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Eva Bartlett
In Gaza 2015-10-10 19:35:00
Over the past five years, the increasingly ridiculous propaganda against President al-Assad and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has ranged from the scripted (OTPOR fomented -"revolution") "peaceful protesters under fire" rhetoric, to other deceitful lexicon like "civil war," and "moderate rebels." As the intervention campaigns continue with new terrorist and "humanitarian" actors (literally) constantly emerging in the NATO-alliance's theatre of death squads, it is worth reviewing some of the important points regarding the war on Syria. Million Person Marches On March 29, 2011 (less than two weeks into the fantasy "revolution") over 6 million peopleacross Syria took to the streets in support of President al-Assad. In June, a reported hundreds of thousands marched in Damascus in support of the president, with a 2.3 km long Syrian flag. In November, 2011 (9 months into the chaos), masses again held demonstrations supporting President al-Assad, notably in Homs (the so-called "capital of the 'revolution'"), Dara'a (the so-called "birthplace of the 'revolution'"), Deir ez-Zour, Raqqa, Latakia, and Damascus. Mass demonstrations like this have occurred repeatedly since, including in March 2012, in May 2014in the lead-up to Presidential elections, and in June 2015, to note just some of the larger rallies. In May 2013, it was reported that even NATO recognized the Syrian president's increased popularity. "The data, relayed to NATO over the last month, asserted that 70 percent of Syrians support" the Assad government. At present, the number is now at least 80 percent. | |
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| Puppet Masters |
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RT
2015-10-28 20:41:00
Islamic State evolved from the Arab Spring and gained momentum due to the duplicity of certain world powers, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has told a meeting of top security heads of ex-Soviet states (CIS) in Moscow on Wednesday. There are world powers that are using Islamic State (IS, former ISIL/ISIS) as a kind of "terror battering ram" to ensure their interests in Asia and Africa, said FSB director Aleksandr Bortnikov. In pursuing their goals with IS, these countries have put the world on the verge of a global religious and civilizational crisis, he added. The outcome of this global conflict could be disastrous, Bortnikov stressed. Russia's security agency chief also said that with parts of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan joining Islamic State, there is an imminent threat of the terrorists invading Central Asia. "The escalation of tension in Afghanistan is causing serious concern. Numerous IS gangs that are part of the Taliban movement are currently concentrated on the northern borders of that country. Some of them have joined Islamic State, which has dramatically intensified the threat of a terrorist invasion of Central Asia," said the FSB chief. | |
Comment: Further reading
2011 - Year of the Dupe | |
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Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge 2015-10-27 21:34:00
A little over a week ago in "Full Metal Retard: US Launches 'Performance-Based' Ammo Paradrop Program For Make-Believe 'Syrian Arabs'" we outlined what is perhaps the most hilarious Pentagon scheme designed to arm rebels in Syria to date (and that's saying something). Following the comical demise of the latest "train and equip" program, the US is out of options for supporting the opposition in Syria and so Washington decided to go back to Old Faithful: the Kurds. But that presents a problem. The US is now flying sorties from Incirlik and Turkish autocrat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hates the Kurds and has gone out of his way to make it clear that Ankara doesn't distinguish between the PKK and the YPG. For the uninitiated, here's the problem broken down in bullet points:
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Comment: When this level of incompetence is reached the Empire is really tottering. But it will still wreak a lot of death and destruction before it falls.
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Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge 2015-10-28 21:09:00
While the world was focused on just what excuse Yellen will come up with not to hike rates after 7 consecutive years of ZIRP, and how many new "mandates" the Fed would come up with to justify its now traditional lack of action, moments ago a far more unexpected development took place when a 243-foot blimp used by NORAD in its surveillance of the east coast has become untethered from its mooring in Maryland and it's now flying somewhere over Pennsylvania, according to NORAD spokesman Lt. Joe Mavrocki. The airship broke free around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday and has approximately 6,700 feet of tether attached to it. DefenseOne adds that the Air Force has scrambled two F-16s from the Atlantic City Air National Guard base to track the blimp, which officials say is holding at 16,000 feet. | |
Comment: The US military can't even keep track of their own billion dollar projects, how can anyone expect them to competently fight a war against terrorists?
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RT
2015-10-28 11:21:00
Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak has told his French colleague that Ukraine could face a gas shortage this winter. Moscow is trying to avoid a gas crisis similar to the winter of 2006 which left parts of Europe without heat. "In relation to Ukraine's gas supplies; more than $400 million has been transferred by Naftogaz to Gazprom. The commensurate volume of gas has been supplied to Ukraine," Novak told French Energy Minister Segolene Royal in Moscow on Wednesday. | |
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South Front
2015-10-27 20:27:00
The Russian Air Force struck terrorists' positions in Daraa province for the first time in the past month. Russia's fighter jets hit the terrorists' positions in the strategic hilltops of Tal al-Harra and Tal Antar near Deir al-Adas. Then the SAA carried out attacks on the strategic hilltop of Tal al-Alaqiya and managed to fully destroy the terrorists' positions in the sector. Also, the Russian airstrikes targeted the ISIS and al-Nusra positions in the Golan Heights in Quneitra province.
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RT
2015-10-28 18:17:00
There is a particularly devious type of malicious software that locks users out of their own computer systems until an individual agrees to pay a ransom to the hackers. In these cases, the FBI has surprisingly suggested just ponying up the dough. It's not the type of advice one would typically expected from the FBI, but that's exactly what was recommended by Joseph Bonavolonta, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's CYBER and Counterintelligence Program Boston office. "The ransomware is that good," said Bonavolonta at the 2015 Cyber Security Summit in Boston, as quoted by Security Ledger. "To be honest, we often advise people just to pay the ransom." Bonavolonta went on to say that ransomware incidents should still be reported to the FBI so that the agency can monitor how the hackers are advancing their schemes, which can trap user data behind encryption. But he said even when the Bureau is notified of ransom hacks - software such as Cryptolocker, Cryptowall and Reveton, for example - the encryption is too tough for officials to crack. "The easiest thing may be to just pay the ransom," said Bonavolonta. "The amount of money made by these criminals is enormous and that's because the overwhelming majority of institutions just pay the ransom." | |
Comment: The hackers ought to give a portion of their ransom fees to the FBI with this kind of advice. Maybe instead of giving terrible advice the FBI should try and find ways to help people who get hacked in this way.
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Dean Kirby
The Independent, UK 2015-10-28 00:02:00
Cases of malnutrition and other "Victorian" diseases are soaring in England, in what campaigners said was a result of cuts to social services and rising food poverty. NHS statistics show that 7,366 people were admitted to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of malnutrition between August 2014 and July this year, compared with 4,883 cases in the same period from 2010 to 2011 - a rise of more than 50 per cent in just four years. Cases of other diseases rife in the Victorian era including scurvy, scarlet fever, cholera and whooping cough have also increased since 2010, although cases of TB, measles, typhoid and rickets have fallen. Chris Mould, chairman of the Trussell Trust, which runs a nationwide network of foodbanks, said they saw "tens of thousands of people who have been going hungry, missing meals and cutting back on the quality of the food they buy". "We meet families from across the UK struggling to put enough food on the table and, at the extreme end, you get people who are malnourished," he said. "We often see parents who are going without food so that they can feed their children, and these parents often struggle to afford enough nutritious food for their children, too. We don't think anyone should have to go hungry in the UK, which is why we're working to engage the public, other charities and politicians across parties to find solutions to the underlying causes of food poverty." Dianne Jeffrey, who chairs the Malnutrition Task Force, an independent expert group, and charity Age UK, said the rise in hospital admissions for malnutrition was "deeply distressing". | |
Comment: In a country where British Conservative MP's laugh at stories of starving British families, studies confirm that the obscene, unnecessarily harsh austerity measures they adopt are having devastating repercussions among those most vulnerable, as people go hungry, forcing dependency on food banks.
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RT
2015-10-28 16:23:00
Iran says Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his deputies will attend Syria peace talks in Vienna on Friday, ISNA news agency reports. Egypt and Iraq will also be attending. "We have reviewed the invitation, and it was decided that the foreign minister would attend the talks," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said. "Deputy Foreign Ministers Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi will accompany Zarif on this trip," Afkham added. She stated that Zarif and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, spoke on the phone about the upcoming summit on both Tuesday and Wednesday. | |
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John Wight
RT 2015-10-28 17:55:00
While the world's attention has been focused on events in the Middle East and Ukraine and the US-Russia standoff, another crisis has been brewing in the South China Sea where Washington's writ is being contested by China. It is a territorial dispute that goes back centuries, but which has become increasingly tense in recent years. Deepening tensions in the South China Sea involving a territorial dispute over the Paracel and Spratly Islands - in truth, submerged pieces of rock - are particularly delicate, given that the dispute involves multiple countries, including China, Vietnam, Singapore Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The waters around these islands are known to be rich in natural resources, and would constitute a significant boon to the economy of the state that has sovereignty over them. Meanwhile, China - much to the consternation of the United States - has been actively constructing a man-made island in the area, which includes a runway big enough for military aircraft. | |
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RT
2015-10-28 17:50:00
The consequences of potential US ground operations in Syria would be unpredictable, the head of Russia's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs told RT. He added that claims Russian airstrikes have targeted civilians are part of ongoing information war. "If there ...[is] any evidence ...[it] should be presented and Russia is definitely open to making further investigations,"Chairman of the Russian Upper House committee for foreign affairs, Konstantin Kosachev told RT, while on a visit to Washington. "But there is no evidence [that has been] presented by the military experts to the Russian military experts." Kosachev's comments come after the Russian Ministry of Defense summoned the military attaches of NATO countries and Saudi Arabia, asking them to clarify their allegations that Russian airstrikes in Syria had hit civilian targets. The head of the committee blamed mass media for "deliberately circulating rumors" of Russian airstrikes killing civilian population in Syria. The same "rumors," Kosachev, said are being spread throughout social media. "This is just an information war against Russia and nothing else," he told RT. | |
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RT
2015-10-28 17:33:00
Lots of officers from Free Syrian Army (FSA) have joined Islamic State militants, one FSA commanders told RT. That's despite the rebels' centers repeatedly getting attacked by the extremists. "But lots of our officers joined Islamic State because of ideology," Hussam Alawak, a commander of the Free Syrian army, told RT. He added that some extremists from the Islamic State's (IS, formerly known as ISIS/ISIL) branch in Iraq come to FSA centers and "cause trouble for them." "They [IS] took lots of people from our army to achieve their goals of expansion, to control oil regions in Syria. They attacked us with very dense fire in the Al-Bab region [Aleppo province, northern Syria], so we had to tactically retreat to other places." According to the Alawak, FSA also hopes that Russians and Syrians "can work hand-in-hand when it comes to counter terrorism and extremism in the region." | |
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Sputnik
2015-10-28 16:13:00
Baghdad has not asked and does not need the United States to conduct ground operations against Islamic State in Iraq, Prime Minister Haider Abadi's spokesman said Wednesday. On Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that the Pentagon had not ruled out conducting ground attacks against ISIL. "This is an Iraqi affair and the government did not ask the U.S. Department of Defense to be involved in direct operations," Saad Hadithi told NBC News, adding that Baghdad had "enough soldiers on the ground."Hadithi said the United States is required to coordinate through Baghdad any military activity in the country, including the airstrikes that an international US-led coalition is currently conducting against ISIL targets on Iraqi soil. The spokesman, however, admitted that US assistance was important to Iraq to arm and train its forces. Some 3,300 US troops are currently deployed in Iraq to train local forces and protect US facilities, according to NBC News. US forces and Kurdish militia last week carried out an anti-ISIL operation in northern Iraq. The United States did not inform the Iraqi government of its actions in advance. | |
Comment: The Empire of chaos is quickly loosing influence all around the Middle East due toRussia's stand against terrorism. The US' illegal actions are becoming more and more exposed within the international community. Countries like Iraq, who have been abused and terrorized by the United States for well over a decade, are within their full right to say, "Enough!"
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RT
2015-10-28 17:07:00
Syria's post-war reconstruction will be led by Russian companies, according to a member of the Russian Parliament Dmitry Sablin. The MP was part of last week's Russian delegation to Damascus. Russian officials discussed economic matters with Syrian President Bashar Assad, including the issue of the country's revival, Sablin told Izvestia daily on Wednesday. Talking about the reconstruction of Syria's war-torn regions, President Assad said companies from different countries have already offered their services in rebuilding Syria. While French and Swiss firms are among those ready to participate, the Syrian government will do its best to give Russian companies the best contracts, Assad added. "There are areas in Syria that can be rebuilt. Syria is ready to provide Russian companies with all the contracts worth hundreds of billions dollars," Sablin quoted Assad as saying. | |
Comment: No doubt the West is apoplectic at this news, as Western corporations have likely been salivating over the possibility of endless Syrian 'reconstruction' opportunities once regime change enabled the US to install a puppet dictator, who would hand over control to the West. Quite fortunately, Putin's intervention has foiled their hegemonic ambitions thus enabling Syria to stabilize and facilitating the return of millions displaced by the US/NATO led proxy war.
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Robert Bridge
RT 2015-10-28 16:59:00
The First Amendment suffered a beating in broad daylight this week as a neoconservative think-tank headed by Senator John McCain released an article calling for the US government to put the squeeze on RT's assets. In the latest 'McCainikaze' attack on President Putin, RT and anything else that happens to inhabit the 11 time zones from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, David J. Kramer offers an embarrassingly reckless plan to "knock Putin on his heels." Yes, at the very same time the Russian leader has his hands full battling Islamic terrorists that US smart bombs just aren't smart enough to hit, Kramer, senior director for human rights and democracy at the McCain Institute for International Leadership, has decided it's a good time to go after RT. "Wouldn't it be nice to go on the offensive, in a non-military way, to knock Putin on his heels, while also shutting down his odious propaganda machine? Here's how it can be done," schemes Kramer. | |
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Sputnik
2015-10-28 14:23:00
Civilian casualties of the Saudi-led bombing in Yemen have reached 6,318, according to the local health ministry. Over 1,000 children have been killed since the start of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, spokesman for the country's Health Ministry Tamim Shami said Wednesday. | |
Comment: This 'war' is really yet another act of genocide waged against an entire population:
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| Society's Child |
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Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project 2015-10-27 20:56:00
On July 26, Seneca Police Lt. Mark Tiller ran towards 19-year-old Zachary Hammond's car with his gun drawn as Hammond's date, Tori Morton, allegedly sold a few grams of marijuana to an undercover cop. According to Seneca Police Chief John Covington, Hammond drove toward Lt. Tiller in an attempt to murder him. Fearing for his life, Tiller shot Hammond twice at point-blank range killing him. Butaccording to witness statements and Hammond's autopsy, the teenager was not attempting to run down Tiller in the moments before his death. Hammond's autopsy revealed that the teen was shot in the back of his left shoulder and his side. In a letter from Hammond's attorney to the FBI, a witness has recently come forward describing officers planting evidence under Hammond's body and high-fiving his dead hand after the shooting. Although police found no weapon or drugs on Hammond, Chief Covington claims that a white powdery substance was found at the scene.
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Comment: How is it that someone who is committing a crime, but clearly not a threat, deserving of being murdered in cold blood by a trigger-happy cop who has no appreciation for human life. It's sickening to see cops get away with this. People need to start standing up against these blatant criminal acts and put these cops in jail where they belong.
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David Ferguson
Raw Story 2015-10-27 20:44:00
The judge who freed the Missouri man who confessed to raping his 5-month-old daughter is coming under heavy scrutiny, with one lawmaker calling for her impeachment. According to LakeExpo.com, court documents show that Aaron Fisher — who Judge Patricia Joyce freed last week on the grounds that his constitutional right to a speedy trial had been violated — actually waived his right to a speedy trial after claiming it had been abridged. For six years, Fisher's case has wound its way laboriously through Cole County Missouri's small court system. Two judges recused themselves and Fisher has switched attorneys multiple times, while simultaneously making his legal team's work more complicated by submitting handwritten motions from behind bars. Fisher and his team have been granted multiple continuances and delays. Then, six weeks before the latest scheduled trial date, his case came before Judge Joyce, who released him. | |
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More trouble in the kingdom: Saudi people start new wave of protests, call for Sheikh Nimr's freedom
FARS News Agency
2015-10-28 18:59:00
People in Saudi Arabia started a new wave of anti-regime protests, calling for the freedom of the jailed senior Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr. The protests heightened after the Saudi interior ministry approved Sheikh Nimr's execution. Protesters in the Awamiya region of the city of Qatif once again started spraying anti-regime graffiti to show condemnation of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, "Down with Al Saud" read one of the graffiti signs sprayed in different streets of the Qatif city, including al-Thura street, while the other one called Prince "Salman, the Traitor". | |
Comment: If the Saudi rulers know this death sentence will inflame the public and are preparing for it, how psychopathic is that?
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Travis Gettys
Raw Story 2015-10-27 20:36:00
A former St. Louis prosecutor admitted she helped a police detective cover up his videotaped assault on a handcuffed suspect — including shoving a pistol down the man's throat. Bliss Barber Worrell admitted Monday in federal court that she failed to tell supervisors and a judge what she knew about the assault and then helped file a bogus charge against the suspect, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The 28-year-old Worrell pleaded guilty to a felony count of misprision, which carries a three-year prison term, but prosecutors and defense attorneys have agreed to recommend 18 months in prison. Worrell, the daughter-in-law of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Todd Worrell, has agreed to testify against others who may be involved in the cover-up. | |
Comment: One has to wonder how many other prosecutors in the US are covering up the assaults by police on innocent civilians.
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Man was calling roadside assistance when plainclothes officer not carrying badge shot and killed him
Arturo Garcia
Raw Story 2015-10-28 20:11:00
Corey Jones' cell phone records indicate that he was calling for roadside help when he was approached by a Florida police officer just before being shot and killed, the Palm Beach Postreported. The records show that Jones called AT&T's roadside assistance number, #HELP, at 3:10 a.m. on Oct. 18. Jones, a musician, was using a phone provided by his employer, the Delray Beach Housing Authority. He was killed by Palm Beach Gardens officer Nouman Raja about five minutes after calling for help, but the call reportedly lasted 53 minutes. AT&T has not stated whether Jones' phone call was being recorded. Similarly, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office has not stated whether it has obtained the records. However, Jones' best friend Clarence Ellington told the Post that the victim's family was meeting with its attorneys after seeing the phone logs. "The consensus is the same, and that's that we're angry," Ellington said. | |
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Mary Mahoney
I was a naive teenager, desperate for belonging. But my "home" for 30 years turned out to be a house of horrorsSalon 2015-10-25 18:30:00
I left the Children of God in the early 2000s. It took a long time to come out of the haze of those 30 years, but when I did, I was appalled by my former self. One of the most common questions people ask is: How could you be part of such a thing? And how could you stay? For years — as I came to grips with my own guilt, remorse and shame — I asked myself the same things. In 2003, my eldest son, then an adult, sent me a link to a thorough three-year investigation into the COG as part of a child custody case filed with the High Court in England in the early 1990s, and I learned that, according to these court records, I was not alone in the horrors I'd experienced. I grew up in suburban Washington, D.C., the youngest of seven children in a comfortably middle-class Catholic home. We must have looked like the perfect family. My parents were leaders of the Charismatic group at their large church. Our house was clean - almost sterile. "Rake the rug after you walk through the living room to clear your footprints. Put a sheet on the sofa before you sit down," my mother would chime. After my older siblings left home, I felt lost and alone. At 16, I fell into anorexia and depression. I spent my summer lifeguarding, swimming and dabbling in drugs. Perhaps that's why I began my spiritual quest, or perhaps it was just a symptom of the times. I was looking for meaning to life, to belong to something larger than myself. In my junior year of high school, I saw a friend reading a Bible at school. She had recently met the COG, and gave me one of their publications to read. I found it a bit strange, but it touched something in me. I went with her to meet the COG after school that day. I was trying to find my path in life, and I thought this might be it. Here was a group of dedicated Christian young people determined to return to the pure roots of Christianity by living communally and sharing all things. I felt loved and accepted, and was welcomed into the fold as a new "babe" in Christ. Born again. I didn't see this as a "cult"; I saw it as a chance to live an honorable life of service to God and others. And I was so young. What did I know about how the world worked? It would be another nine years before my frontal lobe was completely developed, the portion of the brain involved in decision-making that allows us to envision long-term consequences. I had no idea I was walking into a nightmare. I couldn't see past the utter joy of the overwhelming love and acceptance I felt. | |
Comment: As highlighted in this essay, true cults pray on the vulnerability of the 'spiritual seeker' via manipulation and deception. Read Cult-ivating Terror for an analysis of the origins and effects of cults in our world.
Also, the Children of God 'cult' has some interesting connections to pedophilia networks. See: | |
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RT
2015-10-28 15:44:00
The Yazidis, a religious minority in modern-day Iraq, fell victim to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) as militants moved deeper and deeper into the country, seizing increasing amounts of territory. IS overwhelmed Mount Sinjar, the homeland of thousands of Yazidis, in August 2014, turning life there into a nightmare. Along with their territories, the Islamists captured thousands of Yazidi people - some men, but mostly women and children. According to different estimates, roughly 5,000 Yazidis were kidnapped.Women and children have ended up on the slave market, while little boys are subjected to militant training. | |
Comment: What a wonderful and brave man! This is a must see documentary. Russia is absolutely doing the right thing attacking the terrorists. These terrorists are not human.
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PressTV
2015-10-28 18:01:00
A 16-year-old student has died after being stabbed at an Aberdeen school in Scotland.Scottish police are investigating the murder at Cults Academy. Officers say they have arrested another 16-year-old student in this connection. "It is with shock and sadness that we can confirm that a pupil of Cults Academy has died following an incident at the school earlier today...Our heartfelt sympathies are extended to the friends and family," A spokesperson of Aberdeen City Council saidThe school, which has 1,050 pupils, is one of Scotland's best-performing secondary schools, serving pupils from age 11 to 18. Cults is regarded as one of Aberdeen's more affluent suburbs. | |
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Ali Abunimah
The Electronic Intifada 2015-10-27 16:22:00
Walmart, one of the world's largest retailers, has sparked outrage by selling an "Israeli Soldier Costume for Kids." The Halloween outfit is particularly distasteful at a time when human rights groups are strongly condemning Israel's policy of extrajudicially executing Palestinians forced to live under its decades-long military occupation. The costume, seen above, includes a dark green uniform and red beret. The jacket includes the Hebrew abbreviation for "Israel Defense Forces." An Internet search shows that it is sold by other online retailers as well. "When I first saw the Israeli soldier costume for kids I thought it was a joke," Gaza writer and editor Refaat Alareer told The Electronic Intifada. "The model boy used to promote this costume is probably the age of my niece, whose father Israeli soldiers murdered in Gaza in 2014 when they destroyed our family home." In the summer of 2014 the Israeli army killed 551 Palestinian children during its assault on Gaza. Many child survivors of Israel's attack now have lifelong injuries. | |
Comment: Absolutely tasteless and racist. Anyone who buys these costumes for their children are not only supporting apartheid and prejudice, but murder.
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RT
2015-10-28 18:01:00
Richland County, South Carolina has fired Ben Fields, the sheriff's deputy recorded using force on an African-American student during a school discipline incident. Footage of Fields throwing the student across the classroom has caused outrage.
"From the very beginning that's what's caused me to be upset, and continued to upset me is that he picked the student up and threw the student across the room," Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at a press conference Wednesday, announcing that Fields was being let go. The department interviewed witnesses and reviewed several cell-phone videos taken in the classroom, and concluded the moves Fields used in the confrontation were "not acceptable." | ||
Comment: Firing the officer is a good first step. Next they should charge him with assault. If they found that the officer did not have a justifiable reason to use force, then what he did was assault, of a child no less. These are the people who are supposed to be protecting our children, they should be forced to deal with the repercussions of their actions.
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Lecia Bushak
Medical Daily 2015-10-26 17:23:00
By now, many doctors and scientists can agree that weed won't harm you — and in many cases, it can be medically therapeutic. But this certainly isn't the case when it comes to other types of drugs, especially cheap ones that are created with an array of toxic chemicals and sold on the street. This new video explains what the top 10 most deadly street drugs are and how they tear apart your body over time. The list includes the likes of bath salts, Whoonga, AH-7921, crystal meth, and purple drank. Perhaps not surprisingly, Krokodil takes the award for the No. 1 most dangerous street drug. Known as the "flesh-eating drug," Krokodil is widespread in poor regions of Russia, where addicts inject the deadly dose of opioids, codeine, and gasoline into their bodies. It's a third of the price of heroin, which makes it appealing to addicts with low funds. The drug is named "Krokodil" due to its tendency to rot the skin from the inside out, making it scaly like a crocodile's. Whoonga, which has risen in use in South Africa in the past several years, is listed as the second most dangerous street drug — and bath salts are third. According to a 2013 report, bath salts led to over 22,000 emergency room visits in the U.S. in 2011. They've been shown to cause a variety of health problems like high blood pressure, suicidal thoughts, and psychosis. Other drugs on the list include heroin and Flakka, a new type of drug that is made from the same chemicals as bath salts, which can also cause numerous life-threatening syndromes. Flakka involves excited delirium, psychosis, and hyperthermia — raising a person's core body temperature to a very dangerous level. Flakka was placed higher on the list than crystal meth, as research recently found that it's even more addictive. The full list is below:
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Comment: It's horrifying to see the incredible damage these drugs do and the lengths people will go to 'check out' of this world for a brief time. To learn more about addiction and overcoming it, read Dr. Gabor Mate's book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction.
See also: | ||
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Science Daily
2015-10-23 00:00:00
For the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is recommending that pediatricians screen all children for food insecurity. In a new policy statement identifying the short and long-term adverse health impacts of food insecurity, the AAP also recommends that pediatricians become familiar with and refer families to needed community resources, and advocate for federal and local policies that support access to adequate, nutritious food. The new policy statement, "Promoting Food Security for all Children," will be presented at the AAP's National Conference & Exhibition in Washington, DC, and published in Pediatrics on Friday, Oct. 23. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack will give a plenary address at the Conference on Monday, Oct. 26, "Healthier Kids, Healthier Economy: How nourishing the next generation will help to secure America's future," which will address the new policy in the context of child nutrition reauthorization efforts underway on Capitol Hill. Despite improvements over the past few years, the latest data show that more than 15 million U.S. children live in households still struggling with hunger. The policy statement identifies the immediate and potentially lifelong health effects of this pervasive problem. | |
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RT
2015-10-27 22:52:00
Comment: Considering the large quantity of psychopathic behavior being perpetrated by the Israeli army, it's shocking and appalling to see this behavior being both glorified, and marketed to children. US retail giant Walmart has got into hot water for selling a Halloween costume of an Israeli soldier and a fake "Arab sheikh" nose, sparking a wave of widespread indignation. The store's website offers sells a soldier's uniform, including a shirt, trousers, belt and hat, bearing Hebrew writing, at the price of $27.44, reduced from $57.62. | |
Comment: See also: Total war against Gaza: Israeli genocide and its willing accomplices
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Sputnik
2015-10-28 14:16:00
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said thousands of terrorist are fleeing Syria now, and many refugees are coming back home, according to Russian Senator Dmitry Sablin who recently visited Syria with a delegation. "Assad praised the actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria. He said thousands of terrorists are now fleeing Syria, and refugees are returning," Sablin said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia. Recently, a group of Russian lawmakers visited Syria. During the trip, they met with President Assad and high-profile Syrian officials. A number of issues, including bilateral ties and the fight against terrorism, were on the agenda. | |
Comment: And this positive development is something the US positively cannot stand:
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Arjun Walia
Collective Evolution 2015-10-24 20:40:00
Prior to the late 1800's, education was a private practice which took place in private institutions or through home schooling. That all changed in 1902 when John D. Rockefeller created the general education board in conjunction with Frederick T. Gates, Rockefeller's business and personal adviser and good friend. The general education board was responsible for funding the American public school system, and provided over one hundred million dollars in 1902; they continued their support in a lesser capacity beyond that date. The board was responsible for the creation of the American public school system and has been used as a model globally for more than a century. | |
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| Secret History |
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Nick Squires
The Telegraph 2015-10-27 02:44:00
Experts describe the discovery of tomb packed full of gold, silver and weapons, which sheds light on ancient Mycenaean and Minoan civilisations, as one of the most significant in decades. Flanked by a three-foot long bronze sword with an ivory handle and surrounded by a treasure trove of gold, silver and precious stones, he lay undisturbed for 3,500 years. Now, the skeleton of an ancient Greek warrior, his tomb protected by a heavy stone slab, has been discovered by archaeologists in the Peloponnese. Described as one of the most exciting discoveries in Greece for decades, the 30-35 year old man has been dubbed the "Griffin Warrior" after an ivory plaque depicting the half-lion, half-eagle mythical beast that was found alongside him. Experts said it was remarkable that the grave had escaped the attentions of tomb raiders over the centuries. | |
Comment: Very exciting find!
Related articles of other recent discoveries: | |
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| Science & Technology |
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The Siberia Times
2015-10-28 20:07:00
One early visitor: a fireball streaking across the sky and splashing into Lake Baikal. The station is in remote Tunka valley, in the Republic of Buryatia, an ideal vantage point for observing incoming meteors because of the absence of artificial lighting. Created by the astronomical observatory of the Irkutsk State University (ISU), it operates from two unmanned modules some 58 kilometres apart. This allows researchers to observe the same meteor from two different locations, and to measure its size, light energy, direction, weight of meteoric particles and other parameters, more precisely. Kirill Ivanov, researcher at ISU's observatory, explained that the cameras are pointed in such a way that the centres of their field of view match at a height of about 100 km. 'They ensure maximum overlap of the field of view, two thirds, at a height of about 80-120 km. The data is stored in industrial computers.' On a clear night, the equipment has registered up to 40 meteorites.
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The Cosmic Tusk
2015-10-27 00:00:00
Comment: For more on the very high probability of Earth soon being on the receiving end of a major cometary bombardment, and why, see Laura Knight-Jadczyk's Comets and Catastrophe series:
and Earth Changes and the Human Cosmic Connection: The Secret History of the World - Book 3 by Pierre Lescaudron and Laura Knight-Jadczyk The Tusk has been interested for some time in conducting an occasional interview with players in fields related to cosmic catastrophes in human times. So much of the coverage of our subject is "drive-by" journalism, with uninformed reporters on deadline asking shallow, often misinformed, questions of key scientists and then writing a story which barely informs. The subject deserves something at least a little better. So, in a modest effort to add a more depth to the popular record than is commonly provided, I nominated our blog to try out a few interviews. It was an easy call whom to approach first, Bill Napier. He is a digital acquaintance of mine, a cool guy and a wiseman. Astronomer, best-selling popular author, frequent contributor to a 40 year canon of astronomical justification for end-times in the peopled past — Bill Napier is simply a Tusk kind of guy! Napier and his collaborators in the old country are even credited with their own handle, "British Neo-Catastrophists." Post-Newton and Whiston, Post-Velikovsky, concurrent with Alvarez but Pre-Firestone — shunned by NASA and employed by the Queen — they are contributors to a cogent set of astronomical facts termed "Coherent Catastrophism," a body of evidence concluding that quite horrible cosmic encounters have occurred in the human past. Here goes: | |
Comment: As a reminder of what can come out of the sky without any warning at all, see the Chelyabinsk meteor from February 2013:
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Jennifer Viegas
Discovery News 2015-10-28 14:02:00
A population of chickens studied over the past 50 years reveals that evolution can happen 15 times faster than previously thought. The study overturns the popular assumption that evolution is only visible over long time scales.The findings are published in the journal Biology Letters. "Our observations reveal that evolution is always moving quickly, but we tend not to see it because we typically measure it over longer time periods," Greger Larson of Oxford University's Research Laboratory for Archaeology said in a press release. "Our study shows that evolution can move much faster in the short term than we had believed from fossil-based estimates." Larson and his team looked at a well-documented, 50-year pedigree of a population of whitePlymouth Rock chickens developed at Virginia Tech by Paul Siegel. The researchers focused on reconstructing how the mitochondrial DNA passed from mothers to daughters within the chicken population. | |
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Nancy Owano
Tech Xplore 2015-10-27 00:00:00
A fisherman working in industrialized fishing environments realized something that affected his fundamental outlook on what he was doing: he was witnessing very efficient fishing technologies and boats ripping up entire ecosystems with trawls; he was seeing efficient technologies being applied in ways that were chasing fish farther and farther out to sea. Bren Smith eventually went on to develop a model for ocean farming. He is executive director of GreenWave, and he is on a mission to help support ocean life and human life. His farm design has won a prize in the 2015 Buckminster Fuller Challenge given by the Buckminster Fuller Institute. He is recognized for coming up with an innovative solution in sustainable ocean farming, a model for development of multi-species ocean farms. Biofuels Digest talked about what is special about Smith's concept—a shift away from growing vulnerable monocultures to vibrant ecosystems, which can result in higher yields. The push is for sustainable aquaculture that produces high yields while restoring and improving the ocean's ecosystems. | |
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RT
2015-10-27 03:29:00
A new study shows that whales and outsized land mammals, as well as seabirds and migrating fish, play a vital role in keeping the planet fertile by transporting nutrients from ocean depths to mountaintops - but their populations are plummeting. Before the rise of modern humans, there were "deer with twelve-foot antlers, and bison herds to the horizon" that ate huge amounts of plant matter, moving these nutrients to higher ground "through their deposit of feces, urine and, upon death, decomposing bodies. I wanted to know whether the world of the past with all the endemic animals was more fertile than our current world," lead study author Chris Doughty of Oxford University told The Washington Post. Doughty's team applied a set of mathematical models to estimate the movement of nutrients vertically in the oceans and across the land, and how this movement changed with extinctions and declining animal populations. What researchers found was that these megafauna, or large animals, played a greater role in the spread of nutrients across the planet than scientists realized. Equally, whales and other marine mammals moved phosphorous from deep ocean water to the surface, which was then spread by seabirds and migrating fish across seas, up rivers, and deep inland to the mountaintops. Previously, scientists studied nutrient cycling related to the weathering of rocks, which broke down and left nutrients in the soil. They also found that microbes and bacteria contributed to nutrient cycling. The team's new finding adds another dimension to the science, finding that fertilized ecosystems maintain natural functions vital to people. "Previously, animals were not thought to play an important role in nutrient movement," said Doughty in a statement. | |
Comment: For more on how the loss of the flora and fauna effect our terrestrial life, listen to the SOTT editor's interview with Lierre Keith, author of The Vegetarian Myth.
SOTT Talk Radio: Dissecting the Vegetarian Myth - Interview with Lierre Keith | |
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| Earth Changes |
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Meshaal Al-Enezi and Agencies
Kuwait Times 2015-10-28 21:11:00
A thunderstorm hit the country early yesterday, leading to the suspension of schools and universities and flooding in some areas and roads. The Interior Ministry cautioned motorists from the possible continuation of the thunderstorm, calling on people in Kuwait to contact the police and fire directorate's emergency teams in case of emergencies. Officials from Kuwait University and the Ministry of Education released statements regarding thesuspension of studies at schools and universities due to the bad weather conditions. The measure also took into consideration the safety of students and teaching staff at educational facilities. The Kuwait Meteorological Center warned that the weather would remain unstable and cloudy, with moderate to strong southeasterly wind with speeds of 25-50 km/h, causing rising dust and low visibility of less than 1,500 m in some areas and a chance of rain that might be thundery at times. | |
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BBC
2015-10-28 20:36:00
A dead minke whale that washed up on the Norfolk coast is set to be removed by council workers. The body of the juvenile whale washed ashore on a beach near Bacton on Wednesday. North Norfolk District Council said it was looking at how to remove the whale, which is beneath the Bacton Gas Terminal site. The council said its environmental services team hoped to remove the whale "when the tide allows". A spokeswoman said: "The location of the whale beneath the Bacton Gas Terminal site has caused some difficulty in terms of access, but working with local contractor Renosteel, the teams will be able to use specialist equipment which will be drafted in to bring an end to this sad situation." | |
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Zambia Daily Mail
2015-10-28 17:26:00
Three people including a 10-year-old child of Chipepa village in Senior Chief Mwata Kazembe's area in Luapula Province, died on Independence Day after lightning struck them at a fishing camp. Luapula Province commissioner of police Hudson Namachila identified the victims as John Chinyimba, 36, Good Kwempe, 41, and Mwelwa Katuba, 10, all of Chipepa village in Mwansabombombwe district. Mr Namchila said the three met their fate at 18:25 hours. "The three are believed to have died after lightning struck them at Nkalamo fishing camp in Luapula Province,'' Mr Namachila said. | |
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abc.net.au
2015-10-28 16:09:00
The entire population of more than 5,000 people in the Queensland town of Chinchilla are without power and roofs have collapsed on several houses and community buildings after a severe hail storm. The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said golf-ball-sized hail and destructive winds tore through the town, in the state's Western Downs, on Wednesday afternoon. Ergon Energy said it hoped to restore power to some of those properties overnight. The main evacuation centre was among the buildings damaged, but Western Downs Mayor Ray Brown said the building was not needed because those affected had found alternative accommodation. Chinchilla Christian School will be closed on Thursday due to the extent of damage.
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Sharon Uranie and Sharon Meriton-Jean
Seychelles News Agency 2015-10-26 14:20:00
The Seychelles authorities will be sending fish samples overseas either to Reunion island, a French overseas department in the Indian Ocean or to France to determine what exactly is causing a large number of fish to die in the Indian Ocean island nation. A large amount of dead fish mainly coral reef fish and other marine species have been washed onshore in various parts of the main Seychelles island of Mahé, second most populated island of Praslin and other satellite islands, in recent days. "We found it on Friday, and they could be found on almost all the beaches especially in the lagoons and where the water is usually shallow. There were all types of fish especially those that usually lives or frequents coral reef such as moray eels, parrot fish and others," Sam Hope, the Manager of Cousin, a special nature reserve, located off the west coast of Seychelles second most populated island of Praslin told SNA this morning. "Today [three days later], we have only seen a handful but it seems whatever have cause the phenomenon has dispersed as there are not so many dead fish recorded. We have buried most of the dead fish because as you know Cousin is open to visitors throughout the week, but we have kept a few samples as well, which we hope to get analysed." The same thing was reported by residents of several areas on Praslin including at Anse Kerlan, Amitie and Grand Anse. | |
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Christopher Woolf
PRI 2015-10-26 16:00:00
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is cutting short his visit to the US to deal with a growing environmental crisis back home. Wildfires across the length of his country over the last few months have thrown up huge clouds of smoke that now hang over much of southeast Asia, from Malaysia and Singapore, across Indonesia, to Papua New Guinea. The Indonesian Disaster Agency estimates 500,000 people have developed respiratory problems since the fires began in July. Millions of people are dealing with smoke levels roughly 10 times the level the World Health Organization considers hazardous. "It's hard for people to imagine how serious this is," says Nigel Sizer, forests director for the World Resources Institute, an environmental research group in Washington. Sizer was in Indonesia for the summer and is heading back next week. "This is literally almost off the charts in terms of air quality," adds Sizer. "It's like you're staring through thick bonfire smoke day after day. ... It's an extraordinary situation." | |
Comment: According to researchers some of the noxious components of the smoke include: ozone, carbon monoxide, cyanide, ammonia and formaldehyde, which is "extremely hazardous" for health, prompting child evacuation plans to be prepared.
Martin Wooster, Professor of Earth Observation Science at King's College London and National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) states: All over the world we are witnessing extensive wildfires, which in some regions have been described as "unprecedented". The National Interagency Fire Center has described the 2015 wildfire season in the United States as a record breaker. Could some of these wildfires have been fueled from outgassing, then possibly 'sparked' by an increase in atmospheric electric discharge events, such as lightning strikes and other 'cosmic' ignition sources? See also: Study: Wildfire seasons are more destructive and lasting longer almost everywhere on Earth | |
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Stephanie Pappas
Live science 2015-10-27 17:07:00
A whopping 408 earthquakes have hit San Ramon, California, in the past two weeks, including 11 in one 24-hour stretch. This record-breaking earthquake swarm is nothing to fear, however, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Periods of tectonic unrest are common in the area and probably don't presage a larger quake, the USGS said. Most of the quakes affecting this Bay Area city are tiny. The one that kicked off the swarm at 8:50 a.m. Pacific Time on Oct. 13 was a mere magnitude 0.8. People don't usually feel earthquakes until they reach a magnitude of 2.5; quakes between magnitude 2.5 and 5.4 can be felt but rarely cause much damage. Most of the quakes occur at depths of 5 to 6 miles (8 to 9.7 kilometers). A handful of the San Ramon quakes have rattled locals, including a magnitude-3.6 quake that hit on Oct. 19 and a magnitude-3.1 quake recorded on Oct. 27, both causing weak to light shaking in the East Bay (the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay area). Between 11:30 a.m. PT on Oct. 22 and 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 23, 11 quakes hit the area. Five were between magnitudes of 2.0 and 2.9, and one was a magnitude 3.2. | |
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| Fire in the Sky |
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Sputnik
2015-10-28 19:12:00
A piece of meteorite landed right in Lake Baikal in Russia's Siberia, Irkutsk State University (ISU) reported Wednesday, according to TV Channel Zvezda. Although the meteorite fell on October 22, the Astronomical Observatory of the University published its report on Wednesday. "The piece of meteorite was first observed at the height of 67.2 meters, but then was quickly lost out of sight at the height of 62.1 meters," the ISU statement said. The meteorite didn't have as much hitting power due to the celestial body catching up with the Earth. That's why the speed of the meteorite didn't exceed 13 km/s when it hit the lake. According to ISU scientists, the meteorite landed one kilometer away from the shore of Baikal near the village of Bolshoe Goloustnoe. Local residents noticed the meteorite fall and actively discussed the event in online forums.
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| Health & Wellness |
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RT
2015-10-28 17:41:00
If you have a sweet tooth, you may want to think twice before you pick up your next donut. A new study says that sugar is "toxic," leading to metabolic diseases such as high blood pressure and heart disease - even if no weight is gained. The research - conducted by pediatric endocrinologist Robert Lustig at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in San Francisco, and Jean-Marc Schwarz of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Touro University California - examined 43 obese children who had high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels, or signs of too much fat in their livers. The children were between the ages of nine and 18. The children were put on a restricted diet which eliminated added sugar from sodas, sweet, and other foods. Sugar intake was reduced from about 28 percent of total calories to about 10 percent. Fructose - a form of sugar believed to be particularly bad for health - was reduced from 12 percent to four percent of total calories. | |
Comment: Forget bacon and red meat, you might want to think twice about adding those heaping tablespoons of sugar to your coffee or eating that late night piece of cake. Sugar has been proven to be involved in a number of maladies:
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Jeremiah Johnson
Ready Nutrition 2015-10-27 16:20:00
ReadyNutrition guys and gals, this article will focus upon our Winter First Aid measures to treat Frostbite. We will cover first aid procedures, as well as, the ways to understand and recognize frostbite for what it is. As this is a medical condition, keep in mind we are giving first aid parameters to deal with in a wilderness/field environment. After you render first aid, immediately transport the patient to a doctor or a definitive healthcare treatment facility. Frostbite Frostbite is tissue damage sustained by prolonged or extreme exposure to cold temperatures. The tissue in this case refers to the epidermis, or skin layers. When the skin is exposed to temperatures of 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below, the vessels next to the skin surface begin to shrink and constrict. This causes shunting, a condition where the blood is whisked away from limbs and other parts of the body away from the thoracic cavity, or chest. Shunting is a necessary survival response to the cold. You may have seen episodes of shunting when, for example, someone's car plunges into an icy river or body of water. The person may be lying unconscious in the water for almost an hour, yet they live. This is called the mammalian dive reflex, and is a type of shunting. The body (to preserve itself and survive) removes the blood from the extremities and sends it to the core (heart, lungs, and thorax). | |
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Alexandria
The Spirit Science 2015-08-26 13:02:00
Rosemary is known as an amazing herb that has many purposes. Traditional medicine has been using its leaves for centuries. Students in ancient Greece would often put rosemary sprigs in their hair when studying for exams, because they believed it improved their memory. There's a reference to rosemary in Shakespeare's Hamlet, when Ophelia declares: | |
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Jon Rappoport
Natural Blaze 2015-10-27 21:31:00
"No large institution of society can survive without deploying hundreds or even thousands of cover stories." (The Underground, Jon Rappoport)In an October verdict, rendered by the Australian High Court, the purported breast-cancer gene, BRCA1, cannot be patented by any company. The Court distinguished between an invention, which can be patented, and a discovery of something that is already there, such as a gene in the human body. The Court's verdict, hailed as "a victory for the people," obscures a deeper question: how do genes help cure disease? | |
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| Science of the Spirit |
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Phys.org
2015-10-27 00:00:00
We have long known the power of a good sing-along. Now, research from the University of Oxford has shown that singing is a great ice-breaker and can get groups of people to bond together more quickly than other activities can. The new study, published in the Royal Society Open Science journal, looked at how people attending adult education classes grew closer over seven months. The conclusion - singing groups bonded more quickly than creative writing or craft classes. Dr Eiluned Pearce, from Oxford's Department of Experimental Psychology led the research. She said: "One of the key differences between humans and other primates is that we can exist in much larger social groups. Singing is found in all human societies and can be performed to some extent by the vast majority of people. It's been suggested that singing is one of the ways in which we build social cohesion when there isn't enough time to establish one-to-one connections between everyone in a group. "We wanted to explore whether there was something special about singing as a bonding behaviour or whether any group activity would build bonds between members." | |
Comment: Studies have shown that group singing has calming benefits and that singing can alsoimprove cognitive function.
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| High Strangeness |
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Naomi Leach
Daily Mail, UK 2015-10-27 19:29:00
There is no question that the sea holds mysteries and inhabitants beyond our imagination, that we are yet to encounter. But a Scottish tourist was left in shock after unwittingly capturing the image of a bizarre sea creature in his holiday snaps. Harvey Robertson, 52, was on a boat cruise with his family in Corfu when he took a number of photographs inside a sea cave. He held the camera over the side of the boat to take pictures of the sea. But when he lifted his camera back up, Robertson later realised a mysterious creature had appeared in one of the frames. Robertson said: 'I have no idea what it could have been, I have never seen anything like it. |
