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Evening Telegraph, UK
2014-09-28 23:15:00
Thousands of people have gathered outside the Scottish Parliament for a rally in support of independence. A sea of saltires waved as the crowds listened to musical performances and speeches from campaigners. The rally, organised under the Voice Of The People banner, comes just over a week after Scotland rejected independence in the referendum. Many of those in attendance were still sporting badges, signs and banners in support of the Yes campaign, which won 45% of the vote on September 18. They joined in with renditions of Flower Of Scotland and Caledonia, while speakers urged them to carry on with the campaign. Those addressing the crowd included SNP MSP Marco Biagi and Kate Higgins of the Women For Independence group. Ms Higgins urged people to reach out to the older female generation who may have voted No, and to take the campaign into deprived communities across Scotland.
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Comment: Here's footage of the rally in Inverness:
Post by Mary Mcfadyen.
Meanwhile the Mirror - one of the UK's largest newspapers - ran a poll over the weekend:
Here's another report on the protests, this time from the independent alt.media site, 'Ace News Desk 2014': | ||
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Carl Takei
ACLU National Prison Project 2014-09-29 12:02:00
The nation's biggest and baddest for-profit prison company suddenly cares about halfway houses - so much so, that they want in on the action. About a year after acquiring a smaller firm that operates halfway houses and other community corrections facilities, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) CEO Damon Hininger announced a few weeks ago that "[r]eentry programs and reducing recidivism are 100 percent aligned with our business model." Wait, what? High recidivism rates mean more people behind bars, and CCA depends on more and more incarceration to make its billions. Since when do they actually want people to do well after they get out, instead of being sucked back into the system? It's tempting to be hopeful. Is this a long-overdue acknowledgment that it's morally bankrupt to make money off of imprisoning human beings? Is the nation's largest for-profit prison company really admitting that mass incarceration has destroyed too many communities and that locking fewer people behind bars is a good thing? | |
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Tom Boggioni
Rawstory 2014-09-27 20:25:00
Vatican detectives analyzing a computer used a by an archbishop arrested earlier this week discovered over 86,000 pornographic photos and 160 sexually explicit video files of children, reports the International Business Times. According to investigators, another 45,000 pictures had been deleted. Former Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, 66, was arrested at the Vatican earlier this week on charges that he paid to have sex with minors when he was a papal ambassador in the Dominican Republic from 2008 to 2012. Wesolowski is the first Vatican official to be arrested within the city state on charges of pedophilia. The former archbishop was recalled to Rome by the Vatican last year while still a diplomat in Santo Domingo and relieved of his duties following accusations from Dominican media that he was paying for underaged sex partners. Until earlier this week, he had been free to roam Rome, but is now being held in in a small room in the basement of the Collegio dei Penitenzieri, which hosts the Vatican's court and military police. Vatican authorities are now investigating if Wesolowski was part of a network of pedophiles and whether he abused children in other posts during his career. Wesolowski previously served in South Africa, Costa Rica, Japan, Switzerland, India and Denmark. If convicted, Wesolowski faces 12 years in jail in the first trial for sexual abuse to be held inside the Vatican City. His trial is expected to start in January. | |
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Ryan Devereaux
Firstlook.org 2014-09-25 14:20:00
Eighteen years after it was published, "Dark Alliance," the San Jose Mercury News's bombshell investigation into links between the cocaine trade, Nicaragua's Contra rebels, and African American neighborhoods in California, remains one of the most explosive and controversial exposés in American journalism. The 20,000-word series enraged black communities, prompted Congressional hearings, and became one of the first major national security stories in history to blow up online. It also sparked an aggressive backlash from the nation's most powerful media outlets, which devoted considerable resources to discredit author Gary Webb's reporting. Their efforts succeeded, costing Webb his career. On December 10, 2004, the journalist was found dead in his apartment, having ended his eight-year downfall with two .38-caliber bullets to the head. These days, Webb is being cast in a more sympathetic light. He's portrayed heroically in a major motion picture set to premiere nationwide next month. And documents newly released by the CIA provide fresh context to the "Dark Alliance" saga - information that paints an ugly portrait of the mainstream media at the time. On September 18, the agency released a trove of documents spanning three decades of secret government operations. Culled from the agency's in-house journal, Studies in Intelligence, the materials include a previously unreleased six-page article titled "Managing a Nightmare: CIA Public Affairs and the Drug Conspiracy Story." Looking back on the weeks immediately following the publication of "Dark Alliance," the document offers a unique window into the CIA's internal reaction to what it called "a genuine public relations crisis" while revealing just how little the agency ultimately had to do to swiftly extinguish the public outcry. Thanks in part to what author Nicholas Dujmovic, a CIA Directorate of Intelligence staffer at the time of publication, describes as "a ground base of already productive relations with journalists," the CIA's Public Affairs officers watched with relief as the largest newspapers in the country rescued the agency from disaster, and, in the process, destroyed the reputation of an aggressive, award-winning reporter. (Dujmovic's name was redacted in the released version of the CIA document, but was included in a footnote in a 2010 article in the Journal of Intelligence. Dujmovic confirmed his authorship to The Intercept.) | |
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Times of India
2014-09-28 19:38:00
The Russian foreign minister issued a blistering attack on the West and Nato on Saturday, accusing them of being unable to change their Cold War "genetic code" and saying the United States must abandon its claims to "eternal uniqueness." Sergey Lavrov's assault appeared to be an extension of the increasingly anti-Western stance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is riding a wave of popularity at home with his neo-nationalist rhetoric and policies. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Lavrov said the crisis in Ukraine was the result of a coup d'etat in that country backed by the United States and the European Union for the purpose of pulling Kiev out of its "organic role as a binding link" between East and West, denying it the opportunity for "neutral and non-bloc status." Lavrov also said the Russian annexation of Crimea earlier this year was the choice of the largely Russian-speaking population there. Former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred control over the strategic Black Sea region to Ukraine from Moscow in the 1950s. While the rhetoric was tough, Andrew Weiss, a top Russia expert at the Carnegie Foundation, said the Lavrov speech "hewed closely to themes the Russians have put forward throughout the Ukraine crisis." Comment: Lavrov is only reiterating the truth of the matter. Weiss' dismissively characterizing the substance of Lavrov's speech as "themes" is insight into the neo-con mindset. Russia's legitimate grievances are not part of their reality. | |
Comment: One could almost say Lavrov is trying to warn the West of its folly, but it's falling on deaf ears.
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teleSUR
2014-09-28 18:32:00
While U.S. military sources claimed the latest airstrikes were a success, a human rights monitor has reported only civilians were among the dead. As the United States continued airstrikes against the Islamic State (I.S.) group on Sunday, Republican house speaker John Boehner has warned the U.S. may have "no choice" but to deploy ground forces to battle the militants. "At some point, somebody's boots have to be on the ground," Boehner told ABC News on Sunday. Describing I.S. fighters as "barbarians," the top House Republican claimed "at the end of the day, I think it's gonna take more than air strikes to drive them outta there." "They intend to kill us. And if we don't destroy them first, we're gonna pay the price," he stated. President Barack Obama has claimed no U.S. ground troops will be sent to Iraq and Syria to battle I.S, though the Pentagon has already dispatched over 1000 U.S. troops to Iraq. It says the troops will only provide support to Iraqi security forces. However, Boehner's warning that ground troops could soon be inevitable is just the latest in a wave of Republican outcry against Obama's pledge to keep the United States from entering another Middle Eastern quagmire. Earlier in September, Republican senator Lindsey Graham warned I.S. is an "army" that is "intending to come here." Graham claimed that if U.S. ground troops aren't sent to battle I.S.,"we all" could be "killed" by the militant group. "If they survive our best shot ... then they will open the gates of hell to spill out on the world," Graham warned. Currently, I.S.'s operational capacity is largely limited to Iraq and Syria, where they were hit with another wave of U.S.-led airstrikes on Sunday. At least three oil refineries were hit by airstrikes near the I.S. stronghold Raqqa. | |
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Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya
Strategic Culture Foundation 2014-09-26 14:55:00
The ISIL or IS threat is a smokescreen. The strength of the ISIL has deliberately been inflated to get public support for the Pentagon and to justify the illegal bombing of Syria. It has also been used to justify the mobilization of what is looking more and more like a large-scale US-led military buildup in the Middle East. The firepower and military assets being committed go beyond what is needed for merely fighting the ISIL death squads. While the US has assured its citizens and the world that troops will not be sent on the ground, this is very unlikely. In the first instance, it is unlikely because boots on the ground are needed to monitor and select targets. Moreover, Washington sees the campaign against the ISIL fighters as something that will take years. This is doublespeak. What is being described is a permanent military deployment or, in the case of Iraq, redeployment. This force could eventually morph into a broader assault force threatening Syria, Iran, and Lebanon. US-Syrian and US-Iranian Security Dialogue? Before the US-led bombings in Syria started there were unverified reports being circulated that Washington had started a dialogue with Damascus through Russian and Iraqi channels to discuss military coordination and the Pentagon bombing campaign in Syria. There was something very off though. Agents of confusion were at work in an attempt to legitimize the bombardment of the Syrian Arab Republic. The claims of US-Syrian cooperation via Russian and Iraqi channels are part of a sinister series of misinformation and disinformation. Before the claims about US cooperation with Syria, similar claims were being made about US-Iranian cooperation in Iraq. Earlier, Washington and the US media tried to give the impression that an agreement on military cooperation was made between itself and Tehran to fight ISIL and to cooperate inside Iraq. This was widely refuted in the harshest of words by numerous members of the Iranian political establishment and high-ranking Iranian military commanders as disinformation. After the Iranians clearly indicated that Washington's claims were fiction, the US claimed that it would not be appropriate for Iran to join its anti-ISIL coalition. Iran rebutted. Washington was dishonestly misrepresenting the facts, because US officials had asked Tehran to join the anti-ISIL coalition several times. | |
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RT
2014-09-28 13:11:00
You would think war-themed video games copy real life, and not the other way around. Not this time. A Washington think tank has hired the maker of the acclaimed "Call of Duty" game to envision the kind of future wars the US could be fighting. The key reason for this, according to the Atlantic Council think tank, is that, with all its money and capabilities, America really isn't thinking creatively about the various threats it could face in the 21st century. Comment: Correction: Psychopaths in power are thinking about various threats that they could manufacture in the future, since they are slightly below average in intelligence, with no instances of the highest intelligence or creativity they need some help. Dave Anthony, the creator of the billion-dollar Call of Duty franchise, will be joining other authors, screenwriters and entertainment figures in an initiative called 'The Art of Future War Project,' set to launch next week, according to AFP. The idea came rather suddenly, when former Pentagon official Steven Grundman walked in on his son playing 'Call of Duty: Black Ops II,' which depicts a 2025 cold war between China and the United States. In it, the two superpowers are vying for rare earth elements in secret missions. "He was struck how realistic our portrayal in 'Call of Duty: Black Ops II' was of a future conflict," Anthony told the news agency. "It occurred to me that the perspective of artists on this question is compelling and insightful, and it's also different," Grundman was cited as saying by the Washington Post. "One feature that struck me was the combination of both familiar technologies and novel ones." "I didn't want to satisfy myself with an approach everyone was doing," he added. "It's a crowded field of ideas," Grundman said, explaining his belief why military think tanks alone aren't up to the task. According to Anthony, the game itself was the result of brainstorming by a number of creative professionals of all sorts, including Batman screenwriter David Goyer, as well as Oliver North, the former marine who later became a TV personality at the height of the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s, when US officials secretly sold weapons to the Islamic state, despite there being an arms embargo. "You get everybody in a room like that, and all the different perspectives come together," Goyer said. "That combination was fascinating. What I would like to bring to Washington is that kind of thinking." Anthony himself also believes that the real-world Pentagon could benefit from fantasy-based thinking for the simple reason that the US isn't preparing even for the scenarios it knows it might face, often on the pretext that there isn't adequate funding, or that certain bridges can be crossed when reached. Comment: Judging by the earth changes, the Universe doesn't agree. Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection | |
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The face of Hong Kong's student democracy movement came under furious attack by a pro-Beijing newspaper today, upping the ante in the fight over the former British colony's political future. On Thursday, Wen Wei Po published an "expose" into what it described as the U.S. connections of Joshua Wong, the 17 year-old leader of student group Scholarism. The story asserts that "U.S. forces" identified Mr. Wong's potential three years ago, and have worked since then to cultivate him as a "political superstar." Evidence for Mr. Wong's close ties to the U.S. that the paper cited included what the report described as frequent meetings with U.S. consulate personnel in Hong Kong and covert donations from Americans to Mr. Wong. As evidence, the paper cited photographs leaked by "netizens." The story also said Mr. Wong's family visited Macau in 2011 at the invitation of the American Chamber of Commerce, where they stayed at the "U.S.-owned" Venetian Macao, which is owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp. When asked about Wen Wei Po's allegations that he was being manipulated by U.S. forces, Mr. Wong denied the idea. "Of course it's false," Mr. Wong told China Real Time. In a subsequent statement posted online, Mr. Wong denied every detail in Wen Wei Po's story. The American Chamber of Commerce said no spokesperson was available to comment. The U.S. consulate in Hong Kong also declined to comment. Mr. Wong came to local fame in 2012 after his Scholarism group, made up of secondary school students, protested against a plan by the Hong Kong government to implement "patriotic education" classes in Hong Kong schools. The plan was later shelved. Now, the group is at the forefront of a student movement protesting against a decision by Beijing last month that said that future candidates for Hong Kong's top post must be vetted by central authorities. | |
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RT
2014-09-29 09:59:00 Comment: Watch as this warmonger tries to lamely pull a fast one and do exactly what we said he was gonna do only days after assuring everyone it was going to be a quick 'in and out, just a couple of airstrikes' deal.
Publicly announcing that US intelligence agencies "underestimated" the presence and activity of Islamic State militants in Syria, US President Barack Obama in an interview with CBS called the country a "ground zero" for international jihadists. "Over the past couple of years, during the chaos of the Syrian civil war, where essentially you have huge swaths of the country that are completely ungoverned, they were able to reconstitute themselves and take advantage of that chaos," Obama said in an interview made on Friday but aired on Sunday. Comment: Maybe it's because the NSA (which seems to be all powerful) spends all its time spying on Americans instead of real terrorists. Does anyone actually buy that they didn't know? We have a word for that: Incompetence. | |
Comment: What a surprise. We think we will have a heart attack and die, from that surprise.
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RT
2014-09-27 09:39:00
The US-led Western block rejects the principle of the equality of sovereign states secured by the UN Charter while advocating democracy in the international arena, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressing the UNGA. "The US-led Western alliance, while acting as an advocate of democracy, rule of law and human rights in individual countries, is acting in the international arena from the opposite position, rejecting the democratic principle of the sovereign right of states enshrined in the UN Charter and trying to decide for others what is good and what is bad," Lavrov said at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday. The Russian foreign minister elaborated that there was an "increasingly obvious contradiction between the need for collective action by partners to produce proper responses to common challenges and some countries' drive for dominance and revival of the archaic bloc mentality based on barrack-like discipline and flawed 'us and them' logic". | |
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Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse Blog 2014-09-29 06:14:00
For years, many people have suspected that the New York Fed is more or less controlled by the "too big to fail" banks. Well, now we have smoking gun evidence that this is indeed the case. A very brave lawyer named Carmen Segarra made a series of audio recordings while she was working for the New York Fed. The 46 hours of meetings and conversations that she recorded are being called "the Ray Rice video for the financial sector" because of the explosive content that they contain. What these recordings reveal are regulators that are deeply afraid to do anything that may harm or embarrass Goldman Sachs. And it is quite understandable why Segarra's colleagues at the New York Fed would feel this way. As a recent Bloomberg article explained, it has become "common practice" for regulators to leave "their government jobs for much higher paying jobs at the very banks they were once meant to regulate." If you think that there is going to be a cushy, high paying banking job for you at the end of the rainbow, you are unlikely to do anything that will mess that up. To say that the culture at the New York Fed is "deferential" to big banks such as Goldman Sachs would be a massive understatement. | |
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RT
2014-09-29 00:08:00
Another mass grave has been found in eastern Ukraine by the Donbass self-defence forces near Nyzhnia Krynka village, days after the OSCE confirmed the discovery of 3 mass burials in areas recently abandoned by Kiev forces. The new site of suspected murders is not far from the town of Makeevka, Donetsk People's Republic first deputy Prime Minister Andrey Purgin told Itar-Tass. The number of bodies and their identities have yet to be determined. "Another grave discovered ... How many bodies and how these people died will be established during the exhumation," Purgin said. An international monitoring mission has arrived at the new burial site, including experts from France and Russia, which insist on an immediate investigation of the suspected war crimes, RIA reports. Several weeks ago, before a ceasefire was agreed, this area of Ukraine was under the control of the Ukrainian army and the National Guard's Aidar battalion. Earlier this month, an Amnesty International report has confirmed that war crimes including abductions, executions and extortion were committed by this particular Ukrainian battalion. Last week RT crew went to investigate the previously discovered site where four bodies have been found buried in shell craters behind a burnt-out coal mine, days after the OSCE confirmed that three mass graves, allegedly with many bodies, have been found near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. | |
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Bryan MacDonald
Ukraine is broke, and that's the sad legacy of this year's tumult. The question now is: will its western "friends" and Russia save Kiev from the abyss?RT 2014-09-24 18:30:00
One day, during the credit-fueled economic madness of the early Noughties, I got a credit card in the post. I hadn't ordered it: the bank had just forwarded it without any prompting. That sounds crazy now, but was considered normal back then. I was a student and it wasn't Christmas, but it sure felt like it. Armed with my plastic pal and its €3,000 limit, I hit Dublin's luxury Brown Thomas store and purchased designer gear with all the intent of a puppy on amphetamine. A few raucous nights out followed, "More champagne? No bother!" and a trip to Paris. Then reality dawned and I had to pay it back. That wasn't fun - in fact, it was extremely difficult. However, while grazing on baked beans and toast, I had my memories of the "good times." Countries often experience similar short-term periods of paper wealth, followed by a humongous hangover when the debt collectors come calling. There are a myriad of current examples in Europe: Greece, Spain and my own Ireland for starters. Others didn't have much of a party, but still got the furry tongue - Hungary, Cyprus and Portugal spring to mind.
Nevertheless, there is one European state that bucks all trends by having had no shindig at all before getting its medicine from the markets - Ukraine. That is, unless you count a civil war, a violent revolution and a horrifically divided nation as a party. Incredibly, some in Ukraine actually do. To them, Maidan and its consequences is all a big celebration. Well, the hijinks are over now and the DJ has just played "My Way." Ukraine is broke. It was already treading water before the "revolution" - helped by corruption that ranged from the small scale to the incredibly large. Now, however, it's completely banjaxed. Meanwhile, the "do-gooders" in the mainstream media ignore this while they crack on about "nation building" and "reforms." | ||
Comment: Ukraine was broken by design to fulfill the Neocon dream of subduing Russia, one way or the other.
Saker analysis: The Russian response to a double declaration of war "The original plan was simplistic in a typically US Neocon way: overthrow Yanukovich, get the Ukraine into the EU and NATO, politically move NATO to the Russian border and militarily move it into Crimea. That plan failed. Russia accepted Crimea and the Ukraine collapsed into a vicious civil war combined with a terminal economic crisis. Then the US Neocons fell-back to plan B.Mr. MacDonald' is right not to hold his breath on any partnership to relieve the suffering of the Ukrainian people. Russia will likely do what it can, but it must hold the larger picture in view. The article above outlines the various dilemmas facing Vladimir Putin in his quest for a fairer, multi-polar world. | ||
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UK Guardian
2014-09-29 00:01:00 Comment: This got buried by the govt. by announcing it on the eve or the attack Iraq vote. Despite 92% rejecting proposals, we get this: "Fracking will take place below Britons' homes without their permission after ministers rejected 40,000 objections to controversial changes to trespass laws." Notification to British citizens: you no longer own your land or the land on which your house is built. It can be destroyed with impunity by the government and corporate psychopaths to enrich themselves. You are a slave.
Ministers reject 40,000 objections to allow fracking below homes without owners' permission Fracking will take place below Britons' homes without their permission after ministers rejected 40,000 objections to controversial changes to trespass laws. The UK government argued that the current ability for people to block shale gas development under their property would lead to significant delays and that the legal process by which companies can force fracking plans through was costly, time-consuming and disproportionate. There were a total of 40,647 responses to a consultation on the move to give oil and gas companies underground access without needing to seek landowners' permission, with 99% opposing the legal changes. Setting aside the 28,821 responses submitted via two NGO campaigns, 92% of the remaining responses objected to the proposals. | |
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7 News Denver
2014-09-28 23:07:00
Jefferson county school board members proposed that "materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard for law" Hundreds of students poured out of at least five Jefferson County schools on Tuesday to protest what they say is the Jeffco School Board's attempt to whitewash history. Protests also continued on Wednesday at two other schools. About 200 students walked out of Pomona High School in Arvada at 8:30 a.m. gathering at Wadsworth Boulevard, 7NEWS Reporter Tyler Lopez observed. "My daughter and her friends at 80th and Wadsworth. Fighting for education. Pomona High School," Robin Reed Johnson posted on the Denver Channel's Facebook page. Around 9:40 a.m. about 300 students at Arvada West walked out, holding signs and chanting as they marched along the sidewalk and stood along the street. At issue is a proposed curriculum review in Jefferson County that could revise AP U.S. History to promote positive aspects of U.S. history and heritage, while avoiding material on civil disorder and social strife. | |
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SoberLook.com
2014-09-21 21:51:00
While we see a great deal of media coverage of Ukraine-related geopolitical risks, there hasn't been sufficient discussion about the dire economic and fiscal conditions the nation is facing. Writing about men in masks fighting in eastern Ukraine sells far more advertising than covering the nation's economic activity. However it's the economy, not the Russian army that has brought Ukraine close to the brink. And just to be clear, some of Kiev's economic and fiscal problems were visible long before the spat with Russia (see post from 2012). Ukraine is now in recession. Deep economic ties with Russia have resulted in painful adjustments in recent months. The nation's exports are down some 19% from last year in dollar terms and expected to fall further. A great example of Ukraine's export challenges is the Antonov aircraft company known for its Soviet era large transport planes as well as other types of aircraft. As the military cooperation with Russia ended, Antonov was in trouble. It had to take a $150 million hit recently by not delivering the medium-range An-148 planes to the Russian Air Force. The Russians will find a replacement for this aircraft, but in the highly competitive global aircraft market, it's far less likely that Antonov will find another client. Here are some key indicators of Ukraine's worsening situation: 1. The nation's GDP is down almost 5% from a year ago and growth is expected to worsen.
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Comment: Ukraine is in dire straights and the economy has been a primary tool used by the US to create instability and chaos.The current plan in place with the EU is helpful for no one - not for the EU and certainly not for Ukraine. The only party that 'benefits' are the psychopaths in Washington hell bent on waging economic warfare. The question is how long the EU and the Ukraine are willing to participate in their own destruction. The EU has recently opened the doors to further negotiationwith Russia, but time will tell if it is just more smoke and mirrors or if they are finally coming around to recognize the lunacy of aligning themselves with the sinking U.S.S. Carnage.
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Laura Donnelly
The Telegraph, UK 2014-09-29 22:32:00
Midwives in England have voted to go on strike in a dispute with the Government over pay, the Royal College of Midwives announced today. The four-hour walkout would be the first in the group's 133-year history. NHS Employers said the decision was "regrettable" and could worry pregnant women. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) insisted that no mothers or babies would be put at risk and said midwives will still be there for women giving birth. Ante-natal and post-natal appointments will be targeted by the action, scheduled to start at 7am on Monday, 13th October. Midwives will join NHS members of the Unison and Unite unions, who have already voted in favour of strike action scheduled for the same day. Last week the unions Unison and Unite, which represent nearly 400,000 workers between them, voted in favour of a strike. Their actions will target non-urgent and non-emergency services, meaning hospital outpatient appointments and community clinics could be affected. The RCM said 82.2 per cent of its members voted to say they were prepared to take part in the strike, while 17.8 per cent were not. More than 94 per cent of midwives say they are prepared to take part in action short of a strike. The turnout of those eligible to vote was 49.4 per cent. | |
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RT
2014-09-29 21:31:00
Russia's Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case against Ukraine's military and civilian leadership, accusing top officials of "genocide" against the Russian-speaking population in southeast Ukraine during this year's conflict. According to Russian investigators, "unidentified people from the country's highest political and military leadership of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine and Right Sector gave the orders aimed at the complete destruction of Russian-speaking citizens living on the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics." As a result of those actions about 2,500 people died, said Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee. "The investigation has found that Russian-speaking citizens were killed during attacks with multiple launch rocket systems Grad and Uragan, aviation rockets, tactical missiles Tochka-U and other kinds of heavy offensive weapons," he said. A total more than 500 residential buildings as well as local social facilities, including hospitals and schools, were damaged since April 12, the Investigative Committee said. It estimated that over 300,000 local residents have been forced to leave and seek asylum in Russia. | |
Comment: No state in the West is calling for real justice in Ukraine; only Russia and her allies. What does it say about the integrity and character of the U.S. and her partners that they would support such a regime as that in Kiev and turn a blind eye to the willful barbarism inflicted on the people of east Ukraine? Rape, murder, destruction of infrastructure, torture, mass killings... The people behind the attack on civilians in east Ukraine are war criminals and deserve to rot in prison.
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PressTV
2014-09-29 21:03:00
At least 15 people have been killed in the worst fighting in eastern Ukraine since a ceasefire was declared between government and pro-Russia forces three weeks ago, official sources say. Presidential aide, Yury Biryukov, said in Kiev that the shelling erupted around the airport of the flashpoint city of Donetsk -- which is currently being controlled by pro-Russians - and left seven government soldiers dead and nine others injured. Pro-Russia sources said five of their fighters died and eight were injured in the shelling. According to the City Council of Donetsk, three civilians were also killed in the conflict. Several residential, industrial, and government buildings were also destroyed over the weekend. Since the five-month-long conflict in eastern Ukraine officially came to an end on September 5, both sides have been accusing one another of violating the ceasefire pact. | |
Comment: See footage of the recent fighting at the Donetsk airport below:
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John Mulholland
Rawstory.com 2014-09-28 20:39:00
The writer's next show, Show Me a Hero, is the true story of a battle over public housing that convulsed New York in the 80s. Here, on location in Manhattan, he talks about how money corrupts US politics, the erosion of the working class, why it's a crime to be poor in America - and why he likes to argue At the end of a long day scouting locations for his new TV miniseries, David Simon is sitting in his Upper West Side office in New York describing the type of person who needn't bother tuning in to his new show. He's speaking as a TV writer but also as a citizen angered by a political system that he thinks fails many of his fellow countrymen. "People who think we're being well governed at the moment... well, there's no reason for them to watch. People who look at the inertia of Washington, at the partisanship, at the divisive and polarised discourse... people who think that's the way to build a just society, well, don't watch the show, because I got nothin' for you." If, on the other hand, "You're starting to believe that even the vernacular we're using to argue about solutions to problems is dysfunctional, watch this show because I think it's a perfect metaphor for what the American government is no longer capable of doing - addressing problems in a utilitarian fashion for the good of most people. American politics has left the room when it comes to finding solutions for our problems." Show Me a Hero, which will appear on screens late next year or in spring 2016, is based on a non-fiction book of the same name by former New York Times writer Lisa Belkin. It marks the time, says Simon, when American politics left the room. | |
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John W. Whitehead
The Rutherford Institute 2014-09-29 20:25:00
The mysterious disappearance of 18-year-old Hannah Graham on September 13, 2014, has become easy fodder for the media at a time when the news cycle is lagging. After all, how does a young woman just vanish without a trace, in the middle of the night, in a town that is routinely lauded for being the happiest place in America, not to mention one of the most beautiful? Yet Graham is not the first girl to vanish in America without a trace - my hometown of Charlottesville, Va., has had five women go missing over the span of five years - and it is doubtful she will be the last. I say doubtful because America is in the grip of a highly profitable, highly organized and highly sophisticated sex trafficking business that operates in towns large and small, raking in upwards of $9.5 billion a year in the U.S. alone by abducting and selling young girls for sex. It is estimated that there are 100,000 to 150,000 under-aged sex workers in the U.S. The average age of girls who enter into street prostitution is between 12 and 14 years old, with some as young as 9 years old. This doesn't include those who entered the "trade" as minors and have since come of age. Rarely do these girls enter into prostitution voluntarily. As one rescue organization estimated, an underaged prostitute might be raped by 6,000 men during a five-year period of servitude. This is America's dirty little secret. You don't hear much about domestic sex trafficking from the media or government officials, and yet it infects suburbs, cities and towns across the nation. According to the FBI, sex trafficking is the fastest growing business in organized crime, the second most-lucrative commodity traded illegally after drugs and guns. It's an industry that revolves around cheap sex on the fly, with young girls and women who are sold to 50 men each day for $25 apiece, while their handlers make $150,000 to $200,000 per child each year. | |
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Paul Craig Roberts
Information Clearing House 2014-09-28 00:00:00
One might think that by now even Americans would have caught on to the constant stream of false alarms that Washington sounds in order to deceive the people into supporting its hidden agendas. The public fell for the lie that the Taliban in Afghanistan are terrorists allied with al Qaeda. Americans fought a war for 13 years that enriched Dick Cheney's firm, Halliburton, and other private interests only to end in another Washington failure. The public fell for the lie that Saddam Hussein in Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction" that were a threat to America and that if the US did not invade Iraq Americans risked a "mushroom cloud going up over an American city." With the rise of ISIS, this long war apparently is far from over. Billions of dollars more in profits will pour into the coffers of the US military security complex as Washington fights those who are redrawing the false Middle East boundaries created by the British and French after WW I when the British and French seized territories of the former Ottoman Empire. The American public fell for the lies told about Gaddafi in Libya. The formerly stable and prosperous country is now in chaos. The American public fell for the lie that Iran has, or is building, nuclear weapons. Sanctioned and reviled by the West, Iran has shifted toward an Eastern orientation, thereby removing a principal oil producer from Western influence. The public fell for the lie that Assad of Syria used "chemical weapons against his own people."The jihadists that Washington sent to overthrow Assad have turned out to be, according to Washington's propaganda, a threat to America. The greatest threat to the world is Washington's insistence on its hegemony. The ideology of a handful of neoconservatives is the basis for this insistence. We face the situation in which a handful of American neoconservative psychopaths claim to determine the fate of countries. | |
Comment: Americans have lost the fine art of discernment. Politicians are bought and sold. Economics, for the rich and few, run agendas. Propaganda becomes the truth. We have become a nation of surface dwellers living on instant information and gratification, losing all scope of the depth and breadth of what is truth versus lies and perversion, purposely avoiding facts--the real ones--and thereby buying into false fear and abdicating our power. Is it complicated? Yes. Imperative we figure this out? Hell yes. Who did this to us? By default, we did.
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RT
2014-09-29 09:30:00
Ferguson's top cop should resign, the best apology from him will be not words but the arrest and prosecution of the police officer who killed their son, the parents of Michael Brown said as tensions in the St. Louis suburb escalated again this week. The parents of Michael Brown said they were unmoved by Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson's apology which he offered earlier this week, more than a month after their 18-year-old son was killed by a white police officer. "An apology would be when Darren Wilson has handcuffs, processed and charged with murder," Michael Brown Sr. told the AP, while Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, said Chief Tom Jackson should be fired. The killing by Officer Darren Wilson of an unarmed African-American teen on August 9, sparked weeks of unrest in the predominantly black community of Missouri, while the highly militarized response to protests and demonstrations near the site of the shooting exacerbated tensions and galvanized the local population to call attention to racial grievances. | |
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RT
2014-09-28 16:33:00
Hong Kong police used tear gas and pepper spray on a crowd of pro-democracy protesters who ignored warnings and blocked the city's main highway. The violence came after several days of student protests. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters have besieged the Hong Kong government headquarters in a protest against Beijing's decision to restrict a democratic election in the city. Local law enforcement had to use force to disperse protesters in the city's Admiralty district near the main government offices, where they have been camping out throughout the weekend. As the crowd ignored police warnings, charging barricades and refused to leave, blocking a key road, security forces went ahead and used tear gas and pepper spray. The measure, however, turned out to be counterproductive as protesters regrouped and spread briefly after the crackdown. TEAR GAS #OccupyCentralpic.twitter.com/Many of the protesters had goggles or covered faces with masks, and protected themselves with raincoats and umbrellas against the pepper spray. Protesters all the way to Central now; very tense standoff. Crowd angry as tear gas fired again. #OccupyCentralpic.twitter.com/ | |
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Kathryn Schroeder,
Opposing Views 2014-09-28 00:00:00
Changes to the Clark County School District's sexual education curriculum could lead to it beginning as early as kindergarten. The sexual education curriculum currently begins in the fifth grade in Clark County and is abstinence-based. That could all change if the school board decides to adopt suggestions outlined in a 112-page document called Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education that was put together by a task force of educators and health experts, reports FOX5. One change proposed in the document is for sexual education to begin in kindergarten. Many parents are upset over the proposed changes. "I was sick to my stomach. My wife and I read it. We're sick to think elementary age kids would be exposed to these types of things," parent Ronald Withaeger said. | |
Comment: It appears that the schools are attempting to override parental discretion in determining the timing and appropriateness of sharing explicit sexual information with their young children. It is becoming more obvious that the State desires to take away as much parental control of children as possible.
It's not perfectly normal: U.S. schools teach masturbation to 8-year-olds The new school curriculum: Reading, riting & recreational sex Programming Complete: Why 6-Year-Old Girls Want to Be Sexy Sex and the Public Schools | |
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RT
2014-09-28 01:35:00
A huge overnight fire at an oil refinery on the Italian island of Sicily sent hundreds of panicked residents fleeing the area, fearing the fire could spread to residential buildings. The fire was reportedly seen miles away. The Milazzo oil refinery, near the northeast coast of Sicily, caught fire Friday afternoon. The flames were seen several kilometers around the facility, AFP reported, citing local media. The fire started in a 5,000-liter tank at the refinery, which is jointly owned by Italy's energy giant Eni and Kuwait Petroleum. Though firefighters managed to bring the fire under control, the tank was still burning Saturday morning. They said it would burn until the oil tank is empty. | |
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Greta McClain
Topeka - Forget tornadoes, Dorothy and Toto, zombies are what Kansas Governor Sam Brownback is worried about, prompting him to declare October as Zombie Preparedness Month.Digital Journal 2014-09-28 10:42:00
As part of an initiative by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management, Governor Sam Brownback signed the Zombie Preparedness Month proclamation at the Kansas State House ceremonial office on Friday. The goal of the initiative is to encourage residents to prepare for potential emergencies, including a zombie apocalypse, by tapping into people's fascination with zombies and television shows such asThe Walking Dead. | |
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Andrew Jameson
Croydon Advertiser 2014-09-26 21:12:00
Apparent "exorcisms" of children have been taking place in the early hours of the morning on a street corner in South Norwood. The Advertiser witnessed a group of eight people congregating at 5.25am on Tuesday (September 23) and chanting in a group around a toddler behind South Norwood Leisure Centre. Some of the incidents involve children, but it is not known whether it is the same child in all the alleged 'exorcisms'. On Tuesday, members of the group took up different spots in the roads around Enmore Road, Portland Road and Denmark Road. They then gathered under a street lamp on the corner of Enmore Road and Denmark Road, near Woodside Medical Centre and South Norwood and Woodside Social Club. Members of the group were heard to say "release your spirit" and "get the demon out" - which has alerted the council and police to monitor what is feared may be an exorcism. The child stood in the middle of the group appearing not to move while the leader - a woman - repeatedly shouted "in the name of Jesus". | |
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Mairav Zonszein
The New York Times 2014-09-26 19:23:00
On July 12, four days after the latest war in Gaza began, hundreds of Israelis gathered in central Tel Aviv to protest the killing of civilians on both sides and call for an end to the siege of Gaza and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. They chanted, "Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies." Hamas had warned that it would fire a barrage of rockets at central Israel after 9 p.m., and it did. But the injuries suffered in Tel Aviv that night stemmed not from rocket fire but from a premeditated assault by a group of extremist Israeli Jews. Chanting "Death to Arabs" and "Death to leftists," they attacked protesters with clubs. Although several demonstrators were beaten and required medical attention, the police made no arrests. The same thing happened at another antiwar protest in Haifa a week later; this time, the victims included the city's deputy mayor, Suhail Assad, and his son. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made no statement condemning the violence, even though he had previously stated his primary concern was the safety of Israeli citizens. | |
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Mike Shedlock
MISH's Global Economic Analysis 2014-09-25 19:16:00
What's Russia to do? Stand back and let the US and Europe escalate sanction after sanction, or respond in kind? Either way, Russia loses. I believe Europe has the worst of it, but both suffer. Hope for Sanity Appears to Be Lost Cause By responding in kind, Russia hopes to put some sanity in the heads of US and EU officials. But with brains as dense as Obama, McCain, and various EU officials, hope for sanity appears to be a lost cause. | |
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| Secret History |
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Tracy McVeigh, The Observer
Rawstory 2014-09-27 19:35:00
Now 85 and living in Spain, Douglas Gordon Goody has decided to share his story with the world - including unmasking the mysterious 'Ulsterman' who helped to plan the crime - then vanished. He has kept his secrets for more than 50 years: the quiet man of the most infamous criminal gang in British history, both mastermind and instigator of the Great Train Robbery. The Rolex has been replaced by a Swatch and the white Jaguar and sharp suit are long gone. So is the equivalent of £2.5m that was his share of the crime. Now aged 85 and one of just two surviving members of the 15-strong gang, Douglas Gordon Goody lives quietly in the Spanish countryside with his partner, Maria, and their five dogs. It is back to his rural roots for a man whose introduction to crime was smuggling cattle over the Northern Irish border to dodge customs. | |
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Andy Greenwood
Western Morning News 2014-09-26 00:00:00
A breathtaking hoard of 22,000 Roman coins has been found by a metal detecting enthusiast in Devon. The spectacular discovery in East Devon - dubbed the "Seaton Down Hoard" - is one of the largest and best preserved 4th Century collections ever to have been found in Britain. It was made by East Devon builder Laurence Egerton in November 2013 on the Clinton Devon Estate near the previously excavated site of a Roman villa at Honeyditches. The hoard - the equivalent of a worker's pay for two years - was later carefully removed in its entirety by a team of archaeologists. Over the past 10 months the coins have been lightly cleaned and the process of identification and cataloguing has begun by experts at the British Museum. | |
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| Science & Technology |
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ScienceDaily
2014-09-29 21:59:00
Certain primordial stars -- those between 55,000 and 56,000 times the mass of our Sun, or solar masses -- may have died unusually. In death, these objects -- among the Universe's first-generation of stars -- would have exploded as supernovae and burned completely, leaving no remnant black hole behind. Astrophysicists at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and the University of Minnesota came to this conclusion after running a number of supercomputer simulations at the Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) and Minnesota Supercomputing Institute at the University of Minnesota. They relied extensively on CASTRO, a compressible astrophysics code developed at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's (Berkeley Lab's) Computational Research Division (CRD). Their findings were recently published in Astrophysical Journal (ApJ). First-generation stars are especially interesting because they produced the first heavy elements, or chemical elements other than hydrogen and helium. In death, they sent their chemical creations into outer space, paving the way for subsequent generations of stars, solar systems and galaxies. With a greater understanding of how these first stars died, scientists hope to glean some insights about how the Universe, as we know it today, came to be. "We found that there is a narrow window where supermassive stars could explode completely instead of becoming a supermassive black hole -- no one has ever found this mechanism before," says Ke-Jung Chen, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSC and lead author of the ApJ paper. "Without NERSC resources, it would have taken us a lot longer to reach this result. From a user perspective, the facility is run very efficiently and it is an extremely convenient place to do science." | |
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Bob King
Universe Today 2014-09-29 20:13:00
Thank you K1 PanSTARRS for hanging in there! Some comets crumble and fade away. Others linger a few months and move on. But after looping across the night sky for more than a year, this one is nowhere near quitting. Matter of fact, the best is yet to come. This new visitor from the Oort Cloud making its first passage through the inner solar system, C/2012 K1 was discovered in May 2012 by the Pan-STARRS 1 survey telescope atop Mt. Haleakala in Hawaii at magnitude 19.7. Faint! On its the inbound journey from the Oort Cloud, C/2012 K1 approached with an orbit estimated in the millions of years. Perturbed by its interactions with the planets, its new orbit has been reduced to a mere ~400,000 years. That makes the many observing opportunities PanSTARRS K1 has provided that much more appreciated. No one alive now will ever see the comet again once this performance is over. | |
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Anthony Watts
Wattsupwiththat.com 2014-09-27 19:10:00
Eric Worrall writes: The Guardian, a green UK newspaper, has published a fascinating article about the shortcomings of peer review - and praised the growing new model of open review, in which papers are pre-published on the internet, giving anyone an opportunity to comment. Naturally theGuardian author was not talking about global warming, which in Guardian circles remains settled science which cannot be questioned, but the point is well made, and well worth reading. According to The Guardian; | |
Comment: See also: Peer review: the myth of the noble scientist
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Roland Pease
Science magazine 2014-09-26 17:17:00
An underwater landslide the size of the Paris may have triggered the worst of the tsunami that struck Japan on 11 March 2011, a new study claims. Most of the destruction that day was caused by a 10-meter surge that overwhelmed coastal defenses from south of Fukushima to the northern tip of Honshu island. But along a 100-km mountainous stretch called Sanriku, indented with bays and small harbors, the incoming waves rose to a monstrous 40 meters. About a quarter of the tsunami's 18,000 victims died in those ports, yet experts have struggled to find a satisfactory explanation for the exceptional inundation that killed them. Seismologist Kenji Satake of the University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute, one of the world's leading authorities on tsunamis, thinks a second earthquake was responsible. This temblor, he says, occurred north of the main submarine thrust, involved a thin sliver of crust, and left no trace in the seismic record of the day. But Stephan Grilli, an oceanographer at the University of Rhode Island, Narragansett Bay, wasn't convinced. Movements along Earth's faults, he says, don't jolt the sea surface in the right way to focus a band of waves on just a hundred kilometers of coastline, as happened in 2011. | |
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phys.org
2014-09-28 12:02:00
New findings by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, suggest that an evolutionary arms race between rival elements within the genomes of primates drove the evolution of complex regulatory networks that orchestrate the activity of genes in every cell of our bodies. The arms race is between mobile DNA sequences known as "retrotransposons" (a.k.a. "jumping genes") and the genes that have evolved to control them. The UC Santa Cruz researchers have, for the first time, identified genes in humans that make repressor proteins to shut down specific jumping genes. The researchers also traced the rapid evolution of the repressor genes in the primate lineage. Their findings, published September 28 in Nature, show that over evolutionary time, primate genomes have undergone repeated episodes in which mutations in jumping genes allowed them to escape repression, which drove the evolution of new repressor genes, and so on. Furthermore, their findings suggest that repressor genes that originally evolved to shut down jumping genes have since come to play other regulatory roles in the genome. "We have basically the same 20,000 protein-coding genes as a frog, yet our genome is much more complicated, with more layers of gene regulation. This study helps explain how that came about," said Sofie Salama, a research associate at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute who led the study. | |
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phys.org
2014-09-22 11:34:00
Scientists have shown how gravitational waves - invisible ripples in the fabric of space and time that propagate through the universe - might be "seen" by looking at the stars. The new model proposes that a star that oscillates at the same frequency as a gravitational wave will absorb energy from that wave and brighten, an overlooked prediction of Einstein's 1916 theory of general relativity. The study, which was published today in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, contradicts previous assumptions about the behavior of gravitational waves. "It's pretty cool that a hundred years after Einstein proposed this theory, we're still finding hidden gems," said Barry McKernan, a research associate in the Museum's Department of Astrophysics, who is also a professor at CUNY's Borough of Manhattan Community College; a faculty member at CUNY's Graduate Center; and a Kavli Scholar at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics. Gravitational waves can be thought of like the sound waves emitted after an earthquake, but the source of the "tremors" in space are energetic events like supernovae (exploding stars), binary neutron stars (pairs of burned-out cores left behind when stars explode), or the mergers of black holes and neutron stars. Although scientists have long known about the existence of gravitational waves, they've never made direct observations but are attempting to do so through experiments on the ground and in space. Part of the reason why detection is difficult is because the waves interact so weakly with matter. But McKernan and his colleagues from CUNY, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Institute for Advanced Study, and Columbia University, suggest that gravitational waves could have more of an effect on matter than previously thought. | |
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Stuart Gary
ABC Science, Australia 2014-09-29 06:31:00
Meteor impacts are far less random than most scientists assumed, according to a new analysis of Earth-strike meteors. The research, reported on the pre-press astrophysics website ArXiv.org, concluded that meteor impacts are more likely to occur at certain times of the year when Earth's orbit takes us through streams of meteoroids. The majority of meteors analysed hit the Earth in the second half of the year, say the researchers, brothers Carlos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos of the Complutense University of Madrid. "This lack of randomness is induced by planetary perturbations, in particular Jupiter's, and suggests that some of the recent, most powerful Earth impacts may be associated with resonant groups of Near Earth Objects and/or very young meteoroid streams," they report. Meteoroid streams can be generated by the break-up of an asteroid or comet. A planet or moon can also affect nearby asteroids and meteors, herding them into loose orbits called 'resonant streams', which can be broken up by big planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. The study is based on 33 meteor impact events detected between 2000 and 2013 by infrasound acoustic pressure sensors, operated by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. The sensors are designed to detect clandestine nuclear tests, but also pick up meteor impacts with an explosive energy in excess of a thousand tonnes of TNT. | |
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Dan Vergano
National Geographic News 2014-09-28 00:51:00
China's immense Miao Room cavern, hidden beneath rolling hills and reachable only by an underground stream, is the world's biggest cave chamber, an international mapping team reported on Sunday. (Related: "China's Supercave.") A laser-mapping expedition funded by the National Geographic Society reported the new measurement at the United Kingdom's national caving conference in Leek this weekend. Richard "Roo" Walters, a British co-leader of the 2013 international caving expedition conducted under the auspices of China's Institute of Karst Geology in Guilin, reported that the Miao Room Chamber measures some 380.7 million cubic feet (10.78 million cubic meters) in volume. (See:"Empire of Rock" in National Geographic Magazine.) | |
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RT
2014-09-28 18:15:00
The brilliant natural design of the Mantis shrimp's eyes allows the colorful crustacean to see cancer within our bodies. Now, scientists in Australia have reproduced the critters amazing ability in a camera that might one day be put in your smartphone. Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia announced the discovery earlier this week, which could revolutionize the way we detect one of the top global killers. The mantis shrimp has one of the most elaborate visual systems ever discovered. Researchers at the university found that the shrimp's compound eyes are perfectly designed to detect polarized light, which reflects differently off of different types of tissues, including those of the cancerous or healthy variety. "We see color with hues and shades, and objects that contrast - a red apple in a green tree for example - but our research is revealing a number of animals that use polarized light to detect and discriminate between objects," Professor Justin Marshall, from the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland, said in a press release. The shrimp's amazingly complex eye has provided a perfect template for scientists to develop their own technology. "Nature has coming up with elegant and efficient design principles, so we are combining the mantis shrimp's millions of years of evolution - nature's engineering - with our relatively few years of work with the technology." | |
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RT
2014-09-27 15:56:00
Monsanto's experimental genetically modified wheat has been discovered growing in the second US field in Montana, about a year after the discovery of the company's unapproved crop growing in Oregon disrupted US wheat exports. The plants were discovered at a test site at Montana State University, where back in 2000-2003Monsanto was conducting field trials of its wheat, genetically modified to tolerate Roundup herbicide. Although the government believes the wheat never reached market, it has still opened an investigation into finding the rogue plants at a site that was not supposed to host any tests after 2003, USDA's Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service announced on Friday. "We've now opened an investigation into this regulatory compliance issue," said Bernadette Juarez, director of investigative and enforcement services for APHIS, adding however that "there are no safety issues with this wheat." The last such discovery in Oregon led to several international customers postponing US wheat deliveries, but this time exports should not be affected, US officials believe. "We remain confident that the wheat exports will continue without disruption," Juarez said. US industry leaders also hope that exports should not be hurt by the discovery of GMO wheat in Montana. "We are in the process now of informing our international wheat buyers," Alan Tracy, president of US Wheat Associates, said in a statement. "We do not expect any disruption in sales." | |
Comment: Monsanto is unlikely to face any disciplinary action due to corruption and collusion between it and the U.S. government:
Monsanto: History of Contamination and Cover-up Monsanto took over regulatory bodies all over the world to lobby GMO The real story behind the 'Monsanto Protection Act' | |
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Hannah Kuchler
FT.com 2014-09-26 17:07:00
Tears can expose our most private emotions but could they also secure our most private information online? Stephen Mason, an Australian optometrist, has discovered a new way to use scans of people's tears as passwords which he calls "the world's first one-time biometric pin". He has focused on the cornea, rather than the iris, which is the norm in most optical scanners, because cyber criminals cannot copy the unique way tears change our eyes. The scanner can recognise a person because each cornea has a unique map. But if a criminal was to steal and try to use the data from the last time someone logged in, the machine would find it invalid because it expects the data to change slightly each time. "The corneal surface is wet with tears so our own data changes from moment to moment," he said. "Each data set I capture from any eye has these really tiny variations." The hope is that the technology could be included on smartphones, from where it could be used to verify payments and access services such as email or sensitive corporate documents online. It could also be embedded in ATMs or doors to access confidential areas. From intimate photos snatched and released online from celebrities' Apple iCloud accounts to an attack on Home Depot, the largest known security breach of a retailer, the rise in cyber crime has experts searching for better ways to verify people's identities. | |
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Nicholas West
Activist Post 2014-09-26 12:25:00
An alarming new study (posted in full below) illustrates how fast neuroscience is developing in its attempt to uncover every aspect of the human brain. A specific brain wave called P300 has been identified by researchers as a marker that essentially encodes what we observe as we go about our daily activities. Based on this specific brain wave marker, researchers are able to conduct a Concealed Information Test. In fact, the test is already being used in Japan and Israel. Researchers are hoping that new data they have published will demonstrate that the test is reliable enough to meet the higher standard of U.S. courtrooms. The massive influx of money into Obama's BRAIN project, as well as similar research sponsored by the European Union , now exceeds $2 billion combined. Research continues full-steam ahead despite indications that human brain study is outpacing ethical parameters. Some scientists within the European arm of the project have recently threatened a boycott due to mismanagement and misuse along similar lines to what you will read below. In our age of loosened constitutional standards and basic human rights that has permitted all innocent communications and movements to be tracked, traced and databased, any technology that aims to uncover our most mundane daily activities and thoughts must be heavily scrutinized for potential abuse. Moreover, I have highlighted some of the language in this press release that clearly demonstrates how this could move far beyond the courtroom and easily provide a new level of pervasive surveillance. | |
Comment: See also: A top neuroscientist warns that human cyborgs are a terrible idea
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ThunderboltsProject/YouTube
2014-09-26 17:20:00
The European Space Agency's Rosetta Mission to the comet 67/P may be rewriting everything astronomers thought they knew about the nature of comets. The latest high-resolution images of the comet nucleus have astonished scientists around the world, revealing a remarkably jagged, pitted, black as coal surface. It is nothing like the so-called dirty snowball or fluffy ice ball that mainstream astronomers have long envisioned. Most astonishingly, scientists have reported they have not found a single trace of water ice on the comet surface. It is, in the words of mission scientist Holger Sierks, "dry like hell." | |
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| Earth Changes |
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Jordan Root
Accuweather.com 2014-09-29 15:13:00
With the autumn season now here, the strength and number of powerful storm systems will be on the increase. This week will feature two powerful autumn storm systems, one through the middle of the week and another towards the end of the week. As the jet stream strengthens and dips farther south, the clashes between warm and cold air become more frequent. As a result, the potency of low pressure systems increase. Tens of millions will be impacted by these storm systems this week, with the risks ranging a wide spectrum. First Storm System Targets Central U.S. The first storm will take shape across the High Plains and into the central portion of the United States as the energy that brought flooding downpours and severe weather to the Southwest shifts to the northeast. Folks from eastern Montana to Wisconsin and south to Oklahoma will be impacted by this storm as it passes through the Plains. | |
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Jordan Root
Accuweather.com 2014-09-29 15:04:00
Umbrellas and rain jackets will be put to good use over the next couple of days in the Deep South to the Carolinas. An upper-level disturbance, aided by abundant gulf moisture, will slowly pass over the region through Tuesday. According to AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck, the weather set-up will feature a rather wet couple of days. "Deep tropical moisture will fuel a developing low pressure system over the Deep South, resulting in heavy rain across the region," said Smerbeck. Rain and thunderstorms will spread along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida and eventually to the Carolinas Monday into Tuesday. Some of the rain could turn rather heavy at times, with rainfall rates approaching an inch per hour in some spots. "The rain will be heavy enough to cause flash flooding in some locations," added Smerbeck. | |
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The Pioneer
2014-09-29 22:47:00
One Gouranga Das (70) of Suniti village under Mahakalpada block in Kendrapada district was injured after being attacked by a wild boar on Saturday. According to sources, a wild boar that had recently trespassed into the human habitation suddenly approached Gouranga and bit his right hand while he was standing at his house. He was rushed to the Mahakalpada CHC for treatment. The Forest Department provided financial assistance. Notably, as many as four persons have sustained injuries due to wild boar and saltwater crocodile attacks under Mahakalpada forest range during last two weeks. But, forest officials did little to create awareness among the locals regarding the attacks, alleged locals. | |
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Michael Janitch
Dutchsinse 2014-09-28 00:00:00
Strong unexpected storm surge hit the shores of Turkey, along the Black Sea. More like a tsunami, the elevated ocean can be see going off to the horizon. Waves taking out everything in their path.
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Tristate Homepage
2014-09-28 22:18:00
Neighbors say Strange Odor "smelled like 1,000 sharpies blew up" Neighbors in Jimtown say yesterday evening a noxious smell blanketed several blocks for more than four hours prompting the fire department to investigate. Neighbors say they first noticed the odor around 7:30 last p.m. and it lingered for several hours. They say after being outdoors for a short period of time they became dizzy, disoriented, and had difficulty breathing. "It was awful. It was ungodly," said William Givens. From Columbia to near Garvin Park, "I couldn't stand it. It was just nasty," said Charles Utley. The neighborhood is questioning what was in the air last night. "It smelled like 1,000 sharpies just blew up out of nowhere. It was disgusting," said Utley. "You could taste it, you could smell it, you could feel it," said Givens. | |
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TheLocal.fr
2014-09-29 22:14:00
Residents in the Hérault department on the Mediterranean coast were under a red alert on Monday because of storms heavy rain just two weeks after four people were killed by raging flood waters in the area. Downpours since midday on Monday left local authorities concerned enough about the risk of flash flooding that they put out the red alert, which warns people they are facing an exceptional danger. They are concerned the river Lez, the main waterway in the Hérault department will burst its banks. According to reports 95mm of rain fell between midday and 4pm in parts of Hérault on Monday. The rains have forced officials to shut down trams in Montpellier and certain sections of roads and motorways are blocked due to flooding. | |
Comment: Montpellier today:
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Paul Fernandes
The Times of India 2014-09-28 21:59:00
The baffling attack on two children by a jackal in Maulinguem, Bicholim may have been out of panic and zeal to protect her pups nearby. A 12-year-old boy and another six year old boy were attacked by the jackal outside their house. Forest officials and some locals tried to trace the jackal and found two dens nearby. One den was fresh and appeared to have been used. "It appears the mother was fiercely protective of her pups and attacked the children," an official said. But forest officials ruled out that the animal was rabid. "There would have been more casualties," the official said. A few villagers were washing clothes in a stream nearby. None of them were attacked. | |
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The Himalayan Times
2014-09-06 21:43:00
The local administration has deployed a police team to control wild jackals that have terrorising the villagers of Jogbudha VDC-7 in Dadeldhura for the last two days. Chief District Officer Shiva Raj Joshi said that the police team from Jogbudha Area Police Office has been deployed to take the wild animals under control. "As many as 17 people and dozen of cattle have been injured in jackal attacks in the last two days," he said. Kalapati Aire, Dhana Bhat and Mina Bhatta have been critically injured and were sent to Seti Zonal Hospital in Dhangadi for further treatment yesterday. Other victims have also left for Dhangadi for Jogbudha Hospital does not have enough stock of anti-rabbis vaccines. A local teacher, Padam Luhar, said that a group of wild animals entered the human settlements and started to bite villagers indiscriminately last Thursday. | |
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A woman found an unusual reptile near her home in Hudson this week - a two-headed baby snapping turtle. Kathleen Talbot said she went to watch turtle hatchlings cross the road to make sure they each arrived at the other side safely. She noticed one of the turtles had been left behind. "I thought he had two feet in the front. I thought he was deformed. I didn't realize it was two heads until I got him home and washed him. Then he came to life-- and was just starving," she said. She has named the turtle Frank and Stein. Talbot said she doesn't plan to have the dynamic duo as a pet, but does want to make sure Frank and Stein survives. | |
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Chuck Bednar
RedOrbit 2014-09-29 21:03:00
Ten years ago Wednesday, Mount St. Helens in Washington erupted after being quiet for nearly two decades, and now US Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are concerned that the volcano could mark the occasion by becoming active once again, various media outlets reported over the weekend. The volcano reawakened in September 2004 and erupted on October 1, remaining active until late January 2008, according to the USGS. That event began with relatively small ejections of ash, which were followed by over three years of continuous slow lava extrusion - a stark contrast to the catastrophic May 1980 eruption that killed 57 and caused over $1 billion in damage. "Since that time, scientists have been heavily monitoring the area to pinpoint when the next eruption will take place," said Tara West of Inquisitr News. Experts expect "future dome-building eruptions at the volcano," and while they are uncertain exactly when that could occur, Mount St. Helens is starting showing signs of activity, she added. | |
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hkmarinelife.hk
2014-09-28 15:41:00
A 3.3 m long, 386 kg whale was found by hikers on Friday (26th September 2014) on the rocky shoreline at Fung Hang village near Sha Tau Kok (NE New Territories). Due to the remote location of the site, AFCD staff decided to suspend the investigation, as night fell. Officers tied the dead whale with a rope to fix it on the beach and prevent it from drifting away during the rising tide. Experts joined the investigation the following day to identify the dead whale species and the cause of death. | |
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Also, first snow of the season in Turkey - No big deal, but a far cry from the global warming crisis that the con men are trying to make us believe. 27 Sept 2014 - The most snow is in Rila in the high mountains, where the snow reached depths of 30-40 centimeters (12 to 16 inches) in places. This was announced by the weatherman TV-MET Simeon MATEV on "24 Hours". .............................. | |
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Sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com
California's water shortage has reached a critical stage.2014-09-29 03:57:00
At least a dozen communities in Northern and Central California are at risk of running out of water in just 60 days. The areas in jeopardy include Colusa and El Dorado County. These are relatively small communities and they rely on one source of water. Butte County north of Sacramento is getting hit hard. At Big Bend Mobile Home Park near Oroville, home to more than 30 families, the water supply is so low that between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., it is completely shut off. "Hard when you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night," said resident Michelle Payne. "I guess we're not flushing." The only water source for her entire community is a single well. There are other wells on the property, but they have all run dry. "There's really nothing can you about it," said resident John Dougherty. "I don't water any plants... try to cut back on toilet usage... whatever we can do is what you gotta do...all we can do." "Pretty much anything that was alive weeks ago is dry, 'cuz we haven't been able to water," said Payne. Some families have started driving five miles down the road to get drinking water from a spring box, for themselves and their animals. Statewide the water shortages are getting worse. In just a month, the Water Resource Board's list of communities at risk of running out of water in 60 days has grown from 8 to 12. Big Bend Mobile Home Park made that list. | |
Comment: From February, 2014:
California drought: 10 communities at acute risk of running out of drinking water in 60 days | |
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Deborah Blum
New York Times 2014-09-25 00:06:00
Deborah Swackhamer, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota, decided last year to investigate the chemistry of the nearby Zumbro River. She and her colleagues were not surprised to find traces of pesticides in the water. Neither were they shocked to find prescription drugs ranging from antibiotics to the anti - convulsive carbamazepine. Researchers realized more than 15 years ago that pharmaceuticals - excreted by users, dumped down drains - were slipping through wastewater treatment systems. | |
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A man was attacked by a bear Wednesday evening while walking his dogs in a Larkspur neighborhood. The Colorado Division of Wildlife says the man was walking his dogs when he suddenly saw a bear running at him from the side. The bear bit him in one arm and then the man began to fight back. He injured the other arm when defending himself. After the man began to defend himself, the bear ran away. "Generally, black bears in Colorado are not aggressive, so this is kind of a strange case," Jennifer Churchill with the Colorado Division of Wildlife said. "We certainly think it's a cause for concern because in general, bears don't like to come near people with dogs." The man was transported to a local hospital. He was admitted, treated and released last night. The dogs were not injured.
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| Fire in the Sky |
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WCNC.com
2014-09-27 12:15:00
Charlotte, N.C. -- Dozens of fireball sightings were reported across the Carolinas and Virginia overnight. According to the American Meteor Society's website, people in Charlotte, Mint Hill and Lancaster were among those who spotted the streaks in the sky. Reports came in around 11:15 Friday night and 3:15 Saturday morning. Twenty-nine reports were made in total. One man in Virginia Beach captured the light on camera. Jim Rydel's video doesn't directly capture the meteors but shows the flashes in the sky. Some say it appears like more and more fireballs are passing over us but NBC Charlotte's Brad Panovich says it's likely just social media. People can make reports more easily and more often nowadays. Brad encourages anyone who saw the fireballs to make their report here. | |
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| Health & Wellness |
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Florence Meney
Douglas Mental Health University Institute 2014-09-29 21:46:00
Prenatal maternal stress exposure to natural disasters predicts epigenetic profile of offspring This news release is available in French. Montreal, September 29th, 2014 - The number of days an expectant mother was deprived of electricity during Quebec's Ice Storm (1998) predicts the epigenetic profile of her child, a new study finds. Scientists from the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and McGill University have detected a distinctive 'signature' in the DNA of children born in the aftermath of the massive Quebec ice storm. Five months after the event, researchers recruited women who had been pregnant during the disaster and assessed their degrees of hardship and distress in a study called Project Ice Storm. Thirteen years later, the researchers found that DNA within the T cells - a type of immune system cell - of 36 children showed distinctive patterns in DNA methylation. | |
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Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.
Your Medical Detective 2014-09-29 00:00:00
After consulting with hundreds of patients, I am seeing a scary pattern that I want to bring to your attention. The concern is the combination of rock bottom intracellular magnesium "and" low vitamin D levels. It is important to know that if you have a low vitamin D level in spite of taking it, a magnesium deficiency can be one of the reasons you can't correct it. Magnesium levels in the first quintile (lower 20% of reference range) or below that, could make you a victim of a fatal heart attack. | |
Comment: Magnesium and Vitamin D3 are two extremely important nutrients. Studies have found that people who took supplements of Vitamin D for six years reduced their risk of dying from all causes. While exposure to sun can provide Vitamin D3, often people aren't able to get adequate sun, particularly in winter, so additional supplementation is recommended.
Magnesium deficiency is an epidemic as the soils have been depleted for decades due to modern agricultural practices. Thus, even consuming large amounts of magnesium rich foods, probably will not be sufficient. Magnesium is essential for the functioning of more than 300 different enzymes in the body, particularly those that produce, transport, store, and utilize energy. The virtues of Vitamin D: It's time we saw the light The Magic of Magnesium: A Mighty Mineral Essential to Health | |
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Jeremy Dean
PsyBlog 2014-09-28 00:00:00
Failing to get enough sleep causes low mood in teenagers, along with worse health and poor learning, a new review of the psychological evidence finds. Although hormonal changes are partly to blame for teenage angst, being short of sleep significantly contributes to lack of motivation and poor mood. Due to changes during puberty, teenagers require more sleep than adults and most find it hard to get to sleep before 11pm, with many staying up until 2 or 3am. It's not all down to late night video gaming or TV: the part of the brain which regulates the sleep-wake cycle - the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus - changes in puberty. | |
Comment: The decline in the number of hours slept per night is affecting public health, including a greater risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression and stroke in adults and concentration problems in children. Electric lights, including those which illuminate laptop computers, smartphones and tablets, often play a key role in causing people to sleep badly.
Earlier Bedtimes May Help Protect Adolescents Against Depression and Suicidal Thoughts Why Too Much Bright Light Before Bed Harms Sleep 6 easy steps to falling asleep fast | |
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Opponents of genetic modification say there is a new, potentially more powerful technology to contend with: synthetic biology. Purveyors of natural products who are concerned about this technique have coined the term for the way in which scientists have created single-celled organisms to secrete various molecules of interest in a fermentation setting. | |
Comment: Learn more about this frightening new trend in genetic modification: Synthetic Biology - Genetic Engineering on Steroids
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Jon Rappaport
Activist Post 2014-09-26 23:57:00
Yesterday, I reported on State Farm dropping Rob Schneider from their TV ads because he's alerted people to vaccine dangers. Because he has a view about vaccines that departs from the norm. "Punch a hole in consensus reality and you can't be a spokesman for our products." "Cause a ripple among the sleeping populace and you're out." What's next? | |
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Debbie Barker
Center for Food Safety 2014-09-19 21:47:00
The recent article, "Seeds of Doubt," in the August 25, 2014 issue of The New Yorker by Michael Specter echoes common myths about genetically engineered (GE) crops and omits legitimate scientific critiques of the technology. The resulting article fails to deliver the high level of integrity and journalism that is expected of The New Yorker. Biotechnology corporations spend hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising and marketing each year. Monsanto, one of the leading biotech companies, spends from $87 million to $120 millionannually on advertising, much of it focused on GE crop technology. The industry spends millions more on lobbying, opposing ballot initiatives to label GE foods, and further promotional activities. Such massive spending has effectively framed a favorable narrative about GE crops and foods in several major media outlets, including The New Yorker. The frame of this particular article presents Vandana Shiva, Ph.D., as the leader of an international movement in opposition to GE crops at the expense of science-based solutions to feed the world's poor. However, it is the failure of this technology - not Luddite fear mongering - that has prompted scientists, academics, policymakers, governments and regular people to question the biotech industry. | |
Comment: Read more about this topic:Gunning for Vandana Shiva: The New Yorker, GMOs and chemical farming
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Presstv.ir
2014-09-27 03:24:00
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the death toll from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has now risen to over 3,000. The WHO said on Friday that at least 3,091 out of 6,574 probable, suspected and confirmed cases died according to data received up to September 23. The data provided by the UN health agency shows that Liberia has recorded 1,830 deaths. It is the most affected country, with around three times as many fatalities as any other nation in West Africa. The outbreak, which began in Guinea, has ravaged neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone. WHO officials say the world's worst Ebola epidemic in history may kill tens of thousands of people. Nigeria and Senegal have also confirmed cases of Ebola, but no new cases or deaths have been reported in the two countries over the past few weeks. Ebola is a form of hemorrhagic fever whose symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding. The virus spreads through direct contact with infected blood, feces or sweat. It can also be spread through sexual contact or the unprotected handling of contaminated corpses. | |
Comment: These numbers are probably under-reported. See:
Livestock incinerator imported from Europe to cremate corpses from Ebola plague - 'I've never seen this amount of bodies before' Liberia's Ebola death rate actually 84%? | |
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Smitha Mundasad
Healthydebates.com 2014-09-26 03:41:00
A spice commonly found in curries may boost the brain's ability to heal itself, according to a report in the journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy. The German study suggests a compound found in turmeric could encourage the growth of nerve cells thought to be part of the brain's repair kit. Scientists say this work, based in rats, may pave the way for future drugs for strokes and Alzheimer's disease. But they say more trials are needed to see whether this applies to humans. Researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Julich, Germany, studied the effects of aromatic-turmerone - a compound found naturally in turmeric. Rats were injected with the compound and their brains were then scanned. Particular parts of the brain, known to be involved in nerve cell growth, were seen to be more active after the aromatic-turmerone infusion. Scientists say the compound may encourage a proliferation of brain cells. | |
Comment: Health Benefits of Turmeric
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Catherine Saint Louis
NYTimes.com 2014-09-25 20:53:00
An outbreak of respiratory illness first observed in the Midwest has spread to 38 states, sending children to hospitals and baffling scientists trying to understand its virulent resurgence. As of Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed 226 cases of infection with enterovirus 68. But it is likely that many times that number have been stricken. One case involved an adult, and no deaths have been linked to the infection. "What the C.D.C. is reporting is clearly the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Mary Anne Jackson, the division director of infectious diseases at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. The hospital was the first to alert the agency last month to an unusual increase in children with trouble breathing. Since then, Dr. Jackson has received calls from colleagues nationwide seeking guidance. Some report that the influx of children to hospitals is "almost outweighing the resources available," she said. Three times in the past month, the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital has had to divert ambulances to other hospitals because its emergency room was filled with children, most of them younger than 5, with severe respiratory illness. Before the outbreak, the hospital had not had to divert ambulances in 10 years, said Dr. Daniel Johnson, the interim section chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the hospital. Enteroviruses are common, but this strain is not. Symptoms in the current outbreak resemble those of a bad cold, including body aches and cough. But some children progress to wheezing and having breathing difficulties. Scientists say they do not know why it is happening. | |
Comment: The best defense you have against illness and disease is a low carb (ketogenic) diet.
See also:
Ketogenic Diet (high-fat, low-carb) Has Neuroprotective and Disease-modifying Effects Are you prepping your diet? | |
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Mike Stobbe
ABC News 2014-09-27 16:34:00
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday sent doctors an alert about the polio-like cases and said the germ - enterovirus 68 - was detected in four out of eight of the sick children who had a certain medical test. The status of the ninth case is unclear. The virus can cause paralysis but other germs can, too. Health officials don't know whether the virus caused any of the children's arm and leg weaknesses or whether it's just a germ they coincidentally picked up. "That's why we want more information," and for doctors to report similar cases, said the CDC's Dr. Jane Seward. The cases occurred within the last two months. All nine children are being treated at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, and most are from the Denver area. A hospital spokeswoman said the patients' families didn't want to talk to the media. The nine children had fever and respiratory illness about two weeks before developing varying degrees of limb weakness. None seems to have a weak immune system or other conditions that might predispose them to severe illness, but the cases are still being investigated, Seward said. Investigators don't think it's polio - eight of the nine children are up to date on polio vaccinations. It's not known whether the limb weakness or paralysis is temporary or will be long-lasting. The cases come amid an unusual wave of severe respiratory illness from enterovirus 68. The germ is not new - it was first identified in 1962 and has caused clusters of illness before, including in Georgia and Pennsylvania in 2009 and Arizona in 2010. Because it's not routinely tested for, it's possible the bug spread in previous years but was never distinguished from colds caused by other germs. | |
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Erin Brodwin
Business Insider 2014-09-27 03:20:00
The health of people in the United States is plagued by conundrums. We spend more on healthcare than any other developed nation, yet we lead far shorter lives. A baby born on American soil is the most expensive in the world, yet our newborns have a lower chance of surviving past infancy than those born in eight other developed nations. The Affordable Care Act has made health insurance more accessible to the poor, yet bills for medications and basic hospital procedures remain strikingly high. Here are 11 charts that show in embarrassing detail some of the many shortcomings of our healthcare system. 1. Americans don't live as long as we should. In terms of overall life expectancy, the United States ranks 26th out of 34 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries. Americans enjoy fewer years than Slovenians and Koreans, living just a tad longer than Czechs and Chileans, who used to rank far behind us.
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Comment: Only the wealthy and those whose occupations still provide decent insurance (and that is growing scarcer every year) can afford healthcare in America. The system is designed to benefit the insurance industry while sucking the life and financial resources out of most Americans.
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| Science of the Spirit |
Signature of aging in brain: Researchers suggest that the brain's 'immunological age' is what counts
ScienceDaily
2014-09-29 21:50:00
How the brain ages is still largely an open question -- in part because this organ is mostly insulated from direct contact with other systems in the body, including the blood and immune systems. In research that was recently published in Science, Weizmann Institute researchers Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Neurobiology Department and Dr. Ido Amit of Immunology Department found evidence of a unique "signature" that may be the "missing link" between cognitive decline and aging. The scientists believe that this discovery may lead, in the future, to treatments that can slow or reverse cognitive decline in older people. Until a decade ago, scientific dogma held that the blood-brain barrier prevents the blood-borne immune cells from attacking and destroying brain tissue. Yet in a long series of studies, Schwartz's group had shown that the immune system actually plays an important role both in healing the brain after injury and in maintaining the brain's normal functioning. They have found that this brain-immune interaction occurs across a barrier that is actually a unique interface within the brain's territory. This interface, known as the choroid plexus, is found in each of the brain's four ventricles, and it separates the blood from the cerebrospinal fluid. Schwartz: "The choroid plexus acts as a 'remote control' for the immune system to affect brain activity. Biochemical 'danger' signals released from the brain are sensed through this interface; in turn, blood-borne immune cells assist by communicating with the choroid plexus.This cross-talk is important for preserving cognitive abilities and promoting the generation of new brain cells." | |
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The Daily Beast
2014-09-11 00:00:00
According to cold, hard science, willpower is an unlimited resource. And small habit changes over time can drive big gains in our lives. Comment: For some of the "cold, hard science" behind the claims in this article, the American Psychological Association has a great multi-part summary of the science behind willpower (with multiple citations) here: What You Need to Know about Willpower: The Psychological Science of Self-Control Willpower is a mind-body response and the active ingredient that allows us to resist short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals. Stress is the enemy of willpower, so say the latest findings of neuroscientists, psychologists, and life coaches in the field. Inadvertently, threats of terrorism, economic uncertainty, and work-related anxiety have done their share to hijack current society's self control. Simply put, we're living in a time that requires more willpower than ever when it may be harder to come by. Indulgences soothe us - from the after-work cocktail to the weekend shopping spree to excessive Facebook time or that extravagant piece of New York cheesecake. But opting for immediate gratification and having the universe influence our agenda keep long-term goals outside our grasp. | |
Comment: The Éiriú Eolas breathing and meditation program is an excellent tool for reducing stress, boosting willpower, and promoting mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Learn it for free here!
Learn more about Meditation and Its Benefits:
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Geoffrey Mohan
Latimes.com 2014-09-26 07:17:00
Scientists have found a way to tinker with a brain switch that regulates whether we make choices based on experience or we resort to rolling the dice. Their study, published online Thursday in the journal Cell, no doubt frustrated the lab rats that were pushed to the limit of their strategic abilities. But the results could offer insights into disorders and diseases that affect attention, memory and cognition. Researchers managed to tinker with a switch that shifts rats from strategic behavior to random choices. The results could shed light on the cellular level of decision making and offer new insight into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. (Cell) "Our brains have evolved to be strategic, so we have evolved to use our past experience to optimize future choice," said lead investigator Alla Y. Karpova, a neuroscientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus in Virginia. "Against weak competitors, a strategic approach is probably useful, because if you figure out the approach of the opponent, you can actually do better than when you're just random. You can even out-compete them," Karpova said. But random exploration may be more appropriate to a new situation full of mixed signals, where experience offers no guide. Some part of the brain has to decide how to decide. | |
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We can't wear masks forever. We can try, but they will crack. The shells of armor and disguise we use to protect and hide ourselves will eventually shatter, tiny shards of ego crashing around us. The question is: when they do, and you are left bare for all the world to see, will you be brave enough to look yourself in the eye and find out who you really are, or will you chase around your own ghost trying to rebuild what never really was?
"If you pass your night
and merge it with dawn for the sake of heart, what do you think will happen?" ~ Rumi | |
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Jeremy Dean
PsyBlog 2014-09-27 00:00:00
Social anxiety disorder is most commonly treated with antidepressants, but these are not the most effective treatment. A new study finds that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is more effective and the benefits continue after the initial treatment has finished. The study, which is published in The Lancet Psychiatry, analysed 101 separate clinical trials, which examined different types of medications and talking therapies for social anxiety disorder (Mayo-Wilson et al., 2014). The disorder is thought to affect around 1 in 8 people, and is more than just being shy. | |
Comment: Meditation is another way to help with anxiety, and the Éiriú Eolas technique is particularly helpful as it stimulates the vagus nerve which naturally produces the stress reducing hormone Oxytocin in the brain. This technique increases social connection and emotional intelligence, makes you more compassionate and makes you feel less lonely.
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