Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

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U.S. enters Syrian civil war without Congressional approval Police State USA 2014-09-23 21:40:00 Last night, at the sole discretion of President Barack Obama, the United States officially entered the Syrian civil war and launched attacks in that sovereign nation. The president had neither obtained authorization from the U.S. Congress, nor permission from the Syrian state's current government. The offensive, launched in secret on , included a mix of fighter jets and bomber aircraft, accompanied by a barrage of ship-launched Tomahawk missiles, confirmed Pentagon press secretary John Kirby. Military commanders intended to strike as many as 20 targets in the operation, primarily belonging to the Islamic State group, or "ISIS." The U.S. began attacking that group on August 8th, 2014 - but in Iraq, not Syria. While the U.S. Congress recently voted to provide armaments to Syrian rebels, it did not vote for direct military strikes. Nonetheless, President Obama acted without reservation and said he would not hesitate to commit more attacks in the future.

Look out, Western-backed terrorists: Putin considers Russian response to ISIS NBC News 2014-09-22 20:55:00 The next weapon in the fight against Islamic extremists in the Middle East might be Vladimir Putin. The Russian president discussed with his Security Council on Monday potentially contributing to fighting ISIS, according to Russian news agencies. The council "exchanged opinions on possible forms of cooperation with other partners on a plan to counter Islamic State in the framework of international law," Interfax quoted a Kremlin spokesman as saying. Comment: The council's subtle way of saying the U.S.'s bogus coalition is NOT working within the framework of international law. They're right; it's not. The United States has been trying to build a broad coalition to thwart ISIS militants in Syria and Iraq, but Russia has not been part of the conversation. "The anti-ISIL coalition is not a club party - we do not expect any invitations and we are not going to buy entry tickets," said Ilya Rogachev, an official in Russia's Foreign Ministry said last week. But Russia is a supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime is trying to stave off an insurgency that has included ISIS fighters. ISIS could potentially threaten Moscow directly, too. The group's ranks include Muslims from Russia's North Caucasus region, who have been waging their own insurgency in the mountainous region following two wars between Moscow and separatists in Chechnya.

Comment: The U.S.'s latest war is a joke: an attack on an enemy they created in order to attack Syria. A Russian response would be a legitimate one - an attack on ALL the terrorists illegally operating in Iraq and Syria, many of whom are directly trained and supported by the U.S. - within the bounds of international law. In other words, it would be an indirect attack on the U.S. and its dirty ops in the region. Which is why the U.S. doesn't want it.

Where is the outrage! Facts: Syria is 7th (Muslim) country bombed by 2009 Nobel peace prize winner Tyler Durden Zerohedge.com 2014-09-23 20:48:00 Authored by Glenn Greenwald, originally posted at The Intercept, The U.S. today began bombing targets inside Syria, in concert with its lovely and inspiring group of five allied regimes: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan. That means that Syria becomes the 7th predominantly Muslim country bombed by the 2009 Nobel Peace Laureate - after Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and Iraq. The utter lack of interest in what possible legal authority Obama has to bomb Syria is telling indeed: empires bomb who they want, when they want, for whatever reason (indeed, recall that Obama bombed Libya even after Congress explicitly voted against authorization to use force, and very few people seemed to mind that abject act of lawlessness; constitutional constraints are not for warriors and emperors). It was just over a year ago that Obama officials were insisting that bombing and attacking Assad was a moral and strategic imperative. Instead, Obama is now bombing Assad's enemies while politely informing his regime of its targets in advance. It seems irrelevant on whom the U.S. wages war; what matters it that it be at war, always and forever. Six weeks of bombing hasn't budged ISIS in Iraq, but it has caused ISIS recruitment to soar.That's all predictable: the U.S. has known for years that what fuels and strengthens anti-American sentiment (and thus anti-American extremism) is exactly what they keep doing: aggression in that region. If you know that, then they know that. At this point, it's more rational to say they do all of this not despite triggering those outcomes, but because of it. Continuously creating and strengthening enemies is a feature, not a bug, as it is what then justifies the ongoing greasing of the profitable and power-vesting machine of Endless War. If there is anyone who actually believes that the point of all of this is a moral crusade to vanquish the evil-doers of ISIS (as the U.S. fights alongside its close Saudi friends), please read Professor As'ad AbuKhalil's explanation today of how Syria is a multi-tiered proxy war. As the disastrous Libya "intervention" should conclusively and permanently demonstrate, the U.S. does not bomb countries for humanitarian objectives. Humanitarianism is the pretense, not the purpose.

Why the Ukraine will never take back Crimea - despite its bluster The Saker Russia Insider 2014-09-23 20:47:00 The Ukrainian Defense Minister Valerii Geletei is hardly a credible figure. Not only did he recently declare that Russia had threatened the Ukraine with nuclear strikes, he even told a Ukrainian journalist that Russia had already executed two tactical nuclear strikes on the city of Lugansk (apparently to explain why the Ukrainian forces had to retreat from there). The Junta later denied the story and blamed it on the journalist who first published it. Despite these antics, Geletei nonetheless caught the world's attention when he promised the Ukrainian Rada that the Ukraine would retake Crimea and organize a victory parade in Sevastopol.The Rada (Ukraine's parliament) greeted that promise with a standing ovation. The truth is that this will never happen. Here is why:

US journalist: The United States is playing a very dangerous game with Russia and China Press TV 2014-09-22 17:51:00 The United States' recklessly aggressive posture towards Russia and China has put them in a position where they are wondering when Washington will attack them, an American political commentator says. Don DeBar, an anti-war activist and radio host in New York, made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV on Monday while commenting on a retired US Navy admiral's assertion that the US should keep its nuclear weapons in European countries in the wake of Russian activities in Ukraine. "Withdrawing our relatively few weapons would be the absolute wrong signal at this moment," former NATO chief James Stavridis said last week. DeBar said that "the United States is playing a very dangerous game with Russia, and with China, by the way, but particularly with Russia." "Aside from the decision that was made long time ago to implement the so-called missile-defense [system] in Europe and to move NATO up to the borders of Russia, and even aside from theoverthrow of the Ukrainian government that took place with the backing of the United States earlier this year, and the civil war, the war that's have been going on in Ukraine on the border of Russia now for six months or more, and even despite the obvious determination of Russia to stand up at this point and say enough and no further, the United States now is contemplating or has announced its intensions to bomb targets in Syria in the face of the Syrian government's sovereignty basically," he added. Comment: See: US starts bombing Syria - Real target is Assad

Obama blamed for the rise of ISIL by Republican Senators McCain and Graham Press TV 2014-09-23 16:20:00 Two US senators say the ISIL terrorist group "poses a direct threat to the United States" and have blamed President Barack Obama for the crisis that the group has created in Iraq and Syria. Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham wrote in the National Review on Monday that the rise of ISIL is the result of Obama's refusal to attack Syria last September. They also argued that ISIL was able to flourish because Obama did not leave behind a residual American force in Iraq in 2011, rejected the idea of training and arming Syrian rebels sooner, and decided not to order airstrikes against the group in Iraq last fall. "As a result, the situation in Iraq and Syria has descended into a crisis that poses a direct threat to the United States. Worse yet, our options for countering this threat are fewer and far worse than they were just a few years ago," they wrote. "If we fail to learn from the mistakes of the past few years - if we fail to pursue an aggressive, realistic strategy for victory, the ISIS threat will only grow stronger," they added, using another acronym for ISIL. On Monday, the US and its allies started airstrikes against ISIL in Syria. The US military has already conducted some 174 airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq since mid-August. The ISIL terrorists, some of whom have been trained by the US in Jordan and Turkey to destabilize the Syrian government, control Raqqa and sections of Aleppo in the north and Hasakeh in the northeast as well as most of Deir Ezzor in the east. The terror group sent back its militants into Iraq in June, quickly seizing vast expanse of land straddling the border between the two countries. The ISIL terrorists are notorious for carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations.

Comment: Whether or not leaving a large military force behind in Iraq (insult to injury considering what the U.S. did to that country) would have made any difference as to the rise and machinations of a militant ISIL, the fact remains that you can birth an entity for a particular effect with no assurances and no control over what it becomes. Plan gone awry or plan still on course...? The US and its allies in the region have been financially and militarily helping the militant groups fighting against Syrian government forces in past years. ISIL, which first grew in number and power in Syria, has expanded its terror attacks into Iraq and is now wreaking havoc in both countries. The U.S. and its cohorts...mea culpa. The fact of the matter is that whether ISIL behaved as to the original concept or deviated into the "hell-on-wheels" it has become, the U.S. now has a self-fulfilled "reason" to bomb Syria - - an outcome of which hypocritical war-mongers McCain and Graham are secretly delighted.

Royal Mint launches online gold bullion trading service The Independent 2014-09-22 17:35:00 The Royal Mint has launched its own online bullion trading service in a bid to entice investors away from shares and into gold sovereigns. In a move that could spark a new gold rush, customers anywhere in the world will be able to buy unlimited quantities of gold coins directly from the Mint. The gold will be stored in the Mint's high-security vault and guarded by Ministry of Defence personnel. The initiative is designed to overcome some of the key objections to investing in physical gold,including worries about shipping, storage and finding a trustworthy broker. Citing World Gold Council figures showing there might be £4bn worth of untapped demand for gold investment in the UK, Shane Bissett, the Royal Mint's director of commemorative coin and bullion, said: "The Royal Mint can help make this option a much more accessible opportunity. We want to help expand the bullion market in the UK, particularly as coins offer a relatively affordable introduction - and believe we are well placed to do so."

Comment: It might be a good idea to purchase physical gold and take delivery as many banks and countries are doing.

Campbell commends Afghan deal that would extend US troop presence Richard Sisk Military News 2014-09-22 20:31:00 U.S. Army Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of U.S and NATO troops in Afghanistan, hailed the presidential power-sharing agreement announced Sunday as a major step toward clearing the way for a continued presence of U.S. and allied forces next year. In a statement, Campbell congratulated Afghan President-elect Ashraf Ghani Ammadzai and rival Abdullah Abdullah on the deal to form a National Unity Government. Both candidates have committed to keeping coalition forces in Afghanistan.  Campbell also praised the Afghan National Security Forces for remaining neutral during the long and bitter dispute over the presidential election results. "Their achievements, through two elections and protracted political uncertainty, are enormous," Campbell said in an email to Military.com. "We remain committed to assisting the Afghan National Security Forces as they continue to serve and secure the Afghan people." Following announcement of the agreement, retired Adm. James Stavridis, the former NATO commander, tweeted that the pledges of Ghani and Abdullah to work together would translate into "a Bilateral Security Agreement to keep a residual force and avoid the mistakes of Iraq." In a statement, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged Ghani and Abdullah to come to "the conclusion of the necessary security agreements with the United States and NATO as soon as possible." For more than a year, the allies have been pressing for a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the U.S. to keep troops in Afghanistan past the end of this year and a similar agreement with NATO,but current President Hamid Karzai refused to sign. Karzai has been in power since shortly after the U.S. invasion in 2001.

Comment: NATO must be quite happy with the new Afghan "National Unity Government" that is conveniently willing to sign the BSA, allowing the destruction of Afghanistan to continue, which will most likely cost the lives of hundreds and thousands more innocent civilians. See also the following articles which offer a glimpse into NATO's "commitment" to the improvement of the situation in Afghanistan in the past 13 years: U.S., NATO war crimes against thousands of Afghan civilians ignored - Amnesty NATO airstrike kills a woman and two children in eastern Afghanistan; one wounded U.S. serial killing: airstrike kills woman, seven children in Afghanistan NATO Airstrike kills 5, wounds 17 in Afghanistan U.S. drone strikes claim 18 lives across Afghanistan 7 killed in US airstrike in NE Afghanistan U.S. murders another 65 people in Paktia, Afghanistan, bringing total in two days to 125 dead U.S. troops are needed in Afghanistan to 'protect women'? Really? And this important fact shouldn't go unnoticed either: Afghanistan heroin users skyrocket 1000% despite US investment of $7.5 billion to 'eradicate' opium production So, the US invests $7.5 billion to eradicate opium production, but the exact opposite has happened. What a surprise! Opium production resumed in Afghanistan only when the US destroyed everything else in the country; remember that it was banned under the Taliban. And now that the heroin industry is flourishing where is all that drug money going? Golly, could it be used to fund US black ops!?

Shaking in our boots! U.S. announces 'new' terror group scarier than ISIS! RT 2014-09-23 17:07:00 New intelligence has emerged warning Washington that its upcoming confrontation with the Islamic State may leave it blind to a more sinister and direct threat from a much lesser known terrorist group that has arisen from the ashes of the Syrian war. Very little information is being released at the moment by anyone within American intelligence circles, but the group calling itself Khorasan is said by officials to have concrete plans for striking targets in the United States and Europe as a chosen modus operandi - more so than the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as ISIS. Comment: Oh, no! Concrete plans! SOTT's inside sources have revealed the nature of this sinister plot. In response to the West's 'boots-on-the-ground' approach in the Middle East, Khorosan is threatening a 'boots-in-the-water' plan for Western leaders and politicians. An anonymous intelligence source sent us this photograph of the weapons being supplied to the group to use against Obama et al. during Khorosan's 'concrete plan':

Comment: How convenient. Nothing like creating a new terrorist group out of thin air after being thoroughly exposed for creating the current ones!

Senate torture report vanishes from media, replaced by ISIL "threat" Philip Giraldi The Unz Review 2014-09-23 12:55:00 David Copperfield is a CIA Contractor? The crisis involving the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a Godsend to politicians, which is probably why the threat actually posed by the group is being hyped as it is while the White House and Pentagon continue to change the meaning of commonly used English expressions to enable the attacking of just about anyone anywhere. We are told that the United States will have a free hand in bombing Syria, an independent nation with which Washington is not at war. The Administration has warned that if Damascus attempts to defend itself from the air armada there will be consequences in the form of "retaliation," suggesting that the US would be striking back after being attacked. Oddly enough, my dictionary suggests that it would be the Syrians who would be retaliating, but one supposes that in the Emerald City everything is not as it seems and certain words have little or no meaning. The welcome distraction afforded by ISIS means that the issue of Gaza, which was recently devastated by the Israelis, has largely disappeared from the mainstream media, enabling Benjamin Netanyahu to steal still more land on the West Bank for new settlements. And remember MH-17? Still a whodunit and nobody cares anymore. Comment: Down the memory hole: Yesterday's 'uncomfortable' news hurriedly buried by MSM leaving tons of unanswered questions Back here at home, the dispute over the Senate Intelligence Committee report on Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) torture, a hot button issue earlier this year, has also benefited, largely disappearing from sight. The meticulously researched Senate report, covering 6000 pages and including 35,000 footnotes, apparently concluded that torturing terrorist suspects was not only illegal under the United Nations Convention on Torture, to which Washington is a signatory, it was also ineffective, producing no intelligence that was otherwise unobtainable. Since a "forgive and forget" forward-looking White House has already indicated that no one will ever be punished for illegal actions undertaken in the wake of 9/11, why is the torture issue important beyond the prima facie case that a war crime that was authorized by the highest levels of the federal government? It is important because of its constitutional implications and its impact on rule of law in the United States, which is again being flouted by the Administration in its rush to "destroy" ISIS, which is little more than a terrorist group du jour being exploited to terrify the American public. The constitutional issue, in its simplest terms, is that the CIA works for the president and when it operates without legally mandated oversight by the executive branch and judiciary it does so in defiance of separation of powers, making the Agency little better than a secret army run by POTUS.

Dutch report says MH17 cockpit was riddled with "multiple holes from high-energy objects", ie bullets from mid-air cannon-fire Nick Miller Stuff.co.nz 2014-09-10 12:23:00 A preliminary report into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 includes a chilling transcript of communication between flight controllers as they realised MH17 had vanished from their instruments. After the final communication from the plane (a simple acknowledgement of "Romeo November Delta, Malaysian one seven"), a few minutes later flight controllers in Dnipro and Rostov talk on the phone trying to locate the flight. "Do you observe the Malaysian," Dnipro asks. "No, it seems that its target started falling apart," Rostov responds. "It's not responding for our calls too," Dnipro says. "It's disappeared." Moments earlier, the report finds, a large number of high-energy objects smashed through flight MH17, causing it to break up in mid-air and crash in eastern Ukraine.

Comment: Translation: Crash investigators will be blocked or censored from identifying the source because it would reveal the plane was downed in a hail of cannon-fire from an Israeli-upgraded Scorpion Su-25 fighter jet, followed by a bomb planted at Schiphol Airport to ensure no one survived. See also the Russian Union of Engineers report on MH17.

Helping terrorists: Israeli military shot down Syrian warplane over Golan Heights Maayan Lubell Reuters 2014-09-23 10:21:00 Israel's military said it shot down a Syrian warplane over the Golan Heights on Tuesday, in the first such incident in three decades. "It was a Russian-made Sukhoi," a military spokesman said. Israeli military sources said the plane apparently crossed by accident into Israeli-controlled airspace over the Golan Heights - where fighting from Syria's civil war has spilled over occasionally - and was not on a mission to attack Israeli targets. Comment: The Golan Heights is not Israeli territory. Internationally recognized as Syrian territory, the Golan Heights has been occupied and administered by Israel since 1967 Israel is also in violation of the UN Resolution 497 which states: "the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect." Israel is using Golan Heights as a buffer zone to support anti-government terrorists. Israel has been the more discreet of the two, but it has sent the Mossad into Syria and built facilities in the Golan Heights to aid the insurgency. They had no right whatsoever to shoot down the plane, especially since the plane was carrying out attacks against terrorists, and since military sources themselves claim that there was no threat to Israel. Reuters twists reality by calling this a civil war. It's not a civil war. These are terrorists backed by US and their allies fighting a democratically elected government and their people. See also: The Israeli occupation the world forgot: the Golan Heights The aircraft was intercepted by a U.S.-manufactured Patriot missile, the spokesman said. Israel Radio said the warplane was apparently carrying out a mission against Syrian rebels battling the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. Israel's military said it shot down a Syrian drone over the Golan Heights on Aug. 31. Comment: Israel is helping the terrorists that they along with US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others helped train, fund and arm to destabilize Syria. Reuters again tries to deceive the readers by referring to these mercenaries/death squads as rebels.

Comment: This is not the first time that Israel is providing aid to terrorists, see: Israel is Fighting a Regional War in Syria

US starts bombing Syria - Real target is Assad Brandon Turbeville Activist Post 2014-09-22 08:35:00 Late Monday evening, September 22, the United States began the first of its airstrikes inside Syria. Although details are still murky about where the attacks took place and what targets were actually hit, the Pentagon has acknowledged responsibility for the bombings. According to USA Today, Rear Admiral John Kirby stated that "I can confirm that U.S. military and partner nation forces are undertaking military action against ISIL terrorists in Syria using a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles. Given that these operations are ongoing, we are not in a position to provide additional details at this time." USA Today reports that the strikes were carried out both by bomber jets and by ships firing cruise missiles. It is said that the strikes have hit about 20 ISIS targets, including what is being called "headquarters buildings" for "militants who have based their movement in Syria." The attacks were not carried out with the coordination and cooperation of the Syrian government. Nor were they carried out with Syrian government permission. While Syria has already stated that any airstrikes conducted over Syrian airspace would be considered an act of war and that Syria might very well shoot down any American planes conducting those strikes, it is as of yet unclear as to how the Syrian government will respond.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky breaks political silence, saying he would lead Russia (like a mafia don) The Guardian 2014-09-20 06:11:00 The former oil tycoon and adversary of president Vladimir Putin has launched a pro-European political platform from exile The former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent a decade in jail after challenging the Kremlin, says he would be ready to lead Russia if called upon. Khodorkovsky's statement, at the launch of an online movement called Open Russia, appears to break his promise to steer clear of politics, which he made after being pardoned by president Vladimir Putin in December. "I would not be interested in the idea of becoming president of Russia at a time when the country would be developing normally," he was quoted as saying by Le Monde newspaper. Comment: Of course not. Psychopaths crave the opportunities created by chaotic situations. Khodorkovsky made his billions in the aftermath of the economic mess created by the fall of the Soviet Union. "But if it appeared necessary to overcome the crisis and to carry out constitutional reform, the essence of which would be to redistribute presidential powers in favour of the judiciary, parliament and civil society, then I would be ready to take on this part of the task." Open Russia is intended to unite pro-European Russians in a bid to challenge Putin's grip on power. "A minority will be influential if it is organised," Khodorkovsky said during a ceremony broadcast online from Paris. Khodorkovsky and his allies said political change could come quickly and insisted the time had come to think of Russia's future after Putin. He stressed that his project - named after his charity that was shut down after his imprisonment - would be an online "platform" for like-minded people, not a political party. But he did not anticipate Putin would approve.

Comment: Some background on the criminal Khodorkovsky: The Rise and Fall of the Russian Oligarchs: How Putin neutralized the despoilers of Russia Khodorkovsky created the myth that he is Putin's political opponent AFTER he was sent to prison for being a corporate thief Psychopathic criminal and former oligarch Khodorkovsky wants to lead Russia's opposition movement against Putin leadership And yet Putin did this: Recently freed from prison, Khodorkovsky seeks residency in Switzerland

Hypocrisy: While sanctions leveled against Russia, US sponsoring of ISIS and Syrian rebels is conveniently overlooked Ulson Gunnar Activist Post 2014-09-21 00:00:00 As the US and Europe prepare another round of sanctions against Russia over the ongoing Ukrainian conflict, the third round of such sanctions since the conflict began shortly after the Euromaidan unrest resulted in the installation of a NATO-backed regime in Kiev, a curious and inexplicable oversight appears to have been made. While wild accusations have been leveled against Russia over its involvement over the violence in Ukraine, claims ranging from covert support up to and including unsubstantiated claims of a "full scale invasion," prominent media organizations across the Western world have for years reported a flow of cash, weapons, equipment and fighters from America's allies in the Persian Gulf as well as from nations like NATO member Turkey, and into the conflict raging within Syria's borders. While baseless claims leveled against Russia have served as ample justification for the West to continue leveling sanctions against Moscow, no sanctions have as of yet been leveled against the overt sponsors of militancy and, in fact, terrorism in Syria. So widespread has state-sponsored terrorism become in the Middle East that what began as a limited proxy war against Syria has transformed into an immense regional army with tens of thousands of paid soldiers requiring millions of dollars a day to operate across multiple borders and confounding the forces of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon combined.

Comment: See also: ISIS: The creation of Saudi money and ideology in conjunction with Obama's foreign policy Ten signs ISIS is a scripted psyop

Society's Child

Extrajudicial killing: Suspected kidnappers of Israeli teens shot to death RT 2014-09-23 20:30:00 The Israeli army says it has killed two Palestinians suspected of kidnapping and murdering three Israeli teenagers in June, an incident stoking tensions in the region and eventually leading to sustained Gaza bombings. The suspects were killed in a shootout which took place before dawn on Tuesday, the IDF said. Soldiers surrounded a house in Hebron, West Bank, with the two main suspects in the fatal kidnapping - Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Aysha - inside. The Palestinians eventually died in the exchange of fire. "We opened fire, they returned fire and they were killed in the exchange," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said in a telephone briefing, cited by Reuters. "We have visual confirmation for one. The second one, we have no visual confirmation, but the assumption is he was killed." Comment: Shoot first, ask questions later.

Comment: If Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, democracy is not worth it. The behavior of the IDF is inhuman. The Israelis have no conception of the presumption of innocence. No, they murder on mere suspicion. But there's more to it than that. By simply murdering their 'suspects', they avoid any pesky trial, which would prove what is plainly obvious: these men were innocent. For the guilty parties, the Israelis need only look in the mirror: Abducted Israeli teenagers found dead - A convenient development (for Israel) Psychopathic 'Morality': The Truth Behind the Kidnapping and Murder of 3 Israeli Teens

The slaughter begins: 8 civilians (3 children) killed in U.S. airstrikes in Syria RT 2014-09-23 18:33:00 Eight civilians, three of them children, have been killed in the US-led air strikes on Al-Qaeda Nusra front positions, Reuters reported, citing Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Washington carried a series of airstrikes on the city of Raqqa in the early hours of Tuesday. At least 30 militants died in the strikes, which were carried out on IS positions in Syria. Washington informed Damascus about the operation, according to a representative of Syrian Foreign Ministry. "There is an exodus out of Raqqa as we speak. It started in the early hours of the day after the strikes. People are fleeing towards the countryside," one local resident told Reuters. The strikes targeted residential buildings in Aleppo allegedly used by Al-Nusra Front, according to Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The US-led coalition's targets also included training camps, headquarters and weapon supplies in northern and eastern Syria, with many IS locations "destroyed or damaged" around the cities of Raqqa, Deir al-Zor, Hasakah and the border town of Albu Kamal, Reuters reported. In particular, "[Islamic State] fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance center, supply trucks and armed vehicles" were hit.

Comment: The first pointless deaths in yet another pointless war led by the United States. Utterly shameful.

Blaming the victims: Oklahoma police to local news: Best way for women not to get raped by police is to follow the law David Edwards Raw Story 2014-09-23 19:15:00 Oklahoma Highway Patrol official reportedly told women that the best way not to get raped by an officer was to "follow the law." In recent months, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer and an Oklahoma City Police officer have been accused of repeatedly raping women, often during traffic stops. After a Tulsa County sheriff's deputy was arrested last week for sexually assaulting a woman while responding to a 911 call, Tulsa NBC News affiliate KJRH decided to ask the Oklahoma Highway Patrol how to stay safe during a traffic stop. The department noted that troopers should always be in uniform, and that women were allowed to keep their car door locked, and to speak with officers through a cracked window. A trooper should rarely ask a person to come back to the patrol car, OHP advised. Comment: The problem is that people are afraid to stand up for their rights during interactions with police. And for good reason, if you pay attention to the number of police shootings on civilians in the news. There are numerous instances of police responding negatively when civilians stand up for themselves. What's to stop the police from claiming that being uncooperative by keeping your door locked is probable cause and arrest them? Police shoot individuals with impunity these days, so you can't blame people for not wanting to be assertive in their interactions with police. "There are certain situations where we do that," Capt. George Brown told KJRH. "If someone doesn't have a driver's license on their person. We asked for an ID or driver's licence, if they can't provide it, rather than stand outside the car writing [a ticket], which puts us in a bad location, we may ask a female back to the car so we can get her information."

California police shoot man to death who was outside home smoking and checking Facebook Travis Gettys Raw Story 2014-09-23 19:08:00 Police gunned down a California man last week outside his cousin's home, but his family said the shooting wasn't justified. Tommy McClain died Wednesday after he was shot by Eureka police officers, who said the 22-year-old reached for a gun during an early morning confrontation. Officers had been in the area searching for two people wanted on felony warrants and found two men arguing in the street - and one of them appeared to be armed. An officer told dispatchers they had the armed man at gunpoint, and they fired about a minute later after officers said the man reached for his weapon. They then told dispatchers that "uncooperatives" were coming outside the house, but they were "slowly gaining control of the scene." Police said they found a gun at the scene, but they declined to say how close it was to McClain's body. "I don't want to get into where exactly the gun was until I can prove that forensically to my satisfaction," said Chief Andrew Mills, of Eureka police. "I want to make sure I'm 100 percent accurate."

Alabama woman set to face trial accused of running 9-year-old granddaughter to death Verna Gates Raw Story 2014-09-22 19:02:00 An Alabama woman accused of running her 9-year-old granddaughter to death as punishment for eating forbidden chocolates and lying about it was set to go on trial on Monday. Joyce Hardin Garrard, 49, stands accused of forcing Savannah Hardin to run non-stop for three hours in February 2012. Authorities say the girl collapsed, went into seizures and died days later at a Birmingham hospital. Hardin died from dehydration and low sodium, a condition common in marathon runners, Etowah County Sheriff's spokeswoman Natalie Barton said. Hardin suffered from unspecified medical issues that resulted in frequent doctors visits, according to court documents.

No charges filed yet against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson Presstv.ir 2014-09-23 08:35:00 More than a month after the fatal shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, no charges have been pressed against the white police officer who killed him. Michael Brown, 18, was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9. There are conflicting reports from police and residents, but several witnesses say Brown held up his arms in surrender before he was repeatedly shot. Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for Brown's family told the Times in August "the sheer number of bullets and the way they were scattered all over his body showed this police officer had a brazen disregard for the very people he was supposed to protect in that community." His death triggered weeks of protests and clashes between police and demonstrators in Ferguson, a predominantly black suburb of St. Louis. Activists want prosecutors to charge Wilson with murder, although he has continued his job on administrative leave as a police officer. Wilson has spoken with investigators and testified before the grand jury, who is still considering his case.

Comment: Given the power and omnipotent nature of the police state, officer Wilson probably won't be charged with anything; he is above the law. Profile of a Police State

Man filming assault on woman attacked by same men going after her Tom Boggioni Raw Story 2014-09-21 18:49:00 A St. Louis man who was filming a street assault on a woman was set upon by her attackers, demanding he quit filming them, until his girlfriend dispersed them with pepper spray, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Andrew Doty, a 27-year-old freelance editor, was strolling with his girlfriend when he came across three men beating a woman in the back seat of a Chevrolet Trailblazer. Doty took out his cell phone and began filming the encounter, as one man walked around the car, pointing and demanding, "Put that up." According to Doty, "We knew someone was being attacked, and I immediately started filming. It was just something we felt obligated to do in the moment." Refusing to to stop filming, Doty told the men, "You guys need to sort your shit out, and get it out of here. That's it. Stop fighting on the street." While one man continued to hit the woman, another kept telling Doty to "Put that up," while bumping up against him, making Doty move backwards.

Psychopath alert: Cop tasked with protecting children from pedophiles just confessed to being a pedophile John Vibes Free Thought Project 2014-09-18 17:53:00 38-year-old Gregory Pyle, of Crest Hill, Illinois, was sentenced to 50 years in prison this week after confessing to sexually abusing a child and distributing images of the attack online. Pyle was a 10-year veteran of his police department who actually worked in a child predator task force for a long period of time. Comment: Pedophiles and child molesters often take jobs with youth serving organizations and like the above pedophile who worked in a child predator task force. For more information on pedophiles read: Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, And Other Sex Offenders Pyle or visit Anne Salters website. Pyle admitted in court that in December of 2008, he took a young child out of state where he sexually abused the child and either recorded or took pictures of the abuse. According to prosecutors, the child was under 12-years-old at the time and the evidence shows "sadistic, masochistic, and violent," behavior on the part of the former officer. It is not clear what Pyle's relationship was with the child or their parents, or under what pretenses he took the child out of state.

Jon Stewart: Talking to GOP about climate change is like 'pushing a million pounds of idiot up a mountain' Arturo Garcia RawStory 2014-09-23 18:03:00 Daily Show host Jon Stewart blasted three Republican congressmen on Monday for being climate change deniers sitting on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Stewart showed footage of Reps. Larry Buschon (R-IN), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Steve Stockman (R-TX) each thinking they could counter White House scientific advisor John Holdren's evidence during a hearing last week, only to get shut down. Meanwhile, Holdren, Stewart said, had the Sisyphean task of "pushing a million pounds of idiot up a mountain," including one exchange where Holdren told Buschon to "look at the scientific literature" regarding climate change. In response, Buschon scoffed at reading findings from "climatologists whose career depends on the climate changing," saying, "I could read that, but I don't believe it." Instead of reading the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, Stewart said, Buschon was relying on the opinions of YouTube commenters like "Obummerlies1776″ for his opinions on climate change, and scoffing at people who study the phenomenon for a living. "Since we're talking about the influence money might have on climate change opinion, it turns out Representative Buschon's three biggest campaign donors are Murray Energy, Koch Enterprises, and Peabody Energy," Stewart said. "And trust me, those three well-funded companies would love to disprove climate change to the satisfaction of the scientific community at large. So if scientists could be bought, these motherf*ckers would've already made it rain in nerdtown."

Comment: A big face palm! Although we can all agree there is climate change, learning about the the various reasons is critical in order to understand the influences of climate change in order to be better prepared. For more information read Laura's groundbreaking book: Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection.

Shooting at Alabama UPS facility leaves 3 dead, including shooter WMBF 2014-09-23 18:42:00 Three people are confirmed dead in a shooting at the UPS Customer Center in the Inglenook community in north Birmingham. Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper said that the suspected shooter is among the dead. The shooter was a male who was fired recently from the UPS Customer Center. Police received multiple phone calls about an active shooter at 9:21 a.m. Tuesday. During the shooting, multiple employees fled from the building. "When police officers entered the facility, they identified and located the three bodies, one of those is obviously the shooter, and it appeared he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound," Roper said. The incident occured in the warehouse area near the offices. Roper said the person police believe to be shooter was wearing his UPS uniform. "We have a pretty good idea of what transpired inside the business," Roper said.

The contrast between elite approved and non-elite approved protests Penny Penny for your thoughts 2014-09-22 12:57:00 Really think the elites (bankers, multinationals, oil companies) don't approve of the AGW carbon control agenda? The proof is in the protests. G-20 protests Toronto

New armored vehicle a surprise to city leaders in Bozeman, Montana Erin Schattauer Bozeman Daily Chronicle 2014-09-22 21:07:00 When Mayor Jeff Krauss logged onto Facebook on Friday night, he was surprised to learn the city owned a new armored rescue vehicle. "It was a vehicle we never discussed. No one told me we needed this," Krauss said. "It raised a lot of questions for me." The vehicle, a Lenco BearCat G3, was fully paid for by a grant through the Homeland Security Grant Program. Typically, city staff approaches the City Commission for approval before applying for grants, but that didn't happen this time. At Monday night's City Commission meeting, City Manager Chris Kukulski told commissioners that a mistake was made - the grant application never came before the City Commission. In fact, only one city commissioner knew about it prior to the mayor seeing it on Facebook. Commissioner Chris Mehl was on a police ride-along one night when he caught a glimpse of the vehicle parked at the Law and Justice Center. Mehl admits he thought it was odd when he saw it, but he has talked with police and is convinced it's something the city needs. "I hope that we never use this, but it was free," Mehl said. Krauss isn't convinced. He said adding the "urban assault vehicle" to the police department's fleet seems like an escalation of police activity. "I'm not convinced that we need this. It had never been identified as a need in my 11 years here," Krauss said. He added that the City Commission approves the addition of all vehicles, from police motorcycles to forestry trucks. The matter will now go through the usual process. The grant application will go before the City Commission at an upcoming meeting.

Child abuse: There should be no debate about corporal punishment Laura Finley Counterpunch.org 2014-09-21 14:48:00 It is impossible to have missed the many news stories in the past few weeks focusing on NFL players beating their loved ones. And, while many have denounced the vicious attacks perpetrated by players against their girlfriends and children, it continues to shock me that they also have so many defenders. I have written previously about Ray Rice and other players who are perpetrators of domestic violence, so my focus here is on the issue of child abuse. Minnesota Vikings' star running back Adrian Peterson is facing charges in Texas for felony child abuse based on allegations that he beat his 4-year-old son with a "switch," or tree branch. Pictures of the boy show a series of bloody gashes and welts from the attack. Peterson told police that "the whooping" he gave his son was what he received as a child. It seems that Peterson may be repeat offender, as he was accused last year of beating another son who he said had been cursing. The boy's mother, a different woman than the mother of the child beaten with the switch, filed a report with Child Protective Services but no charges were ever brought against Peterson. Although the Vikings initially planned to allow Peterson to play this weekend, he is now suspended, with pay, of course, while the legal case is pending. While the Vikings have finally acted, Vikings sponsor Radisson has suspended its support for the team, Nike suspended its contract with Peterson, and Target has removed all number 28 Vikings jerseys from its stores, many have rallied behind Peterson's alleged right to "discipline" his child. People from Peterson's home town of Palestine, Texas commented that corporal punishment is common in East Texas, is considered a family matter, and wouldn't impact their support for their hero. NBC NFL analyst Tony Dungy described having grown up with this type of discipline and commented about the need to give players a second chance, implying support for Peterson. Former NBA player, current analyst, and ever-loudmouth Charles Barkley commented on CBS Sports' NFL Today that "I'm from the South. Whipping is ... we do that all the time...Every black parent in the South is gonna be in jail under those circumstances. I think we have to be careful letting people dictate how they treat their children." NFL player Reggie Bush defended Peterson, claiming that he also "harshly disciplines" his 1-year-old daughter.

On the Information Superhighway, there's no such thing as a true science denier Tina Dupuy Tinadupuy.com 2014-09-18 14:12:00 Science isn't like religion in that you can't just pick and choose the science you don't concur with. You can't, say, believe in evolution, but not for species you think are gross. Or think gravity is a sound theory but it only pertains to left-handed Oregonians. Or accept atomic theory but only for people named Adam. You get the idea; that's not by definition scientific. If you trust in the rigors of science: evidence, testing, peer review etc. - you're used to the fact that science is completely indifferent to your feelings. Yes, we all want the sun to revolve around the Earth and for plastic to be nutritious for sea creatures, but in science, wishing it were true doesn't make it so. Religion, on the other hand, gets to be custom fitted. You can be a Christian and if you don't like the part in the Bible about being happy when smashing babies against rocks (Psalms 137:9), you can just ignore it. Or if you no longer think it's kosher to even say publicly, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet (1 Timothy 2:12)," you can be mum on that one too. Disagree with slavery? No problem. Want to wear something besides linen? That's fine. Go to Red Lobster religiously? Still OK. Islam is the same in that respect. President Obama said ISIS, the insanely well-funded terrorist group (who are also don't believe in evolution), isn't Islamic. This is how sectarian wars start - one group degrading the piety of another group claiming to be more pure/better/cleaner/uncorrupted then they are. Instead of a holy war about whose god is better, it's a splinter fight over whom god likes more.

Comment: The author should take her own advice and support real science instead of Zombie science. The data and research behind global cooling and an impending ice age is growing and growing. Below is a definition of Zombie science from Not even trying... The Corruption of real science: When a branch of science based on incoherent, false or phoney theories is serving a useful but non-scientific purpose it may be kept-going by continuous transfusions of cash from those whose non-scientific interests it serves. For example, if a branch of pseudo-science based on a phoney theory is nonetheless valuable for political purposes (e.g. to justify a government intervention such as a new tax) or for marketing purposes (to provide the rationale for a marketing campaign) then real science expires and a 'zombie science' evolves. Zombie science is science that is dead but will not lie down. It keeps twitching and lumbering around so that (from a distance, and with your eyes half-closed) zombie science looks much like real science. But in fact the zombie has no life of its own; it is animated and moved only by the incessant pumping of funds. * Real science is coherent - and testable (testing being a matter of checking coherence with the result of past and future observations). Real science finds its use, and gets its validation, from common sense evaluation and being deployed in technology. Real science is validated (contingently) insofar as it leads to precise predictions that later come true; and leads to new ways of solving pressing problems and making useful changes in the world. But zombie science is not coherent, therefore cannot be tested; its predications are vague or in fact retrospective summaries rather than predictions. * In a nutshell, zombie science is supported because it is useful propaganda; trading on the prestige which real science used-to have and which zombie science falsely claims for itself. Zombie science is deployed in arenas such as political rhetoric, public administration, management, public relations, marketing and the mass media generally. It persuades, it constructs taboos, it buttresses rhetorical attempts to shape opinion. Furthermore, most zombie sciences are supported by moral imperatives - to doubt the zombie science is therefore labelled as wicked, reckless, a tool of sinister and destructive forces. To challenge zombie science is not merely to attack the livelihoods of zombie scientists (which, considering their consensus-based power, is itself dangerous) - but opens the attacker to being labelled a luddite, demagogue, anti-science, a denialist! For all its incoherence and scientific worthlessness, zombie science therefore often comes across in the sound bite world of the mass media as being more plausible than real science; and it is precisely the superficial face-plausibility which in actuality is the sole and sufficient purpose of zombie science. Climate Science is Zombie Science

Record-breaking grain crops spell headache for US farmers Juliette Michel Yahoo News 2014-09-21 06:49:00 Large corn, soybean crops expected in Indiana, US US corn and soybean crops could break records this year, but for farmers the bounty has a dark side: falling prices and a logistics nightmare getting crops to market. "It is not an exact science but when we look at the fields, it looks like it is going to be a big crop," said John Reifsteck, a corn and soybean farmer in Champaign, Illinois, a Midwest farm belt state. Reifsteck estimated his corn crop could be as much as 15 percent higher than last year's. The US Department of Agriculture is forecasting record crops this year for corn and soybeans, the two largest US crops in terms of production. Unless there is a devastating freeze or torrential rains before the harvest ends, corn production is projected at 366 million tonnes and soybeans at 106.5 million tonnes. Handling all this production will be complicated. According to Arthur Neal, a USDA transportation and marketing official, about 3.5 percent of the crops, equivalent to 762,600 truck loads, cannot be kept in permanent storage structures like silos -- the highest share since 2010. That does not bother Reifsteck, who says he will rely largely on field storage. "Hopefully most of it will get picked up and shipped during the fall or winter. With rains there will be some spoilage but if you lose a few bushels now, it is OK," he said. What bothers him more is transportation.

Comment: Best to wean yourself off grains of every sort, and prep your diet for even bigger disruptions.

Secret History

Nazca lines of Kazakhstan: More than 50 geoglyphs discovered Owen Jarus Live Science 2014-09-23 06:34:00 More than 50 geoglyphs with various shapes and sizes, including a massive swastika, have been discovered across northern Kazakhstan in Central Asia, say archaeologists. These sprawling structures, mostly earthen mounds, create the type of landscape art most famously seen in the Nazca region of Peru. Discovered using Google Earth, the geoglyphs are designed in a variety of geometric shapes, including squares, rings, crosses and swastikas (the swastika is a design that was used in ancient times). Ranging from 90 to 400 meters (295 to 1,312 feet) in diameter, some of them are longer than a modern-day aircraft carrier. Researchers say that the geoglyphs are difficult to see on the ground, but can easily be seen from the sky. [See Photos of the Amazing Geoglyphs in Kazakhstan] Over the past year, an archaeological expedition from Kazakhstan's Kostanay University, working in collaboration with Vilnius University in Lithuania, has been examining the geoglyphs. The team, which is conducting archaeological excavations, ground-penetrating radar surveys, aerial photography and dating, recently presented its initial results at the European Association of Archaeologists' annual meeting in Istanbul.

Science & Technology

Strange new type of brain cell discovered Stephanie Pappas Live Science 2014-09-23 12:05:00 The discovery of a new shape of brain cell has neuroscientists scratching their heads over what the function of these neurons might be. Though neurons come in different shapes and sizes, the basic blueprint consists of a cell body, from which protrudes spindly appendages called dendrites and axons. Dendrites are branchlike structures that receive signals from other nerve cells and deliver them to the cell body. The neuron then processes the signals and zaps along information to the next cell via a long projection called the axon. At least, that's how it normally works. The newly discovered cells have a different, and until now, unknown process. In these cells, the signals skip the cell body altogether, instead traveling along an axon that projects directly from one of the dendrites. "We found that in more than half of the cells, the axon does not emerge from the cell body, but arises from a lower dendrite," study researcher Christian Thome, a neuroscientist at Heidelberg University and the Bernstein Center Heidelberg-Mannheim, said in a statement.

Earth Changes

Mystery of hundreds of fish found dead in popular east London park Rose Troup Buchanan The Independent, UK 2014-09-23 22:20:00 Hundreds of dead fish have been discovered mysteriously dead in a popular London park. On Sunday Harrow Lodge Park volunteers, in the east London borough of Havering, discovered hundreds of dead fish, washed up and floating in the shallows of the large lake, which is fed by the River Ravensbourne. Tom Waller, 61, who discovered the dead fish, described the scene as "upsetting." Havering Council's clean-up operation was launched yesterday, alongside an investigation into the cause of death. Mr Waller, a park volunteer for two years, said: "There was some fish still alive and gasping for air when I got there. To walk along the edge of the lake and see that is quite upsetting."

Grizzly bear bites hunter near Dubois, Wyoming The Salt Lake Tribune 2014-09-22 20:46:00 A grizzly bear bit a hunter in an attack in western Wyoming, sending him to a hospital with minor injuries, but officials said Monday they found no link to a bear that killed a man earlier this month. Two elk hunters surprised a female grizzly with two cubs Sunday just north of Dubois. The bear bit one of the hunters on the side, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Regional Wildlife Supervisor Jason Hunter said. The bow hunters fended off the animal with bear spray before one was treated for minor injuries at a hospital in Lander. Their names were not immediately available. Hunter said they did everything right by hunting in pairs and carrying bear spray. "The individuals knew what they were doing out there," he said.

Weird green 'eggs' wash up on Sydney beach Cayla Dengate Manly Daily 2014-09-19 13:26:00 Hundreds of unidentified floating objects have washed up on Dee Why Beach, causing locals to ask whether the green, furry balls are alien eggs, Japanese moss balls or some kind of tennis nightmare. Dee Why Surf Life Saving Club patrol member Rae-Maree Hutton said she came across the unusual sight on her morning walk. "I didn't want to touch one because you never know what can sting you on the beach, but I did poke it with my toes and it's squishy, like a sponge," Ms Hutton.

Six-legged calf born in Shandong, China Matthew Blake Daily Mail, UK 2014-09-22 13:28:00 * The calf was born with two extra legs sprouting from its neck, making six * It was born at farm belonging to farmer Zhang Gongxun in Shandong, China * He says the calf cannot use extra limbs but doesn't seem bothered by them * Vets say its NOT down to pollution but absorbed its own twin inside womb When farmer Zhang Gongxun delivered this deformed calf, he knew the story would have legs in the Chinese media ... and indeed it ran and ran. That's because the baby cow in question was born not with four limbs, but with six. As well its usual hind and forequarters a cow should have, the animal managed to sprout an extra two from its neck while in its mother's womb. Zhang, from Shandong, China, said: 'I've raised the mother for five years and seen her through four births and I've never seen anything like this before.'

Liverpool woman mauled to death by her pet dog, UK Mark Johnson Liverpool Echo 2014-07-23 14:23:00 Residents in Old Swan shocked over death of Louise Caygill The neighbour of a Liverpool woman who was mauled to death by her pet dog told of how she feared she had heard the victim's fight for life against the raging animal. Louise Caygill was found dead at her home on Macqueen Street in Old Swan on Sunday morning after her Staffordshire bull terrier had attacked her. A close friend is understood to have reported their concerns for her safety at 10.46am on Sunday July 20. The police turned up at the scene and found the 43-year-old dead in her bloodied kitchen. But shocked neighbours believe that the dog killed her days earlier, just weeks after another attack by the dog. The neighbour, who didn't want to be named, told the ECHO: "She was always making noise over the dog and it was always barking at her.

Second pet dog attack on a woman owner in Liverpool house within 2 months, UK Neil Docking Liverpool Echo 2014-09-05 14:13:00 A couple in their late 20s were taken to Royal Liverpool Hospital after their dog turned savage and left the woman with serious injuries A woman suffered a serious leg injury when she was mauled by her dog in Liverpool. Paramedics and police were called to a house in Binns Road, Old Swan, in the early hours of this morning. It is understood the Staffordshire Bull Terrier pounced following a domestic argument between a couple living in the house. A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "On arrival patrols found a 29-year-old woman being treated for a bite wound to her lower leg and a 27-year-old man for an injury to his hand.

Flashback: Couple released on bail over death of 11-month-old girl following dog attack in Blackburn, UK The Guardian 2014-02-12 13:43:00 Chloe King, mother of baby killed by pit bull terrier-type, and partner Lee Wright were being held on suspicion of manslaughter A couple arrested over the death of an 11-month-old girl killed by an allegedly banned dog have been released on bail. Ava-Jayne Corless was asleep in bed at a house in Blackburn on Monday night when she was savaged by the pit bull terrier. The girl's mother, Chloe King, 20, and her partner, Lee Wright, 26, were held on suspicion of manslaughter. Lancashire police said: "The two people arrested in connection with the death of Ava-Jayne Corless at Blackburn have both been released on bail pending further inquiries." Police and ambulance staff tried to resuscitate Ava-Jayne at the address in Emily Street but she was pronounced dead at Royal Blackburn hospital a short time later. Police said the dog, which was destroyed after the attack, had been identified by experts as a pit bull terrier-type that people are prohibited from owning under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Locals claim to have made previous complaints to police about the dog's behaviour.

Flashback: Family dog seized after baby's death in Wales Miranda Prynne and Claire Carter The Telegraph, UK 2014-02-18 14:11:00 Baby girl Eliza-Mae Mullane from Wales was just six-days-old  A baby girl who died after a suspected attack by the family dog was just six days old and had only returned home from hospital three days before. Eliza-Mae Mullane died at the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff after emergency services were called to a home in Pontyberem, Carmarthenshire, Mid Wales. The tragic infant had only just returned home after spending three days in intensive care in hospital after being born last week. A neighbour told how her frantic mother Sharon John, 42, came running to her house screaming after her daughter was found dead next to their pet dog Nisha. Patricia Punter, 70, said: "She was in a hell of a state and couldn't stop crying. She almost fainted when she told me what had happened."

'Out of control' dog put down after attacking owner in Inverness, Scotland Ross-shire Journal 2014-08-31 13:19:00 A dog described by Highland police as "dangerously out of control" had to be put down after turning on its owner in an incident which forced the closure of a busy city road. The drama unfolded in Inverness around noon today. Police said the 51-year-old male, who has not been named, suffered injuries to both arms following the incident on Sir Walter Scott Drive. The man was taken to hospital after the attack by his dog, whch is understood to be a mixed breed Staffordshire bull terrier/American Bulldog. Police said the man's injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. He was treated at nearby Raigmore Hospital. In the interests of public safety, Sir Walter Scott Drive was closed for approximately 30 minutes whilst veterinary assistance was hailed.

Baboon savagely attacks praying woman in Zimbabwe Nunurai Jena News Day (Zimbabwe) 2014-07-11 09:57:00 Brandina Lipinga, a female member of the Johanne Masowe eChishanu, was last week rushed to hospital after she was savagely attacked by a lone baboon while praying in a bushy area in Kariba town. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo confirmed the incident yesterday. "Zimparks confirms that a woman in her late twenties was indeed attacked by a baboon while praying and she sustained a deep cut on the left arm," Washaya-Moyo said. "The incident happened outside the parks estate. The authority visited the site and is currently holding awareness campaign programmes discouraging people from using secluded areas and to also move in groups. Investigations are continuing with the aim of isolating the baboon which attacked the woman." Residents said Lipinga was admitted at Kariba District Hospital after the attack.

Researchers: 'Biggest volcanic eruption in last 500 years' devastated Europe's climate Scott Kaufman Raw Story 2014-09-21 00:00:00 Scientists have long believed that the 1815 Tambora volcanic eruption could not, alone, have been responsible for the drastic climate change in 1816, nicknamed "Year Without a Summer" and"Eighteen-Hundred-and-Frozen-to-Death." Now, joint research by scientists and historians at the Cabot Institute believe they have pinpointed the date of what is called, in the scientific literature, the"Unknown eruption." The global climate changes that accompanied these two eruptions created an unseasonably cold winter, which led to massive crop failure and a famine across both Europe and North America. These extreme conditions are also thought by scholars to have inspired literary works like Lord Byron's "Darkness," as well as the ice-framed narrative of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein. According to Caroline Williams, of the Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, and Alvaro Guevara-Murua, a doctoral student in the School of Earth Sciences, and Erica Hendry, a professor in the same, the "Unknown eruption" likely occurred in South America sometime between mid-December 1808 and mid-February 1809.

Comment: The large amount of volcanic debris swirling around in the air during the year 1816 resulted in extensive agricultural failure and mass migrations, giving insight as to what might happen when humanity is faced with an atmosphere shielding event such as an asteroid collision, a chain of strong volcanic eruptions, comet debris or a nuclear winter in the near future. An estimated 80,000 people died. Prices for staple foods like corn and grain skyrocketed and oats escalated to eight times their normal price, leading to a sell-off of livestock and bread made from straw and sawdust. Should similar circumstances repeat themselves, today's sun gazers may not be as prepared to adapt as those who lived in 1816...nor may we be as lucky. Did you catch the references to the human activity during this period of extreme weather...wars and independence, diverted attention...Human-Cosmic connection? To fully understand the various additional factors that are influencing our climate, read Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection.

Man gets arm 'ripped off' by his two American bulldogs in High Pittington, United Kingdom Julian Robinson Daily Mail, UK 2014-09-22 23:48:00 * Man mauled by his American bulldogs in High Pittington, County Durham * Eyewitness has claimed the attack was so bad the man's arm was 'torn off' * Bystanders tried to make the dogs stop by attacking them with golf clubs * The 47-year-old is in a serious condition in hospital after attack last night * One dog was destroyed by a police marksman after it was found nearby * The other was contained at the scene and has been taken in to kennels * American bulldog not on list of breeds banned under Dangerous Dogs Act A dog owner screamed for help as two of his American bulldogs mauled him so badly his arm was 'torn off', an eyewitness has claimed. Brave bystanders tried to make the dogs stop by attacking them with golf clubs and garden tools before the pets eventually ran from the scene in Pittington, County Durham. People living nearby were terrified until one dog was shot dead by police and the other was caught. The search operation last night involved the force helicopter and armed officers.

Fire in the Sky

No new articles.

Health & Wellness

The FDA approves of paint thinner as ingredient for children's cereals Naturalcuresnotmedicine.com 2014-09-22 18:26:00 The challenge to be informed about what we are eating grows ever more complex. Many people trust Trader Joe's as one of the smaller grocery store chains offering higher quality foods without unnecessary additives, and other harmful ingredients that can cause cancer, neurological damage, or developmental delays. But one mom recently found trisodium phosphate, an industrial strength paint thinner in her children's Trader Joe's breakfast cereal, and she is wondering what it is doing there. (The ingredient is found in other popular cereals as well). Trisodium phosphate, otherwise known as trisodium orthophosphate, sodium phosphate, or TSP, is well known by construction workers, DIYers, and developers, but not to most parents shopping for their morning meal. It is an inorganic phosphate which can be detrimental to our health. It is often used in place of mineral spirits to remove paint! Just some of the minor problems with eating TSP include: - The reduction of bone density due to mineral leeching - Calcification of the kidneys - Serious irritation of gastric mucosa - Abdominal burning - Shock Pesticideinfo.org says that this substance should be avoided at all cost. Just as Subway removed a harmful additive to their breads recently due to a blogger's pressure and subsequent petition, signed by thousands, this substance needs to be removed from all food, or indigestible items - especially cereals or baby toothpaste that children consume.

CDC: If trends continue, the number of Ebola cases could reach 1.4 million by January Lena H. Sun Washington Post 2014-09-22 13:14:00 The number of Ebola cases in West Africa could reach 1.4 million by the end of January if trends continue without an immediate and massive scale-up in response, according to a new estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report released Tuesday is a tool the agency has developed to help with efforts to slow transmission of the epidemic and estimate the potential number of future cases. Researchers say the total number of cases is vastly underreported by a factor of 2.5 in Sierra Leone and Liberia, two of the three hardest-hit countries. Using this correction factor, researchers estimate that approximately 21,000 total cases will have occurred in Liberia and Sierra Leone by Sept. 30. Reported cases in those two countries are doubling approximately every 20 days, researchers said

Comment: The CDC can make all the reports they want. They are obviously not in control of this outbreak. Humanity in denial: What we're afraid to say about ebola -- Mother Nature is in charge, and she's not pleased Ebola outbreak: Now 'out of all proportion' and on an 'unprecedented scale'

Liberia's Ebola death rate actually 84%? Recombinomics 2014-09-23 18:11:00 1. So far, nearly 2,500 suspected cases have been reported in what the WHO says is the worst known outbreak of the disease. However, the WHO's website says the survival rate for people with Ebola in this outbreak has been 47%, which is a substantial improvement over the disease's survival rate, historically. 2. There is a 47% survival rate with this outbreak. 3. Approximately 300 infected patients have survived Ebola treatment in Liberia since the outbreak here from March to September, Assistant Health Minister for Preventive Services, Tolbert Nyenswah, has announced. The above comment (#1) is from an August 26 media report noting that 47% of Ebola cases in the current outbreak survive, in spite of the fact it is the worst known outbreak of Ebola. The same figure is currently cited on the Canadian Infection Prevention and Control site on Ebola (#2). This survival number is from the WHO Ebola website, which had listed three bold headings characterizing Ebola in the current outbreak. The first headline, "H2H" reflected the fact that virtually all cases were due to human to human transmission. The second headline "2 to 21 days" reflect the wide range of reported incubation times. The third headline "47% survive" was followed by a claim that the survival rate was higher than most prior outbreaks (this headline was removed last week).

Comment: Put simply, 47% of cases at any given time are alive. That does NOT mean they will all recover. Based on these numbers, around 84% of all those infected will die from Ebola. If the CDC's reported projections are accurate, that could mean almost 1.2 million dead among those infected by the end of January.

Ebola epidemic far worse than reported: Sierra Leone running out of space in cemeteries to bury bodies Adam Nossiter New York Times 2014-09-22 17:29:00 The gravedigger hacked at the cemetery's dense undergrowth, clearing space for the day's Ebola victims. A burial team, in protective suits torn with gaping holes, arrived with fresh bodies. The backs of the battered secondhand vans carrying the dead were closed with twisted, rusting wire. Bodies were dumped in new graves, and a worker in a short-sleeve shirt carried away the stretcher, wearing only plastic bags over his hands as protection. The outlook for the day at King Tom Cemetery was busy. "We will need much more space," said James C. O. Hamilton, the chief gravedigger, as a colleague cleared the bush with his machete. The Ebola epidemic is spreading rapidly in Sierra Leone's densely packed capital - and it may already be far worse than the authorities acknowledge. Since the beginning of the outbreak more than six months ago, the Sierra Leone Health Ministry reported only 10 confirmed Ebola deaths here in Freetown, the capital of more than one million people, and its suburbs as of Sunday - a hopeful sign that this city, unlike the capital of neighboring Liberia, had been relatively spared the ravages of the outbreak. But the bodies pouring in to the graveyard tell a different story. In the last eight days alone, 110 Ebola victims have been buried at King Tom Cemetery, according to the supervisor, Abdul Rahman Parker, suggesting an outbreak that is much more deadly than either the government or international health officials have announced.

Comment: As Pierre Lescaudron outlines in his book, Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection, sooner or later civilizations degenerate to the point where Mother Nature has to step in and provide a population-reducing plague. If humanity won't take a stand against evil being perpetuated on this planet, the Universe will.

Man bitten by child with Ebola flown to Switzerland AP 2014-09-22 12:51:00 Swiss authorities say a male nurse who was bitten by an Ebola patient while working in West Africa has been flown to Switzerland as a precaution. The health ministry says the unidentified man was working for an international organization in Sierra Leone when he was bitten by a child infected with Ebola on Saturday. The ministry says the nurse was wearing protective gear and is unlikely to have contracted the disease. It said the man, who was flown to Switzerland by a private transport company Monday, will be kept under observation at Geneva's University Hospital for the incubation period of three weeks. The ministry said it was the first medical transport to Switzerland from the Ebola-affected region.

Comment: According to latest numbers, more than 5800 people have been infected in West Africa. That is not to say there aren't multiple times that number in populations that haven't yet displayed symptoms. A recent culling of 100 exposed persons in Monrovia, Liberia, resulted in nearly 50% testing positive while the remainder are being held for observation. WHO warns we will soon face thousands of new cases. Reason would have it that the protective gear worn by the male nurse either did not rupture, thereby insulating the victim from the virus...or...the gear is not as good as it is made out to be. Many uninfected countries now have Ebola workers under observation and the potential for new pockets of hemorrhagic fever to latch onto greater populations. Additionally, WHO has stated that there should be no travel bans to countries impacted by the outbreak. "Flight cancellations and other travel restrictions continue to isolate affected countries, resulting in detrimental economic consequences, and hinder relief and response efforts risking further international spread." "The Committee strongly reiterated that there should be no general ban on international travel or trade..." Does this sound like containment? What is the real plan here?

Over-medicated and immunosuppressed Americans will fall like dominoes in the wake of Ebola Mike Adams Natural News 2014-09-22 14:02:00 The mass medication of Americans has created a nation of immunosuppressed individuals who are unique vulnerable to an Ebola outbreak. That's because medications rob the body of essential vitamins and minerals as documented in the book "Drug Muggers" by pharmacist Suzy Cohen. All the popular mass medications, it turns out, deplete the body of precisely the same crucial nutrients needed to activate the immune system to fight off viral infections. These includes minerals like zinc; pre-hormones like vitamin D; and common vitamins such as thiamine and niacin. The full title of the book is Drug Muggers: Which Medications Are Robbing Your Body of Essential Nutrients - and Natural Ways to Restore Them. Authored by a well-informed pharmacist I've known for years, the book reveals exactly which nutrients in your body are depleted by each popular medication being prescribed today.

Comment: For more on ways to prepare yourself for Ebola see: Pestilence, the Great Plague, and the Tobacco Cure Natural treatments for Ebola virus exist, research suggests  Natural allopathic treatment modalities for Ebola virus And of course there is the matter of strengthening the immune system through adopting a Ketogenic Diet.

Unknown avian virus strikes Bhaktapur, Nepal farmers Ekantipur.com 2014-09-19 04:14:00 Poultry farmers of Bhaktapur district are once again worried after mysterious disease started killing adult fowls. An epidemic of unknown disease has hit farms of Broiler poultry for the past one month. The disease which has not been yet identified has caused nervousness among poultry keepers, said poultry entrepreneur Laxman Gwachha. The new disease shares the symptoms of the new castle disease. The Bhaktapur poultry farmers, who had been adversely affected by the outbreak of bird flu in the district a year ago, are worried as the mysterious disease is again likely to ruin their business. Live fowls have also lost their weight. Chickens completing 30-35 days are dying due to the unknown disease . Generally, they become ready for supplying in 45-50 days of rearing.

Comment: On September 16, 2013 it was reported that crows and pigeons in Bhaktapur dropped dead in flight: Terror grips Bhaktapur folk as birds drop dead in Nepal

Science of the Spirit

Your brain learns, processes complex information while you sleep Thomas Andrillon Healthydebates.com 2014-09-22 17:49:00 The idea that during sleep our minds shut down from the outside world is ancient and one that is still deeply anchored in our view of sleep today, despite some everyday life experiences and recent scientific discoveries that would tend to prove that our brains don't completely switch off from our environment. On the contrary, our brains can keep the gate slightly open. For example, we wake up more easily when we hear our own name or a particularly salient sound such as an alarm clock or a fire alarm compared to equally loud but less relevant sounds. In research published in Current Biology, we went one step further to show that complex stimuli can not only be processed while we sleep but that this information can be used to make decisions, similarly as when we're awake. Our approach was simple: We built on knowledge about how the brain quickly automates complex chores. Driving a car, for example, requires integrating a lot of information at the same time, making rapid decisions and putting them into action through complex motor sequences. And you can drive all the way home without remembering anything, as we do when we say we're on "automatic pilot." When we're asleep, the brain regions critical for paying attention to or implementing instructions are deactivated, of course, which makes it impossible to start performing a task. But we wanted to see whether any processes continued in the brain after sleep onset if participants in an experiment were given an automatized task just before.

Comment: For tips on how to improve your sleep, read Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival by T.S. Wiley. The mind and the gut connect via the vagus nerve. The Eiriu-Eolas breathing and mediation program activates the vagus nerve and has been shown to reduce anxiety and promote a sense of calmness. You can try the program for free here. See also: The Neurobiology of grace under pressure: 7 habits that stimulate your vagus nerve and keep you calm, cool, and collected Face life with Éiriú Eolas, a stress relief program

Reading actual books is good for your comprehension and reduces stress Rachel Grate Arts.Mic 2014-09-22 16:10:00 It's no secret that reading is good for you. Just six minutes of reading is enough to reduce stress by 68%, and numerous studies have shown that reading keeps your brain functioning effectively as you age. One study even found that elderly individuals who read regularly are 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimer's than their peers. But not all forms of reading are created equal. The debate between paper books and e-readers has been vicious since the first Kindle came out in 2007. Most arguments have been about the sentimental versus the practical, between people who prefer how paper pages feel in their hands and people who argue for the practicality of e-readers. But now science has weighed in, and the studies are on the side of paper books. Reading in print helps with comprehension.  A 2014 study found that readers of a short mystery story on a Kindle were significantly worse at remembering the order of events than those who read the same story in paperback. Lead researcher Anne Mangen of Norway's Stavanger University concluded that "the haptic and tactile feedback of a Kindle does not provide the same support for mental reconstruction of a story as a print pocket book does." Our brains were not designed for reading, but have adapted and created new circuits to understand letters and texts. The brain reads by constructing a mental representation of the text based on the placement of the page in the book and the word on the page. The tactile experience of a book aids this process, from the thickness of the pages in your hands as you progress through the story to the placement of a word on the page. Mangen hypothesizes that the difference for Kindle readers "might have something to do with the fact that the fixity of a text on paper, and this very gradual unfolding of paper as you progress through a story is some kind of sensory offload, supporting the visual sense of progress when you're reading." While e-readers try to recreate the sensation of turning pages and pagination, the screen is limited to one ephemeral virtual page. Surveys about the use of e-readers suggest that this affects a reader'sserendipity and sense of control. The inability to flip back to previous pages or control the text physically, either through making written notes or bending pages, limits one's sensory experienceand thus reduces long-term memory of the text.

Comment: "My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind . . . and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." Tyrion tapped the leather cover of the book. "That's why I read so much, Jon Snow."

Internet trolls are narcissists, psychopaths, and sadists Jennifer Golbeck, Ph.D. Psychology Today 2014-09-18 00:01:00 In this month's issue of Personality and Individual Differences, a study was published that confirms what we all suspected: internet trolls are horrible people. Let's start by getting our definitions straight. An internet troll is someone who comes into a discussion and posts comments designed to upset or disrupt the conversation. Often, it seems like there is no real purpose behind their comments except to upset everyone else involved. Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response. What kind of person would do this? Canadian researchers decided to find out. They conducted two internet studies with over 1,200 people. They gave personality tests to each subject along with a survey about their internet commenting behavior. They were looking for evidence that linked trolling with the Dark Tetrad of personality: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadistic personality. [Edit to add: these are technical terms with formalized surveys to measure them. You can find lots more information about their formal definitions online] They found that Dark Tetrad scores were highest among people who said trolling was their favorite internet activity. To get an idea of how much more prevalent these traits were among internet trolls, check out this figure from the paper: Look at how low the scores are for everyone except the internet trolls! Their scores for all four terrible personality traits soar on the chart. The relationship between this Dark Tetrad and trolling is so significant, that the authors write the following in their paper:

Comment: Ever wonder why some debates never end, or end up with character assassination? The mistake of someone who is not pathological is to fully engage with these pathological people online.