Military-industrial complex cash influence NSA votes

By Eric Boehm | Watchdog.org

The military-industrial complex flexed its muscle last week when the U.S. House of Representatives nearly approved a measure to shut down the National Security Agency?s secret electronic surveillance program.

According to a new analysis from MapLight, a noprofit that tracks special interest spending in Congress, members of the U.S. House who voted to continue against the proposal to shutter the NSA spying program received ??on average ??twice as much in campaign contributions from defense industry interests as members who supported the proposal.

BOUGHT AND PAID FOR: An analysis from MapLight shows members of Congress who voted against reining in the NSA got twice as much in campaign contributions from defense industry interests.

Maplight examined contributions over a two-year period ending on Dec. 31, 2012 and found that defense and intelligence interests gave more than $12.9 million to members of Congress.

On average, lawmakers who voted to continue the NSA spying program got $41,635 from those special interests.? Those who voted to end the dragnet surveillance program got an average of only $18,765.

?How can we trust legislators to vote in the public interest when they are dependent on industry campaign funding to get elected? Our broken money and politics system forces lawmakers into a conflict of interest between lawmakers? voters and their donors,? Daniel G. Newman, MapLight?s president and co-founder, told Wired Magazine earlier this week.

The proposal, offered by U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., and U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., would have allowed the NSA to conduct surveillance on those who were suspected or accused of a crime.

The vote divided Republicans and Democrats in the House.? When the dust cleared on July 24, the effort to suspend the warrantless electronic spying program failed by a vote of 217-205.

As the MapLight analysis shows, the amount of money a representative received from defense industry special interests was a far better indicator of whether they voted ?yes? or ?no? on the proposal than their party affiliation.

The list is truly bipartisan, with members of both parties among the top recipients of campaign contributions from defense contractors and special interests connected to the nation?s intelligence industry.

Of the top 10 recipients of campaign cash from the military-industrial complex, only U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., voted to end the NSA program.

?I supported the Amash amendment because Section 215 opens the door to serious abuses by a future administration,? Moran said in a statement. ?We have to view these issues through the lens of how a future ?Nixonian-style? administration could misuse this type of information. It?s our best safeguard against the abuse of presidential power.?

Of the top 20 on MapLight?s list, only Moran and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., voted to end the NSA collection of phone and email records.

The NSA?s domestic surveillance has been under increased scrutiny in the two months since details of the spying program were made public by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Eric Boehm is a reporter for Watchdog.org and can be reached at Eric@PAIndependent.com.

The post Military-industrial complex cash influence NSA votes appeared first on Watchdog.org.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SayAnything/~3/IEV3Om-dvR8/

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Nuvilex's Medical Marijuana Segment Could Mirror Israel's Success

SOURCE: Goldman Small Cap Research, Inc.

BALTIMORE, MD--(Marketwired - Jul 31, 2013) - Goldman Small Cap Research, a stock market research firm focused on the small cap and microcap sectors, notes that considering the success of some of the programs in Israel in treating cancer patients with cannabis, Nuvilex Inc.'s (OTCQB: NVLX) subsidiary, Medical Marijuana Sciences, Inc. may elect to emulate some of that country's initiatives.

In Israel, the medical-marijuana industry has flourished. Today, medical marijuana is prescribed to 11,000 patients, up from 1,800 in 2009, according to the Israeli Health Ministry. It is used to treat an extensive list of illnesses including cancer, Parkinson's, Tourette syndrome, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Importantly, while some cancer patients do smoke medical marijuana, in most cases, the drug is delivered via pill, liquid, food and even vapor. These delivery method alternatives are a bit broader than what is typically found in the U.S.

Perhaps the reason for the forward-thinking of Israeli scientists is the long history of medical marijuana research in Israel, which according to a recent article in Tablet magazine, traces its roots to nearly 50 years ago.

Much like in the U.S., despite the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) inherent in cannabis that is responsible for the "high," Israeli researchers prefer to remove the THC and raise the concentration of the non-psychoactive cannabidiol, or CBD, which has documented anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In fact, in the 1960's, Israel was a world leader in research on marijuana and its components conducted under the so-called grandfather of cannabis, professor Raphael Mechoulam of Hebrew University, who first isolated the THC component.

Going forward, as Americans continue to embrace the use of marijuana for its medicinal properties coupled with the elimination of THC from cannabis "extracts" and a concentration on the use of CBD as a therapeutic agent, Nuvilex's choice of developing CBD-based treatments for serious cancers becomes validated. Furthermore, a combination therapy for pancreatic cancer that combines a CBD-based treatment with its high profile live-cell encapsulation-based treatment for that disease may well be in Nuvilex's future.

Since the summertime is also a vacation period for the country's legislators, the medical marijuana space has been a bit quiet of late. However, once legislatures return to session, it is likely that this industry segment will enjoy accelerated opportunities.

To view Nuvilex reports and articles and to view our disclaimer, please visit
www.goldmanresearch.com.

About Goldman Small Cap Research: Led by former Piper Jaffray analyst and mutual fund manager Rob Goldman, Goldman Small Cap Research produces small cap and micro cap stock research reports, daily stock market blogs, and popular investment newsletters. For more information, visit www.goldmanresearch.com.

A Goldman Small Cap Research report is not intended as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed. Please read the report's full disclosures and analyst background on our website before investing. Neither Goldman Small Cap Research nor its parent is a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer with FINRA or any other agency. To download our research, view our disclosures, or for more information, visit www.goldmanresearch.com.

About Nuvilex, Inc. (OTCQB: NVLX): Nuvilex, Inc. has been a provider of all-natural products for many years, has expanded its company to increase its natural product based footprint through medical marijuana studies and is becoming an international biotechnology provider of live, therapeutically valuable, encapsulated cells and services for treatments, research and medicine. The Company's offerings will ultimately include cancer, diabetes and other clinical treatments using the company's natural product knowledge, product base, cell and gene therapy expertise, and live-cell encapsulation technology in addition to other new products currently under development. For more information, visit www.nuvilex.com.

Source: http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=1816339&sourceType=3

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Zelnick bullish on AAA iPad games after XCOM success

As part of Take-Two's financial results today, company head Strauss Zelnick noted that Firaxis' strategy title XCOM: Enemy Unknown was in the top 10-grossing iPad apps within the first week of release - a big success for the company.

Talking in the Q&A following the company results, Zelnick noted: "This bodes well for the opportunity to deliver profitably our most immersive new triple-A titles to mobile platforms as they evolve."

He continued: "It?s a matter of just a couple of years before [tablets are] great entertainment platform [for video games]." It seems that the aggressive pricing for the title, which was priced at $19.99 in the U.S. iOS store, ended up working out for the company - in the short term, at least.

Zelnick also commented that the upcoming external iOS game controllers would help the AAA game's cause a lot: "We do need an 'outboard' controller that becomes an industry standard that works for consumers. But I have every reason to believe that a tablet will become a great game platform, and we?ll be right there. I do think we?re a couple years away."

And Zelnick continued: "The truth is consumers pay for what?s of value of them. And obviously we create a product that?s very expensive to make and market, and the price point reflects the intersection of those two things. There really is no reason that if you deliver a great experience on tablets that we should be price-limited."

But, he said if consumers rejected that premium pricing, Take-Two is ?flexible? and could work on other business models.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/fingergaming/~3/VGI256qKeDU/Zelnick_bullish_on_AAA_iPad_games_after_XCOM_success.php

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