Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Friday 16 January 2015

Puppet Masters
Adam Kredo
Washington Free Beacon
2015-01-14 21:38:00

Hassan_Rouhani.jpg

Iran has begun construction on two new nuclear plants as negotiations with America over its contested program continue in Geneva, according to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Construction of the nuclear plants, which Iran claims are for peaceful energy purposes, was revealed on Tuesday, the day before Secretary of State John Kerry was to meet with his Iranian counterpart for talks in Geneva.

News of the two new nuclear plants come on the heels of reports that Iran has been operating advanced missile sites in Syria and also building a secret nuclear plant there.

Rouhani touted the new nuclear construction following a meeting with investors in Iran's southern Bushehr province, where the nuclear facilities are being built.

"Construction of two new power plants will increase the capacity of Bushehr province's power generation to 2,000 megawatts," Rouhani was quoted as saying by the country's state-run Fars News Agency.
Comment: So what if Iran were to build nuclear sites that were for military purposes? How many nuclear bombs does the U.S. have? How about Israel, the UK, Germany? Why is it ok for those countries to have nuclear weapons but when Iran even mentions building a nuclear plant, it's turned into a narrative about Iran building weapons to destroy the world. Something's not right here.
Comment
---
Aleksei Kettunen
The Vineyard of the Saker
2015-01-15 21:27:00

444ee38e_033_2014071414510483.jpg

GAZPROM - EU: 6 - 0


Yesterday on Wednesday the EU negotiated with Gazprom in Moscow. The EU negotiators had three aims:
  1. Pressure Russia into extending the special winter pricing on gas supplies to Ukrainian due to end in March,
  2. Force Russia to further unilateral concessions by forcing all European energy purchases to happen through a new "European Energy Union",
  3. Pressure Russia to resurrect the canceled South Stream gas pipeline project and build it in accordance with the restrictive rules of the Third Energy Package.
The Russian response was a cold shower.
Comment
---
Andrius Sytas
Reuters
2015-01-15 20:51:00

s3_reutersmedia.jpg

Lithuania is publishing a manual to advise its citizens on how to survive a war on its soil as concerns grow that Russia's intervention in Ukraine heralds increased assertiveness in its tiny Baltic neighbors.

"Keep a sound mind, don't panic and don't lose clear thinking," the manual explains. "Gunshots just outside your window are not the end of the world."

The manual, which the Defence Ministry will send to libraries next week and also distribute at army events, says Lithuanians should resist foreign occupation with demonstrations and strikes, "or at least doing your job worse than usual".

In the event of invasion, the manual says Lithuanians should organize themselves through Twitter and Facebook and attempt cyber attacks against the enemy.
Comment
---
RT
2015-01-15 21:18:00

abbas_si.jpg

The United Nations has called on Israel to resume the transfer of tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority, which it withheld in retaliation following Palestinian efforts to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is concerned that the Israelis and Palestinians are locked into a tit-for-tat exchange of actions and counter actions which are making existing divisions worse and peace impossible to achieve, according to a senior UN official.
Comment: How can Israelis uphold the farce that their government wants 'peace' when that same government engages in such juvenile and malicious actions, obviously forestalling a peace the world should have seen decades ago? The only reason to punish Palestine for wishing to join the ICC is if Israel risks facing legitimate prosecution for actual crimes. As the "only democracy in the Middle East", they should welcome the chance to prove it in a court of law. Does the lady protest too much?
Comment
---
Alastair MacDonald and Barbara Lewis
Reuters
2015-01-15 20:27:00

cegrab_20150115_181242_159_1_2.jpg




Comment: Expect more of these operations in Europe in the next few weeks and months. In most cases, these kinds of operations are centered on going after groups whom the authorities were already well aware of. The reason for the raids is to appease the public that "something is being done" in the wake of the Paris attacks and to keep people afraid and willing to accept draconian surveillance laws.


At least two people were killed when Belgian counter-terrorist police raided an apartment used by suspected Islamist radicals on Thursday, local media said, describing a coordinated, national operation related to last week's attacks in Paris.

Judiciary officials confirmed only that a counter-terrorism operation took place near the centre of Verviers, a town in the east of the country between the city of Liege and the German border. They plan a news briefing at 8 p.m. (2.00 p.m. EST).

Public radio RTBF, which reported a number of other police actions in and around Brussels, said there were no casualties among the security forces. Two unidentified people were killed and a third seriously wounded. Several others were detained.

Earlier, prosecutors said they had detained a man in Belgium whom they suspected of supplying weaponry to Amedy Coulibaly, killer of four people at a Paris Jewish grocery last week.

In a report that could not be immediately confirmed, the Web site of La Meuse newspaper quoted an unidentified police officer saying: "We've averted a Belgian Charlie Hebdo."


Comment: That's always a nice claim to make, it makes for a good quote in the papers. It's quite convenient for the authorities to say that after they've completed their raids and without anything actually happening that would prove that to be true. It seems more than anything that this was done to keep the fear of the public high that there are still "Muslim radicals" operating in Europe so as to keep justifying the encroaching surveillance and security laws that are being touted around the EU as the way to solve the "terrorist problem".
Comment
---
Lauren McCauley
Common Dreams
2015-01-15 20:19:00

dieudonne_2.jpg

In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre last week and just days since the historic Paris unity rallywhen world leaders stood shoulder-to-shoulder and declared their support for freedom of speech,French authorities have arrested 54 people on charges of "glorifying" or "defending" terrorism.

The French Justice Ministry said that of those arrested, four are minors and several had already been convicted under special measures for immediate sentencing, AP reports. Individuals charged with "inciting terrorism" face a possible 5-year prison term, or up to 7 years for inciting terrorism online. None of those arrested have been linked to the attacks.
Comment: One would think that this level of hypocrisy is enough to make even the most ardent authoritarian follower wake up. However, history shows it not to be the case.

We can only hope that at such a late stage in the game, the insane machinations of the Western elite have become transparent enough for the average person to figure it out, if they choose to do so. We should not give up on spreading the light of truth in any way we can (without being locked up). And be sure to check out Sebastian Haffner's excellent book, Defying Hitler.


8928ef4fde53b3808f8765b04dac26.jpg
Comment
---
Russ Baker
Global Research
2015-01-10 19:19:00

bougies_400x224.jpg

Yesterday, in response to the horrific events in Paris, a columnist for the Boston Globe, Kevin Cullen, wrote a column drawing a parallel between that monstrous attack and the different but no less abominable violence unleashed in his own city on April 15, 2013. 

By now, many of us have seen the chilling video in which a gunman executes a wounded French police officer lying on the sidewalk, his arms raised in helpless surrender.

The Tsarnaev brothers stand accused of doing essentially the same, sneaking up and shooting a helpless MIT police officer named Sean Collier as he sat in his idling cruiser on the Cambridge campus as the manhunt for the Tsarnaevs gathered pace. The killers wanted Collier's gun but were too stupid to figure out how to unbuckle his holster.

He's right about the parallel, but not necessarily about the lessons to be drawn. While there's little doubt that the French suspects committed the multiple murders in Paris, the same cannot be said at this time about the Tsarnaevs and the killing of Sean Collier. There are real questions about both the identity of the MIT executioners and the purpose of their act. Among the questions: why would the Tsarnaevs have been on that empty campus and have known that a police car was parked between buildings off the street? We've examined those issues at great length here.

**

The Globe columnist is perhaps also wrong in his conclusions. Referring to the publication, Charlie Hebdo, whose ranks were decimated in the Paris attack, he writes:
Nous sommes tous Charlie [We are all Charlie]. That is a major, major problem for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. And there is no change of venue for that.
The really striking similarity, beyond the theme of radical Islam, is this: in both cases, the security state knew the perpetrators well. In Boston, the FBI was in direct contact with and monitoringalleged senior perpetrator Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Comment: In both cases, the glaring evidence of some kind of intelligence involvement is the biggest link. Governments have long used false flag attacks to justify actions which otherwise would have been untenable due to negative public opinion. For both these events, the U.S. and France have used them to further destroy civil liberties and increase surveillance on the public.
Comment
---
Neil Clark
RT
2015-01-15 22:24:00

435345734_si.jpg

Are African lives worth less than the lives of people elsewhere in the world?

Last week 17 people were killed by terrorists in France. The events were shocking and quite rightly the murders were subject to unequivocal condemnation. At the same time, considerably more people were reported to have been killed by gunmen in Baga, Nigeria, with figures ranging from 150 to over 2,000. But it's the French victims who we focus on, showing our solidarity with them by declaring 'Je suis Charlie', and holding vigils in Trafalgar Square and elsewhere- while the African victims of violence have - certainly until the last day or so - been ignored. Even Nigeria's own President was keener to condemn the Paris attacks than those in his own country. How can this be right? Surely we should be mourning all victims equally?

For a brief period it was fashionable to show concern for the victims of political extremism in Africa. Remember the 'BringBackOurGirls' hash tag when the militant Islamist organization Boko Haram kidnapped schoolgirls in Chibok in Nigeria in 2014? The interest however soon died away.

As the media spotlight was shone elsewhere, Boko Haram continued to make major territorial gains killing thousands in the process. Today, as reported by RT, the group now controls an area of 52,000 square kilometers, the size of Slovakia.


Comment: Nigeria is resource-rich with the largest population and workforce in Africa, but is a poor nation divided along sectarian tribal and religious lines, ruled by a corrupt super-class in collusion with oil giants like BP, Shell, Chevron and others. If Nigeria remains divided, then there will almost certainly be no challenge to Britain, US and the Netherlands oil conquest of the country. To keep it divided, trouble needs to be stirred periodically. See: Boko Haram: U.S AFRICOM'S latest False Flag franchise and Boko Haram: A CIA Covert Operation


But while Islamic State and their territorial advances became front page news in 2014, the gains made by Boko Haram have, like the group's victims, been ignored. Instead the focus is on the very small 'threat' terrorists pose to Europe, a threat which as I explained here our governments are doing their best to 'big up'.
Comment: Western military involvement in Africa is designed to secure western imperialist dominance over their resources. Western countries create the conditions for the deterioration of the societies involved, and use false propaganda about humanitarian assistance, to provide a rationale for military occupation. The media will thus only broadcast terror attacks in Africa when it suits the agenda of the PTB.

U.S. military intervention in Africa: The East African Response Force, a creation of the Pentagon

Sudan: US policies in Middle East and North Africa are "harmful and destructive"
Comment
---
Glenn Greenwald
The Intercept
2015-01-14 18:34:00

Dieudonne_article_display_b.jpg

Forty-eight hours after hosting a massive march under the banner of free expression, Franceopened a criminal investigation of a controversial French comedian for a Facebook post he wrote about the Charlie Hebdo attack, and then this morning, arrested him for that post on charges of "defending terrorism." The comedian, Dieudonné (above), previously sought elective office in France on what he called an "anti-Zionist" platform, has had his show banned by numerous government officials in cities throughout France, and has been criminally prosecuted several times before for expressing ideas banned in that country.

The apparently criminal viewpoint he posted on Facebook declared: "Tonight, as far as I'm concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly." Investigators concluded that this was intended to mock the "Je Suis Charlie" slogan and express support for the perpetrator of the Paris supermarket killings (whose last name was "Coulibaly"). Expressing that opinion is evidently a crime in the Republic of Liberté, which prides itself on a line of 20th Century intellectuals - from Sartre and Genet to Foucault and Derrida - whose hallmark was leaving no orthodoxy or convention unmolested, no matter how sacred.

Since that glorious "free speech" march, France has reportedly opened 54 criminal cases for "condoning terrorism." AP reported this morning that "France ordered prosecutors around the country to crack down on hate speech, anti-Semitism and glorifying terrorism."

As pernicious as this arrest and related "crackdown" on some speech obviously is, it provides a critical value: namely, it underscores the utter scam that was this week's celebration of free speech in the west. The day before the Charlie Hebdo attack, I coincidentally documented the multiple cases in the west - including in the U.S. - where Muslims have been prosecuted and even imprisoned for their political speech. Vanishingly few of this week's bold free expression mavens have ever uttered a peep of protest about any of those cases - either before the Charlie Hebdo attack or since. That's because "free speech," in the hands of many westerners, actually means: it is vital that the ideas I like be protected, and the right to offend groups I dislike be cherished; anything else is fair game.
Comment: The French authorities would like nothing else than to keep the illusion that they care about free speech going while doing everything possible to neuter the ability of others to do exactly that, speak freely. What this is really about is eliminating the right of anyone to be pro-Muslim in any public arena. If no one can do that, there will be no one to speak up for the Muslims. How long will it be before it's legal for the French government to arrest and detain Muslims for no reason whatsoever? Then with no one allowed to speak up, where does it end? First it was the Muslims. Who's next after that? It's a slippery slope, and who knows where it will end.
Comment
---
Liat Clark
Wired.co.uk
2015-01-12 19:00:00

Comment: The EU is one of the staunchest and most vocal advocates of free speech on the planet. Right? The following are excerpts from a recent article by Liat Clark of Wired.co.uk.



54989435.jpg

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in Paris, EU ministers have issued a joint statement calling for ISPs to help to report and remove extremist material online.

The statement was signed by interior ministers from 11 European countries -- including the UK's Theresa May -- on 11 January, with French ministers and security representatives from the US, Canada and EU in attendance. It called for tighter internet surveillance and border controls.
Comment
---
Julien Ponthus
Reuters
2015-01-14 21:45:00

s1_reutersmedia_net.jpg

France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is ready to be used to support military operations against Islamic State in Iraq, French President Francois Hollande told military personnel aboard the vessel on Wednesday.

"Thanks to the Charles de Gaulle we will have precious intelligence," the president said in a New Year's address, given as the carrier cruised off France's southern coast in the Mediterranean.

"We may also conduct operations in Iraq, if necessary, with even more intensity and more efficiency. The aircraft carrier will work in close cooperation with coalition forces."

France was the first country to join the U.S.-led coalition in air strikes in Iraq against Islamic State insurgents, who have also taken control of large parts of neighboring Syria during the course of the civil war there. However, it has ruled out striking the group in Syria.
Comment: Look at how the Daily Mail reports on this: French to deploy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the Middle East in response to Paris terror attacks. This was not in response to the attacks. It was reported the day before.
Comment
---
Vladimir Odintsov
New Eastern Outlook
2015-01-08 18:18:00

56333333_300x217.jpg

The United States and their satellites have been using nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for the preparation and implementation of "color revolutions" in North Africa, the Middle East and the former Soviet countries extensively, which has made numerous headlines across international media. The consequences of such "democratic activity" carried out by Washington can be clearly seen in Libya, Iraq, Ukraine, and in several other countries, where this strategy has led to the creation of uncontrolled chaos.

The tactics of Washington's NGOs can be summed out by a famous quote of retired US Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters: "Hollywood is "preparing the battlefield," and burgers precede bullets. The flag follows trade."

As a rule, the target of these "cover activities" carried out by NGOs is the struggle for energy markets, or the fight against political opponents, among which the White House highlights Russia, China and Iran. This much explains the latest developments in Hong Kong. Washington has effectively created a network of NGOs there that promote American interests under the pretext of promoting "democracy", which operate by using social networks for spreading their agenda. This same pattern has been duplicated numerous times across the globe to attempt regime change in countries that the White House perceives as a threat to US dominance.


Comment: What's ridiculous is that overthrowing sovereign governments is about the most undemocratic thing a country can do, yet the U.S. goes around touting itself as the most free country in the world, all the while operating covertly as a mendacious, fascist empire that crushes any real democratic movements around the world.


To sponsor these activities Washington has been allocating billions of dollars annually through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) - the organization responsible for countless coups around the world along with the CIA, on par with numerous private foundations. It's no coincidence then that in Russia alone there were a total of 650 foreign NGOs back in 2012, that were receiving up to one billion dollars a year, with 20 million handed out by Western diplomatic missions directly.
Comment
---
PressTV
2015-01-13 18:00:00

2ba75533_62c1_4c4a_8174_58c213.jpg

The new information has almost confirmed that Paris attack was a false flag operation carried out by the CIA, says Soraya Sepahpour Ulrich, an independent researcher and writer based in Irvine, California.

According to The Associated Press, one of the men responsible for last week's terrorist attack that killed 12 people in the French capital claimed to have lived with the Nigerian man behind the failed al-Qaeda "underwear bomb" plot five years ago, Yemeni Journalist and researcher Mohammed al-Kibsi who met Said Kouachi, the alleged Paris attacker, said on Monday.

In a phone interview with Press TV on Tuesday, Ulrich said, "The whole Paris incident has been a puzzle for many... and one has to find connections to find what really is going on."

"We have been told by the mainstream media, the Western media, that a Yemeni reporter has claimed that he had interviewed Kouachi who was responsible for the Paris attack, or one of those who were responsible," she said.

"And he had ties with 'the underwear bomber', 'the underwear bomber' who was held responsible for wanting to blow up an airliner at Christmas in 2009," Ulrich added.
Comment
---
Shamus Cooke
Counterpunch
2015-01-15 06:08:00

eca86bd9e0d1161d601f02.jpg

A core tenet of journalism is answering the question "why." It's the media's duty to explain "why" an event happened so that readers will actually understand what they're reading. Leave out the "why" and then assumptions and stereotypes fill in the blank, always readily supplied by politicians whose ridiculous answers are left unquestioned by the corporate media.

Because the real "why" was unexplained in the Charlie Hebdo massacre, an obviously false culprit was created, leading to a moronic national discussion in the U.S. media about whether Islam was "inherently" violent.

For the media to even pose this question either betrays a blinding ignorance about the Middle East and Islam, or a conscious willingness to manipulate public sentiment by only interviewing so-called experts who believe such nonsense.

Media outlets should know that until the 1980's Islamic fundamentalism was virtually inaudible in the Middle East - outside of the U.S.-supported dictatorship of Saudi Arabia, whose ruling monarchy survives thanks to U.S. support. The official religion of Saudi Arabia is a uniquely fundamentalist version of Islam, which along with the royal family are the two anchors of Saudi government power.

Before the 1980's, the dominant ideology in the Middle East was pan-Arab socialism, a secular ideology that viewed Islamic fundamentalism as socially and economically regressive. Islamic fundamentalists engaged in terrorist attacks against the "pan-Arab socialist" governments of Egypt, Syria, Libya, Iraq and other governments that aligned themselves with this ideology at various times.
Comment: One need only browse through the political cartoons of 1930s Germany to see the parallels. We all know how that turned out. Sebastion Haffner's Defying Hitler, A Memoir, a chilling study of the deterioration of pre-WW2 German society, is must read to understand what is happening in French society today.
Comment
---
Jim Naureckas
FAIR
2015-01-11 00:00:00

129953.jpg

On July 24, 2011, two days after Anders Breivik slaughtered 77 people, mostly teenagers, in Norway to call attention to his view that Muslim immigration was a bad thing, NBC's Meet the Pressdidn't mention the words "Breivik" or "Norway." Nor did CBS's Face the Nation.

On ABC, This Week with Christiane Amanpour - who prided herself on her international perspective - did have 258 words on the massacre. No discussion, but we did hear there were "some incredible survivor stories."

Fast forward three-and-a-half years, after another politically motivated killing spree in Europe, this one resulting in the deaths of 20 people. This European violence was decidedly more interesting to Meet the Press, which previewed its January 11 episode:
PARIS TERROR ATTACK: As the French authorities dissect how these horrific acts of violence were committed in the name of Islam, Chuck Todd will ask Attorney General Eric Holder how the US government is dealing with potential home-grown terrorists in this country....

PLUS: The attack on Charlie Hebdo once again highlights the vulnerability of the West to deadly terrorist attacks that can paralyze a major city. How does religion encourage some people to choose violence? And can these attacks be prevented? Our panels weigh in.
Comment: The fact is that the majority of terrorist attacks committed in the United States and Europe have NOT been done by Muslims. In Europe the percentage of attacks by Muslims has been less than 2 percent.

In the United States, an FBI study looking at terrorism committed on U.S. soil between 1980 and 2005 found that 94 percent of the terror attacks were committed by NON-Muslims. The mainstream media is following the dictates of their government masters, who are intent on using the threat of terror to introduce more draconian legislation to control their populations, while creating excuses to wage war in the Middle East where they plan to continue killing and subjugating the citizens to steal their resources.
Comment
---
Society's Child
Donna St. George
Washington Post
2015-01-14 21:46:00

freerangekids_201051421277550.jpg

It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently.

Danielle and Alexander Meitiv say they are being investigated for neglect for the Dec. 20 trek - in a case they say reflects a clash of ideas about how safe the world is and whether parents are free to make their own choices about raising their children.

"We wouldn't have let them do it if we didn't think they were ready for it," Danielle said.

She said her son and daughter have previously paired up for walks around the block, to a nearby 7-Eleven and to a library about three-quarters of a mile away. "They have proven they are responsible," she said. "They've developed these skills."

The Meitivs say they believe in "free-range" parenting, a movement that has been a counterpoint to the hyper-vigilance of "helicopter" parenting, with the idea that children learn self-reliance by being allowed to progressively test limits, make choices and venture out in the world.

"The world is actually even safer than when I was a child, and I just want to give them the same freedom and independence that I had - basically an old-fashioned childhood," she said. "I think it's absolutely critical for their development - to learn responsibility, to experience the world, to gain confidence and competency."
Comment
---
Katie Miranda
MondoWeiss
2015-01-14 19:24:00

bw.jpg

In the last few days I've seen more than enough cartoonish clichés of pens and pencils vs. swords and guns scrolling through my Twitter feed.

I don't think this is about cartoons.

Imagine a world where the western powers were not invading, occupying, drone bombing, kidnapping, torturing and holding Muslims in prison without trial. Now try to imagine that world in which cartoonists who drew Islamophobic cartoons were murdered.

I can't.
Comment: "We cannot make offensive art illegal if we want to live in a free society, but we can examine the context and power structures under which bigoted cartoons are created and hopefully come to the conclusion that cartoons mocking the prophet Muhammed ﷺ‎ will just be considered one of those socially unacceptable things you just don't do."

It's a moral question: Given the license to be a bigot, should one do so? There's a difference between 'self-censorship' and common decency. Many are arguing that it's a good thing the Mohammed cartoons were published, because it exemplifies the expression of freedom of speech. But what aim is really fulfilled by insulting minority groups? People should definitely have the freedom to express offensive opinions, but so should they have the freedom to condemn the backward, bigoted nature of those opinions. That's one advantage of free speech: it gives us the opportunity to see the true bigoted character of many who use it to spread hatred and violence, whether that's some psychopath in ISIS, or in Washington.
Comment
---
WABI
2015-01-13 20:14:00

MORTON_ADAM_9_24_14.jpg

A man from New Hampshire accused of putting a two-year-old boy in Bangor in a dryer pleaded guilty Tuesday to assault.

Police say 27-year-old Adam Morton admitted he put his girlfriend's son in the dryer and turned it on while he was babysitting.

The boy suffered second degree burns on his back and arms and burns and blisters on his feet.

Morton is scheduled to be sentenced February 2nd.
Comment
---
Tom Rawstrone
Daily Mail
2015-01-15 08:05:00

0C0A6B1D00000578_0_image_a_8_1.jpg

Summoned to a meeting at her seven-year-old son's primary school, Hayley White was prepared for a quick chat about his behaviour.

But when she was told that Elliott had been at the centre of an 'incident' with another pupil that was so serious she would have to sign an official form admitting he was racist, she refused to believe what she was hearing.

'When I arrived at the school and asked Elliott what had happened, he became extremely upset,' said Ms White, who is a 32-year-old NHS worker. 'He kept saying to me: "I was just asking a question. I didn't mean it to be nasty".'

It turned out that while in the playground Elliott had approached a four-year-old boy and asked him whether he was 'brown because he was from Africa'. On returning home, the younger boy had told his mother about the comment, and she had informed the school, hoping that they could have a quiet word with Elliott.

Instead, the school's anti-racism policy swung into action in full force.
Comment: In the current climate of political correctness, school bureaucrats have become completely hystericized, blowing even minor incidents way out of proportion. Very young children are even being labeled as terrorists. These labels will go into permanent records that follow children for the rest of their lives, and could prevent them from achieving gainful employment as adults. One would think that school administrators and teachers should be somewhat aware that most children do not start to develop the ability to reason with logic until they are about seven or eight and operational thinking skills are not gained by the average human until the age of eleven or twelve.

See also: UK schoolteachers urged to report terrorist toddlers
Comment
---
David Ferguson
Raw Story
2015-01-14 13:01:00

Canned_goods_via_Shutterstock_.png

The principal of an Alabama middle school believes that stockpiling canned goods in classrooms will give students a last line of defense against possible school shooters or other intruders.

According to the Associated Press, Priscella Holley, principal at W. F. Burns Middle School in Valley, Alabama, sent out a letter to parents on Friday explaining that children can fling the cans of peas, corn and Irish potatoes at individuals who would do them harm.

Holley asked that parents arm their children with eight ounce cans of their choice of foodstuffs, so that the students might "stun the intruder or even knock him out until the police arrive."

"The canned food item will give the students a sense of empowerment to protect themselves and will make them feel secure," she said.

Chambers County Schools Superintendent Dr. Kelli Hodge told WHNT News that the canned goods are just a part of a training program aimed at empowering students in case of a violent intruder.

"I can honestly say that the major point of the training," Hodge said, "is to be able to get kids evacuated and not be sitting ducks hiding under desks."
Comment: Hoarding food to hurl at an imaginary enemy? It would be far better to teach those children to give; take those cans of food and feed the homeless. Sheesh!
Comment
---
Dean Obeidallah
The Daily Beast
2015-01-14 14:37:00

1421252314466_cached.jpg

What percentage of terror attacks in the United States and Europe are committed by Muslims? Guess. Nope. Guess again. And again...

"Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims." How many times have you heard that one? Sure, we heard Fox News's Brian Kilmeade say it, but to me, that was simply part of the Fox News plan to make their viewers dumber, as we saw again this past weekend when its terrorism "expert" Steve Emerson was caught fabricating the story that Birmingham, England, is closed to non-Muslims. But more alarmingly, even some reasonable people have uttered this statement.

And that comment is often followed up by the question: Why don't we see Christian, Buddhist, or Jewish terrorists?


Comment: That is an excellent question. They remain unseen mostly due to the stranglehold Christian and Jewish interests have over the mainstream media. Anders Behring Breivik was supposedly a Christian and yet was responsible for the deaths of 77 people after he blew up a van in Oslo, Norway and then drove out to the countryside and shot a bunch of kids at summer camp. The Stern Gang roamed the area then known as Palestine in the 1940s, destroying village after village of Arabs and Brits alike. Just this passed summer 2000 some odd Palestinians were killed by Israel when civilian targets in Gaza were repeatedly bombed, but only a few dared to call it 'terrorism', thanks largely in part to the mainstream media.


Obviously, there are people who sincerely view themselves as Muslims who have committed horrible acts in the name of Islam. We Muslims can make the case that their actions are not based on any part of the faith but on their own political agenda. But they are Muslims, no denying that.

However, and this will probably shock many, so you might want to take a breath: Overwhelmingly, those who have committed terrorist attacks in the United States and Europe aren't Muslims.Let's give that a moment to sink in.
Comment: The real terrorists are the psychopaths in board roomsgovernment offices and police stations, but you won't hear about that on CNN or Faux News...
Comment
---
Moreh B.D.K. and Jackson Marciana
CounterCurrent News
2015-01-15 04:04:00

steven_bonynge_and_seth_degelm.jpg

They were arrested for sexual abuse involving a minor, but now former Aledo Police Officer Steven Bonynge says that he was treated unfairly by being forced to resign.

Officers Bonynge, 32, and Seth Degelman, 30, had been investigated by the Aledo Police Department after they received a complaint about their sexual abuse of a juvenile. That's according to Aledo Police Chief J. Michael Sponsler who spoke with reporters from local WQAD 8.

The Chief pointed us to a statement released from attorney Blaise Rogers of Gullbert, Box & Worby, LLC, who said he represents Bonynge. It said that the victim was "slightly under the age of 17." In other words, she was 16.
Comment
---
Matiss Batarags
Opposing Views
2015-01-14 03:55:00

mak_featured.jpg

Homeless children in Manila are being rounded up by Philippines' police in an attempt to clean the city up for the Pope's visit, Daily Mail reports.

Children as young as 5 are being arrested and detained in subhuman living conditions. They are often held for months before being let go onto the streets. Unfortunately, the government has not provided any support for these children, and they often end up back in the temporary prisons.

Children are locked up alongside convicted criminals, and guards often are apathetic or look the other way while children are physically and sexually abused by inmates. The captured children sleep on and eat off of concrete floors, often using buckets as toilets. In some instances, children were chained to poles in these cellars.

Father Shay Cullen, who was nominated for a Nobel Prize, runs a missionary about 100 miles from Manila and recently traveled through these temporary prisons to help children and adopt some to the missionary. One boy, Mak-Mak, had scabies and had been abused by adult inmates during his times in the prison. He was apparently abandoned by his parents and was picked up on the street by Manila police while cleaning up for the Pope. Cullen brought Mak-Mak to his missionary to rehabilitate him.

An inmate in a temporary cell said: "Lots of children have been brought here lately. We're told they're being picked up from under the road bridges where the Pope will travel."
Comment
---
Scott Kaufman
Raw Story
2015-01-14 10:01:00

b01_jd_28dec_boyd_shot_640x360.jpg

The day after a New Mexico prosecutor charged two police officers in the shooting death of a mentally ill homeless man last year, Albuquerque officials refused to allow representatives from the District Attorney's office to participate in the investigation of a new officer-involved shooting that occurred on Tuesday.

According to KRQE, Chief Deputy District Attorney Sylvia Martinez was barred from a briefing about a shooting that occurred Tuesday evening because, she was told, the District Attorney's office "has a conflict of interest because we charged the officers" who shot the homeless man last year.

The District Attorney's office typically plays a vital role in investigating police-involved shootings - issuing warrants, providing legal counsel for the officers involved, and determining whether a shooting was justified - but when DA Martinez attempted to enter the briefing about Tuesday's shooting, City Attorney Kathryn Levy told her that the officers "wouldn't be needing any legal advice or help" and that she "could go home."

"I have never seen anything like this ever," District Attorney Kari Brandenburg told KRQE. "Clearly, this could compromise the integrity of the investigation of this shooting."

In 2004, the District Attorney's office signed an agreement with the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) that allowed it to oversee the APD's investigation of officer-involved shootings. Last year, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry signed a settlement with the United State Department of Justice (DOJ) that implemented measures to combat the widespread use of excessive force by APD officers.

According to DA Brandenburg, the APD's decision to exclude the District Attorney's office from investigating Tuesday's shooting violates both those agreements.

"It is my opinion that they violated [the agreement with the DA's office]," she said, adding "that means they also violated their agreement with the DOJ."
Comment: Interesting turn of events here. Ms. Brandenburg announced at a press conference on November 20th that she was reviewing the James Boyd shooting. On November 25th, her file hit the New Mexico AG's office without her knowledge. The APD must have anticipated her taking up Boyd's case long before she announced it publicly. This DA comes across as someone who won't be intimidated and the APD investigation is their attempt to silence her or control the outcome.

News conferences are here (Nov 20), here (Dec 8) and here (Jan 12).
Comment
---
Pierre Thomas, Jack Date, Mike Levine and Jack Clotherty
ABC News
2015-01-14 22:47:00

24_si.jpg

The FBI today arrested an Ohio man for allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on the U.S. Capitol, where he hoped to set off a series of bombs aimed at lawmakers, whom he allegedly considered enemies.

Christopher Lee Cornell, 20, of Green Township, was arrested on charges of attempting to kill a U.S. government official, authorities said.

According to government documents, he allegedly planned to detonate pipe bombs at the national landmark and open fire on any employees and officials fleeing after the explosions.
Comment: FBI foils yet another 'terror plot' due to an inside informant. Can we guess who the informant was working for? One of the FBI's strategies involve "using agents provocateur to actively entrap targets in criminal plots manufactured and controlled by the government."
Comment
---
David Smith
The Guardian, UK
2015-01-15 01:05:00

albinism_Fatu_011.jpg

Tanzania has banned witchdoctors in an attempt to combat a rise in the killing of people with albinism for their body parts, officials said on Wednesday.

At least 74 people with albinism have reportedly been murdered in the east African country since 2000. After a surge in 2009, the government placed children with albinism in special homes to protect them.

Witchdoctors believe their body parts bring good fortune and wealth. Isaac Nantanga, an interior ministry spokesman, told Agence France-Presse: "These so-called witches bear responsibility for the attacks against albinos."

The government and the Tanzania Albinism Society have agreed to form a taskforce to conduct special operations against the kidnaps, abductions and murders. But the society warned that a ban on witchcraft alone does not go far enough. Ziziyada Nsembo, its secretary-general, said on Wednesday: "It's just a starting point. The government should understand it is an endless story from 2006 until this time. No action has been taken to stop the killings."

Witchdoctors may not be the ultimate source of the problem, she added. "We haven't seen where these hands, legs and skin are taken. This is the big question. If the witchdoctors will tell us that they are taken to somebody, and what purpose they are used for, we will be in a better position. Through the witchdoctors we can reach the real culprits. That is our one demand: for the government to find these people."

A hereditary genetic condition that causes an absence of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes, albinism affects one Tanzanian in 1,400, according to experts. It affects just one person in 20,000 in the west.

Body parts sell for around $600 in Tanzania, with an entire corpse fetching $75,000. A US survey in 2010 found that while most people in Tanzania are Christian or Muslim, 93% said they believed in witchcraft. Despite the scourge, only 10 people have been convicted of murder.
Comment
---
Secret History
Adam Steedman Thake
New Historian
2015-01-15 17:17:00

Shahr_e_Sukhte_in_Iran.jpg

A Bronze Age piece of leather adorned with drawings has been discovered. The artefact was found during recent excavations at the 5200-year-old Burnt City, known as Shahr-e Sukhteh in Persian, in south-eastern Iran.

It is incredibly uncommon to find organic material from over 5,000 years ago; environmental factors decay delicate items, causing them to rapidly deteriorate over time. As such, the leather found in the Burnt City is an incredibly rare discovery.

"Due to extensive corrosion, some experts and the archaeologists are trying to save the leather," the lead archaeologist, Professor Seyyed Mansur Sajjadi, told the Research Centre for Cultural Heritage.

Unfortunately, no more details have yet been revealed about the artefact.

The current season of excavations has also uncovered ruins of a structure in an urban area of the Burnt City. Supported by nine buttresses, the structure has two walls, each a metre thick.
Comment
---
Science & Technology
ScienceDaily
2015-01-14 12:00:00

27853_123538517678710_10000067.jpg

Often enough, it is human nature to conform. This tendency makes us follow the lead of computers, even if the machines give us the wrong advice. This is the finding of a study in Springer's journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review that investigates how people make judgment calls after playing role-playing video games. The research was led by Ulrich Weger of the University of Witten/Herdecke in Germany.

Real-life encounters and face-to-face contact with other people are on the decline in a world that is becoming increasingly computerized. Many routine tasks are delegated to virtual characters. People spend hours role-playing through virtual-reality video games by taking on the persona of a virtual character or avatar.

Such video games can even lead people to acquire and practice real-life skills and new viewpoints. Weger and his fellow researchers therefore explored how role-playing video gaming influences social behavior and decision-making. Participants in their study first played an immersive game for seven minutes as an avatar. Afterwards, they completed a job selection task in which they had the option of overriding incorrect choices made by a computer.

It was found that role-playing as the avatar in an immersive video game, compared to merely watching others play, makes people identify with a computer. They do so to such an extent that they actually start to conform to its decisions and follow its judgment -- sometimes even if it is downright wrong. This shows that people conform, even when opinions are voiced by nonhuman agents. This is especially prevalent in ambiguous cases.
Comment
---
Laura Geggel
Live Science
2015-01-14 20:00:00

blood_type.jpg

People whose blood type is A, B or AB have an increased risk of heart disease and shorter life spans than people who have type O blood, according to a new study.

But that doesn't mean people with blood types other than O should be overly concerned, because heart disease risk and life span are influenced by multiple factors, including exercise and overall health, experts said.

In the study, researchers followed about 50,000 middle-age and elderly people in northeastern Iran for an average of seven years. They found that people with non-O blood types were 9 percent more likely to die during the study for any health-related reason, and 15 percent more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, compared with people with blood type O.

"It was very interesting to me to find out that people with certain blood groups - non-O blood groups - have a higher risk of dying of certain diseases," said the study's lead investigator, Dr. Arash Etemadi, an epidemiologist at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The researchers also examined whether people's blood type may be linked with their risk of gastric cancer, which has a relatively high incidence rate among the people living in northeastern Iran. They found that people with non-O blood types had a 55 percent increased risk of gastric cancer compared with people with type O blood, according to the study, published online today (Jan. 14) in the journal BMC Medicine.

The association between blood type and people's disease risk and life span held even when the researchers accounted for other factors, including age, sex, smoking, socioeconomic status and ethnicity.

Previous studies have shown that people with non-O blood types may be at higher risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular disease, but it was less clear whether blood type is linked with life span, Etemadi told Live Science.
Comment
---
Earth Changes
thebigwobble.org
2015-01-15 19:46:00

aves_2.jpg

Disturbing reports animal deaths continue on a daily basis

Scientists in San Filipe are investigating after finding more than 550 dead seabirds and four dead seals in San Felipe, Baja California.

After surveillance operations at the Port of San Felipe, Baja California, the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) found 554 birds and 4 sea lions dead, they believe that the death's occurred due to recent climate problems.

"Changes in water temperature will cause the shoals of fish entering the bay deeper and consequently the birds can not get their main food source," he said.

The Profepa indicated that this hypothesis was considered after taking in experience of other countries in the same research on the mass killing of specimens of wildlife.

The above findings would not cause the deaths of the sea lions however.
Comment
---
wildlifeextra.com
2015-01-15 19:02:00

Emils_otter_body.jpg

The International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) has become increasingly concerned about the decline of many species of otter in different countries with many little or no government conservation support.

As recently as 2012, the Japanese Otter was officially declared extinct, and of the 13 species across the world, nine are declining in numbers.

In the IUCN Red List, five species are classed as Endangered and two as Vulnerable, meaning that they are facing a high or very high risk of extinction in the wild.

The Eurasian otter, the only species which we have in the UK, is overall classed as Near Threatened, despite recent rises in UK populations, but in Asia it is believed to be critically endangered.

Asia forms about 80 per cent of the geographical range of the Eurasian otter. In parts of China it is almost extinct and in the Changbaishan Mountain Reserve numbers went down from 1.2 million in 1975 to just 4 in 2012 - a decline of over 99 per cent.

There have been no sightings of the species since the early 1990s in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Vietnam and most of India. Even in Europe it is declining in some areas.
Comment
---
Jon Craig
The New Rochelle Daily Voice
2015-01-13 15:44:00

coyote_generic_042413.jpg

Police and wildlife experts in Westchester and Putnam counties say sightings of coyotes -- and increasingly aggressive conflicts -- are on the rise.

Dean Renzi, a bow hunter from Yonkers, said, "The population has definitely grown. I've seen them in just about every location I've hunted. Both Westchester and Putnam counties have large populations."

Renzi, who hunts deer for food in the area, said, "I've heard (coyote) packs howling while on (deer) stand, which is a strong indicator that numbers are flourishing. I think the population has grown, because not many people hunt, or trap for them."

A 6-year-old Rye girl was attacked in her front yard by a pair of coyotes in June 2010. She got bites on her shoulder, thigh and ear as well as scratches on her back. Her mother scared the coyotes off. The girl was treated and released from a local hospital. Two months earlier, a 10-year-old toy poodle was attacked and killed by coyotes in Rye.
Comment: Other 'rare' coyote attacks across north America (past year): Coyote attacks two residents in Groveland, MA

3 residents attacked by possibly sick coyote in Fremont, California

Brampton woman attacked by coyote, Canada

Dog killed and owner injured in coyote attack in Mississauga, Canada

Dozens of pets killed by coyotes in College Park, Florida

Coyote attacks second young girl in Rye, New York

More 'rare' urban coyote attacks on Indiana dogs

Spike in coyote attacks on animal pets in Claremont, California

Coyotes killing pets in Seal Beach, California

Woman and dogs attacked by coyote in front of her Kilworthy home, Ontario

Attacks in 2013: Colorado man fights off 3 coyotes using flashlight as weapon

Man attacked by coyotes in Washington State

Coyote shot dead after 3 attack a British Columbia woman, Canada

3-year-old Chicago boy attacked by a coyote

Girl, 2, attacked by coyote in Cypress Cemetery, California
Comment
---
Aaron Brown
Daily Express, UK
2015-01-15 06:02:00

snow_551908.jpg

Fierce Storm Rachel has left 1,950 homes without power and sparked travel chaos across the UK after a deluge of snow and torrential rain.

Gale force winds of up to 101mph blasted through Britain today as the churning low-pressure vortex - dubbed Storm Rachel - sparked commuter chaos.

But as the storm caused damage, delays, disruption and power failures, forecasters have warned the worst could still be to come.

Some 149 flood alerts and 32 flood warnings have been issued across Britain this morning, the Environment Agency confirmed.

The Met Office has also cautioned a "be aware" weather warning remains in place across the whole of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and central and southern Scotland for rain and high winds.

The highest recorded windspeed in the UK today is 101mph - reported in Great Dunsell, Cumbria while other exposed and coastal areas documented speeds of 70mph.

A Met Office spokesperson said: "After something of a lull, a further spell of very strong winds, this time from the west, is expected from late Thursday morning onwards into the evening, again with gusts of 70mph or more in places.
Comment
---
Sophie Wyllie
Eastern Daily Press
2015-01-14 11:17:00

image.jpg

Nature lovers are surprised at a spate of tropical fish sightings on the north Norfolk coast over the New Year period.

Washed up dead ocean sunfish, known as mola mola, have been spotted on Blakeney Point, Cley and Holkham and Sheringham beaches.

Identified by its distinctive fins, Mola Mola prefer water over 13C - the water around Blakeney Point is around 7C.

The last time this particular fish was spotted on Cley beach and Blakeney Point was two and three years ago, respectively.
Comment: Other recent reports of sunfish turning up where they are not usually found: Rare deep sea Ocean Sunfish found for the first time in Pakistan's waters

Deep ocean sunfish found on beach in North Queensferry, Scotland

"Rare" 300-pound warm-water Mola sunfish washes up on Washington coast

What is that thing? Giant 'fish' pulled up from Seattle's Elliott Bay

Additionally in December 2012 this same area of Norfolk was subjected to a similar event: Sunfish invasion continues as third massive marine beast washed up in Norfolk

It's difficult to decipher exactly what's going on here. Is it simply a case of cold water incursions into warmer waters killing or stunning the fish and subsequently carrying them away? Or are they casualties of something more drastic occurring in the depths of the sea? Releases of methane gas and/or toxic chemicals from the sea floor due to seismic activity for instance: Creatures from the deep signal major Earth Changes: Is anyone paying attention?

Perhaps some combination of these factors is at play?
Comment
---
Fire in the Sky
No new articles.
---
Health & Wellness
Johns Hopkins Medicine
ScienceDaily
2015-01-14 10:00:00

ied_blast_reu_543.jpg

The brains of some Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans who survived blasts from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and died later of other causes show a distinctive honeycomb pattern of broken and swollen nerve fibres throughout critical brain regions, including those that control executive function. The pattern is different from brain damage caused by car crashes, drug overdoses or collision sports, and may be the never-before-reported signature of blast injuries suffered by soldiers as far back as World War I.

Vassilis Koliatsos, M.D., professor of pathology, neurology, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, recently published a study in Acta Neuropathologica Communications that found survivable blasts may cause hidden brain injuries that play a role in the psychological and social problems some veterans face after coming home.
Comment
---
James Corbett
corbettreport.com
2015-01-14 00:31:00

hqdefault.jpg

The problems are obvious: food safety scandals, the death of family farming, food supply insecurity, the revolving door between corporate lobbyists and government regulators, and many more. The solution should be equally obvious: rolling up our sleeves and getting in the garden. Join us today as we explore this simple, natural solution to one of our most fundamental problems.
Comment: James Corbett gives an excellent overview of the current climate in the food world, from safetyproduction, regulation and control, to the evils of GMO foods. Corbett talks about The Lunatic Farmer: Joel Salatin and Polyface Farms solutions to the growing 'food problem'. Corbett also quotes from the excellent book Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulationby William Engdahl
This skillfully researched book focuses on how a small socio-political American elite seeks to establish control over the very basis of human survival: the provision of our daily bread. "Control the food and you control the people."

This is no ordinary book about the perils of GMO. Engdahl takes the reader inside the corridors of power, into the backrooms of the science labs, behind closed doors in the corporate boardrooms.

The author cogently reveals a diabolical World of profit-driven political intrigue, government corruption and coercion, where genetic manipulation and the patenting of life forms are used to gain worldwide control over food production. If the book often reads as a crime story, that should come as no surprise. For that is what it is.

Engdahl's carefully argued critique goes far beyond the familiar controversies surrounding the practice of genetic modification as a scientific technique. The book is an eye-opener, a must-read for all those committed to the causes of social justice and World peace.
Comment
---
Peter Osborne
Gluten Free Society
2015-01-13 23:07:00
Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of getting to hang out with New York Times best selling author, and world renowned neurologist, Dr. David Perlmutter. If you aren't familiar with Dr. Perlmutter's work, check out Grain BrainSome of the concepts in this book are revolutionary, and that brings me to the point of today's post.

Leaky barriers

Most people have heard of Leaky Gut, but it is rare to hear anyone talk about the concept of Leaky Brain SyndromeI have discussed this concept before with Harvard researcher, Dr. Fasano, but only briefly Today I want to talk about one of the most debilitating diseases linked to a break down in the gastrointestinal barrier, but also potentially a break down in the blood brain barrier.

Depression. Unfortunately, many are unaware of the connection between gluten and depression. Part of this connection has to do with the role gluten plays in causing intestinal permeability (Leaky Gut). This process was discovered originally by Dr. Fasano. You can read a review of it here. The part less talked about has to do with gluten's impact on the microbiome (good bacteria in the gut).Studies have shown that gluten can alter the normal bacterial flora, and in doing so set the stage for decreased levels of regulatory gut bacteria, and increased levels of bacteria that contribute to inflammation. When you combine leaky gut with altered bacteria, you get an increased presence of bacteria and their by products in the blood. One type of bacterial byproduct is LPS (lipopolysaccharide). Studies have shown that when this happens, the immune system will produce inflammation trying to combat the presence of these translocated bacteria. This increase inflammation has been shown to alter the function of the brain, and a side effect of this is DEPRESSION.[123] The image below illustrates the connection:

Gut_brain_connection.jpg
Comment
---
Science of the Spirit
No new articles.
---
High Strangeness
Kara O'Neill
Daily Mirror, UK
2015-01-15 14:52:00

TEASER_Teleporting_dog.jpg

A bizarre video that shows a dog apparently teleporting onto a motorway has gone viral.

The fascinating footage shows the mysterious pooch appear as if out of thin air during an illegal drag race taking place on the highway.

Shot on a mobile phone by one of the spectators, the clip shows at least two cars travelling at high speed down the motorway with the camera panning around as the cars vanish into the distance.

But incredibly, although it seems impossible for the cars to miss the animal, a dog suddenly seems to appear from nowhere and bounds happily over to the side of the road, with its tail wagging.


View on Sott.net
Comment
---
Kara O'Neill
Daily Mirror, UK
2015-01-15 14:42:00

PAY_Yeti_footage.jpg

There has long been speculation about the mythical creature but latest clips could reveal the truth once and for all

A group of Russians claim to have captured the best footage of bigfoot.

The adventurers spotted what they described as a hairy bear-sized humanoid that marched out of the woods before disappearing seconds later.

The recording came when a group of people from the city of Adygeisk set off in search of the mysterious creature after a local TV station reported that it had been sighted in a remote region.

They said they had questioned the people at a mountainside lodge who claimed to have seen the creature, and managed to get several independent confirmations that there was something out there.


View on Sott.net
Comment
---
Keiran Southern
Daily Mirror, UK
2015-01-15 14:06:00

Screen_Shot_2015_01_13_at_2257.png

First spotted by a dog walker on Monday night, the pulsating light has been reported by many more people - but nobody has been able to work out what it is

More sightings of a UFO hovering in the North East skies have been revealed.

The suspected alien spacecraft was first captured on video in the sky above North Tyneside by venture capitalist Craig Lowther on Monday night.

The 43-year-old, from Tynemouth, noticed a pulsating light in the sky and reached for his camera.

He said: "I am out at night a lot walking the dog but this is like nothing I have ever seen before."


View on Sott.net
Comment
---
Don't Panic! Lighten Up!
itv.com
2015-01-15 20:11:00

Scott_Loxley_split_3165601b.jpg


An Australian man who is trekking across the country for charity has been saved from a potentially deadly snake bite - by his Imperial Stormtrooper costume.

Australian media report that Scott Loxley, who has so far raised $40,000 (£24,000) for the Monash children's hospital in Victoria, encountered a King Brown snake on day 277 of his epic 'Storming Australia' walk as he was leaving the small town of Yalboroo in Queensland.

Mr Loxley initially thought the viper was dead and went to walk past it when it began to move and lunged to bite him on the shin.

In video on his Facebook page, he said that he had been saved from the snake's toxic venom by his plastic Stormtrooper armour:
Turns out it wasn't dead; It was a big old King Brown.

And he's lunged at me and bit me in the shin.

- Scot Loxley

View on Sott.net
Comment
---