Monthly Archives: March 2017

New report gives cautious support for embryonic gene editing in humans – PRI

Posted: March 19, 2017 at 3:56 pm

Last month, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine released areport about the use of gene editing techniques like CRISPR on human embryos. The new report, coming from two globally respected scientific organizations, suggests the technique could be warranted in certain cases not just in the laboratory, but in real life.

In an article for Sciencemagazine, staff writer Jocelyn Kaiser called the report a yellow light for embryonic gene editing, which has long been off the table in the United States. Thats because when it comes to editing human embryos, there are thorny ethical concerns on both sides of the debate and according to Kaiser, the reports authors proceed cautiously.

So, what the report says, is, there are many reasons why we need to be very careful about editing the human germline that is, making changes to eggs or sperm or embryos that could be passed on to the next generation, Kaiser says.

When might that yellow light turn green?

There are a few rare instances where we may want to do it, she explains, and that is families that have a severe genetic disease that they are going to pass on to their child, but they can't prevent it any other way, that we might want to allow [gene editing] to happen in those cases.

Although genetic editing could protect embryos from devastating medical conditions, Kaiser says that many people worry its application wouldnt end there.

If we do let it happen, then it could sort of open the door to many other changes to embryos that we would not maybe feel so comfortable with, she says. Like modifying an embryo to make it a better athlete, or make it smarter, or have blue eyes, or whatever.

Those potential designer edits bring up issues of access. What about the people who didn't have the ability to do this? Kaiser wonders. Would they be left out? Not only that, the effects of embryonic edits would ripple through generations.

If you change the DNA of an embryo versus an adult or a child, that change will be passed on to that embryos descendants, she says. That's something you couldn't stop once you've done it. It's going to be passed on.

And so that's one reason why people are worried about doing this. Do you want to start tinkering with our genes in that way?

We might not get much choice: Scientists in China have already reported genetically editing embryos. Ultimately, Kaiser says, the national academies report is not binding its just advice. Not only to the United States, but to other countries. And they can decide if they want to follow the advice.

But these are very respected bodies, and when they offer their advice on something, it will it will have a lot of influence.

This article is based on aninterviewthat aired on PRI'sScience Friday.

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New ‘gene silencer’ drug reduce cholesterol by over 50 percent – Science Daily

Posted: at 3:56 pm

The findings come from the largest trial yet to test the safety and effectiveness of this kind of therapy. The technique, known as RNA interference (RNAi) therapy, essentially 'switches off' one of the genes responsible for elevated cholesterol.

Researchers from Imperial College London and their colleagues, who conducted the trial, say the twice-a-year treatment could be safely given with or without statins, depending on individual patient needs. Eventually, inclisiran could help to reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke related to high cholesterol.

"These initial results are hugely exciting for patients and clinicians," said Professor Kausik Ray, lead author of the study from the School of Public Health at Imperial.

"We appear to have found a versatile, easy-to-take, safe, treatment that provides sustained lowering of cholesterol levels and is therefore likely to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and stroke. These reductions are over and above what can be already be achieved with statins alone or statins plus ezetemibe, another class of cholesterol-lowering drug.

Elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol can lead to cardiovascular disease and blood vessel blockage, leading to an increased risk heart attacks and stroke in patients.

Statins are currently the standard treatment for high cholesterol, combined with exercise and healthy diet, as they reduce levels in the blood and therefore help to prevent heart attacks and stroke.

However, many patients are unable to tolerate the highest doses and they need to be taken consistently. Forgetting to take them or taking them infrequently reduces the expected benefit from these treatments. Also, in some patients cholesterol levels can remain high despite being given the maximum doses of statins.

Now, this new phase 2 clinical trial has confirmed the effectiveness of injecting inclisiran for reducing cholesterol that can be taken alone or potentially combined with statins for maximum effect.

In the study, researchers gave 497 patients with high cholesterol and at high risk of cardiovascular disease either inclisiran at varying doses, or placebo. Seventy-three per cent of these patients were already taking statins, and 31 per cent were taking ezetimibe. Participants, who were recruited from Canada, USA, Germany, Netherlands, and the UK, were excluded if they were taking monoclonal antibodies for cholesterol lowering.

Patients were given different doses of inclisiran or placebo via subcutaneous injection, either via a single dose, or via a dose on day one and another at three months. They were followed up regularly for a subsequent eight months and tested for blood cholesterol and side effects.

The researchers found that just one month after receiving a single treatment of inclisiran, participants' LDL cholesterol levels had reduced by up to 51 per cent.

In those on a single dose of 300 mg, cholesterol levels were reduced by 42 per cent at six months. In the matched placebo group, cholesterol levels had increased by two per cent within that time frame.

In those on two doses of 300 mg, cholesterol levels were reduced by up to 53 per cent at six months. Moreover, cholesterol levels had gone down for all patients in this group, and 48 per cent of them had achieved cholesterol levels (below 50 mL/dL).

In all patients, cholesterol levels stayed lower for at least eight months. No extra side effects were seen in the study group compared to the placebo group.

The study will now follow up patients for a further four months (one year total follow up). The results from this trial, known as ORION-1, are published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and are presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session in Washington.

The authors say the results show the drug acts quickly to reduce cholesterol levels by as early as two weeks post-injection, while also giving a prolonged effect when given in two doses over a year. Therefore, the next step is to conduct an extended study, using more patients and for a longer period of time, to determine whether these reductions in cholesterol translate into a reduction in heart attacks and strokes. Professor Ray said: "We are keen to enter the next phase of development to assess long-term safety and to see how this novel approach might translate into improvements in patient health."

Aside from its effectiveness, the authors point out that because inclisiran acts on a different biological pathway to statins, the two drugs would likely be combined for the best results. Professor Ray said: "Even the single dose of inclisiran appears to lower cholesterol by 35-40% at eight months. We could essentially experiment with how often to give the drug based on levels of cardiovascular risk for each patient. Lower risk patients could in theory have once yearly injections whereas higher risk patients might have two injections a year."

The authors emphasise that because this is an early-phase study, and because this is one of the first clinical studies on this type of drug, more research is needed before it can go to market.

He added: "The effectiveness of statins and other cholesterol-lowering treatments such as monoclonal antibodies relies on patients' ability to take them consistently. Therefore, giving inclisiran up to twice yearly at a GP surgery, much in the same way flu vaccinations are provided, might be more effective."

"We believe that these clinical visits might only be twice a year at most, so ultimately, they are more convenient and more effective for patients and their health."

Inclisiran is being developed by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and The Medicines Company. This study was funded by The Medicines Company, and performed by the sponsors and World Wide Clinical Trials (Nottingham, UK).

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5 Most Politically Incorrect ‘Seinfeld’ Moments – PJ Media

Posted: at 3:55 pm

NBC's "Seinfeld" did far more than introduce "yada, yada yada" into the lexicon.

The show featured the kind of funny bits that might make Social Justice Warriors' heads explode.Yes, the bulk of the long-running series was pure comedy gold, the kind that few could find offensive. Who hasn't dreaded the "drop in" or wasting an entire night waiting for a restaurant table to open?

Other bits have proven more subversive over time.

Consider the following five comic sequences from the now-legendary show. They didn't seem button-pushing at the time. But who could have predicted a generation of easily offended snowflakes would deconstruct every joke a decade or so later?

It's especially rich given Jerry Seinfeld's later attack on our PC culture.

via GIPHY

The notion of the three main characters abstaining from self-love might rub some SJWs the wrong way. Why not Elaine? Was this simply old-school mansplaining?

Making matters worse? How Kramer ends his time in the contest. He ogles a naked woman from across the street and is soon "out."

How sexist!

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The Tao of Steve King: Master of the Politically Incorrect – Progressive.org

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It's a federal crime to watch animals fight, but it's not a federal crime to watch people fighting? There's something wrong with the priorities of people that think like thatthat raise animals above people. I will not raise animals above people!

Meet Iowa congressman Steve King, defending the classic American sport of dog fighting back in 2012.

King harkens from Denison, a small town in Western Iowa best known for producing Its a Wonderful Life, actress Donna Reed. I grew up in a small town just two hours from Denison. Unlike the rest of Iowa, where population decline has reduced the states representation in Washington, DC, from eight congressional seats in 1960 to four today, over the same time period Denison has nearly doubled in size, from a population of 4,930 to 8,390. But heres the big difference: Back in the old days, Denison was almost all white.

Today, whites make up only 48.6 percent of the population and Latinos, now 46.9 percent, are on a trajectory to become the majority soon. In fact, 59 percent of students enrolled in Denison's K-12 public school system are of Latino descent.

The demographic changes in King's home town apparently drove him to run for the Iowa state Senate in 1996, where he focused on such pressing issues as English-only bills. He alsounsuccessfullytried to pass a bill he called the "God and Country Bill, which Des Moines Register columnist Chuck Offenburger described as an "attempt to end the requirement that Iowas school children receive a multicultural, non-sexist and global education."

While running for Congress in 2002, King braggedthat he waslabeled by the Des Moines Register as Iowas most politically incorrect state legislator, and Im very proud of that. In early 2004, he made national news by shrugging-off the atrocities of Abu Ghraib as "hazing."

King brags that he's been labeledIowas most politically incorrect state legislator, and Im very proud of that.

That was just the beginning. On nearly every issue, King displays an impressive knack for both bigotry and ignorance.

Here are some beauties:

Last July, King defended the Confederate flag he keeps on his desk in his congressional officean odd racist homage in any circumstance, but especially strange for a Congressman representing a northern Union state that lost more troops, per capita, than any other state during the Civil War. King refused to take the flag down, using the old racist saw that the Civil War was just about states rights and only a "small part of if was about slavery."

A few weeks before that, King tried to have the House vote on an amendment to prevent civil rights hero Harriet Tubman from appearing on the $20 billcalling the removal of white male Andrew Jackson both sexist and racist. In reality, Andrew Jackson was never slated to leave the $20 billhe still will have one side of the bill to himself, with Tubman replacing the image of the White House.

All this was a fitting build-up for his recent racist coup de grace, when he tweeted:

He later added that his goal was "an America that's just so homogenous that we look a lot the same, from that perspective."

This meshes with King's previous comments, including his statement that whites have done their share to "contribute to civilization" and asked, "Where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people?"

Ugh.

In the 2012 election, Iowa Democrats believed they had a great shot to finally get rid of King. Iowa lost a congressional seat and the new district King would be in was an area President Obama won 53 percent to 45 percent in 2008. The popular former First Lady of Iowa, Christie Vilsack, was convinced to runthe table was set for King's final dinner.

But there was no Obama bump the second time around: Romney won the district and King emerged victorious with 53 percent of the vote.

In 2014, Democrats got a decorated Iraq war veteran to face-off against King (a hawk on recent wars, although he sought four deferments to get out of going to Vietnam). But 2014 was another wave year for Republicans and King won in a landslide.

In 2016, Kim Weaver ran a spirited campaign against King, but Donald Trump won the district by a breathtaking 61 percent to 34 percent margin on his way to carrying all four of Iowa's districts and winning the state for the GOP for only the second time since 1984.

In other words, King owes his electoral success to a combination of ten years as the incumbent in a deep-red district and three recent elections in which national political headwinds blew away his Democratic opponents.

King owes his electoral success to a combination of ten years as the incumbent in a deep-red district and three recent elections in which national political headwinds blew away his Democratic opponents.

A 2015 poll showed that only 41 percent of registered voters in his district held a favorable view him and 41 percent had an unfavorable view. Not a glowing endorsement even from an electorate far and away the most conservative in the state.

Like many politicians, if King faces the right candidate in the right year, he will be gone. The rather progressive Berkley Bedell, who had to leave office because of Lyme Disease, held onto this same congressional district when it was smaller and more conservative back in the 1970s and 1980s.

Perhaps 2018 will finally be the year when the combination of Kings lunacy and voters feelings about the leader of the Republican party add up to defeat.

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Malaysian Censor Says Sought 4+ Minutes of ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Cuts – Deadline

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Deadline
Malaysian Censor Says Sought 4+ Minutes of 'Beauty And The Beast' Cuts
Deadline
Disney's Beauty And The Beast is enjoying a fantastic run in its offshore and domestic debut this weekend with full numbers to come later today. As reported last week, the film is not screening in Malaysia after the local censor approved it with what ...
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China declines to censor gay kiss in 'Beauty & the Beast' despite objectionsLGBTQ Nation
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all 1,245 news articles »

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China blocks Pinterest: censorship watchdogs – Phys.Org

Posted: at 3:55 pm

March 17, 2017 Image-curation website Pinterest has become the latest social media service blocked in China, watchdogs say

Image-curation website Pinterest has become the latest social media service blocked in China, checks on censorship monitoring websites indicated Friday.

According to greatfire.org and blockedinchina.net, the popular virtual bulletin board service has been unavailable in mainland China since last Thursday.

The San Francisco-headquartered service joins rival photo-sharing firm Instagramwhich has a much larger user baseas well as Twitter and Facebook on the list of social media platforms inaccessible in mainland China.

The ruling Communist party restricts access to many foreign websites including Google, with a vast network of controls dubbed the Great Firewall of China.

While China user numbers are not available, Pinterest is a hit particularly among women, who tend to pin images about non-political subjects such as food, fashion and travel.

However, some Pinterest users maintain public boards on subjects that are deemed politically sensitive in Chinasuch as human rights issues.

There is a Pinterest board devoted to jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo, for example, and another on the Senkakus, an archipelago controlled by Japan, which China claims as the Diaoyus.

"It will be very hard to do my homework later because I had collected the works of a designer there," a student wrote on Weibo, China's native version of Twitter.

Another Weibo user, who described herself as an e-commerce designer, wrote that Pinterest was a key tool in her job and it will be "hard to work effectively without it".

A 2015 report by US think tank Freedom House found that China had the most restrictive Internet policies of 65 countries it studied, ranking below Iran and Syria.

China is home to the world's largest number of internet users731 million as of Decemberthe government-linked China Internet Network Information Center said in January.

Explore further: China cracks down on bids to bypass online censorship

2017 AFP

China has announced a 14-month campaign to "clean up" internet service providers and crack down on devices such as virtual private networks (VPNs) used to evade strict censorship.

The number of Internet users in China has risen to nearly 650 million, authorities said over the weekend, as the world's largest online population continues to rise.

The number of web users in China has surged to 618 million, a government agency said Thursday, underscoring the rapid growth of online connectivity in the country with the world's largest Internet population.

App stores in China must register with the state from Monday, a government statement said, as China tightens its control over the internet.

Pinterest on Thursday announced that the number of monthly users soared in the past year to top 150 million, with most of that growth coming from outside the United States.

Reuters news websites were inaccessible in China on Friday, the latest Western news organisation to be blocked in a country where censors keep a tight grip over information.

An Ohio man claimed he was forced into a hasty window escape when his house caught fire last year. His pacemaker data obtained by police showed otherwise, and he was charged with arson and insurance fraud.

A team of surgeons and engineers of Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and the ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern (Switzerland), have developed a high-precision surgical robot for cochlear ...

A group of Swedish university students that raised 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) in crowdfunding for their startup to build electric cars has caught the attention of German industrial heavyweight Siemens.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and IBM Research Zurich have built a tiny redox flow battery. This means that future computer chip stacksin which individual chips are stacked like pancakes to save space and energycould be ...

A computer security firm on Wednesday revealed a flaw that could let hackers break into WhatsApp or Telegram messaging accounts using the very encryption intended to protect messages.

Computer chip maker Intel paid handsomely for a piece of the next big thing Monday as it offered more than $15 billion for Mobileye, an Israeli company at the forefront of autonomous vehicle technology.

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Michael Rosenthal’s Barney: Fighting censorship – Hudson Valley One

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Barney Rosset, the spirited subject of Michael Rosenthals new biography,Barney: Grove Press and Barney Rosset, Americas Maverick Publisher and His Battle against Censorship which will be the subject of a reading and book signing event at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 18at the Golden Notebook, 29 Tinker Street, Woodstock seems to have made only one key trip to Woodstock in his lifetime. That was in summer of 1951 when he headed here to buy half of the fledgling publishing company hed make his name with from Robert Phelps for $1500. Within weeks hed bought the other half and, while simultaneously studying at the New School, began a career.

Which isnt to suggest that Rossets ties to Woodstock ended there. Consider the nature of what this mischievous Chicago native, who based himself in the Hamptons for decades, created and eventually lost at Grove and its offshoots Evergreen magazine and Grove Press Films. He was the guy who brought Beckett and Gide, Robbe-Grillet and the Beats to mass markets. His taking on the nations once-strict censorship laws on behalf of D.H. LawrencesLady Chatterleys Lover, Henry MillersTropic of Cancer, and William BurroughsNaked Lunchcost him years and fortunes, but also ended all such fights against books while also earning him huge profits for a small, idiosyncratic indie publishing firm. Evergreen, during its short but noteworthy run, premiered Sartre and Camus essays, Albee plays, and Che Guevaras deathbed diaries alongside nudie photos and the first underground comics. Rossets distribution ofI Am Curious (Yellow)broke down screen taboos against nudity, opening the floodgates for the New American Cinema (while also, according to Rosenthal, sounding the death knell for a burgeoning foreign art film cinema in the U.S.).

Barney Rosset was born and raised during a time where liberal, and even socialist or communist, was not a bad word. He came out of a Chicago known for its art and progressivism; worked in the Army during a war that championed democratic values over bullying fascism. And he found his way with the help of a family fortune small enough to have limits yet big enough to allow him a bit of playing. He flourished at a time when literature and the arts in general, alongside science and philosophy, were as respected as business acumen. It was a brief era when you could sell hundreds of thousands of copies of edgy books such asThe Autobiography of Malcolm Xor the early self-help pioneerGames People Play, or push anti-colonial theses into the nations classrooms with ease.

It was what led to a wave of well-to-do, hard-charging New Yorkers finding ways to set up alternative lives outside of their city, in a Quonset hut in East Hampton as Rosset did, or upstate as many others (including his fellow Chicagoan Albert Grossman) would do. Which in turn led to a bettering of circumstances for creators of all stripes, even without the incomes a Rosset and his peers could boast.

Rosenthal, who splits time between NYC and Woodland Valley outside Phoenicia, is expert at zooming in on the societal elements that make Barney Rosset and Grove Press story important. We get the crusading free speech battles, the confident manner in which our best and brightest business folks were once able to push their own tastes on a culture not yet fully enamored with bottom lines and prurient mass tastes, and what life during the Great Society final years of progressivisms golden age could be like, from all-day rum and cokes to open sexuality.

But Rosenthal, while never supplying the novelistic touches many readers have come to expect from these life and times style biographies, is also pitch-perfect at demonstrating the underbelly of Rosset and Groves success, as well as that of the entire 1960s. Publication of works by Che and Castro lead to someones shooting of a missile into the publishers offices (no one was hurt), which much later leads to his paranoia about having been targeted by the CIAwhich even later proves to be partly true. The mans fondness for women and open sexuality, rushes through a slew of marriages (including his first to noted Abstract Expressionist painter Joan Mitchell) to distanced kids and eventual charges of misogyny that led, in combination with his employees wish for better terms, to union pressures and a much-publicized labor battle. Moreover, Groves very success pushed Rosset to overestimate his own prowess as a tastemaker and business force, which led to over-expansion and the loss of his business first to the Getty family, and later to Atlantic Press (where it still hobbles on).

Barney: Grove Press and Barney Rosset, Americas Maverick Publisher and His Battle against Censorshipis much more than a local interest book, although its local connections are still strong (including its editor, Nick Lyons). Its a book for book lovers, culture mavens, and all who still harbor interest in the 1960s and how we got to where we all are now from where we thought we were then.

Michael Rosenthal, also known for his years as a professor at Columbia University, reads from and signs copy of this fun and deep book at Golden Notebook, 29 Tinker Street in Woodstock, at4 p.m.onSaturday, March 18. Seewww.goldennotebook.comfor further information

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People can call us stupid, M’sia’s censorship board chair says amid ‘Beauty’ censorship – TODAYonline

Posted: at 3:55 pm

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysias Film Censorship Board (LPF) said it could not ignore rules on editing movie scenes, especially those with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) elements.

LPF chairman Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid told the Sunday (March 19) edition of local New Straits Times that Malaysia does not recognise the LGBT ideology and thus had to propose cuts of four minutes and 38 seconds long in the highly-anticipated Disneys live remake of Beauty and the Beast.

If we let these scenes go, people will wonder if Malaysia recognised LGBT.

People can call us stupid or ignorant for the censorship we have imposed. I can accept it, but I dont have to respond to it, he was quoted as saying in the New Sunday Times.

Mr Abdul Halim explained that three parts from the movies were deemed as inappropriate for Malaysian audience.

The first is during the performance of a song, where a male character (Le Fou) hugs the other (Gaston) from behind.

Second is the suggestive song lyrics with sexual innuendoes, he was quoted as saying.

As for the third scene that ostensibly takes place at the end of the movie, the report said it could not be mentioned for spoiler reasons.

Mr Abdul Halim reportedly said that LPF could have allowed the film with minor cuts if film director Bill Condon had not announced that the movie contained a first exclusively gay moment.

We could have let it go with potentially minor cut and this whole thing would not have become an issue.

But the moment the gay element is thrown into the mix, we had to protect ourselves, so what was initially three second, has become more than four minutes, he was quoted as saying.

Homosexuality is not illegal per se in Malaysia, but the country heavily criminalises sodomy that is punishable with imprisonment, corporal punishment and fines.

He attributed the uproar over LPFs decision as a natural knee-jerk reaction.

On our part, we have a job to do and we cant make mistakes. If there is a public outcry when the movie is released, we will have to bear the consequences, he was quoted as saying.

On allowing gorier and supposedly violent movies like Deadpool and Logan with 18-above classification, Mr Abdul Halim said this showed that LPF has depicted a more lenient stand on editing these days.

For horror movies, he said so long a movie does not use Quranic verses for the wrong reasons, such as bringing back dead people or communicating with the dead, it will be allowed.

These guidelines are issued by Jakim (Islamic Development Department). If none of these elements are present, then we will consider them as fantasy, he was quoted as saying.

On censorship, Abdul Halim said LPF was only tasked to notify local distributors of the scenes needed to be censored, adding that the film studios will then edit the movies themselves.

He added that film distributors and producers could then appeal against the decision with the Film Appeals Committee.

In the case of Beauty and the Beast, Disney Malaysia has reportedly submitted the film for an appeal to overturn LPFs decision.

The news report said that the censor board had banned 10 movies last year and 11 in 2015 because they contained sex scenes, obscene utterances, and excessive violence as well as scenes that touched on political, religious and cultural sensitivities. MALAY MAIL ONLINE

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Censorship allegation made as Bruce Township officials toss newspaper from hall – The Macomb Daily

Posted: at 3:55 pm

For-profit newspapers have been banned from the Bruce Township hall after action taken by the Board of Trustees Wednesday.

At the center of the action is The Record Newspaper, a Romeo-based publication that began publishing in January 2015.

The topic arose after Treasurer Debbie Obrecht accused Supervisor Richard Cory of throwing away copies on display at the township hall left there by Record Editor and Publisher Larry Sobczak.

The treasurer claimed that coverage critical of Clerk Susan Brockmann led to Corys action.

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Brockmann was arrested on Sept. 11, 2015 at the township hall after setting of an alarm attempting to enter the building at 3 a.m. A Michigan State Police crash report from that night listed her blood alcohol content at .20, more than double the level of intoxication in Michigan and above the .17 super drunk standard.

I think it is censoring the press, Obrecht told the board. We may or may not like stories that appear, but the idea is that it does benefit the community overall.

Cory denied that he removed the newspapers.

I dont know of anyone throwing them out. This has turned into a political thing for you, Cory told Obrecht. There are articles in there that you want people to read.

Sobczak said that he has been leaving a few copies of The Record at the township hall since December of 2015.

Cory said the Treasurer gave away copies of The Record to residents coming into her office for them to read articles relating to Brockmanns arrest, which is being adjudicated through the 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore. Sobczak said that he never told Obrecht to personally distribute The Record, but stands by her right to do so.

It is her First Amendment right to pass out whatever she wants, he said.

Treasurer Paul Okoniewski backed up the supervisors claim.

Should we talk about the email I got from a resident citing you for handing them (newspapers) out while people were paying their taxes? Okoniewski asked Obrecht. The person sent an email to the board asking you to cease and desist.

That is absolutely untrue, Obrecht quickly responded.

Brockmann did not acknowledge articles written about her were the issue with The Record, it was their inaccurate reporting of other stories in the past.

He (Sobczak) doesnt report the news, said Brockmann. I dont think that is the kind of journalism we want in this township.

Obrecht said that if Cory could be handing out materials advocating for Greater Romeo-Washington Chamber of Commerce businesses, then The Record should also be available to the public at the township hall along with publications such as Macomb Now.Magazine.

The Chamber and the Macomb Now are not causing the problems in this building, The Record is causing the problems, Cory told Obrecht. You are only doing this for one reason, because you dont like somebody in this building.

You are wrong, Obrecht replied.

Okoniewski offered a motion not to provide any for-profit newspapers in the hallway at the township hall.

The motion passed 4-1 with Obrecht as the lone opposition vote.

They are stomping on the peoples right to free speech and freedom of the press, Sobczak said. I hope he board gains some wisdom and rescinds their motion.

The Record Publisher said that he has spoken with Cory since the meeting, but the two did not come up with a solution to getting the newspaper back into the township hall.

Michigan State Police (MSP) responded to an alarm at the Bruce Township Hall at 3:00 a.m. on Sept. 11 for a possible breaking and entering incident.

According to an MSP crash report from that night, Brockmann backed her Jeep Commander into the responding vehicle of Trooper Roger Haddad. The damage was listed in the report as minor.

Brockmann was then taken into custody and transported to the Chesterfield Police Department for booking and a chemical test on the charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) with a high blood alcohol content. She was released on $100 bond.

Brockman is due back in Chesterfield Township district court March 22.

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CFIUS and Censorship Aren’t the Only Threats to China, U.S. M&A … – TheStreet.com

Posted: at 3:55 pm

On Nov. 4 when China's Dalian Wanda Groupannouncedit would shell out $1 billion to acquire Dick Clark Productions, the real estate conglomerate thought it had just landed another marquee entertainment company forits growing coffer of U.S. assets that already includes cinema operator AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) and film-production company Legendary Entertainment.

But bubbling under the surface of the deal for theAmerican Idol producer was concerns from investors, regulators and entertainment executives in the U.S. and abroad about the deal's viability. Specifically from the typical CFIUS or censorship concerns that normally occur when Chinese buyers target U.S. companies.

"Most of the leaders of China's entertainment industry are here in Los Angeles this week, and there are discussions between them about the concerns in Washington," Rob Cain, a Los Angeles-based film producer and entertainment-industry consultant to Hollywood studios operating in China, told the Wall Street Journal at the time.

And those concerns have proven well-founded, because on March 10, Eldridge Industries, which owns the production studio, said that it had terminated the deal after Beijing-based Wanda "failed to honor its contractual obligations."

But the collapse of Dalian Wanda's $1 billion deal to buy Dick Clark Productions could actually signal a future where U.S.-China deals are increasingly difficult to consummate. And that's because of concerns about the outflow of cash from mainland China overseas.

"It is very likely that 2017 will represent a very difficult year for any outbound China deals to get done. This is due almost exclusively to the increased capital controls," said Christopher Balding, associate professor of finance and economics at the HSBC Business School of Peking University Graduate School. "Beijing has simply been cracking down on capital leaving China so that even many non-investment currency transactions are unable to obtain clearance for international transactions of any kind."

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CFIUS and Censorship Aren't the Only Threats to China, U.S. M&A ... - TheStreet.com

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