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CDC Removes Faulty Ebola Guidelines Amid Calls To “Calm Down About Ebola”

Welcome to the new Ebola panic. It began in the last week and it is rooted in the idea that people have become too hysterical about the spread of Ebola. I’m calling it the anti-hysteria hysteria.

This past week the internet was awash with articles stating that people need to stop freaking out about Ebola. It almost seems like news outlets have collectively decided that everyone in this country has become too scared about the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. The website Elite Daily was especially direct in the title of an anti-hysteria article titled “9 Reason Why You Need To Calm The F*ck Down About Ebola In America.” On Facebook, The Huffington Post linked to the article with the caption, “Ebola is less contagious than the common cold.” Thank you for stating the obvious HP.

Amid the calls to calm down, the authorities in charge continue to operate in a way that does not instill confidence in their ability to contain the virus. Take for example the recent controversy surrounding the CDC’s instruction on Ebola protective gear. The instructions were shredded by Dr. Jonathan Reiner in a series of tweets. Dr. Reiner, the director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at The George Washington University Hospital, took exception to the CDC’s web page instructions for hospital workers’ personal protective equipment when treating an Ebola patient. The CDC instructions allowed exposed skin around the face and neck and called for improper glove removal. Since Dr. Reiner sharply criticized the CDC’s instruction, many additional prominent members of the medical community have backed his claims and raised similar concerns.

Yesterday, the link to the CDC’s Ebola personal protective equipment instruction page was taken down. This event adds fuel to the fire that the CDC does not have Ebola under control. It raises concerns that the CDC is not using best practices in the medical community in their quest to contain Ebola; providing yet another reason to fear the spread of Ebola in the United States.

There is nothing wrong with fear if it is based upon reality. Day after day the Ebola virus and the “authorities” charged with managing the outbreak provide more reasons to show that they are not competent to prevent spread of the virus. From airlines continuing to service nations in West Africa to nurses traveling the country after being exposed to the virus; a little realistic fear would go a long way in providing the incentives needed to encourage individuals to utilize common sense methods to reduce the spread of Ebola.

FBI Director Demands Law To Halt Phone Encryption

Speaking of fear, the government is using a healthy dose of manufactured fear to try to convince lawmakers to pass legislation in order to “fix” the “issues” created by Apple and Google users’ access to encryption.

Russia Today reports:

The FBI director has slammed Apple and Google for offering their customers encryption technology that protects users’ privacy. “Deeply concerned” James Comey wants to push on Congress to “fix” laws to ensure police can still access private data. “It’s the equivalent of a closet that can’t be opened. A safe that can’t be cracked,” Comey, speaking at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC, referred to the encryption technology calling the new service “a marketing pitch.” “But it will have very serious consequences for law enforcement and national security agencies at all levels,” he warned. Apple has recently presented its latest Mac OS X operating system for desktop and laptop computers, encouraging its customers to use FileVault disk encryption technology to keep their data secure. The tool would also prevent NSA or FBI from having access to phones and computers.

Of course, the government only discusses those that would use encryption to commit the worst kinds of crimes when lobbying for anti-encryption legislation. The government will claim to need anti-encryption law to stop pedophiles, but will use the law to spy on innocent citizens.

In last Monday’s edition of The Morning Roar, we discussed Edward Snowden’s call for web users to abandon unencrypted communications in order to prevent government spying. The government will try desperately to make encryption illegal. They don’t want to give citizens the opportunity to use encryption. If every citizen that owned an Apple or Google phone had access to encryption, this would deal a big blow to the government spying industry.

Facebook Wants DEA To Stop Making Fake Accounts

Two weeks ago we covered a story in The Morning Roar about a DEA agent setting up a phony Facebook account for a woman, complete with racy pictures. Now Facebook wants assurances from the Drug Enforcement Administration that it is no longer operating fake accounts.

Politico reports:

Facebook’s chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, said in a letter Friday to DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart that law enforcement agencies need to follow the same rules about being truthful on Facebook as civilian users. Those rules include a ban on lying about who you are.

Sullivan’s letter was in response to a New York woman’s federal lawsuit claiming that a DEA agent created a fake online persona using her name and photographs stored on her cellphone. In court filings, Sondra Arquiett said her pictures were retrieved from her cellphone after she was arrested in July 2010 on drug charges and her cellphone seized. Arquiett said the fake page was being used by DEA agent Timothy Sinnigen to interact with “dangerous individuals he was investigating.” Arquiett is asking for $250,000 in damages. “Facebook has long made clear that law enforcement authorities are subject to these policies,” Sullivan wrote. “We regard DEA’s conduct to be a knowing and serious breach of Facebook’s terms and policies.”

Let’s hope this isn’t just political posturing on the part of Facebook. For public relations reasons Facebook needs to appear that they are protecting their users and holding government officials to the same terms of service as everyone else.

It would be a big help in stopping federal agencies from stealing online identities if Sondra Arquiett wins her lawsuit against DEA agent Timothy Sinnigen. This would set a precedent of holding the individual agents accountable and make it harder for government employees to hide behind the force of government.

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