MEDIA ROOTS –  In California, Assembly Bill 2109 is generating more controversy over some parents’ decision to opt-out from certain vaccines for their children. According to the National Vaccine Information Center, an advocacy organization that promotes parental choice over government mandate, AB2109 is a direct threat to parental sovereignty because it would require additional doctor’s visits and required paperwork for those parents opting-out from particular vaccinations for their children.

Over the weekend, actor and comedian Rob Schneider met with News10 out of Sacramento to discuss why he’s against the legislation. Schneider, along with fellow celebrity Jenny McCarthy who co-founded the autism support network Generation Rescue, believe a link between vaccinations and autism exists which is why they would have their children opt-out. However, multiple scientific studies have been conducted to dispel the link. Regardless, Schneider adamantly testifies that parents should become more knowledgeable about the issue by reading The Vaccine Guide by Randall Neustaedter before making their own decision.

Controversy over the use of vaccines has existed since the first vaccine was used in the 18^th century to prevent the outbreak of small pox. Today, there is no doubt that the vaccine industry is big business. While the pharmaceutical industry spends nearly $200 million per year lobbying the federal government, commercials for vaccines now grace TV screens in certain parts of the United States.

Oskar Mosco

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Actor and comedian Rob Schneider discusses his view of AB2109 in California.

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Photo provided by Flickr user AJC1.

MEDIA ROOTS –  Many supporters of President Obama claim that he has had several accomplishments with US environmental policy. However, in stark contrast to these claims, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a video earlier this month highlighting the Obama’s administration current interpretations of “green jobs.” The video shows committee chairman Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and acting commissioner of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, John Galvin, discussing the loose interpretations of what can be considered a “green job.”

At the hearing, Commissioner Galvin confirmed the following forms of employment as green jobs:

*A gasoline attendant pumping gas for school buses

*Used record sales clerk

*Trash collectors

*Oil lobbyists when engaged in advocacy related to environmental issues

President Obama’s $800 billion stimulus program – indeed the largest wealth transfer in human history – was purported to have created 2.7 million green jobs, despite the fact that during his election campaign he promised to create 5 million new green jobs that would “pay well and can’t be outsourced.” In actuality, 79% of renewable energy grants went overseas with domestic renewable jobs now numbering a paltry 140,000.

Oskar Mosco

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Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) discussing “green jobs” with Commissioner John Galvin, US Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Photo provided by Flickr user MCS@flickr

MEDIA ROOTS – Facebook, often referred to as “Fascistbook” in some circles for their authoritarian practices, has again upset users by unilaterally switching email addresses on user profiles to [user]@facebook.com. Messages are thus delivered to account inboxes without prior consent of the user.

It’s a sly attempt by Facebook to keep their audience on their sites despite the obvious violation of privacy. While users are still able to revert back to their regular email address, the switch was done discreetly and without any prior notification. In 2010, all Facebook users were provided with a Facebook email address, but it wasn’t until this past weekend that all profiles were switched over.

Avaaz, an international online social movement, has a petition that has attracted over 900 signers in the last twenty-four hours. “This major change to the privacy settings of hundreds of millions of Facebook users without their consent is unethical, and it’s bad business.”

Oskar Mosco

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THE DAILY CALLER – Over the weekend, Facebook users may have noticed that their default email address was changed to their Facebook email address without any action on their part.

The company first announced the change was coming in April with little-to-no fanfare after first releasing the new service in 2010. Their aim is to allow users to consolidate their electronic communications in one place — Facebook. Facebook’s post-email vision of the Internet was viewed at the time as a potential Gmail killer. 

“The change was noticed over the weekend by blogger Gervase Markham, who said that in making the move, the company conducted an man-in-the-middle (“MITM”) attack on him. In cryptography and computer security, a man-in-the-middle attack is a form of eavesdropping, in which the attacker relays messages being sent between the victims without their knowing about it.”

“In other words, Facebook silently inserted themselves into the path of formerly-direct unencrypted communications from people who want to email me,” Markham wrote.

The change was also noticed by Lifehacker and Forbes.

While switching user default settings might be a way to take a crack at incumbent email service providers — Google, for example — technology blog Lifehacker made the point in 2010 that Facebook email wasn’t about email: “It’s about extending the reach of Facebook messages.”

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Photo by Flickr user aranarth

MEDIA ROOTS – Thomas Morton of Vice travelled to the Issyk-Kul region of the Kyrgyz Republic to document bride kidnapping, a practice whereby young men seek marriage through abducting women off the street. Vice acquaints us with this process by documenting a groom, Kubanti, as he kidnaps his teenage girlfriend, Nazgul.

This startling documentary raises many pressing questions. To what extent, if any, can members of one society judge those living half a world away? Why does bride kidnapping occur primarily in rural areas of Kyrgyzstan? Why do female members of the groom’s family aid and abet the kidnappers? And lastly, how can we empower the women of Kyrgyzstan?

Although this type of bride kidnapping is virtually non-existent in the United States, we still suffer from phenomena with parallels to Kyrgyzstan: the banes of patriarchy inundate our political and social milieus; many U.S. citizens twist religious text to suit individual desires; female virginity is often seen as a sign of purity and righteousness; domestic violence ravages families across all U.S. socio-economic strata; and tradition is rarely questioned, no matter how harmful.

Geostrategic concerns loom large behind these social issues. Kyrgyzstan is a key U.S. transit point into the Afghanistan battlefield. Realists argue Washington ignores issues of human rights in exchange for military convenience. Can U.S. assistance to Kyrgyzstan be wielded with greater benevolence in order to promote women’s rights?

Reflection about Kyrgyzstan can engender introspection into issues affecting us all. As this documentary conveys, Vice excels at piquing our curiosities and encouraging us to dig deeper.

Christian Sorensen

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VICE TV on bride kidnappings in Kyrgyzstan

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Photo by flickr user Meredith Farmer

MEDIA ROOTS — Last month, President Obama claimed that there has not been a significant amount of civilian deaths in Pakistan from unmanned US drones.  Yet, more than a dozen Pakistani families of dead civilians have petitioned to the United Nations for an intervention to immediately cease U.S. drone attacks.  The UN’s Human Rights Council (HRC) is expected to review the complaint soon.

Considering the fact that Pakistan possesses nuclear weapons, this issue is of great concern for human rights as well as international security.  Last year, the UN HRC recognized that while 40 countries have drone technology, the United States is the dominant user of drones for targeted killings.  Additionally, the Government of Pakistan has previously stated that the continued use of drones in their airspace, without prior consent, is a direct violation of their sovereignty.  Imagine Pakistan, or any other foreign military, flying drones, without consent, over U.S. airspace.

Reprieve, a UK-based legal charity, is formally delivering the complaint.  Activist Shahzad Akbar explains, “the international community can no longer afford to ignore the human rights catastrophe which is taking place in North West Pakistan in the name of the ‘War on Terror.’”

Shockingly, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveals that, during the year the United States increased its drone operations, multiple civilians were specifically targeted as, either, rescuers or for simply attending the funerals of the slain.  The Bureau adds, since Obama took office three years ago, 60 of these victims have been children.

The increased use of drones is the latest example of industry fueling military expansion.  Earlier this month, Congress approved a $63 billion spending bill for the Federal Aviation Administration to test and license domestic drone use.  As many as 30,000 drones could be in use over U.S. skies by 2020.

Oskar Mosquito is a writer for Media Roots and producer at truth-march.

Photo by Flickr user the US Army