John O. Brennan Counterterrorism advisor to President Obama When did his time as a counterterrorism advisor to Obama begin? President Obama then appointed him to be his Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, the President's What led to his appointment? In August 2009, Brennan criticized some Bush-administration anti-terror policies, Did he have a hand in any historically significant counterterrorism? Brennan was present in the Situation Room in May 2011 when the United States conducted the military operation What military operation was that? that killed Osama bin Laden. Did he receive any recognition or awards? said that using the second term, which means one who is struggling for a holy goal, gives "these murderers
When did he cease to be in that role?
When did Brennan cease to be Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism?
In late 2008, Brennan was reportedly the top choice to become the next Director of the CIA in the incoming Obama administration. However, Brennan withdrew his name from consideration because of opposition to his CIA service under President George W. Bush and past public statements he had made in support of enhanced interrogation and the transfer of terrorism suspects to countries where they might be tortured (extraordinary rendition). President Obama then appointed him to be his Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, the President's chief counterterrorism advisor and a position that did not require Senate confirmation.  In August 2009, Brennan criticized some Bush-administration anti-terror policies, saying that waterboarding had threatened national security by increasing the recruitment of terrorists and decreasing the willingness of other nations to cooperate with the U.S. He also described the Obama administration's focus as being on "extremists" and not "jihadists". He said that using the second term, which means one who is struggling for a holy goal, gives "these murderers the religious legitimacy they desperately seek" and suggests the US is at war with the religion of Islam.  In an early December 2009 interview with the Bergen Record, Brennan remarked, "the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities have to bat 1.000 every day. The terrorists are trying to be successful just once". At a press conference days after the failed Christmas Day bomb attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Brennan said U.S. intelligence agencies did not miss any signs that could have prevented the attempt but later said he had let the President down by underestimating a small group of Yemeni terrorists and not connecting them to the attempted bomber. Within two weeks after the incident, however, he produced a report highly critical of the performance of U.S. intelligence agencies, concluding that their focus on terrorist attempts aimed at U.S. soil was inadequate. In February 2010, he claimed on Meet the Press that he was tired of Republican lawmakers using national security issues as political footballs, and making allegations where they did not know the facts.  Brennan was present in the Situation Room in May 2011 when the United States conducted the military operation that killed Osama bin Laden. He called President Obama's decision to go forward with the mission one of the "gutsiest calls of any president in memory." In the aftermath of the operation, Brennan said that the U.S. troops in the raid had been "met with a great deal of resistance," and bin Laden had used a woman as a human shield. CANNOTANSWER
In August 2009,
Dylan Edward Cease (born December 28, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019.

Amateur career
Cease attended Milton High School in Milton, Georgia. Pitching for the school's baseball team, his fastball velocity averaged , while peaking at . In games that he did not pitch, Cease played shortstop. In 2013, his junior year, Milton won the state championship in baseball. Cease also appeared in a second straight state championship series, but lost to Lambert High School. Cease committed to attend Vanderbilt University on a college baseball scholarship to play for the Vanderbilt Commodores. During the summer seasons, Cease competed for Team Elite out of Winder, GA, and excelled, earning him an invitation to the Perfect Game National Showcase and Perfect Game All-American Classic.

Professional career
In August 2013, prior to Cease's senior year at Milton, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com considered Cease to be a potential first-round draft choice in the upcoming 2014 MLB draft. Cease left a game during his senior season, on March 3, 2014, due to elbow soreness, which was later diagnosed as a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the elbow in his pitching arm. As a result, he fell in the draft, and the Chicago Cubs selected him in the sixth round.

Chicago Cubs
He signed with the Cubs, receiving a $1.5 million signing bonus, well above the $269,500 recommended at that slot. After he signed, he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair the UCL. He resumed throwing in May 2015, and pitched for the Arizona Cubs of the Rookie-level Arizona League. At the end of the 2015 season, Baseball America rated Cease as the second-best prospect in the Arizona League. He spent the 2016 season with the Eugene Emeralds of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, where he posted a 2–0 win–loss record with a 2.22 earned run average and 66 strikeouts in  innings pitched.

Cease began the 2017 season with the South Bend Cubs of the Class A Midwest League.

Chicago White Sox
On July 13, 2017, the Cubs traded Cease, Eloy Jiménez, Matt Rose, and Bryant Flete to the Chicago White Sox for José Quintana. The White Sox assigned him to the Kannapolis Intimidators of the Class A South Atlantic League. In 22 total games between South Bend and Kannapolis, Cease posted a 1-10 record with a 3.28 ERA along with 126 strikeouts in a career high  innings pitched.

Cease began the 2018 season with the Winston-Salem Dash of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, and earned a midseason promotion to the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern League. Cease was selected to represent the White Sox at the 2018 All-Star Futures Game. The White Sox added Cease to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.

Cease opened the 2019 season with the Charlotte Knights of the Class AAA International League. On July 3, the White Sox promoted him to the major leagues. In his debut he pitched five innings, allowed three runs, struck out six batters, and earned the win. He finished the season with a 4–7 record and a 5.79 ERA in 73 innings.

In 2020 he was 5-4 with a 4.01 ERA. He led the AL in walks, with 34.

On May 4, 2021, Dylan Cease hit his first career major league hit during a game against the Cincinnati Reds, and almost hit a home run to right field. Cease went 3-for-3 at the plate and pitched 6 scoreless innings giving up one hit and striking out 11 as the White Sox won 9-0.
In 2021, Cease made 32 starts with a record of 13-7 and an ERA of 3.91 and pitched 165.2 innings while striking out 226 batters and lead the American League in K/9 with 12.3. Cease made his first career postseason start in Game 3 of the 2021 ALDS against the Houston Astros. Cease struggled only pitching 1.2 innings and giving up 3 runs while striking out only 2 batters in the White Sox' 12-6 win.

Personal life
Cease has a twin brother, Alec, who also played on the Milton High School team as a catcher and third baseman.

References

External links

1995 births
Living people
Twin sportspeople
Sportspeople from Fulton County, Georgia
Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state)
Major League Baseball pitchers
Chicago White Sox players
Arizona League Cubs players
Eugene Emeralds players
South Bend Cubs players
Kannapolis Intimidators players
Winston-Salem Dash players
Birmingham Barons players
Charlotte Knights players CEASE (Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression) therapy is a pseudoscientific practice used by naturopaths (particularly homeopaths) who claim that it can treat or even cure people with autism, claims which have been adjudicated by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority as "bogus".  It involves a mixture of supplements, high-dose vitamin C, 'orthomolecular support', dietary restrictions, and homeopathy. The therapy was developed by Dutch doctor Tinus Smits, who claimed to have used it to treat over 300 children with autism. It became more notable in 2017/2018 because of regulatory action taken by professional bodies in The Netherlands, UK, and Canada following a series of complaints about unfounded claims.

Smits in the book Autism Beyond Despair – CEASE Therapy stated that autistic children should never be vaccinated.

Regulatory action 
In October 2017 the Dutch Advertising Code Foundation (Stichting Reclame Code) found that the official website for CEASE therapy was in breach of advertising regulations.

In the United Kingdom, in April 2018 the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) placed some requirements on the Society of Homeopaths (SoH), due to concerns about the way in which members marketed CEASE therapy. The PSA asked the SoH to confirm "what action it will take to ensure children are safe as a condition of its re-accreditation". The following June the SoH published a position statement advising their members not to imply any cure of autism when marketing CEASE therapy. It has been estimated that more than 120 homeopaths are offering CEASE in the UK though not all are SoH members. In its December 2018 accreditation review for the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT) the PSA received confirmation from the Federation that none of its registered homeopath members offer CEASE, that any homeopath who offers CEASE would not be accepted onto its register, and that the FHT does not "accept, endorse or insure" CEASE therapy.

In July 2015 the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found Teddington Homeopathy's marketing of CEASE therapy in breach of the Advertising Standards Code. The following month the ASA added the company to its list of non-compliant online advertisers for "making unproven efficacy claims for CEASE therapy". In May 2018 the ASA wrote to homeopaths to remind them that "CEASE Therapists cannot claim to cure autism or make claims regarding detoxification" and in July 2018 they upheld an adjudication against Bubbling Life's website, determining that the claims relating to CEASE, vaccination, autism and ASD could discourage customers from seeking appropriate advice or treatment. In  March 2019, the ASA published a statement that advertising of CEASE must stop and that they had referred several cases to Trading Standards.

In British Columbia, Canada, the Board of the College of Naturopathic Physicians investigated three CEASE practitioners  following complaints from the public and subsequently "determined that naturopathic doctors in British Columbia must not advertise or offer CEASE therapy". As well as this prohibition the College's updated position statements also clarify that naturopathic doctors in BC must not offer anti-vaccination materials or advice (including on social media) and must not imply that vaccination causes autism.

The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not strictly regulate CEASE or homeopathic treatments. However, in response to a question about CEASE it has stated that "[the] FDA has warned about the use of products labeled as homeopathic because of concerns that they have not been shown to offer clinical benefits in treating serious and/or life-threatening medical conditions, and that they also may cause serious harm... It deeply concerns us when we see preventable diseases such as measles – a life-threatening infection we thought we had eliminated in the US in 2000 – now making a tragic comeback and threatening our communities, despite having a vaccine available that is safe and highly effective. A factor contributing to the measles outbreak is inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines rather than the reliance on accurate, scientific-based information."

In May 2019 Homeopathy International's steering group wrote to CEASE practitioners recommending that they consider changing the treatment's name to EASE (for 'Easing Autistic Spectrum Expression') to avoid the "significant legal risk" from using in their marketing material the original name or its acronym, either of which could be interpreted as "making illegal claims to cure". On 28 June 2019 the Good Thinking Society (GTS) charity filed a Judicial Review claim to challenge an earlier decision by the PSA to re-accredit the Society of Homeopaths' register. At the time of filing several (GTS alleges it to be over 50) SoH members were still offering CEASE therapy for autism.

Expert assessment 
Speaking on the subject of CEASE and homeopathy, Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, said: "Measles outbreaks were both predicted and predictable as the anti-vaccine movement starts to affect public health in [the USA]. This is just the beginning – it is a harbinger of a new normal in America... There are no alternatives to vaccination against measles and there is no cure to autism – so it's all made up."

References

Further reading
CEASE therapy for autism: Homeopathic quackery and “self regulation” by naturopathic boards at Science-Based Medicine, 2018
A Spectrum of Harmful interventions for Autism: a short report (PDF) from The Westminster Commission on Autism, 2018

Homeopathy
Autism pseudoscience
Vaccine hesitancy
Unnecessary health care
Naturopathy A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop allegedly illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms.  The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not discontinue specified conduct, or take certain actions, by deadlines set in the letter, that party, i.e. the letter's recipient, may be sued. When issued by a public authority, a cease and desist letter, being "a warning of impending judicial enforcement", is most appropriately called a "cease and desist order".

Usage for intellectual property

Although cease and desist letters are not exclusively used in the area of intellectual property, particularly in regards to copyright infringement, such letters "are frequently utilized in disputes concerning intellectual property and represent an important feature of the intellectual property law landscape". The holder of an intellectual property right such as a copyrighted work, a trademark, or a patent, may send the cease and desist letter to inform a third party "of the right holders' rights, identity, and intentions to enforce the rights". The letter may merely contain a licensing offer or may be an explicit threat of a lawsuit. A cease and desist letter often triggers licensing negotiations, and is a frequent first step towards litigation.

Effects on recipients

Receiving numerous cease and desist letters may be very costly for the recipient. Each claim in the letters must be evaluated, and it should be decided whether to respond to the letters, "whether or not to obtain an attorney's opinion letter, prepare for a lawsuit, and perhaps initiate [in case of letters regarding a potential patent infringement] a search for alternatives and the development of design-around technologies".

Cease and desist letters are sometimes used to intimidate recipients and can be "an effective tool used by corporations to chill the critical speech of gripe sites operators". A company owning a trademark may send such letter to a gripe site operator alleging a trademark infringement, although the actual use of the trademark by the gripe site operator may fall under a fair use exception (in compliance with, in the U.S., the protection of free speech under the First Amendment).

Notable cease and desist letters

2017
In 2017, a cease and desist letter sent by Netflix for an unauthorized Stranger Things-related bar event was noted by news outlets such as Fortune and Quartz for its humorous wording.

2020
The Philippine National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist letter ordering ABS-CBN to stop broadcasting on May 5, 2020 after its franchise expired the day before (May 4, 2020). At 7:52 pm (PHT), ABS-CBN stopped its broadcast in compliance with the NTC's letter, signing off all of its free TV and radio stations (Channel 2, DZMM 630, and MOR 101.9). The said agency also gave ABS-CBN ten days to explain why its assigned frequencies should not be recalled. On June 30, 2020, considering that Channel 43 was also included in the May 5, 2020 shutdown order issued by the NTC against ABS-CBN (although ABS-CBN CEO Carlo Katigbak insisted that it is part of their blocktime agreement with AMCARA Broadcasting Network), the NTC and Solicitor General Jose Calida released two alias shutdown orders against Channel 43 on digital receiver ABS-CBN TV Plus and Sky Cable's nationwide satellite service Sky Direct.

Donald Trump also sent a cease and desist letter to CNN asking them to retract a poll that showed him being 14 percentage points behind his opponent Joe Biden during the presidential election, prompting The Atlantic to warn about attacks on the media.

2021
In 2021, Google's platform YouTube issued a significant number of cease and desist notices to the creators of various music bots on Discord. Some of the most notable bots to be sent this notice were  and Groovy, at the time, the two most popular bots on the platform. These music bots allowed users to request songs and have the bot create a queue. This was done by pulling the audio stream from various streaming and video platforms, including YouTube, and then played that audio on the Discord voice channel. Because such music bots did not play any of the advertisements included on the video-hosting site, the company alleged missing revenue for itself and the content uploaders. A spokesperson for Google told The Verge that Groovy violated YouTube's terms of service for "modifying the service and using it for commercial purposes". The makers of Groovy had decided to comply with Google's request by shutting down the bot on August 30, 2021. According to estimations, the bot had more than 250 million users.

See also
 Abmahnung, the equivalent of a cease and desist letter in German and Austrian law
 Lumen (formerly known as Chilling Effects), a collaborative archive to protect lawful online activity from legal threats such as cease and desist letters
 ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy, a national dispute in the Philippines regarding the ABS-CBN franchise renewal which involved a cease and desist letter
 Clameur de haro
 Demand letter
 Legal threat
 Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act
 Strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP)

References

External links
 Chillingeffects.org—A joint project between the Electronic Frontier Foundation and several universities to monitor uses and abuses of intellectual property rights on the internet. Contains a database of cease-and-desist letters to which either senders or recipients can contribute.
 

Legal terminology
Letters (message)