community, has made positive steps in improving conditions and services at the Reception and Identification Centres (RICs) on Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos, and Leros.

The situation on the islands has generally improved, but challenges with overcrowding and insecurity remain, and sub-standard conditions must still be improved in some locations. Protection risks for people staying on the islands continue, particularly the risk of sexual and gender-based violence. Children, including unaccompanied children, remain in inadequate shelter with insufficient access to formal or non-formal education, which also severely impacts their psychosocial well-being. Some sites lack regular access to essential services, such as psychosocial counselling, healthcare, and interpretation.

Months after their arrival on the Greek islands many asylum-seekers are still waiting for the full registration and processing of their asylum claims, especially for Iraqis and Afghans. Authorities have accelerated the pace of registration in recent months, but gaps remain. A comprehensive plan is still needed for the strengthening of the institutions allowing for the rapid full registration and processing of asylum claims in accordance with the requirements of the Asylum Procedures Directive (APD) and Greek law. As a protest against the lengthy asylum procedures and uncertainty over their future, twelve Kurdish Syrian men all residents of the Moria RIC on Lesvos went on a hunger and water strike. The strike was suspended after seven days following UNHCR-led facilitation with the RIC authorities.

Coordination gaps also remain and the Greek Government, the Ministry of Migration Policy (MoMP) in particular, should establish clear coordination structures with all humanitarian stakeholders to ensure a coherent and efficient response where gaps are addressed, overlap avoided, and resources optimised.

UNHCRs role in Greece focuses on working with the Government, non-governmental and other organizations, volunteer networks and communities to ensure the protection of refugees and asylum-seekers arriving in Greece. UNHCR advocates for the improvement of policies and services that affect the lives of refugees. UNHCR supports the Government to improve the process through which people can apply for asylum and access rights.

Where necessary, UNHCR helps the Government to fulfil the basic needs of asylum-seekers and refugees. In some cases, UNHCR provides support when there are gaps related to shelter, water, sanitation, food, basic household items, health, education, information provision, coordination and site management. UNHCR does this either directly or by working with partners. UNHCRs role varies from location to location, depending on the identified needs and partnerships.

UNHCR assists asylum-seekers by connecting them with partners who can provide social and legal advice and representation.

UNHCR also provides support to government officials, the staff of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others to enhance their capacity to understand and respond to the needs of refugees.

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UNHCR Aegean Islands Factsheet - April 2017 - ReliefWeb

Did Nazis use remote Canary Islands’ villa as secret U-boat base during WWII? – Fox News

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The current occupant of a secluded home on one of Spains Canary Islands is determined to find out whether it was once used by the Nazis as a secret U-boat base.

Pedro Fumero, who moved into the so-called Villa Winter in 2012 after finding his two uncles and an aunt living there in squalor, believes that the homes impressive views of Janda National Park and interesting architecture were all part of a secret Nazi plan to monitor the waters off North Africa during World War II.

While Fumero, whose grandfather helped build Villa Winter, has no evidence to back up the claim, there are numerous architectural and historical quirks that have led the 48-year-old retired taxi driver to believe it was a Nazi hideaway.

First and foremost: The original owner of the house was Gustav Winter.

Born in the Black Forest region of Germany in 1893, Winter moved to the Canary Islands in 1925. The engineer was one of 104 German residents living in Spain who were accused of being Nazi agents. At the end of the war, Allied forces requested they be repatriated.

In 1947, the Madrid bureau chief of the United States Office of Strategic Services the forbearer to the CIA described Winter as a German agent in the Canary Island in charge of observation posts equipped with [wireless telegraphy] and responsible for supply German U-boats.

The Spanish government, then under the control of fascist leader Francisco Franco, did not hand over Winter to the Allies and he died in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1971.

"I am sure Gustav Winter was provisioning German submarines,"Fumero told the BBC.

(Villa Winter has a turret-like tower that looms over the entire structure and the bunker design of the mansion.)

Besides the shadowy background of the homes former owner, Fumero notes a number of architectural oddities that seem strange for a beach house in the Canary Islands, such as the turret-like tower that looms over the entire structure and the bunker design of the mansion.

Then there is the basement, which has walls that are more than six-feet thick, and the multiple windowless rooms in the house, including atunnel-like spacethat runs the length of the house with just a small window at one end.

A letter from a German official toLuftwaffe chief Hermann Goering, a leader of the Nazi party,does complain that it was rumored in the Canaries that one Gustav Winter was supplying fuel to German submarines, and that this was attracting the attention of enemy spies.

Winter also built an airstrip between his home and the nearby beach, but historians believe it served a less nefarious reason than as a landing spot for Nazi warplanes.

"I was told by one of his sons that it was because Winter's wife had a difficult birth experience, so he decided that planes should get access," said Juan Jos Daz Benitez, a history lecturer at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

While local documents say the home was built in 1946, Fumero asserts that the bunker was built when Winter acquired the entire Janda peninsula shortly after Franco took power at the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. During World War II, Spain officially remained neutral, but owed the Nazis a debt for the weaponry and financial support Franco received from them during the civil war. It is well known that Spanish ports were major refueling and provisioning sites for German U-boats between 1940 and 1942.

Fumero may be convinced that Villa Winter was a Nazi base, but others say there is a need for more hard evidence before a final decision is made.

What is known for certain is that Winter did have a connection with the Nazis and used that relationship to secure the construction of the harbor at Morro Jable.

"The only thing proven by German documents, Diaz Benitez said, is the subsidies he got for economic plans for island of Fuerteventura."

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Crew uncovers ancient site under Channel Islands home – Ventura County Star

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As the National Park Service prepared to rehabilitate an historic ranch house on Santa Rosa Island, archaeologists discovered tool artifacts dating between 8,000 and 16,000 years old beneath the structure. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR

Laura Stelson, of the National Park Service, removes sediment as she searches for evidence of an early Chumash settlement Sunday on Santa Rosa Island.(Photo: ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR)Buy Photo

A crew tunneling under a historic ranch house on Santa Rosa Island has uncovered a site that could help experts piece togetherwhat life was like there more than 8,000 years ago.

On the island 40 miles off Ventura, archaeologists discovered stone tools characteristic of sites occupied 8,000 to 13,000 years ago.

The 150-year-old home, part of the historic Vail and Vickers ranch, turned out to be sitting on top of the significant archaeological site.

At this point, weve determined that there are intact paleocoastal deposits from the south end of the house to the opposite end on the north, said Gary Brown, National Park Service archaeologist.

He and a team of scientists worked over the past week, methodically digging in small test areas and sifting through each bucketful of dirt and stone at the site, part of the Channel Islands National Park.

Two significant discoveries came just days apart as a team got to work around and under the house.

First, they foundadistinctive stone called a Channel Islands barbed point;then later, they discovered a crescent. Both likely would have been used to hunt and fish, and are signatures of a sophisticated technology of early toolmaking on the islands.

Usually, when we find the two of them together, the site is at least 10,000 years old and could be 12,000 years old or older, said Jon Erlandson, University of Oregon archaeologist and an expert in the field.

This became a very exciting and very important discovery, he said.

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The Chumash people and their ancestors have been on the islands for thousands of years, Erlandson said.

Arlington Man, the earliest known human remainsin North America,date back 13,000 years and were foundon Santa Rosa Island.

"That suggests that these were some of the very earliest peoples along the Pacific Coast, he said. We know now that they were on the islands as early as they were practically anywhere in the new world.

The Channel Islands, especially the northern islands, are emerging as one of the central places in understanding thepeopling of the new world, he said.

On Sunday, scientists worked, slowly excavating three holes on different sides of the house.

Nicole Kulaga, of the National Park Service, had perhaps the most cramped quarters, as she worked underneath the home, now proppedup about a foot off the ground.

They each prodded the dirt with small trowels or straw brushes working in one small section at a time.

Nearby, other members of the team poured the buckets of dirt into screens first a quarter-inch screen to try to find pieces of stone tools.

Then, water was sprayed on the rest of the material in screens with even smaller holes to try to find bits of shell, bone or other pieces.

With the initial dry screening, the team hopes to find tools and projectile points that might still have clues about the prey being hunted back then.

Even after thousands of years, Brown said, scientists can find microscopic traces of protein and identify specific species of animal.

Any organic material found also can be dated, which could help confirm when people were there.

Read more: Wall demolition uncovers Ventura mission history

For more than 150 years, families operated a sheep and cattle ranch on the property just off Bechers Bay. The wood-frame house was built sometime around 1869.

Plans called for rehabbing the house, which could then be used for visitor lodging.

That means trying to keep as much of the original building intact as possible, while bringing it up to current standards, said Laura Kirn, chief of cultural resources for Channel Islands National Park.

One challenge: The house didnt have a foundation.

So the crew lifted it up on beams to add one.

The park service had surveyed the area before the work and didnt find any archaeological resources but decided to keep someone on site to monitor the work.

Chumash elder Julie Tumamait-Stenslie watches as National Park Service archaeology technician Aaron Davissifts for artifacts in sediment taken from beneath the Vail and Vickers ranch house Sunday on Santa Rosa Island.(Photo: ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR)

Within a few days of tunneling around the house, the archaeological monitor had found stone flakes, the kind used to make tools thousands of years ago.

Work stopped, and park officials came up with a new plan to investigate the archaeology.

This is part of our cultural heritage here, said Chumash elder and island descendant Julie Tumamait-Stenslie.

Tumamait-Stenslie, who gave a blessing at the site, was one of a fewChumash representatives there Sunday.

Most of the dirt and even some of the less significant artifacts will be reburied on the island that's called Wima in the Chumash language. But some of the more significant pieces could be studied, she said.

Those, she said, could let our childrens childrens children see, appreciate and admire and know how brilliant our people are, she said.

The team likely will finish excavating the site midweek, said park Superintendent Russell Galipeau.

After that work wraps up, park officials will analyze the data working with experts and consulting with the Chumash representatives to decide how to move forward.

Read more: Rare mammoth fossil found in national park

Plans might include changing the design for the foundation to come up with something that would be less disruptive to the site, he said.

At the same time, experts will continue to study the findings, trying to fill in more of the story of the islands and the people who lived there more than 10,000 years ago.

I think until just a few years ago, it would have been unusual to find a 10,000-year-old site out here. There were a handful of them at best, Erlandson said.

But after a concerted effort to learn more about the paleocoastal sites, they have started to fill in more of the story.

He hopes this site will further that work.

Weve learned a lot in the last 10 or 20 years, he said. We still have a tremendous amount to learn.

Officialsencouragedvisitorsto see and experience archaeological resources found in national parks but they also must leave everything in place and undisturbed.

Collecting, possessing,destroying, injuring, defacing, or disturbing the resources is prohibited by federal law and agency regulations.

June 6, 2017: This story has been updated to add information about penalties for removing archaeological resources from a national park,and the Chumash name for the island.

Read or Share this story: http://www.vcstar.com/story/news/special-reports/outdoors/2017/06/06/crew-uncovers-ancient-site-under-channel-islands-home/355277001/

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Crew uncovers ancient site under Channel Islands home - Ventura County Star

Casco Bay islands could crack down on golf carts | WGME – WGME

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During the summer weekends, the population on Peaks Island swells from 860 people to more than 4,000. (WGME)

PORTLAND (WGME) There could be a crackdown on golf carts on Portlands Casco Bay islands.

During the summer weekends, the population on Peaks Island swells from 860 people to more than 4,000. Many of those visitors choose to rent a golf cart for transportation.

With so many people renting golf carts, safety issues have come to the forefront. Residents of Peaks Island say people are often driving them while intoxicated after weddings or riding with children on their lap.

Now, the Portland City Council is looking to increase safety.

An ordinance was introduced that requires a drivers license; right now a person just has to be 21 to drive a cart.

It would also require carts to have head lights and rear red reflectors.

They prohibit a passenger from riding on another persons lap on a moving golf cart.

The speed limit would actually increase from 10 to 20 miles per hour.

CBS 13 spoke with a manager from one of the golf cart businesses, and he says he's all for safety but he doesn't think these are the right safety rules.

The safety council says the new rules are in line with reality.

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Casco Bay islands could crack down on golf carts | WGME - WGME

VAST CEO calls for an end to ‘Islands of Wi-Fi’ in South Africa – Wi-Fi NOW News (press release) (registration) (blog)

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by Stephanie Kinch, Staff Writer, Wi-Fi NOW

An open-access Wi-Fi network infrastructure provider VAST is able to cover 10 million square meters of usable Wi-Fi space with their network. Internet access should be available to everyone and a country-wide Wi-Fi network can make it happen.

Thats the goal of VAST Networks, an open-access Wi-Fi infrastructure provider in South Africa. With more than 10 million square meters of usable Wi-Fi space in their network, VAST is able to provide quality Wi-Fi access to areas that were previously unreachable in the country.

VAST CEO Grant Marais says that before his company came along, South Africas Wi-Fi presence consisted of random collections of hotspots.

When youre operating a collection of disparate internet hotspots, youre not able to offer differentiated services, he says. Youre only able to offer a linear internet service over those.

Marais spoke about so-called Islands of Wi-Fi, and what can be done to create more cohesion among them, at Wi-Fi NOW Africa in Cape Town last month. He said that the issue in South Africa and many other countries is that multiple operators create islands of Wi-Fi hotspots that consumers are unable to co-survive on. If a person subscribes to one Wi-Fi access service, it likely not available everywhere he goes. This location-dominated philosophy is expensive the consumer.

You kind of got left high and dry on your island by not being able to reuse it on someone elses island, says Marais.

Thats why VAST Networks was formed: To create a ubiquitous service layer that any service provider or organization can use to offer a Wi-Fi product that consumers can access on the same basis everywhere they go. Operators like AlwaysOn have become VASTs customers. With VAST, Wi-Fi in South Africa is now more like open-access fiber, where customers can choose and select a Wi-Fi service based on the providers offering, rather than location.

Wi-Fi for the masses

Marais says that to get consumers hooked on Wi-Fi, its important to put access in terms that they will understand. How many Instagram posts equal a gig? How many megs does one minute on Facebook eat up?

To help with this, VAST puts all the intelligence at the center of its network and has created a second layer network that faces inwards to, for example, pair with educational services or VoIP/minutes services. This allows consumers to use the Wi-Fi as an on-net or LAN-type service. For poorer areas, a digital content area with news, sports, lifestyle, and employment services is available for free to show the value of the internet to people with little online experience.

If we think about people who really need access to data that have never had it, its people who have an affordability issue, says Marais.

With 2,200 access spots in South Africa, VAST Networks works to offer internet access from any place, any time, and anywhere. Read more at http://www.vast.network

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VAST CEO calls for an end to 'Islands of Wi-Fi' in South Africa - Wi-Fi NOW News (press release) (registration) (blog)

A Radical Proposal For Preventing Rare Genetic Diseases – WIRED

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A Radical Proposal For Preventing Rare Genetic Diseases - WIRED

Trump tries to fire up tax reform, health care agenda amid turmoil – Fox News

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President Trump meets Tuesday at the White House with congressional Republican leaders -- anattempt to jumpstart efforts on overhauling ObamaCare, tax reform and other parts of his domestic agenda slowed by the Russia investigations and Capitol Hills notoriously long legislative process.

"Big meeting today with Republican leadership concerning Tax Cuts and Healthcare, Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. We are all pushing hard - must get it right!"

Under pressure to get at least one legislative victory in his first term, Trump is in fact meeting with the lawmakers twice Tuesday.

He will meet in the afternoon with GOP leaders of the House and Senate, then host a working White House dinner for a handful of Republicans members, White House legislativedirector Marc Shortsaid Monday.

However, Senate Republicans have already quickened the pace on ObamaCare, after being urged last week by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to vote this summer to increase the federal debt ceiling.

Sources told Fox News on Monday that the GOP-led Senate now wants to vote on ObamaCare as soon as possible so members can devote July to the debt-ceiling debate and September to tax reform, with the intent of providing tax breaks to voters.

Senate Republican leaders emerged Monday from their regular weekly meeting with the surprise announcement that they have a draft bill on overhauling ObamaCare and that a vote could happen as early as July 4.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the chambers No. 2 Republican, was among the more cautious about the timeline, saying a vote would come sometime in July.

The ObamaCare push in the Senate follows the House last month passing its version, which congressional analysts say would end health-care coverage for an estimated 23 million Americans.

Senate Republicans have met privately for weeks on the issue and say they will have their own legislation. However, they realize that any plan that cuts the deficit by billions will also likely mean less coverage, particularly for those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., in fact said last week that a vote on ObamaCare by the end of the year was unlikely.

Short also acknowledged Monday that congressional investigations -- like the two on Capitol Hill on whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 elections -- detracts from the presidents agenda.

But theres been lots of progress we're pleased about this spring, he added.

Trump, a former real estate magnate, complained last month about the slow pace of the Senate.

It's an archaic system, he told Fox News. It's really a bad thing for the country."

Short also said Monday that he doesnt expect legislation on tax reform until after Labor Day and that an infrastructure deal would come by the end of the year but the administration has no firm timeline.

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Trump tries to fire up tax reform, health care agenda amid turmoil - Fox News

Senate GOP aiming to conclude divisive health-care push one way or the other – Washington Post

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(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Senate Republican leaders are aiming to conclude their perilous and divisive effort to rewrite the nations health-care laws as soon as late this month, giving themselves only weeks to resolve substantial disagreements and raising the possibility that their push will collapse.

The leadership team is eyeing a vote by the end of July on a bill to be completed by early that month, with some aspiring to wrap up even sooner, as they cast ahead to the other legislative priorities on the horizon. One said he expected to hold a vote on a bill even if it lacked the support to pass, underscoring a growing desire to bring a difficult debate to a close one way or the other.

Some Senate Republican aides and associates are already privately discussing how the GOP would craft its midterm campaign message if it fails to pass a health-care bill, suggesting they could tell voters they need to build a bigger majority to finally undo the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, as they have long promised.

[The Health 202: Democrats arent winning the expectations game on health care]

There is also rising pessimism among rank-and-file Republican senators about the prospect of reaching consensus on legislation to make good on a signature campaign promise, highlighting the steep climb they face to securing the 50 votes they need to pass a it.

I still think in the end theres a huge reason why we have to get to 50 on this, said Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) on Monday. He added: Obviously, were going to have a vote one way or the other, but if we dont pass something and we go into 18, you know, its on us to try and get this fixed.

Thune said he hoped a vote could be taken during this work period, but stressed that it would be up to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to decide when a vote would happen. The Senates next week-long recess begins at the start of July.

Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said, We have to get this done by the end of the July because then we need to get on to taxes in the fall. He was referring to tax-code revisions, another legislative priority Republicans have established for themselves.

Cornyn and Thune made their comments as they walked in and out of a late-afternoon meeting in McConnells office that included other key GOP senators. The Kentucky Republican and his team are expected to present rank-and-file GOP senators with several potential policy options throughout the coming week, including at a weekly luncheon on Tuesday afternoon.

A little bird told me that something like that might be rolled out, Cornyn said. But, you know, weve been talking about this for seven years. And so now is the time to start coming up with some tangible alternatives and building consensus. So, suits me.

But agreement has been very difficult for Senate Republicans to achieve amid dissent over significant policies. The biggest issues they are trying to sort out: how Medicaid should be structured and funded, whether to allow states to avoid certain Obamacare regulations and how to craft tax credits to replace existing insurance subsides.

Senate GOP leaders could present options on these fronts this week as well as on repealing taxes in the ACA, according to several senior GOP aides. Its unclear when a physical draft of the bill will be produced.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who represents a state that expanded Medicaid under the ACA, said as she walked into McConnells office that she would support a slower phaseout of Medicaid expansion than was established under the health-care bill that passed the House early last month. But she added: Im not saying I support phasing it out.

Thune has been looking at ways to adjust the tax credits in the House bill to offer more assistance to elderly and lower-income Americans.

It remains unclear, however, whether hard-line conservative senators will support such proposals in a final vote.

The differing ideas reflect not only contrasts in policy but sensitivities to opposite ends of the political spectrum, with some concerned about an electoral backlash from centrist or left-leaning voters who oppose major changes to Obamacare and others worried a less aggressive assault on the ACA will leave right-leaning opponents of the law dispirited.

All the behind-the-scenes work and discussion with those parameters in mind, however, has not generated confidence in some Republican senators. Some have openly doubted that the talks are leading anywhere positive.

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday that he doesnt think Republicans will pass a health-care bill in 2017, Bloomberg News reported. Over the Memorial Day recess, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) came to the same conclusion and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said he doubted a bill could pass before the August recess.

There is a growing sense among Senate Republicans that they need to either pass a health care overhaul or move on to other ways of fixing the health-care system, possibly through a tax reform bill or in smaller bipartisan legislation later this year.

Some want to move on so that Congress can focus on pressing deadlines in the late summer and early autumn, including a vote to increase the federal borrowing limit that could come as early as mid-July. Republicans have also suggested that they want to begin negotiations with Democrats on a long-term spending bill before Sept. 30 when the fiscal year ends.

The small window for action and policy disagreements has upped the chatter among Senate GOP aides and associates that making good on their often-repeated promise to undo parts of Obamacare may not be possible. Many Republicans, including top aides working on the GOP health plan, said they need to vote on health care and move on by early July, even if that means voting on a bill that fails.

Quietly, people are preparing for a lot of possible outcomes and how to deal with them, said one Republican in frequent communication with Republican senators and staff, who like other aides and allies interviewed for this story were granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Much of the serious policy work has been conducted behind the scenes by a small group of health policy staffers, with members of McConnells inner circle leading the political strategy, according to top GOP aides familiar with the negotiations. Experts have been working to craft a number of policy options that lawmakers can mix-and-match to create a final policy outline.

Senate Budget rules allow GOP leaders to scrap nearly every element of the health legislation that passed the House. The only requirement is that the Senate save $133billion, the same amount saved in the House bill.

Republicans are trying to pass a health-care bill through a procedural maneuver known as reconciliation that only requires a simple majority rather than a supermajority. But for McConnell, getting to 50 votes (Vice President Pence could break a 50-50 tie) means losing no more than two Republican senators.

Complicating matters further, leaders must also jump through a series of other procedural hoops, like waiting for an official cost estimate before the health-care bill can come up for a vote. That process typically takes around two weeks, meaning leaders would need to have a final bill in hand soon to get it scored and hold a vote by the end of next month.

Some Republican leaders sound much more like they are wishing that will happen than are counting on it.

I dont think this gets better over time, said Senate Republican Conference Vice Chairman Roy Blunt (Mo.). So my personal view is weve got, you know, about until now until the Fourth of July to decide whether the votes are there are not. And I hope they are.

Paul Kane contributed to this report.

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Senate GOP aiming to conclude divisive health-care push one way or the other - Washington Post

What’s In Your Genes? – Pacific Northwest Inlander

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Picture a time in the not-too-distant future when whole genome sequencing is routine. A time when, before babies even learn to talk, their parents will have the ability to learn what the future may have in store for their offspring: Is their little girl predisposed to getting breast cancer? Will their happy-go-lucky son one day develop Alzheimer's?

"There is no doubt in my mind that, in addition to going in and having blood chemistry done, you're gonna have DNA sequencing done, too. It will be there at some point," says Nicholas Schork, a quantitative geneticist at the J. Craig Venter Institute in La Jolla, California, who has studied genomic medicine for more than three decades. "We can debate about the timeline, but it'll become routine."

The hope is that genetic testing will make health care more effective by allowing doctors and patients to focus on areas that need attention the patient's genetic "vulnerabilities." At the same time, patients may learn of areas where they won't need to be quite as vigilant. And treatments could, in turn, be perfectly tailored to a patient's specific needs.

But as with any significant and broadly applicable medical advance, there are questions. For example, should patients learn that they carry markers for currently incurable genetic diseases, or that they are at high risk for developing a condition like Alzheimer's, which has no effective treatment? And just who owns all that genetic data? Who will have access to it?

Even with important questions left unanswered, health educators are moving forward to take advantage of the promises genetic testing offers. Washington State University's new Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine has announced it is partnering with Arivale, a Seattle-based company that conducts whole genome sequencing, to help complete a portrait of a person a "portrait" that can be used to promote wellness over that individual's entire lifespan. Every member of the school's inaugural class will have the opportunity to undergo testing, which will also include blood tests and a lifestyle evaluation. Then, over the next year, Arivale's team of nurses and dietitians will provide individually tailored follow-up, based on each individual's risks and goals. It's a unique partnership, made possible in large part because the medical school is new, with its first class of students starting in 2017.

Allowing the medical students to experience genetic testing firsthand is just part of the goal. "We need physicians that understand it well enough that they can make it better going forward," says John Tomkowiak, founding dean of WSU's College of Medicine. "That's where our students are going to be uniquely positioned."

WHAT GENES TELL US

Genetic testing already provides important information about a person's health or their heritage. Hospitals screen newborn babies for certain genetic disorders, and in some cases, tests can detect disorders before birth. And diagnostic testing can confirm, or rule out, many disorders in adults.

Testing doesn't have to be ordered by a physician. For $200, you can provide a saliva sample, mail it back to 23andMe.com and find out not only your ancestry, but also your risks for a number of diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Ancestry.com offers a glimpse into your heritage for $99. Color.com claims to reveal your risk for the most common hereditary cancers, and even offers "complimentary genetic counseling" for a $249 fee.

But if genetic testing is to revolutionize the health care industry, as many have promised, there's still a ways to go. "The technology is at the beginning stages," says Thomas May, a faculty researcher for the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.

Companies like 23andMe offer genetic tests that may provide information about some genetic disorders from currently known genetic variants. But whole genome sequencing is different; it will reveal all your individual genetic variants.

How valuable is that information? There are a relatively small number of conditions that researchers are confident result from a specific genetic variant, May says. For example, there is one variant that researchers have found is associated with an increased risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. A genetic test that shows an increased risk for breast cancer is considered an "actionable" outcome, meaning there are things you can do to prevent the outcome, like beginning mammograms earlier. Though there are more than 50 actionable outcomes like that, it's still a relatively small number.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that not everyone who develops breast cancer actually has the genetic variant in fact, May says only about 10 percent do. So even if testing shows that you don't have the "breast cancer gene," that doesn't mean it's OK to stop getting mammograms.

"Most variants and correlations are of that type: We can't say for certain if you're gonna get a disease," May says.

Doctors are mixed about whether genetic testing is currently having a real impact on patients. In a May survey conducted by the Medscape Physician Oncology Report on Genomics Testing, 71 percent of oncologists surveyed felt that genetic testing was either "very" or "extremely" important to the oncology field. At the same time, 61 percent said that, currently, fewer than a quarter of their patients would actually benefit from genetic testing.

The number of diseases with "actionable" outcomes will inevitably grow, as more people are tested and more data becomes available. But this leaves deeper questions, says Schork, the quantitative geneticist. A company or health care provider would likely give patients information about diseases that can be prevented or cured. If someone is predisposed to obesity, for instance, then he or she can elect to receive targeted care to reduce that risk.

But what about diseases that, right now, are incurable?

Take Huntington's disease, a genetic disorder that breaks down nerve cells in the brain. It's rare, but it's a "hideous way to die," Schork says. A person can be screened at the age of 25 and be found to carry the Huntington's gene, but there's debate about whether or not that information should be shared with a client or not. The same goes for genetic variants related to Alzheimer's disease.

"If there's nothing they can do about it, then there's a concern about whether or not that information should be imparted," Schork says.

When the Food and Drug Administration ordered 23andMe to stop telling customers their odds of contracting diseases in 2013, Harvard Medical School genetics professor Robert Green and Laura Beskow, a professor at Duke University's Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, argued against the FDA. They cited a number of studies showing that direct-to-consumer genetic testing does not cause a large percentage of customers despair. In an interview with the New York Times in April, Green said the potential for distress based on results of a genetic test for Alzheimer's was "much smaller than anticipated."

Another question: Who really owns the DNA data that is being collected from willing users of genetic testing? Consider Myriad, a company that offers genetic testing both to help determine cancer risk and design better treatment plans for patients who already have cancer. The company has something that "others do not," Schork says: insight into which genetic variants predispose women to breast cancer.

What Myriad is really selling, then, is not the genetic test itself, but access to insights it has gained through mining its database, insights that can be leveraged into whatever level of payment the company decides to charge.

It's potentially critical information that could help save a life, and some argue that the data should be in the public domain not held by a private company.

"There have been huge debates about whether the community should challenge the monopoly that Myriad has," Schork says. "There are many groups out there that would like to counteract the monopoly Myriad has, by building public domain data sets."

JUST ONE TOOL

"Genetic testing is not a blueprint. It's really not," says Jennifer Lovejoy, chief translational science officer for Arivale. "Genes are really just one factor the environment, diet, exercise, pollutants and even emotional state have a big impact on genes."

That's why Arivale not only collects genetic information on each client, but also evaluates various blood tests and lifestyle factors to create a "dense data cloud" of information about a patient.

"That is the grand vision: that everybody would have these dense, dynamic data clouds, and understand the choices that will be optimal to optimize wellness and avoid disease," says Lovejoy.

Arivale touts the success stories among its nearly 2,000 clients. One client found out he had a gene associated with high sensitivity to saturated fat, giving him a better indication of an appropriate diet that helped him lose weight. Another client discovered that his genes may have an impact on his cholesterol. Another learned he was at risk of developing diabetes.

Ideally, this type of preventive care will soon be covered by insurance, Lovejoy says. The thinking is that preventing disease will bring down the cost of health care overall, making insurers likely to cover more preventive care, "but we have to prove it," Lovejoy says. Researchers are conducting studies and trials to do just that, and if they can prove it, then genetic testing could soon be routine in health care.

"If you think about what health care should mean, it should mean, one, the ability to deal with disease and that's what everyone does today," Arivale co-founder Leroy Hood said at a press conference in April announcing the company's partnership with WSU. "But two, it should mean the ability to optimize wellness for each individual. That is, improving their health and/or letting them avoid disease." That's a concept Hood calls "scientific wellness, and he thinks it could lead to "a whole new health care industry in the future."

Tomkowiak, of WSU's College of Medicine, agrees: "The concept of scientific wellness has the potential to disrupt the entire industry by shifting the cost curve, by keeping people healthier and reducing the cost of health care overall."

Regardless of whether or not Arivale becomes an industry leader, Tomkowiak believes that the practice of medicine will be fundamentally altered in the near future.

"We absolutely believe that seven years from now, the practice of scientific medicine and scientific wellness will be common," he says. "Instead of being behind the curve, we want... to be leading this effort."

For about $3,500, clients can sign up for Arivale's program. The fee includes whole genome sequencing, which is also available from other sources. So how do Arivale clients achieve "scientific wellness"? Here are the elements of their program:

Welcome package: Clients get a welcome package with a Fitbit to track sleep, activity and heart rate. The package asks for information to help understand a client's bacteria in their gut, and asks for a sample of saliva to measure a person's stress level.

Online test: Clients take a series of online assessments about their goals, health history, lifestyle, stress, personality and happiness.

Call from coach: You'll talk to a coach who will get to know what you want to accomplish and give you a personalized action plan.

Labs: You'll take blood tests so your coach can understand your current health. While you're there, they'll take your vital signs.

A picture emerges: The various test create a picture of you, which an Arivale coach will use to provide a step-by-step plan to "optimize your wellness," according to the company.

Follow-up: You're not done yet. You'll be contacted by your coach regularly to review your action plan, and Arivale will provide reports on how you're progressing. Every six months, you'll complete another set of clinical labs.

Source: arivale.com/your-journey

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What's In Your Genes? - Pacific Northwest Inlander

New cancer medicine targets rare genetic flaw – Press TV

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This file photo shows doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

An experimental cancer medicine called larotrectinib has shown promise treating a diverse range of cancers in people young and old, researchers said at a major cancer conference in the United States.

The treatment targets a genetic abnormality which is often found in rare cancers - including salivary gland cancer, juvenile breast cancer, and a soft tissue cancer known as infantile fibrosarcoma - which are particularly difficult to treat.

This abnormality also occurs in about 0.5 percent to one percent of many common cancers.

In the study released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, 76 percent of cancer patients - both children and adults with 17 different kinds of cancer - responded well to the medicine.

A total of 79 percent were alive after one year. The study is ongoing.

Twelve percent went into complete remission from their cancer.

The clinical trial included 55 patients - 43 adults and 12 children. All had advanced cancers in various organs, including the colon, pancreas and lung, as well as melanoma.

"These findings embody the original promise of precision oncology: treating a patient based on the type of mutation, regardless of where the cancer originated," said lead study author David Hyman, chief of early drug development at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

"We believe that the dramatic response of tumors with TRK fusions to larotrectinib supports widespread genetic testing in patients with advanced cancer to see if they have this abnormality."

Made by Loxo Oncology Inc., larotrectinib is a selective inhibitor of tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) fusion proteins.

TRK proteins are a product of a genetic abnormality when a TRK gene in a cancer cell fuses with one of many other genes, researchers said.

The US Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved the treatment for widespread use.

The treatment was well tolerated by patients, and the most common side effects were fatigue and mild dizziness.

"If approved, larotrectinib could become the first therapy of any kind to be developed and approved simultaneously in adults and children, and the first targeted therapy to be indicated for a molecular definition of cancer that spans all traditionally-defined types of tumors," said Hyman.

(Source:AFP)

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New cancer medicine targets rare genetic flaw - Press TV