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The so-called ‘Hitchcock 9′ – a series of little-seen silent films made in the early part of Alfred Hitchcock’s brilliant career – will make their debut today at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Featuring such titles as Downhill (1927), Champagne (1928), The Manxman (1929), and Blackmail (1929), the ‘Hitchcock 9′ were digitally restored in a painstaking effort by the British Film Institute to showcase British culture prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Also included in the bundle of nine films are two familiar titles to even the most casual Hitchcock fan, The Pleasure Garden (1925), widely considered to be his first film, and The Lodger (1927), which the Master himself dubbed his first true picture.

As previously reported on this site, the ‘Hitchcock 9′ will tour the United States following its San Francisco debut with stops in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Chicago, Seattle, Houston, Boston, and Washington, D.C. The tour is made possible by a joint effort between the BFI, Rialto Pictures/Studiocanal, and Park Circus/ITV Studios.

The screenings will feature live music performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, British composer Stephen Horne, and others.

Ivor Novello in ‘The Lodger’ (1927)/British Film Institute

Remember that rumor about a Microsoft Office version for iOS? A version known as Office Mobile was just released today, and while it is not a stand-alone solution but rather tacked on to Office 365 subscriptions, it looks like the wait is at least partially over.

Office Mobile for iPhone is officially available today in the United States and in several languages:

• English
• Catalan
• Chinese
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch
• Finnish
• French
• German
• Greek
• Hungarian
• Indonesian
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Malay
• Norwegian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Romanian
• Russian
• Slovak
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Turkish
• Ukrainian

Next week, Microsoft will add at least 29 languages in 135 worldwide markets.

Microsoft may very well release another product for iOS in 2014, but the details are unclear as yet.

(c) Image Courtesy of Microsoft

After Susan Rice incorrectly informed the American people about the source of the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, her appointment as National Security Adviser was, to say the least, controversial. But how much influence on security policy will she actually have?

The National Security Adviser is an appointed staff member of the Executive Office of the President (EOP). Staff members of the EOP are appointed directly by the president and do not require confirmation by the Senate.

As the title implies, the National Security Adviser is the chief adviser to the President of the United States on any foreign or domestic issues that might affect or threaten national security. Assisted by the staff of the National Security Council, the National Security Adviser may be called on to report to the National Security Council or directly to the president.

In times of crisis, the National Security Adviser is one of the people who might be summoned to the White House Situation Room by the president.

However, as an appointed employee of the EOP, the National Security Adviser has no direct authority over the policies or actions of any federal agency, including the Departments of Defense, State or Homeland Security.

In theory, and theory only, the advice of the National Security Adviser may be of more value to the president than that of the Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State, because his or her advice should not influenced by either partisan politics or the vested interests of the massive bureaucracies behind the federal agencies.

For example, the National Security Adviser could advise the president on policies regarding the government’s use of drone aircraft without having his or her thinking clouded by how those policies might affect the employees, operations or budgets of the federal agencies involved.

The National Security Adviser is just one of over 300 high-level federal government positions that can be filled by the Presidential Appointment process without Senate approval.

The first National Security Adviser was appointed by President Eisenhower in 1953. Susan Rice is the 23rd person and second woman to serve as National Security Adviser. Dr. Condoleezza Rice served from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush. Other notable past National Security Advisers include Gen. Colin Powell under President Reagan, Henry Kissinger under Presidents Nixon and Ford, and Zbigniew Brzezinski under President Carter.

Also See:
At the Pleasure of the President
Legislative Powers of the President

It looks like American Indian tribal leaders are finally getting something they have been wanting, but not been getting for years, more aggressive and effective federal law enforcement in Indian Country.

Note: Federal law (18 USC § 1151) defines Indian Country as “all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government.”

In its recent report, Indian Country Investigations and Prosecutions, the Department of Justice states that the number of active Indian Country prosecutions being handled by federal prosecutors has increased from 1,091 cases in fiscal year 2009 to 1,677 in fiscal year 2012, an increase of nearly 54% in the Indian Country caseload.

“Across the country, U.S. Attorneys have been focused on fighting crime in Indian Country and reinforcing the bond between federal and tribal law enforcement, which also strengthens the faith that people have in their criminal justice system,” said Attorney General Eric Holder in a press release. “The department will continue in its commitment to working with our tribal partners to build safe, sustainable, and healthy communities in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.”

However, the report also shows that during 2011, U.S. Attorney’s offices declined to prosecute 37% (1,041) of all Indian Country cases referred to them, mainly due to lack of sufficient evidence.

While tribal leaders have criticized the government for declining to prosecute Indian Country cases in the past, the Justice Department contends that case declination statistics alone do not accurately measure the level of cooperation federal prosecutors have achieved with tribal authorities.

“The report shows a new era of partnership between the federal government and American Indian tribes, including an unprecedented level of collaboration with tribal law enforcement,” stated the Justice Department. “The increase in collaboration and communication strengthens the bond of trust between federal and tribal investigators, prosecutors, and other personnel in both federal and tribal criminal justice systems, and it will make communities safer as a result.”

The Problem With Indian Country Justice

Law enforcement in Indian country has traditionally been hindered by a complex system of shared and often overlapping jurisdiction between federal and tribal law enforcement agencies. In 2008, tribes in 28 states operated their own law enforcement agencies.

Currently, the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) share federal jurisdiction over crimes in Indian Country. The BIA alone supports 191 Indian Country law enforcement programs, 42 of which are operated by the BIA and 149 operated by the various 562 federally-recognized tribes.

Also See: Federal Tribal Designation Hard to Get

Jurisdiction over crimes where the victim and suspect are both Indians, is shared by the federal government and tribal law enforcement agencies.

In 1997, a special committee on Indian Country law enforcement appointed by President Clinton issued a report declaring “a public safety crisis in Indian Country.”

“Basic law enforcement protection and services are severely inadequate for most of Indian Country. This problem affects more than 1.4 million people who depend on the federal government for these services,” stated the Clinton committee’s report. “Simply put, many American citizens living on Indian reservations do not receive even the minimum level of law enforcement services taken for granted in non-Indian communities.”

On July 29, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA). Part of the TLOA established measures by which the federal agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting violent crime occurring in Indian Country can be held accountable.

The law increased the authority of the tribes to prosecute crimes themselves, while expanding efforts to train and keep Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and tribal police officers. In addition, the law provides federal and tribal police with expanded access to criminal information databases.

The TLOA specifically provides federal resources to better addressed the three most prevalent crimes committed in Indian Country: sexual abuse, domestic violence, and drug- and alcohol-related crimes.

The Justice Department pointed to the increased rate of prosecutions in Indian Country as being just one of the many accomplishments of the Tribal Law and Order Act.

Also See:
Native American Apology Resolution Re-introduced
US Apologized to Native Americans

Contrary to those massively forwarded and re-forwarded emails, members of the U.S. Congress are NOT scrambling to exempt themselves from the health care reform law – Obamacare. In fact, the law will require them to make some changes most Americans will not.

Unlike other currently-insured Americans, the members of Congress and their employees will actually lose their existing health care coverage in 2014, due to a provision in the Obamacare law.

Currently covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the members of Congress and their aids will be required to either switch to a plan from one of the Obamacare-created health insurance exchanges or pay for their own private health insurance plan.

Also See: Congressional Salaries and Benefits

Specifically, Section 1312(d)(i), of the Affordable Care Act states: “… after the effective date of this subtitle, the only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to Members of Congress and congressional staff with respect to their service as a Member of Congress or congressional staff shall be health plans that are — (I) created under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act); or (II) offered through an Exchange established Under this Act.”

Also contrary to emails claiming otherwise, there are currently no bills in Congress that would exempt Congress members from this Affordable Care Act requirement.

Of course, there will be one significant difference between members of Congress and most Americans who will be required to get health insurance from one of the Obamacare exchanges: Members of Congress will not have to pay for it. Insurance coverage from one of the exchanges will be offered to members of Congress as part of their salary and benefit package.

Denizens of Capitol Hill who will not be required to switch their insurance coverage due to the Affordable Care Act include anyone – including members of Congress — on Medicare, persons employed by either congressional committees or congressional leaders, and as it stands right now, the president and vice president.

What About President Obama, Himself?

The above provision of the Affordable Care Act does not apply to the President of the United States, and even if President Obama voluntarily switches his coverage to one of the exchanges, as he has said he would, the act would be largely symbolic.

Since the American Revolution, the official physician to the president, as director of the White House Medical Unit created in 1945, has provided what the White House calls “worldwide emergency action response and comprehensive medical care to the president, the vice president and their families.” Sort of the ultimate health care plan.

Also See:
Obamacare and ‘Death Panels’ – The Facts
Your Congressman’s Allowance

Townsend Farms, Inc. of Fairview, Oregon, today announced that it is voluntarily recalling certain lots of its frozen Organic Antioxidant Blend, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Hepatitis A virus, based on an ongoing investigation by the FDA and the CDC of an illness outbreak. No other Townsend Farms products, frozen or fresh, are covered by this voluntary recall or linked to the illness outbreak at this time.

The product was sold at Costco warehouse stores under the product name Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend, 3 lb. bag and UPC 0 78414 404448 (see packaging. The recalled codes are located on the back of the package with the words “BEST BY”; followed by the code T012415 sequentially through T053115, followed by a letter. All of these letter designations are included in this recall for the lot codes listed above. Photos of the package are attached.

The product was also sold at Harris Teeter stores from April 19 until May 7, 2013, under the product name Harris Teeter Organic Antioxidant Berry Blend, 10 oz. bag UPC 0 72036 70463 4. The correct “Lot” and “best by” codes are as follows: Lot Codes T041613E, T0401613C and a “BEST BY” code of 101614 (see packaging).

Townsend Farms is implementing this voluntary recall after learning that one of the ingredients of the frozen Organic Antioxidant Blend, pomegranate seeds processed in Turkey, may be linked to an illness outbreak outside of the United States. Thirty-four cases of Hepatitis A are being investigated to date in the U.S.; all are recovering. At this time, Hepatitis A has not been found in the product, but Townsend Farms is taking this precautionary action in consultation with the FDA, as the investigation continues.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that results from exposure to the Hepatitis A virus, including from food. It can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious illness lasting several months. Illness generally occurs within 15 to 50 days of exposure and includes fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice, abnormal liver tests, dark urine and pale stool. Hepatitis A vaccination can prevent illness if given within two weeks of exposure to a contaminated food. In rare cases, particularly consumers who have a pre- existing severe illness or are immune compromised, Hepatitis A infection can progress to liver failure.

Persons who may have consumed affected product should consult with their health care professional or local health department to determine if a vaccination is appropriate, and consumers with symptoms of Hepatitis A should contact their health care professionals or the local health department immediately. Consumers with the product should not consume the product. The product should be disposed of immediately. Please keep proof of product purchase.

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Continuing a trend that began in 1991, the U.S. teen birth rate reached a new record low in 2011, according to the latest statistics reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The statistics, from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, show that the 2011 rate of 31.3 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 is down by almost 50% from the 1991 rate of 61.8 births per 1,000 teens, the nation’s all-time high.

Calling the trend “sustained, widespread, and broad-based,” the CDC noted that if teen births had continued at their 1991 levels, an estimated 3.6 million more births to teenagers would have occurred from 1992 through 2011.

According to the CDC, infants born to teenagers face a greater risk of low birth weight, preterm birth and death than infants born to women aged 20 and over. CDC places the health care costs attributable to teen births at $10.9 billion annually.

The CDC credited teen pregnancy prevention programs like the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy for the decline in teen birth rates. Data from the CDC’s National Survey of Family Growth show that more sexually active teens are using dual forms of contraception — condoms and birth control pills – even when having sex for the first time.

Geographically, teen birth rates fell by at least 15% for all but two states (North Dakota and West Virginia) during 2007-2011. The rate fell by 30% or more during the same period in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota and Florida.

Declines in birthrates were steepest for Hispanic teenagers, averaging 34% for the United States, followed by declines of 24% for non-Hispanic black teenagers and 20% for non-Hispanic white teenagers.

In 2002, the CDC reported that the overall U.S. birth rate to women of all childbearing ages had reached its lowest level ever, after peaking in 1990. The birth rate fell to 13.9 per 1,000 persons in 2002, down from 14.1 per 1,000 in 2001 and down a full 17 percent from the peak in 1990.

Also See: Future US to be Slower Growing, Older and More Diverse

A bipartisan group of 11 congressmen has introduced a bill that would call on NASA to do what lots of people thought it would have done years ago: establish a permanent colony of humans on the Moon.

The Reasserting American Leadership in Space Act (H.R. 1446), introduced by Rep. Bill Posey (R-Florida), would direct NASA to come up with a plan to return to the Moon and “develop a sustained human presence” there by 2022.

While his bill emphasizes the importance of human space exploration to science, commerce and national security, Rep. Posey warned that if the U.S. does not colonize the Moon, the Russians and the Chinese will.

“The Russians are going to the moon; the Chinese are going to the moon,” Posey told Florida’s Sunshine State News. “They’re not going there to bring back some rock samples and study the origins of the moon and the earth; they’re going there to colonize.”

One of the bill’s 10 cosponsors. Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas), urged his fellow lawmakers to pass the Reasserting American Leadership in Space Act, rather than risk “only watching as other nations seize the lead in space exploration–and reap the benefits in jobs, inventions, investments, national pride and international respect.”

Supporters of the bill also stress that it is in accordance with the intent of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008, which endorsed “the broad goals of the space exploration policy of the United States, including the eventual return to and exploration of the Moon and other destinations in the solar system and the important national imperative of independent access to space.”

Of course, a mission to colonize the Moon would also help the 6 space industry-heavy states represented by the bill’s sponsors to “reap the benefits.”

Along with Rep. Posey, whose home state of Florida hosts NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, six cosponsors of the Reasserting American Leadership in Space Act are from Texas, home of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Other cosponsors represent Alabama (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center), Virginia (NASA Langley Research Center), along with Utah and North Dakota, both of which host NASA Space Grant Consortiums.

But Houston, we may have a problem passing the Reasserting American Leadership in Space Act, considering that in September 2009, President Obama’s blue ribbon Human Space Flight Review Committee concluded that any plans on the part of NASA for future human exploration of space beyond low-Earth orbit would be “perpetuating the perilous practice of pursuing goals that do not match allocated resources.” In other words, further exploration of the Moon would require money that NASA just does not have and is unlikely to get from Congress.

Also See: NASA Wants to Catch You an Asteroid

NOAA’s promise of improved “life-saving forecasts” during what it predicts could be an extremely active 2013 hurricane season will be harder to keep due to the failure of a key Atlantic weather prediction satellite.

On May 22, actually the day before NOAA released its 2013 Atlantic hurricane season outlook, the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison reported that the cameras of the GOES-13 (GOES-East) weather satellite were “for as yet unknown reasons,” no longer pointed at the Earth.

As one of three Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), the GOES-13 provides severe weather forecasts for the eastern United States.

Launched by NASA in 2006, and designed to last only 10 years, the GOES-13 satellite suffered an apparently unrelated month-long outage last year.

In a general satellite status report issued on May 25, NOAA stated that it had activated its spare GOES-14 satellite to provide East Coast coverage while repairs to GOES-13 were underway. A more detailed report issued on May 23, NOAA noted that it had “No estimate on return to operations at this time,” for the GOES-13 satellite.

Two other currently active GOES satellites, GOES-12 and GOES-15 cover South America and the western United States, respectively.

The GOES satellites circle the Earth in geosynchronous orbits, meaning the speed of their orbits exactly matches the speed of the Earth’s rotation, thus allowing them to remain in a fixed location above the Earth’s surface. This feature makes the GOES satellites the best of all “storm chasers.”

“Because GOES satellites stay above a fixed spot on the surface, they provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric ‘triggers’ for severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms, and hurricanes. When these conditions develop the GOES satellites are able to monitor storm development and track their movements,” states NOAA.

In a March report on the government’s lack of preparedness to deal with the financial impacts of climate change, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that it had added NOAA’s severe weather forecasting program to its list of “high risk programs.”

In taking its action, the GAO cited possible gaps in weather satellite data beginning as early as 2014 and lasting from 17 to 53 months.

Also See:
GAO Warns Climate Change Could Drain Federal Budget
2004 Climate Study Predicted Dire Events

Memorial Day is here in the United States and with it the impending end of the school year for many students. It is the time when students start to think about what they will be doing for vacation. Of course, their education may not be done just yet as they start up college or high school in the fall.

Computers have become integral to campus life for both high school and college. Some schools even require a computer for their students. So, if you have a student that is graduating and are considering buying them a computer as a graduation gift, check out my article for tips on buying an educational computer.

• Graduation Computers