Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Puppet Masters

Is the brown stuff about to hit the fan? Investment Research Dynamics 2015-01-06 20:37:00 Set aside for a moment the fact that the S&P 500 just closed down 4 days in a row - something which never happened in 2014. Zerhohedge had an interesting post today in which it wondered if Citibank was the next AIG after it discovered that Citi is now the largest single holder of derivatives in the U.S., with $70.3 trillion in notional exposure holdings. Not pointed out by Zerohedge was an interesting relationship between Citi and Goldman Sachs. Recall, that Goldman Sachs was AIG's biggest counter-party. And the fact of the matter is that Goldman would have blown up along with AIG had the Government and the Fed - with close to a trillion dollars in taxpayer money - not bailed out AIG and the big banks. Let's wipe the lipstick off that pig and call it what it was: An AIG/Goldman Sachs de facto collapse. Recall that Henry Paulson was Treasury Secretary when Goldman de facto collapsed. Paulson was the former CEO of Goldman and had been appointed Treasury Secretary in July 2006. As it turns out, Goldman had been impaled on AIG's nuclear mortgage -derived credit default swaps, to which GS was the main counter-party. I have always suspected that Paulson was inserted into the Treasury post because "they" knew that eventually the big banks - led by Goldman - were going to hit the derivatives wall and a Wall Street bank representative inside the Treasury would be needed to fix the problem.

Jeffrey Epstein's journal made public, includes 97 pages of contact info for victims, celebs, UK, US, and Israeli politicians Sara Nathan and Martin Gould The Daily Mail 2015-01-06 17:49:00 Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire child abuser friend of Prince Andrew , cultivated an extraordinary range of contacts - from President Bill Clinton to Mick Jagger - it is revealed today. Court documents obtained by MailOnline disclose how Epstein kept multiple phone numbers, email and home addresses for the great and the good on both sides of the Atlantic. The document was presented as an exhibit as lawyers sought a court's permission to take evidence from Bill Clinton and his staff, for whom Epstein had 21 numbers, all under the name of his former advisor Doug Band. Epstein also had multiple contact details for a string of celebrities, including the Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger; Donald Trump's ex-wife Ivana and their daughter Ivanka; and a series of women recorded under 'massage' in the document, nicknamed 'The Holy Grail' by a former employee. The contents of the document are disclosed by MailOnline as Prince Andrew, the Queen's second son, fights back against allegations that he had sex with Virginia Roberts - who claims she was kept by Epstein as a 'sex slave' - when she was a 17-year-old minor.

Comment: While it's obvious that not all those in Epstein's contact list were probably customers of his 'services', it's equally obvious that someone running a sex slave ring would keep contact information of his clientele. And, with the inclusion of a string of female contacts under his 'massage' category, this list obviously contained sensitive 'business' information. Therefore it is likely that many found on this list (especially the psychopathic US, UK, and Israeli politicians) were on more than a friendly footing with Epstein and his disgusting sex trade. If there is any justice in this world this needs to be blown wide open. Also see: Jeffrey Epstein had email addresses, 21 phone numbers for Bill Clinton Men who hate women: The Franklin Scandal and the truth about our leaders Alleged perverts Prince Andrew, Epstein, and Alan Dershowitz weighing legal options

2015: Should we be optimistic? Dmitry Orlov Club Orlov 2015-01-06 17:28:00 This may seem like an odd line of reasoning to pursue given what everyone else seems to be saying. Some are thinking that 2015 will be a repeat of 2014 with a few incremental changes (always a safe bet, but makes for boring reading) while others are warning of the potential for a nuclear confrontation between the US and Russia (always a possibility, on par with an asteroid strike or a supernova in our galactic vicinity). But this is all more of the same. The interesting question to ask is, How has the ground shifted in 2014, if indeed it has? To my mind, the really interesting development of 2014 is that the world as a whole (with a few minor exceptions) has become quite lucid on the topic of what the United States, as a global empire, is and stands for. It is now very commonly and completely understood that: 1. The United States is an evil empire, attempting not so much to rule the world as to disrupt it to its short-term advantage. 2. The United States is failing, as an empire and as a country, and no amount of fraud, mayhem, torture and murder is going to save it. 3. The United States is still quite powerful and can cause massive damage on its way down. This damage must be contained, while plans are drawn up for an international arrangement that will arise upon its demise.

Jeffrey Epstein had email addresses, 21 phone numbers for Bill Clinton The Smoking Gun 2015-01-05 17:11:00 Now that Prince Andrew has found himself ensnared in the sleazy sex slave story of wealthy degenerate Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Clinton can't be too far behind. Epstein, who paid teenage girls for naked massages at his Palm Beach, Florida mansion, is a convicted sex offender whose circle of powerful friends has included financiers, celebrities, politicians, and scientists. In fact, Epstein, 61, has maintained many of these relationships even after pleading guilty in 2008 to a felony charge stemming from a lengthy probe of his lewd interaction with scores of underage girls, many of whom were recruited while they were students at a Palm Beach high school. Epstein is pictured above in his most recent sex offender registry photo.

Comment: Why is it that pedophile scum like Epstein always seem to have a "circle of powerful friends [that] include[s] financiers, celebrities, politicians, and scientists"? The answer is quite simple: they, too, are pedophile scum. It's past time the truth came out, instead of being covered up with a trail of miscarriage of justice, murder, and lies (witness Franklin and Dutroux for just 2 examples).

Alleged perverts Prince Andrew, Epstein and Alan Dershowitz weighing 'legal' options Catherine Mayer The Telegraph (UK) 2015-01-05 15:39:00 In September 2013 armed police confronted a suspected intruder in the lush gardens of Buckingham Palace, provoking the target of their suspicions to howl with outrage: "Do you know who I am?" The officers offered apologies for failing to recognize Prince Andrew, but the Queen's second son, fifth in line to the British throne, might not now be embroiled in controversy if he hadn't been groping for an answer to the same question for more than a decade. Since retiring from the Royal Navy in 2001, he has been more at sea than ever. The controversy relating to the disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein shows no signs of dying down any time soon, no matter that Andrew is "incredibly clear" in the words of a royal source that he has done nothing wrong. A legal process against Epstein in the U.S. must take its course and Virginia Roberts, one of the litigants, is reported to be mulling a tell-all book. The palace usually refuses to comment on matters relating to the private lives of the royals but has been bounced into making two extraordinary statements, the first on Jan. 2 rejecting "any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors" by the Prince as "categorically untrue"; the second on Jan. 4referring to Andrew by his official title. "It is emphatically denied," said the palace, "that HRH The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. The allegations made are false and without any foundation."

Comment: We can't say we're surprised, especially regarding the allegations against Dershowitz. He has been one of most rabid, mendacious, vociferous 'defenders' of Israel's barbarity for years. When his lies are exposed, he simply lies some more. He is vicious, energetic, and has absolutely no regard for truth or justice. In other words, he's a psychopath, pure and simple. See: Alan Dershowitz: Apologist For Inhumanity Schizoid Declaration, Alan Dershowitz Style: Talmudic Logic for Beginners Implicating Prince Andrew, Dershowitz, even Bill Clinton, this scandal has the potential to eclipse that of Franklin (which implicated George H.W. Bush, among others, as violent pedophiles). If there were any justice in the world, these men would be rotting in prison.

Best of British? UK government caught lying to UN about rampant child sex abuse in pedophile colony of St Helena RT 2015-01-06 16:07:00 Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) admits it made an "erroneous" report to the UN when it denied that child abuse was rife in the British overseas territory of St Helena. The FCO has been accused of lying to the United Nations over "endemic" child sex abuse in the remote South Atlantic island to cover up allegations, including a case of a police officer having raped a four-year-old girl and another police officer having "mutilated a two-year-old." Two child protection whistleblowers who worked on the island are now suing the FCO and the UK Department for International Development for constructive dismissal. Claire Gannon and Martin Warsama, UK social workers who worked on St Helena, which has 4,000 inhabitants, were shocked by what they found on the island. They said they were victimized after reporting abuse, then were threatened and eventually forced to leave. The FCO then commissioned a report by children's charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. The report was not published, but the findings were leaked to the whistleblower website. It found there was a "persistent" culture of abusing teenage girls and a "cultural acceptance of the premature sexualization of children" on St Helena. Girls were subjected to "violent and brutal" attacks, the report said.

Comment: What else can we add except to say that this is how the British elite would have things everywhere they went, including in the UK itself, if only 'those other people with their weird conventions' were not in their way. The pedophocracy is global thanks, in large part, to the British Empire. The British Foreign Office, by the way, is still extremely influential within the Western imperial system. It's also, apparently, still extremely evil. See also: UK 'Establishment': Unmasking psychopathic faces - Pedophilia and murder in VERY high places

Sott Exclusive: Police are the new gestapo, able to brutalize, steal and murder on a whim, and get away with it Brently Kopopolous Sott.net 2015-01-06 01:43:00 It's a bit sad that, as each new US police brutality story breaks, I'm less and less surprised. When I was growing up, I was always taught that the police were there to help. It's a shame that today, the notion of police being there to "protect and serve" is a fairytale, something only the most naive could believe. I want to highlight several recent stories of police brutality because the nature of what has been happening is so mind blowing, that when these incidents are viewed together, they give a pretty stark portrait of something extremely rotten in the state of my country. The first story is that of Timothy Whittle, who cops 'Tased' and face-kicked while he was on the ground with his hands up. Granted, Whittle was allegedly manufacturing meth in a garage and his arrest came at the end of a high-speed chase. That doesn't, however, entitle the arresting officers to torture and assault him. He was compliant, and I bet his pursuers were angry that he had the gumption to defy them. If you watch the video, you can clearly see how the second officer runs over and kicks the guy for no reason while he's handcuffed on the ground. Then when he reacts to getting face-kicked, they tase him.  Just a few days ago a family called police to help with their son who was "acting out" - the police solved the problem by killing the son. This is yet another story of a mentally disturbed individual being executed for no good reason. John Paul Quintero, who had recently turned 23, was drunk and confrontational. He was in a car outside his family's home talking to his father. When the cops showed up, he refused to follow their orders and was tased. That didn't work and in order to justify murdering him they used the old 'going for his waistband' excuse. Of course, Quintero was unarmed, but two shots to his midsection and a few hours later he was dead and his family devastated.

North Korea rebuttal at UN - U.S. the biggest violator of human rights in the world Global Research 2015-01-05 02:37:00 DPRK Permanent Mission to the UN Today the U.S. and other Western countries are increasingly cracking down on the human rights of the peoples of their countries, including on their socio-economic and cultural rights as well as on political freedom and rights. In the U.S., whose population accounts for 5% of the world's population, prisoners there account for 25% of the total number of prisoners in the world. Today, when the world is rushing to scale a new peak of human civilization, medieval torture and other kinds of human rights violations are being committed in the prison camps of the U.S. Racial discrimination in the U.S., a self-proclaimed model country in the field of human rights, is cutting a wide swath with official and open sanction. The chain of murders of innocent young black people committed by white policemen recently threw the whole world into a state of consternation. Many working people, denied the rights to an existence and work, are wandering the streets as unemployed in the U.S. and other Western countries. Extreme selfishness, misanthropy and such crimes as murder, robbery, rape, prostitution, racial discrimination, and discrimination and maltreatment of American Indians and immigrants are prevalent in American society, and people live in constant fear and misery. Under the signboard of "defending human rights" the U.S. launches aggressive wars, enslaving peoples of other countries and openly interfering in their internal affairs, and thus violates their human rights. These aggressive wars not only trample upon their sovereignty but also claim the lives of their peoples, threaten their right to existence and restrict their socio-economic and cultural progress. Typical examples are the armed aggression against Grenada, the air campaign against the former Yugoslavia and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iraqi MP says U.S. aircraft dropped load of weapons and equipment to ISIS militants Amre Sarhan Iraqi News 2015-01-04 02:29:00 On Saturday, MP Majid al-Ghraoui said that an American aircraft dropped a load of weapons and equipment into the hands of the ISIS group militants in southeast of Tikrit, located in Salahuddin province. MP Majid al-Ghraoui, the member of the Security and Defense Committee in the Parliament, said:"The information that has reached us in the security and defense committee indicates that an American aircraft dropped a load of weapons and equipment to the ISIS group militants at the area of al-Dour in the province of Salahuddin." He added, "The committee will set a meeting within the next few days to follow up on that incident," pointing out that, "This incident is continuously happening and has also occurred in some other regions." "The U.S. is trying to obtain more benefits and privileges from the government to set military bases in Iraq," Ghraoui said. Noteworthy, the security committee in Salahuddin Provincial Council announced today that unidentified air crafts dropped weapons and gear to the ISIS group elements in southeast of Tikrit.

Comment: ISIS is the creation of the U.S. government, and now they aren't even hiding the fact that they are arming the terrorist organization. This is at the same time that Obama and other liars in the government are loudly proclaiming ISIS as the evil terrorist organization that needs to be stopped. Do people pay attention?!?!? They have created the very terrorist organization that they claim to be fighting against, merely so that they can engage in regime change in various countries like Syria and also keep the public terrified at the enemy "out there", instead of looking at the enemy at their front door.

Jeffery Sterling and the U.S. war against government whistleblowers Norman Solomon Global Research 2015-01-06 02:11:00 Comment: This article clearly lays out how the government intimidates and threatens anyone who might expose their illegal actions to the public. When you've got judges, prosecutors, and all the watchdogs scared to speak up, the only thing that can happen is for evil to spread. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that is exactly the kind of power that the U.S. government has. The only hope for the world is that the other leaders in the world balance things out by not allowing the U.S. to do whatever it wants. As it stands, the American people are helpless against such a corrupt, fascist leadership. No one disputes that Jeffrey Sterling told Senate Intelligence Committee staffers about a CIA operation that had provided flawed nuclear weapon blueprints to Iran in 2000, dubbed OperationMerlin, which Risen's book later exposed and brought to light as dumb and dangerous. The trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, set to begin in mid-January, is shaping up as a major battle in the U.S. government's siege against whistleblowing. With its use of the Espionage Act to intimidate and prosecute people for leaks in "national security" realms, the Obama administration is determined to keep hiding important facts that the public has a vital right to know. After fleeting coverage of Sterling's indictment four years ago, news media have done little to illuminate his case - while occasionally reporting on the refusal of New York Times reporter James Risen to testify about whether Sterling was a source for his 2006 book "State of War." Risen's unwavering stand for the confidentiality of sources is admirable. At the same time, Sterling - who faces 10 felony counts that include seven under the Espionage Act - is no less deserving of support. Revelations from brave whistleblowers are essential for the informed consent of the governed. With its hostilities, the Obama Justice Department is waging legalistic war on our democratic rights to know substantially more about government actions than official stories. That's why the imminent courtroom clash in the case of United States of America v. Jeffrey Alexander Sterling is so important.

Iceland's Prime Minister expected to withdraw EU application Sputnik 2015-01-05 01:59:00 Iceland is expected to withdraw its application to become a member of the European Union, theReykjavik Grapevine reported Monday, citing the country's prime minister. "Participating in EU talks isn't really valid anymore. Both due to changes in the European Union and because it's not in line with the policies of the ruling government to accept everything that the last government was willing to accept. Because of that, we're back at square one," Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson was cited as saying by the magazine. Iceland's government is now set to make a second attempt at revoking the country's EU application. The country's ruling coalition first decided to submit a bill to stop EU accession early last year, sparking major protests in the capital, Reykjavik.

Comment: Dear Iceland, check out what the Eurasian Economic Union has to offer.

The UN anti-Nazi resolution and the history of U.S. Nazism accommodation and acceptance Carla Stea Global Research 2015-01-05 00:00:00 The Syrian Arab Republic, together with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia are among the many co-sponsors of this UN Anti-Nazi Resolution, adopted by a majority vote of 133 by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 2014. There were 51 abstentions. Only 4 nations opposed this resolution: the United States, Ukraine, Palau and Canada. Excerpts from the Resolution state: "1. Reaffirms the relevant provisions of the Durban Declaration and of the outcome document of the Durban Review Conference, in which States condemned the persistence and resurgence of neo-Nazism, neo-Fascism and violent nationalist ideologies based on racial and national prejudice and stated that those phenomena could never be justified in any instance or in any circumstances. 4. Expresses deep concern about the glorification, in any form, of the Nazi movement, neo-Nazism and former members of the Waffen SS organization, including by erecting monuments and memorials and holding public demonstrations in the name of the glorification of the Nazi past, the Nazi movement and neo-Nazism, as well as by declaring or attempting to declare such members and those who fought against the anti-Hitler coalition and collaborated with the Nazi movement participants in national liberation movements; 6. Emphasizes the recommendation of the Special Rapporteur that 'any commemorative celebration of the Nazi regime, its allies and related organizations, whether official or unofficial, should be prohibited by States, and stresses in this regard that it is important that States take measures, in accordance with international human rights law, to counteract any celebration of the Nazi SS organization and all its integral parts, including the Waffen SS. 7. Expresses concern about recurring attempts to desecrate or demolish monuments erected in remembrance of those who fought against Nazism during the Second World War, as well as to unlawfully exhume or remove the remains of such persons, and in this regard urges States to fully comply with their relevant obligations, inter alia, under article 34 of the Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949; 11. Welcomes the call of the Special Rapporteur for the active preservation of those Holocaust sites that served as Nazi death camps, concentration and forced labour camps and prisons, as well as his encouragement of States to take measures, including legislative, law enforcement and educational measures, to put an end to all forms of Holocaust denial."

Iran thwarts Mossad attempt on nuclear scientist's life RT 2015-01-04 01:09:00 Iran claims it has foiled an assassination attempt against one of its nuclear scientists by the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad. A senior Iranian security official said the Revolutionary Guards thwarted the attempt. "In the last two years, the Zionist enemy (Israel) was trying hard to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but the timely presence of the IRGC security forces thwarted the terrorist operation," the Deputy Chief Liaison Officer of Flight Guards Corps, Colonel Yaqoub Baqeri told Iran's Fars news agency on Saturday. Comment: That's exactly what it was: a terrorist operation. And it wasn't the first. Mossad is one of the biggest terrorist entities on the planet. See: Der Spiegel: Mossad behind Iran hit 'U.S. admits Mossad behind Iran scientists assassinations' Terrorism: Western Intelligence Sources Confirm Mossad Murdered Iranian Scientists

Society's Child

US: One million of the poorest to lose food assistance next year Press TV 2015-01-06 18:25:00 The United States will cut off about one million of the poorest people from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) also known as food stamps in 2016, a new report says. The reason is the re-imposition of a three-month limit which deprives unemployed adults aged 18-50 who are not disabled or raising children of SNAP benefits. The above mentioned group will lose their food stamp benefits after three months, even if they are still looking for jobs, according to the report issued by Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The limit initially imposed in 1996 bans such people from receiving food stamps for more than 3 months in any 36-month period when they are unemployed or are not receiving any job-related training for at least 20 hours a week. The limit also affects those SNAP recipients whose state operates few or no employment programs for them and cannot offer them a job or training program. The 1996 welfare law is the most severe limit as it denies basic food assistance to people who are looking for employment and are ready to do any job or participate in any work program. The food assistance averages approximately $150 to $200 per person per month for this group and its annulment will cause serious problems for many people. SNAP provides food-purchasing assistance for low and no-income people living in the US. It is a federal aid program, administered by the US Department of Agriculture, though benefits are distributed by states.

Comment: The system in the U.S. was set up by and for psychopaths. The psychopath's moral ideology preserves the elite only. There is plenty of money for wars, but helping and feeding human beings just isn't in the 'budget'.

Connecticut teen taken from mother and forced to endure chemotherapy Police State USA 2015-01-06 18:25:00 Hartford - A 17-year-old girl has been taken away from her mother and forced to endure unwanted, risky chemotherapy treatments that she absolutely opposes. The teen has been turned into a ward of the state and has been detained against her will in a hospital room for weeks without any choice in her own life-altering medical decisions or future. Cassandra C.'s difficulties began in September 2014 when she became ill. Her mother, Jackie Fortin, took her to Connecticut Children's Medical Center, where she was diagnosed with Stage 3/4 Hodgkin's lymphoma. CCMC doctors surgically removed Cassandra a portion of Cassandra's lymph node, and then pushed her to take chemotherapy drugs. But the strong-willed teen was opposed to the treatment, which she viewed as unacceptably dangerous. "She has always - even years ago - said that if she was diagnosed with cancer, she would not put poison into her body," Ms. Fortin explained to NBC Connecticut. Despite doctors' objections, the mother and daughter left the hospital "to seek a second opinion" in another state. CCMC doctors proceeded to get the government involved. They called Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) alleging "parental medical neglect."

Mysterious plant resembling severed finger found on Darwin beach baffles NT police www.abc.net.au 2015-01-06 14:18:00 A Darwin man thought he had made a grisly find when he came across what appeared to be a severed human finger on a beach, but it turned out to be a mysterious plant instead. The man was walking his dog along the beach at Lee Point, north of Darwin, when the animal took an interest in the object. The man feared he had discovered the remains of a murder victim and quickly called Northern Territory Police. Watch Commander Brendan Lindner said officers were initially unsure about what the man had found. "They played it safe and treated it as though it were human remains," he said. The finger was sent for forensic examination, but preliminary testing proved inconclusive and it was sent to pathology for analysis.

No kidding! Writers in democracies self-censor due to mass surveillance, says study RT 2015-01-05 15:47:00 A study published by a top US literary organization on Monday, found that an increasing number of writers in democratic countries are censoring themselves due to fears about government surveillance. The study entitled "Global chilling: The impact of Mass Surveillance on International Writers" surveyed 772 writers in 50 countries and concluded that writers and journalists are self-censoring for fear of reprisal. A similar report published in November 2013 found that writers were "worried about mass surveillance, and were engaged in multiple forms of self-censorship as a result." A full report from writers around the world will be issued in the spring of 2015. As writers are considered to be the "canaries in the coalmine" therefore they are likely to give an accurate picture of the impact of surveillance on privacy and freedom of expression. Writers living in democratic countries were found to be nearly as concerned as those living in non-democratic states with long histories of mass surveillance. It found that while 61 percent of writers living in the countries labeled as 'Not Free' by Freedom House avoided writing or speaking about a certain topic because of government surveillance this was now true of 34 percent of writers in 'Free' countries.

Comment: Fear is the name of the game when it comes to mass surveillance. While the NSA's spying programs may be used for blackmail on domestic and foreign officials, the purpose of mass surveillance on the people has more to do with creating a hostile environment for truth rather than sorting through the googolplex of data for any genuine threat. We know after all that the genuine threat to humanity comes from the psychopaths running the show, i.e. those who put these programs in place to begin with.

Two more women join Bill Cosby defamation lawsuit The Guardian, UK 2015-01-06 13:00:00 Women allege Cosby's lawyer issued responses to their claims of rape and groping that said they were lying Two women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual offences decades ago have joined a defamation lawsuit, contending the comedian publicly branded them as liars through statements by his representatives. The amended complaint was filed on Monday in the US district court in Springfield, in western Massachusetts, where Cosby has a home in Shelburne Falls. Cosby is the only defendant in the lawsuit, originally filed last month by Tamara Green, who said he drugged and assaulted her in the 1970s. The two new plaintiffs are Therese Serignese, who said he drugged and raped her in 1976, and Linda Traitz, who alleges he tried to drug her and then sexually groped her in 1970.

Comment: See also: Cliff Huxtable was a lie: Bill Cosby revealed as calculating sexual predator Model and TV host Janice Dickinson joins list of women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault

Sott Exclusive: Jake Gyllenhaal brilliantly portrays a non-violent psychopath in new movie, "Nightcrawler" Brently Kopopolous Sott.net 2015-01-05 22:00:00 Nightcrawler follows the story of 'Lou Bloom', a garden-variety psychopath who's willing to do anything and everything to get what he wants. He's played by a rather gaunt Jake Gyllenhaal, whose hunger is obvious from the get-go. In the opening of the film we see that Lou is not beyond theft and robbery, demonstrating his lack of a conscience, but the back story is missing and we don't realize just how deep and essential that lack is. We also see him use a preternaturally persistent and manipulative dialogue to 'negotiate' his targets into succumbing to his will. Lou is looking for cash, and his discovery of a potential revenue stream in filming and selling graphic displays of tragedy to TV news is the central arc of the plot. The brilliance in the script is apparent as we see Lou cruise through moral dilemmas, manipulate those around him with style and charisma, and a consistent lack of any pangs of conscience.

17-year-old girl taken from parents and forcefully treated with chemotherapy John Vibes The Free Thought Project 2015-01-05 12:00:00 17-year-old Cassandra Fortin has been taken from her family against her will because she refused chemotherapy. Cassandra was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but like many people with cancer, Cassandra wants to look into natural options for treatment, instead of chemotherapy. While chemotherapy is heavily pushed by pharmaceutical companies and backed up by government funded science, there are other options for people and everyone should be free to chose their own path in healing. Doctors at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center forced Cassandra to undergo chemotherapy against her will, so she quickly ran away from home to get away from the situation. Her parents supported her decision to reject chemo, but unfortunately their hands were tied as well because they were pressured legally by the doctors.

Comment: People who are under 18 are treated as an adult in many other cases too: they can have driving licence, have an abortion without parental consent or be tried in adult criminal court. Why soon 18-year-old teen is being forced to these extreme treatments? Read these articles to learn more about the possible side-effects of chemotherapy: Study: Chemotherapy May Trigger Cancer Growth Chemotherapy Negatively Impacts Genetic Coding for Future Generations Chemotherapy 'could cause brain damage' in breast cancer patients

Son arrested after hedge fund mogul father shot dead in New York The Guardian 2015-01-06 13:05:00 Thomas Gilbert Jr accused of murder after his father was found dead following an argument over money  A man is accused of shooting dead his father, a hedge fund founder, inside his Manhattan apartment after the two argued over the son's allowance. Thomas Gilbert Jr, 30, was arrested on suspicion of murder and criminal possession of a weapon after the death of Thomas Gilbert Sr, 70. He was remanded in custody on Monday and his lawyers declined to comment.

Psycho Pat Robertson says non-religious children should be beaten until they respect Christian beliefs Stephen D Foster Jr Addicting Info 2015-01-05 14:58:00 In another example demonstrating that Pat Robertson believes in persecuting non-Christians and indoctrinating children, the televangelist openly suggested that parents should beat their kids until they respect Christian beliefs. During yet another shameful episode of the 700 Club, which runs on Disney-owned channel ABC Family, Robertson received an email from a woman who claimed that her grandson disrespects their Christian faith when they visit their daughter on Christmas and chose not to visit this past year. "We declined going to our daughter's house on Christmas this year because there is always an argument, hard feelings etc.," viewer Karen wrote. "One grandchild comes high on marijuana, cursing and challenging our faith. I correct him and have told my daughter to ask him to respect our beliefs, but he keeps it up. Our daughter say she is a Christian but will drink too much and offend her daughter and her husband. Were we wrong to not to attend another Christmas that leaves us upset or someone angry? I have shared my beliefs many times with them and am ridiculed by this grandson and son-in-law." Robertson's immediate solution? Beat the child until he respects Christianity. "Somebody take that kid to the woodshed and let him understand the blessings of discipline," Robertson advised before predicting that the kid would end up in prison if a strong male figure didn't start beating him right away. "He needs a strong male figure. He's going to wind up in a correctional institution, and the next thing you know, he's going to be doing hard time in some prison. And then he would wish he wasn't such a smart, you know, wise guy. Because he'll be disciplined in a way that he'll never forget in some prison... He needs discipline in the worst possible way."

The real life Serpico: The police are still out of control Frank Serpico Politico Magazine 2014-10-23 03:05:00 In the opening scene of the 1973 movie "Serpico," I am shot in the face - or to be more accurate, the character of Frank Serpico, played by Al Pacino, is shot in the face. Even today it's very difficult for me to watch those scenes, which depict in a very realistic and terrifying way what actually happened to me on Feb. 3, 1971. I had recently been transferred to the Narcotics division of the New York City Police Department, and we were moving in on a drug dealer on the fourth floor of a walk-up tenement in a Hispanic section of Brooklyn. The police officer backing me up instructed me (since I spoke Spanish) to just get the apartment door open "and leave the rest to us." One officer was standing to my left on the landing no more than eight feet away, with his gun drawn; the other officer was to my right rear on the stairwell, also with his gun drawn. When the door opened, I pushed my way in and snapped the chain. The suspect slammed the door closed on me, wedging in my head and right shoulder and arm. I couldn't move, but I aimed my snub-nose Smith & Wesson revolver at the perp (the movie version unfortunately goes a little Hollywood here, and has Pacino struggling and failing to raise a much-larger 9-millimeter automatic). From behind me no help came. At that moment my anger got the better of me. I made the almost fatal mistake of taking my eye off the perp and screaming to the officer on my left: "What the hell you waiting for? Give me a hand!" I turned back to face a gun blast in my face. I had cocked my weapon and fired back at him almost in the same instant, probably as reflex action, striking him. (He was later captured.)

Florida police found to have entrapped men with online sex stings and then seized their property Noah Pransky WTSP 2014-12-29 02:48:00 A drawn-out struggle to obtain public records has started to yield results for 10 Investigates, as local agencies have started releasing limited records - and providing insight - regarding how law enforcement conducts controversial sex "predator" stings. Records recently obtained by 10 Investigates - primarily through the court system, since law enforcement agencies continue to deny public record requests - detail the incredible man hours dedicated to the stings, ways some officers violated the rules to boost arrest totals, and even how agencies take valuable property from individuals accused. Part 1: Officers breaking the rules on sex stings Part 2: Stings not arresting whom you think they are Part 3: ACLU leader calls for federal review of DOJ dollars Part 4: Military targeting civilians in sex stings Part 5: Law Enforcement admits deleting public records Part 6: Recent stings reflect changes after investigative reports 10 Investigates previously reported how many of the men arrested and publicly shamed by made-for-TV press conferences were not actually looking for children online. Instead, they were looking for other adults when detectives started to groom and convince them to break the law. And while law enforcement leaders have denied any widespread issues with the operations, 10 Investigates continues to find evidence - in documents those agencies wanted to keep private - that details a pattern of officer misconduct in an effort to boost arrest totals.

Top experts predict global economic disaster in 2015 Michael Snyder The Economic Collapse 2015-01-04 13:03:00 Will 2015 be a year of financial crashes, economic chaos and the start of the next great worldwide depression? Over the past couple of years, we have all watched as global financial bubbles have gotten larger and larger. Despite predictions that they could burst at any time, they have just continued to expand. But just like we witnessed in 2001 and 2008, all financial bubbles come to an end at some point, and when they do implode the pain can be extreme. Personally, I am entirely convinced that the financial markets are more primed for a financial collapse now than they have been at any other time since the last crisis happened nearly seven years ago. And I am certainly not alone. At this point, the warning cries have become a deafening roar as a whole host of prominent voices have stepped forward to sound the alarm. The following are 11 predictions of economic disaster in 2015 from top experts all over the globe... #1 Bill Fleckenstein: "They are trying to make the stock market go up and drag the economy along with it. It's not going to work. There's going to be a big accident. When people realize that it's all a charade, the dollar will tank, the stock market will tank, and hopefully bond markets will tank. Gold will rally in that period of time because it's done what it's done because people have assumed complete infallibility on the part of the central bankers."

Comment: For more on the economic house of cards see: 2015, the BRICS checkmate Western finance?

UK schoolteachers urged to report terrorist toddlers Melissa Melton Truthstream Media 2015-01-05 14:38:00 Just three years ago, we found out that children in Britain as young as three could be "blacklisted" - labeled "racist" on their permanent file for such evil thought crimes as calling a fellow classmate a "broccoli head." When my brother was six and I was 12, he called me a "carnival head." I always thought it was because he was being a six-year-old little brother. I never knew until today that it was because he was totally racist... You know, against... uh... theme parks?? But I digress... Now according to a new government directive from UK's Home Office, teachers including nursery school staff, have been handed a serious "duty" to "prevent people being drawn into terrorism."

Ferguson grand juror sues prosecutor to speak out RT 2015-01-05 02:10:00 A member of the grand jury that declined to indict former police officer Darren Wilson over the August 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown is back in court, this time to try and win the right to speak publically about those proceedings. On Monday this week, attorneys for an individual named only as "Grand Juror Doe" filed a lawsuitalleging that St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch mischaracterized the case against Wilson, a former officer with the Ferguson, Missouri Police Department, and presented evidence to the jury in a manner inconsistent with how such investigations are normally conducted.

Fight club for Jesus: Churches encourage members to fight, 'men made for combat' Nick Watson and Brian Bolt The Conversation 2015-01-05 23:35:00 "Can you love your neighbor as yourself, and at the same time knee him in the face as hard as you can?" American Christian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) champion Scott "Bam Bam" Sullivan wonders in an interview with The Times (London). Today over 700 evangelical US churches now integrate MMA (also known as cage-fighting) into their ministry programs. The phenomenon has even been featured in a recent documentary film, 2014's Fight Church. MMA is a combination of kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Greco-Roman wrestling and Thai boxing. Fighters face off against one another, brutally inflicting pain by punching, kicking, kneeing, and elbowing their opponents into submission. The intensity of the sport's violence caused Senator John McCain to call for an outright ban on MMA in the US. He denounced it as "human cockfighting," a "blood sport," and a "blood bath."

Comment: There's a case to be made for a more martial 'Jesus' than that presented in the Bible, especially if the Jesus myth was inspired by accounts of the achievements, betrayal, murder, and deification of Gaius Julius Caesar. But even Caesar, a master general and warrior, his clemency was even more regarded and remembered. These "Fight Churches" seem to foster a primitive 'fighting for fighting's sake' mentality, appealing to the lowest common denominator. But then, it's quite fitting, for a nation that sees an answer to everything it perceives as problems in the form of the fist, the torturer's instruments, and the gun.

Secret History

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Science & Technology

Earth's rotation slowing down: French time lords add one second to 2015 The Telegraph, UK 2015-01-06 20:01:00 Software companies are bracing themsevles for glitches after the Paris Observatory announced it will add a leap second to 2015. The year 2015 will be slightly longer after the Paris Observatory announced it was adding a leap second to clocks this summer. On June 30, dials will read 11:59:60 as clocks hold their breath for a second to allow the Earth's rotation to catch up with atomic time. Atomic time is constant, but the Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down by around two thousandths of a second per day. It is the task of scientists and officials at the International Earth Rotation Service based in France to monitor the planet's rotation and tweak time where necessary. Some years the Earth runs bang on time and no adjustment is needed. Software companies are already bracing themselves for problems. When the last leap second was added in 2012 Mozilla, Reddit, Foursquare, Yelp, LinkedIn, and StumbleUpon all reported crashes and there were problems with the Linux operating system and programmes written in Java. Many computing systems use the Network Time Protocol, or NTP, to keep themselves in sync with the world's atomic clocks. But most are not programmed to deal with an unexpected extra second. Google has even developed a special technique to deal with what it refers to as a 'leap smear' where it gradually adds milliseconds to its system clocks prior to the official arrive of the leap second. "The Earth is slowing down a little bit," said Nick Stamatakos, the chief of Earth Orientation Parameters at the US Naval Observatory.

Hubble takes 'sharpest ever' 1.5bn pixels image of Andromeda galaxy RT 2015-01-06 14:59:00 Hubble has captured a mind-blowing view of roughly a third of the Andromeda galaxy with thousands of star clusters - and it is the biggest image ever released by the space telescope. To display the whole panorama you would need 600 HD television screens. NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) jointly released the sharpest and biggest image ever of the Andromeda galaxy, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on Monday. #Hubble captures sweeping view of Andromeda galaxy and over 100 million stars.http://t.co/AWfGGjyqxp #aas225 pic.twitter.com/qJp45qHfF5- HubbleTelescope (@HubbleTelescope) January 5, 2015

Earth Changes

Coyote attacks two residents in Groveland, MA Richard Valdmanis Reuters 2015-01-06 08:32:00 A coyote attacked at least two people outside their homes in a northern Massachusetts town on Monday night, sending one man to hospital with bite wounds, according to local police. The Groveland police department issued a warning on Tuesday to residents of the town located about 35 miles north of Boston, saying the animal is on the loose and likely to have rabies. "We are asking all residents to be watchful and when outside use extra care for your safety and the safety of your children and pets," said deputy chief Jeffrey Gillen.

Comment: Animals have been attacking humans with increasing regularity lately. Even beloved pets are turning on their owners. Perhaps the animal kingdom is reflecting the increasingly bizarre and deteriorating behavior that humans have been exhibiting recently. Pack of coyotes chases man and dog through Burbank neighborhood, California Coyote attacks second young girl in Rye, New York Spike in coyote attacks on animal pets in Claremont, California Woman and dogs attacked by coyote in front of her Kilworthy home, Ontario

Spate of deep sea beaked whale deaths puzzle experts in Scotland The Scotsman 2015-01-06 20:50:00 Experts say they are baffled by a spate of mystery deaths around the west coast of Scotland by the world's deepest diving mammal. Scientists at the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust says it has received many reports over the past two weeks from members the public of stranded cetaceans. Five were of Cuvier's beaked whales, a species that is rarely seen due to its offshore distribution.  "Despite being rarely seen however, they are native to Scotland, preferring offshore deep-water canyons and seamounts where they hunt for squid," said the trust. "To our southwest in Ireland, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group have recorded similarly high numbers of Cuvier's beaked whales. In December, five were found dead along the west and north coast which accounts for almost 10 per cent of all the records of this species since records began.

Comment: Something natural involved? Creatures from the deep signal major Earth Changes: Is anyone paying attention? Or maybe something artificial? Navy sonar blamed for death of beaked whales found washed up in the Hebrides Or maybe both?

Flooding, landslides and power outages hit Washington state Eric M. Johnson Reuters 2015-01-06 04:16:00 An unusual burst of heavy rainfall in western Washington state caused landslides and flooding early on Monday, knocking three homes off foundations and forcing the evacuation of a nursing home, officials said. Several landslides in rain-soaked coastal Grays Harbor County pushed muddy floodwater and debris across key state highways, county and rural roads, most of which remained closed at nightfall in and around Aberdeen and Hoquiam, the county's largest cities. "It's not one of these snow-melt events, it's the inundation of rain over the last 24 hours," said Dave Porter, a spokesman for the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office, adding no injuries have been reported. Drier forecasts for Monday night and Tuesday could aide emergency crews working to clear roadways, although it was uncertain when roads would be re-open, Porter said.

Comment: Devastating floods have been increasing around the globe. These bizarre weather events seem to be indicative of worldwide swings that will in all likelihood continue to become more extreme in the future. See the SOTT topic on floods for a listing of recent flood events.

Travel chaos as heavy snowfall strikes Turkey rappler.com 2015-01-06 19:59:00 Heavy snowfall descended on large parts of Turkey on Tuesday, January 6, snarling road and air traffic and leading to closures of schools, reports said. In the northern province of Karabuk, a school bus went off the road and turned over on to its side in slick conditions caused by snow, leaving a student dead and 18 others injured, the Dogan news agency reported. The snowfall also seriously disrupted road traffic across Turkey and caused trouble with the electricity network causing some power cuts, particularly in the northern parts of the country. Turkey's national flag-carrier Turkish Airlines cancelled 44 international and domestic flights in and out of Istanbul and some other cities including the capital Ankara. In mega-city Istanbul, the authorities appeared to take every precaution including closing down schools. But the snow has so far failed to appear in the city in the quantities predicted.

Sub-zero cold wave set to lash Saudi Arabia with snow and wind Galal Fakkar arabnews.com 2015-01-06 19:40:00 A wave of bitterly cold weather accompanied by wind, sub-zero temperatures and snow is expected to hit the Kingdom on Wednesday and last until Sunday, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environmental Protection (PME) said on Monday. The extreme cold is forecast strike the north and northwest areas of the Kingdom as a result of storms coming from Europe and America. The inclement weather is expected to move across the entire country. Hussain Al-Qahtani, spokesperson of the PME, said this would be the coldest weather for the year. The northern areas would be struck first, including Tabuk, Turaif and Al-Jouf, where sub-zero temperatures and light snow is expected. The PME also expects wind that would limit visibility. The temperatures would likely drop in Madinah, Jeddah and Makkah, accompanied by strong winds. The cold wave would reach its peak on Thursday in Hail, Qassim, the Eastern Province and Riyadh.

Deer attacks and injures animal keeper at zoo in India The Hindu 2015-01-06 19:00:00 In a surprise attack, the first of its kind at the Nehru Zoological Park, a deer injured an animal keeper who went to administer medicine to it here on Sunday. According to zoo officials, the animal keeper, Akbar went to the deer enclosure and after releasing them into the display area, sought to administer medicine that were prescribed to a male deer. In what the officials describe as mock attempt at aggression, the deer hit the keeper and pressed him to the compound wall with its antlers. "There were no major external injuries but as he was pressed with antlers, Akbar had some discomfort and a bit of internal dislocations. We rushed him to Yashoda hospital at Malakpet and got him treated. The zoo is taking care of his treatment costs," the zoo curator, B.N.N.Murthy said. Usually, deer are reticent in nature and not known to attack, officials said adding that the mock attempt could have been a defensive response when the animal keeper went with medicine.

Comment: Other recent deer attacks on people: Man attacked by deer he shot with arrow Moose charges at ski patrolman on the slopes in Colorado Man dies following ferocious deer attack at Slovakian farm Violent elk put down in Sweden after attack on woman Wolf Lake man attacked and injured by elk at campground in Muskegon, Michigan Rampaging moose stomps on 2 women walkers in Colorado Deer farmer, 75, dies five days after being gored by stag in rutting season in Wales

Elephant tramples tea garden guard to death in Dooars, India The Telegraph (India) 2014-12-30 14:34:00 A night guard of a Dooars tea garden was killed by a wild tusker while he was patrolling the estate last night. According to a forest department source, Parbat Dorjee, 50, was working in Hope Tea Estate in Nagrakata. "While Dorjee was walking in the plantation, a tusker came out of the adjoining forests of Sipchu and trampled him to death. The jumbo then went back to the forest. This morning, local people found the body and informed us," said a forest officer. In another incident, a tusker came out of the Diana forest last night and damaged two huts in Kalikhola village. The wild elephant later entered Luksan, a locality nearby, and damaged another house. The animal's next destination was Grassmore Tea Estate where it damaged 12 huts.

Wild elephant kills man in Odisha, India odishachannel.com 2015-01-04 14:27:00 Following the killing of a man by a wild elephant, irate villagers of Rasasingha under Sadar police station blocked the national highway No. 55 paralysing traffic for more than two hours today. A female elephant, according to forest department sources, killed Birabar Parida(50) after she turned furious over the death of her three-year-old baby last night near the village. The baby elephant was killed by another tusker. The shocked mother elephant stayed with the body of the baby elephant and refused to go away even in the morning. When the villagers tried to chase her away, she strayed into the village and found Birabar in her way and killed him instantly. Enraged over the incident, more than 200 people, who staged the blockade between Cuttack-Sambalpur, demanded adequate protection against the attack from a herd of elephants.

Massive sinkhole swallows street in Sioux City, Iowa Bret Hayworth Sioux City Journal 2015-01-05 20:43:00 An overnight watermain break has left about 15 homes without water service Monday in the Morningside area of Sioux City. The break is in the 2800 block of Macomb Avenue. Overnight temperatures dipped below zero in advance of an approaching snowstorm, but City Utilities Department worker Randy Solomon said a cause hasn't been determined.

Comment: SOTT has been following the sinkhole phenomenon since the early 2000s. It was once a rare occurrence and is now a part of our 'normal' daily lives. This 'sinkhole' phenomenon cannot be explained satisfactorily by old water mains breaking, the dissolution of underground rock or depleted aquifers. Very often the bedrock in locations hit with sinkholes was NOT water-soluble. We suspect that the global increase in gaping sinkholes is the result of larger solar and seismic phenomena which cause Earth to 'open up' due to a weakened surface-core electric field. SeeVolcanoes are erupting all over the place right now. Scientists have figured out why: A minute slowdown in the planet's rotation for a recent article about a slowdown in the planet's rotation being at least partly responsible for increased volcanic activity. For a more in-depth look at the electric connections within earthly and cosmic phenomena, see: Earth Changes and the Human Cosmic Connection.

Man found dead near New Mexico reservation may have been attacked by dog pack Joseph J. Kolb news.yahoo.com 2015-01-06 11:19:00 A Native American man found dead in a New Mexico field last week near the Navajo Nation reservation may have been mauled by a pack of as many as 10 dogs, police said on Monday. Gallup Police Department spokesman Rick White said the man, who did not have identification on him but appeared to be in his mid-40s, was found by a passer-by. "We do not have a definitive cause of death yet but it appears he was attacked by dogs," White said, although he could not give a precise cause of death. "There definitely were defense wounds from dog bites." White said the man may have fought off the dogs then succumbed to the single digit temperatures in Gallup on Thursday night before his body was found on Friday. The body was taken to Albuquerque for an autopsy.

Comment: See also: Man likely to have died from a dog pack attack in Madison, North Carolina Feral dog pack found to have killed woman on Wyoming Indian reservation Denison, Texas woman attacked and severely injured by dog pack Nine people killed by feral dog attacks in Rumbek, Sudan Pack of feral dogs attack 2 children, killing one, Nanfang, China

Snow forecast across 2,000 miles of U.S CBS News - St. Louis 2015-01-06 01:52:00 In addition to some snow and heavy rain, bitterly cold temperatures have begun moving into parts of the U.S. and will be staying put for at least part of this week. Snow is possible across a 2,000-mile stretch of the U.S. and meteorologist Megan Glaros of CBS station WBBM says that millions of people will deal with brutally cold weather - with wind chills as low as 50 degrees below zero for part of the northern Plains. Here are some questions and answers about the weather: Q: What's The Forecast? A: The Midwest will see the tail end of a storm that could leave as many as 6 inches of snow in Chicago by early Tuesday. The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory until noon Monday for the Chicago area, due to wind chills of 15 to 30 below overnight, CBS Chicago reported. After that, Arctic temperatures like those seen in North Dakota and Minnesota will rush in. Parts of those states were expecting wind chills of between 25-50 degrees below zero through Monday morning. It'll be a similar story in New York, where rain showers will give way to cold air. By Thursday, "New York City will be lucky if it hits 20″ for a high and could see lows near 10 degrees, according to Michael Musher with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. In Boston, strong wind is ushering in the cold - and gusts will top out between 40-50 mph this afternoon resulting in some isolated pockets of tree/powerline damage in the region, WBZ-TV meterologist Danielle Niles reports. Atlanta will see temperatures dip to about 15 degrees Monday and Tuesday.

Comment: Ice ages can start at any time and quickly. See: Fire and Ice: The Day After Tomorrow

Volcanoes are erupting all over the place right now. Scientists have figured out why: A minute slowdown in the planet's rotation Robin Wylie The Conversation 2014-09-25 13:36:00 The Earth seems to have been smoking a lot recently. Volcanoes are erupting in Iceland, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ecuador and Mexico right now. Others, in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, erupted recently but seem to have calmed down. Many of these have threatened homes and forced evacuations. But among their spectators, these eruptions raise this question: Is there such a thing as a season for volcanic eruptions? While volcanoes may not have "seasons" as we know them, scientists have started to discern intriguing patterns in their activity. Eruptions caused by a shortened day The four seasons are caused by the Earth's axis of rotation tilting toward and away from the sun. But our planet undergoes another, less well-known change, which affects it in a more subtle way, perhaps even volcanically. Due to factors like the gravitational pull of the sun and moon, the speed at which the Earth rotates constantly changes. Accordingly the length of a day actually varies from year to year. The difference is only in the order of milliseconds. But new research suggests that this seemingly small perturbation could bring about significant changes on our planet - or more accurately, within it.

Comment: Finally, some government-approved scientists have 1.) noticed the increase in volcanic activity, and 2.) connected it with a minute slowdown in planetary rotation. It needs to be further explained, however, that the 'seasonal' changes to patterns of erupting volcanoes marry with 'seasonal' changes to patterns of other climatological, seismic and cosmic phenomena. There aren't just more volcanoes erupting now. There are more earthquakes now. There is more precipitation now. There is more snow now. There are stronger storms now. There is more methane outgassing now. There is more heat coming up from the oceans now. There are more meteor fireballs now. There are more comets in the solar system now. There are more cosmic rays reaching Earth now. Etcetera, etcetera. All of it is inter-related, which is why climatology alone cannot explain what is going on. Only a (truly) multi-disciplinary approach - one that is disinterested in biased assumptions that improve chances of receiving grants - can account for all the observation data. SOTT.net been saying for years that a slowdown in the planet's rotation can account for much of what has unfolded in terms of global planetary and climate chaos in the last decade or so. The question is: what is causing the planet's rotation to slow down? It cannot simply be "factors like the gravitational pull of the sun and moon" because the same thing is happening to other planets in the solar system!

Fire in the Sky

Strange fireball filmed breaking away from meteorite-like object in California Richard Gray Daily Mail, UK 2015-01-06 10:21:00 A mysterious glowing orb has been filmed breaking away from an unidentified meteorite-like object as it streaked across the sky above California. The unusual object can be seen moving through the sky leaving a long tail behind that is characteristic of space debris or a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere. But after a few seconds a second round object separates from the main fireball and moves off in the opposite direction. UFO hunters have claimed the bright orb may have been some sort of escape pod from a crashing ship. However, others have said it is more likely to have been a meteorite breaking apart in the atmosphere. There have been several sightings of meteorite fireballs in the US over the past week, with many reports coming from California. The past couple of days have also seen astronomers enjoying the peak of the annual Quadrantids meteor shower. The fireball was spotted by Ken Roberts while he was driving home from work in southern California. He said: 'I was driving home after work when this UFO or whatever you call it caught my eye. 'I pulled over in front of somebody's house to film it. I would have got a better shot but I didn't want to jump these people's fence. 'Anyway I don't know what the hell to make of it. Couldn't have been a plane cause there was no noise. And I never heard a crash after either. 'The Orb thing flew straight up into the sky and disappeared.' He posted the video on YouTube on Monday evening but did not say when or where the footage had been filmed, other than the general area of California. 'I think it could be something re-entering and bits coming off it,' said Ben Biggs, editor of All About Space magazine. 'However, if it was a big spacecraft then we'd probably know about it. 'Could it be a meteorite? It's a bit slow to be one as they normally travel much faster through the atmosphere, although we are at the peak of the Quadrantids meteor shower.

Comment: See: Forget About Global Warming: We're One Step From Extinction!

Health & Wellness

A letter from America: Living with GMOs The Undersigned The Ecologist 2014-11-12 20:53:00 NGOs, scientists, anti-GM groups, celebrities, food manufacturers, and others representing 57 million Americans today publish an Open Letter to the UK and the entire EU warning of the serious and manifold hazards of GMO crops - and promising their support in our fight against them. We are writing as concerned American citizens to share with you our experience of genetically modified (GM) crops and the resulting damage to our agricultural system and adulteration of our food supply.

New York City mandates flu shots for all children attending school or day care Ethan A. Huff Natural News 2015-01-04 00:00:00 Unless their parents opt for a medical or religious exemption, young school children in New York City will soon be required to get a flu shot in order to attend preschool or gain access to a child care facility. As outlined by the New York City Health Department (NYCHD), children aged 6-59 months will be barred from attending classes or being around other children in an institutional setting if they don't first get jabbed for the flu -- this, despite warnings by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that this year's flu shot doesn't even work. According to 7online.com, children living in New York City who fall into this age grouping will have until December 31 to either get a flu shot or file a medical or religious exemption, which parents can learn more about here.

Comment: Research has shown that not only are vaccines ineffective, but they predispose individuals to contract the very diseases they were meant to prevent. CDC issues flu vaccine apology: This year's vaccine doesn't work! Did flu shots ever work? Considering vaccinating your children? Here's why you shouldn't The seasonal flu lie: PR stunt to sell more vaccinations Blistering report on flu vaccines: Revealed by John Hopkins Scientist

Physical exercise found to lower risk of Parkinson's Jane Collingwood PsychCentral 2015-01-06 00:00:00 Research evidence continues to mount that physical exercise may help lower a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease. In a new study that followed 43,368 men and women in Sweden for about 13 years, moderate daily exercise was found to be associated with a lower risk of Parkinson's. Parkinson's belongs to a group of conditions called motor system disorders, which occur when the brain loses dopamine-producing cells. It affects more than one percent of people aged 60 years and above. Symptoms include trembling in the arms, hands, legs, jaw, and face, stiffness of arms and legs and trunk, slowness of movement, and impaired balance and coordination. Eventually, walking, talking, and everyday tasks become more challenging. Parkinson's disease is the fourteenth leading cause of death among Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Comment: In addition to exercise, one of the best ways to prevent or ameliorate Parkinson's disease is to adopt a gluten-free ketogenic diet. Dramatic recovery In Parkinson's patient with gluten free diet Is the Ketogenic Diet the cure for multiple diseases?

Is cycling the secret of eternal youth? Steve Connor The Independent, UK 2015-01-06 15:48:00 Dressing up in skin-tight Lycra and pounding the highways on a road bike may not sound like the way to age gracefully but scientists have found that older cyclists show fewer signs of ageing compared with non-cyclists. Cycling - and heavy exercise in general - may be exhausting but it also appears to be the route to Shangri-La or something approximating the fountain of youth, according to one interpretation of the findings. Scientists who analysed the physiological functions of more than 120 regular cyclists aged between 55 and 79 failed to find any of the obvious signs of ageing that they would normally observe among people of the same age. The volunteers - 84 men and 41 women - had to be able to cycle 100 km (62 miles) in six and half hours for men and 60km in less than 5.5 hours for women. Smokers, heavy drinkers and those with high blood pressure and other health conditions were automatically excluded.

Comment: See also: Epigenetics: How exercise and other lifestyle changes can affect your DNA

Neurological consequences of Botox injections Richard Ctyowic, M.D. Psychology Today 2015-01-03 02:15:00 Unintended neurological consequences make the cosmetic procedure far from benign The Injection of Botox to reduce facial lines and wrinkles has long been assumed to be purely cosmetic in nature. Hollywood's rush to it has normalized the procedure and even given it an air of frivolity. New research, however, has revealed an unintentional and rather dramatic consequence: Botox injections in the forehead rearrange the brain's sensory map of the hands. The scary part is that clients typically come back for regular injections, because the paralysis the toxin induces lasts only two to three months. The unanswered question is whether repeated treatments over a period of years results in permanent changes to one's brain. Botox is the brand name for botulinum toxin - a, one of the most lethal poisons known. The neurotoxin is produced by the bacterium Clostridium, a spore commonly found in plants, soil, water, and animals. The clinical syndrome of botulism, which is often lethal, typically occurs from either a wound infection or eating undercooked or improperly canned food. The toxin paralyzes muscles by blocking the release of acetylcholine, the principal neurotransmitter at the nerve - muscle junction. For a long time we have known that the brain is plastic, meaning that it circuits and microscopic anatomy are malleable. They can physically change in response to a number of factors. For example, in violinists the brain map devoted to the non-bowing fingers is much larger than the same finger region in non-violinists. In newly-blind individuals learning braille, the cortical area devoted to the "reading finger" greatly expands into the suddenly unused visual cortex. The brain maps of the hand and face territories lie next to one another in the sensory cortex. After hand amputations, tactile inputs from the face routinely widen and shift into the territory newly deprived of sensory input from the hand. Likewise, patients with facial paralysis due to Bell's palsy or stroke have enhanced metabolic activity in the hand region of the sensory cortex. The principle is well established that the cortical representation of one body part widens in response to injury affecting another body part.

Comment: If you are concerned about wrinkles, try the ketogenic diet. "In short, let fat be thy medicine and medicine be thy fat! You will think that with all of this information we would see ketogenic diets recommended right and left by our health care providers, but alas, that is not the case. Mainstream nutritionists recommend carbohydrates AKA sugar as the main staple of our diets. The problem with this (and there are several of them) is that in the presence of a high carb diet we are unable to produce ketones from the metabolism of fats, thus, depriving ours bodies from much healing ketone production. The fact that we live in a world which uses glucose as a primary fuel means that we eat a very non healing food in more ways than one. I have been doing the low carb diet for about a week and a half now and I must say, I am really starting to feel amazing!!! The first few days my head hurt, I felt lethargic, and my legs felt so heavy. But after I got past that, I have so much energy. I don't get tired anymore around 3pm. The best part is, I am not constantly thinking and obsessing about food. I feel a real sense of inner calm. My skin looks better, my hair looks better too. I have been having bacon and eggs for breakfast, a pork chop or other piece of meat for lunch, and usually some pork and sometimes some green beans for dinner. I have also lost some weight! Woo hoo!!! -Angela, United States. Sott.net forum. We have been on a ketogenic diet for nearly three million years and it has made us human. It was the lifestyle in which our brains got nurtured and evolved. But not anymore, unless we all make an effort to reclaim this lost wisdom. Nowadays the human brain is not only shrinking, but brain atrophy is the norm as we age and get plagued with diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, senile dementia and so forth. In the mean time new research is starting to elucidate the key role of our mitochondria in the regulation of the cell cycle - the vital process by which a single celled fertilized egg develops into a mature organism, as well as the process by which hair, skin, blood cells, and some internal organs are renewed." The Ketogenic Diet - An Overview See also: Botox Linked To Respiratory Failure And Death, FDA Advises Botox Linked to Weakened Ability to Experience Emotions

Children who take ADHD medication perform worse in school Ethan A. Huff Natural News 2015-01-03 22:51:00 Children who take mind-altering medications like Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been shown in a new peer-reviewed study to perform worse in school than if they weren't taking the substances at all. Researchers from Princeton University, Cornell University and the University of Toronto found that the administration of these drugs to children, which is supposedly to help them remain calm and focus in class, actually leaves students at a deficit when it comes to paying attention and learning in a formal academic setting. These shocking findings, which were published recently in the Journal of Health Economics, reveal that increasing the use of stimulants isn't helping children any more than loading them up with anti-psychotic medications helps them think more rationally. Once again, pharmaceutical drugs are shown to harm the normal thought process and inhibit natural human cognition. Back in 1997, some rules changed in the Canadian province of Quebec that made it easier for people to access prescription drugs. In the 10 years following this change, the number of children taking stimulants in Quebec more than doubled, with an astounding 44 percent of Canada's ADHD prescriptions now going to the province. This massive increase made for an easier time studying the outcomes of ADHD drugs in children, the results of which are sure to surprise many parents. Based on the researchers' work, children on ADHD drugs fared slightly worse than other children and were far more likely not to finish school without having to first repeat a grade, suggesting added learning impairment.

Comment: The conditions which derail the development of children are in areas which doctors and various "authorities" refuse to look at as causative factors of bad behavior: poor nutrition, preponderance of toxicity from heavy metals and vaccinations, and the toxic pollution that pervades most urban environments. Instead of pumping children full of useless pharmaceuticals which only exacerbate conditions and turn children into emotion-less zombies, we should be trying to solve the problems instead of covering up the symptoms. If doctors were anything more than pill-pushers for the pharmaceutical companies, that would be possible. As it stands, doctors are taught to be salesmen for the Big Pharma and not healers like was originally intended.

Epigenetics: How exercise and other lifestyle changes can affect your DNA Gretchen Reynolds New York Times 2014-12-17 23:21:00 We all know that exercise can make us fitter and reduce our risk for illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. But just how, from start to finish, a run or a bike ride might translate into a healthier life has remained baffling. Now new research reports that the answer may lie, in part, in our DNA. Exercise, a new study finds, changes the shape and functioning of our genes, an important stop on the way to improved health and fitness. The human genome is astonishingly complex and dynamic, with genes constantly turning on or off, depending on what biochemical signals they receive from the body. When genes are turned on, they express proteins that prompt physiological responses elsewhere in the body. Scientists know that certain genes become active or quieter as a result of exercise. But they hadn't understood how those genes know how to respond to exercise.

Comment: In addition to exercise, improving your diet and decreasing your stress or managing it properly can have beneficial effects on your DNA.

Science of the Spirit

The shadow side of the McMindfulness craze Jeffrey B. Rubin Truthout 2015-01-04 00:00:00 In case we had any doubt after watching Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes, mindfulness is the new yoga - and we are in the midst of a mindfulness revolution. It's been embraced by celebrities, business leaders, politicians and athletes; and recommended by doctors, clergy, psychotherapists and prison wardens. Apps and bestselling books touting the benefits of meditation proliferate. Google "mindfulness" and you'll get over 24 million hits. It's not surprising that with unbridled enthusiasm about mindfulness come exaggerated claims and problems that are eclipsed. Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of the architects of the mindfulness revolution,claims mindfulness "has the potential to ignite a universal or global renaissance that . . . would put even the European and Italian Renaissance into the shade . . . [and] that may actually be the only promise the species and the planet have for making it through the next couple hundred years."

Comment: While practice of mindfulness certainly contains many benefits, it does not eliminate the necessity of emotional processing and work on the self. Using meditation as a tool as a way to avoid reality and the lessons contained within does not get us anywhere. The Éiriú Eolas breathing/meditation technique, available for free online, is a powerful framework to aid the processing and releasing of "negative" emotions, and helps people to face the reality of themselves and the world without falling into despair. In addition, detoxing and dietary changes can aid in clarity of thought, and can remove many of the emotional or psychological issues that are actually just faulty brain/gut signalling caused by chronic inflammation.

Mind control: Dr. Ewen Cameron and 'psychic driving' Jon Rappoport No More Fake News 2015-01-05 15:14:00 "It's important to understand that the professionals who put the most emphasis on the brain as the source of consciousness are also the people who drug it, sedate it, coerce it, and try to control it. They're going mad trying to reduce life to purely physical terms. They're agents of destruction." (The Underground, Jon Rappoport) This is what happens when you put Materialists in charge of human life. They destroy themselves and everything around them. It's their only option, because their understanding is Zero. They're trying to make thought and imagination and passion into material objects. Since that's an absurdity, they do the only thing they can do: try to control those "objects." In this way, they become the perfect voluntary dupes for men who want control of the whole planet. There is a whole brand of mind control that is little more than torture.

High Strangeness

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Don't Panic! Lighten Up!

Government admits it was only behind destruction of North Tower The Onion 2015-01-06 18:52:00 Washington - Saying they felt a duty to reveal what truly transpired on September 11, 2001, numerous high-ranking federal officials announced publicly Tuesday that the United States government was responsible for destroying just the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Representatives from the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and half a dozen other government bureaus revealed at a morning press conference that they were responsible for the development, funding, and execution of a plan to take down 1 World Trade Center in New York's Financial District. Describing their mission as an unqualified success, officials noted that the completion of their objective was followed 17 minutes later by a separate suicide attack on 2 World Trade Center by al-Qaeda operatives piloting a hijacked airliner. "The American people deserve to know that, of the two towers that were brought down in Lower Manhattan on 9/11, only one was the target of the federal government," said CIA spokesman Tom McLennan, emphasizing that their carefully guarded plot was a wholly independent event planned without any foreknowledge of the similar act of terrorism designed by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden for the same day. "While we freely admit our culpability in striking the first building, let us be clear that we had no hand in destroying the other tower. In fact, that was just as shocking and devastating to us as it was to all American citizens." "Aside from our controlled implosion of Tower No. 1, we can assure the public that the September 11 attacks were carried out by Islamic radicals as part of their war against the West," McLennan added.

Comment: For the real story checkout 9/11-The Ultimate Truth

Coming attractions: A preview of 2015 Wiliiam Blum Counterpunch 2015-01-04 15:18:00 January 25: 467 people reported missing from a university in Mexico. US State Department blames Russia. February 1: Military junta overthrows President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. Washington decries the loss of democracy. February 2: US recognizes the new Venezuelan military junta, offers it 50 jet fighters and tanks. February 3: Revolution breaks out in Venezuela endangering the military junta; 40,000 American marines land in Caracas to quell the uprising. February 16: White police officer in Chicago fatally shoots a 6-year old black boy holding a toy gun. March 6: Congress passes a new law which states that to become president of the United States a person must have the surname Bush or Clinton.