| Puppet Masters |
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Murtaza Hussain
The Intercept 2015-11-19 21:31:00
U.S. drone operators are inflicting heavy civilian casualties and have developed an institutional culture callous to the death of children and other innocents, four former operators said at a press briefing today in New York. The killings, part of the Obama administration's targeted assassination program, are aiding terrorist recruitment and thus undermining the program's goal of eliminating such fighters, the veterans added. Drone operators refer to children as "fun-size terrorists" and liken killing them to "cutting the grass before it grows too long," said one of the operators, Michael Haas, a former senior airman in the Air Force. Haas also described widespread drug and alcohol abuse, further stating that some operators had flown missions while impaired. | |
Comment: The bottom line here is that using drones to target alleged "terrorists" is not only haphazard, it's also incredibly irresponsible and outright cowardly. It's the same old "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" psychopathic mentality all too prevalent among the powers that be.
Below is a copy of the open letter written to President Obama, the US Department of Defense, and the CIA : | |
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Jay Solomon
The Wall Street Journal 2015-11-19 21:01:00
The Obama administration and European and Arab allies are seeking to peel Russia away from its alliance with Iran, a partnership that has bolstered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said senior diplomats involved in efforts to end Syria's lengthy conflict. The efforts, which have unfolded quietly through meetings involving Russian President Vladimir Putin and Middle Eastern leaders, are meant to coax support from Moscow for a limit on Mr. Assad's time in power. Such a step would solidify an emerging international coalition and help clear the way for a more concerted military effort to counter Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Comment: Strange thinking here as Assad is actually helping Russia get rid of the head choppers. Ousting Assad won't make the task easier. Lavrov: No peaceful solution can be found in Syria without Assad Iran is seen as a brake on those efforts because of its more staunchly pro-Assad position, which it wants the Kremlin to support. If Russia holds fast to Iran and Mr. Assad, it would undermine hopes for an international consensus. A senior U.S. official on Tuesday said Washington has seen "increased tensions between Russia and Iran over the question of the future of Syria." | |
Comment: The US is looking for any weakness in Russia to exploit but Putin probably has anticipated that.
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Sputnik
2015-11-19 21:27:00
The Kuwaiti security forces have dismantled a multinational cell of the Islamic State militant group, local media reported Thursday. The Kuwaiti security forces have dismantled a multinational cell of the Islamic State militant group, local media reported Thursday. According to the KUNA news agency, there are nationals of Syria, Australia and Egypt in the cell. | |
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Harrison Koehli
Sott.net 2015-11-19 16:01:00
This is a follow-up to my previous piece, Bearded Middle East Jihadis or clean-shaven white professional hit-men? A few questions about the Paris attacks. So far, no new identities of the terrorists have been released. We still don't know who blew himself up on the Rue de la Coquerie, or the identity of the third bomber in the Bataclan theater. We also don't know how many people were involved in the string of restaurant shootings, although one is believed to have been Salah Abdeslam, who is still on the run.That large, clean-shaved white guy shooter is still a mystery too, as is the new, black Mercedes car that he and an accomplice drove. French police say they have video of one of the shootings which shows three individuals in a black Seat (the same one found later in Paris suburb Montreuil with three AK-47s) firing through the car windows. According to them, Brahim Abdeslam is one of the men. Another is presumably his brother, Salah, and the third remains unidentified, adding one more to the official tally of men on the run. So, according to police, 9 individuals were directly involved in the shootings and bombings last Friday. The video has not been released to the public. Police have also released more details of Salah's alleged involvement. A third car, a black Renault Clio, which they say was rented by Salah, was found in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Islamic State, in their statement claiming responsibility for the attacks, had mentioned the 10th and 11th districts (where the attacks took place), as well as the 18th, leading police to suspect an attack had been planned for that district but abandoned for some reason. | |
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Sputnik
2015-11-19 22:04:00
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at strengthening the vetting process for Syrian refugees attempting to enter the United States. Passing with a vote of 289-137 in the Republican-controlled House, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act will now move to the Senate, where it is not expected to pass. President Obama has also vowed to veto the bill if it passes through Congress. If passed into law, the bill would require increased verification of vetting procedures already in place to ensure terrorists do not enter the country disguised as refugees. The terror attacks in Paris last week have led a number of US lawmakers to reconsider the Obama administration's pledge to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees into the United States. Over two dozen governors said they would refuse to allow refugees into their states, citing concerns that some of the individuals seeking asylum may be members of the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist group. Syrian and Iraqi refugees currently go through an extensive vetting process. Lasting, on average, between 18 and 24 months, individuals undergo background checks from nine federal agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. | |
Comment: The U.S. destroyed their homeland and now wants to hide the very problem they created.
State Governors press White House for Syrian refugee information | |
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Dylan Charles
Activist Post 2015-11-19 18:27:00
If you were 4 years old when 9/11 occurred in 2001, then you're now old enough to enlist and fight in the war on terror. Recent geopolitical events suggest that this conflict may endure for some generations to come, so, regretfully, your children may also get to participate. The war on terrorism is apparently part of our culture and part of our lives now. By no means a prophet, Hunter S. Thompson was just an eccentric observer with a knack for connecting the dots between political events and the ongoing mainstream media narrative that supports and manufactures consent for the oligarchy. When taken at face value, the terror script is indeed a rather convincing and motivating story, but when you dismantle the official fiction and bring the hidden pieces into the picture, the truth about the war on terror is just too heavy for conscious people to ignore any longer. | |
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Sputnik News
2015-11-19 20:46:00
The United States and NATO members are likely to reject a Russia-proposed UN Security Council draft anti-terrorism resolution, a prominent Canadian international criminal lawyer told Sputnik Thursday. On Wednesday, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, announced Russia had submitted a renewed draft UN Security Council resolution on the coordination of efforts in the fight against terrorism. "We all hope the US and its NATO allies accept the Russian resolution but their actions and words predict that they will reject it and will present their own, which Russia will have to reject because it will ignore Syria and then they will blame Russia for not cooperating in this 'war' against ISIL [Islamic State]," Christopher Black stated. According to the lawyer, the West is playing "a double game," in Syria, since they are not really concerned with the destruction of ISIL and are pursuing their own geopolitical aims. Russian anti-terrorism resolution is a unique chance to clamp down on the extremists, Black noted. "It is clear that the Russian draft resolution is the only way forward to dealing with the ISIL crisis since it requires the approval and cooperation of the Syrian government," he stressed. Russia's proposal is an updated version of the draft resolution that Moscow submitted to the UN Security Council on September 30. The document called for global counterterrorism actions based on the principles of international law, stipulating that any anti-terrorism operation on the territory of a foreign state, such as Syria, must be conducted with the permission of the state's authorities. | |
Comment: Perhaps the West will finally out itself trying to leverage or reverse this resolution and reveal its true motives to the world in the process. Acting outside of international law, which the US helped formulate, is self-exemption amounting to criminal behavior.
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RT
2015-11-19 18:49:00
Western expectations of Syrian President Bashar Assad's imminent fall were misplaced, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Assad has public support, meaning no peaceful resolution of the conflict is possible without his participation, he added. "All the forecasts made by our colleagues in the West and some other parties that the people would rise up and oust him never came true. This means one thing: Assad represents the interests of a significant part of Syrian society. So no peaceful solution can be found without his participation," the top Russian diplomat said on Thursday in an interview with Radio Russia. Earlier US President Barack Obama reiterated he does "not foresee a situation in which we can end the civil war in Syria while Assad remains in power" and that he is not the legitimate leader of Syria. According to Lavrov, senior officials around the world are coming to realize the truth of Russia's position on the issue and are beginning to distance themselves from Washington's policies.Eradicating Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) should take precedence over all other issues, he added. "I believe that [French President Francois] Hollande's call to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin after those horrific terrorist attacks in Paris, his suggestion to coordinate our efforts and President [Putin's] response, which was the willingness to do so as allies - those things signify that now level-headed politicians are dropping secondary issues and realizing the need to concentrate on the biggest issue at hand: stopping ISIS' attempts to spread influence globally," the minister said. | |
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CBC News
2015-11-16 18:33:00
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a blunt message during a brief chat with Russian President Vladimir Putin: back off Ukraine. Trudeau said the two leaders had a brief conversation on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey. "I pointed out that although Canada has shifted its approach on a broad range of multilateral and international issues, we remain committed to the fact that Russia's interference in Ukraine must cease; that we stand with the Ukrainian people and expect the president to engage fully in the Minsk peace process," he said. Comment: Trudeau must have mush for brains. It's the US who has interfered in Ukraine, not Putin. Putin's relations with Western leaders have deteriorated over Russia's backing of pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine. Trudeau's stand continues Canada's position under former prime minister Stephen Harper, a staunch supporter of Ukraine and one of Putin's most vocal critics | |
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Jeffry John Aufderheide
Natural Blaze 2015-11-17 17:00:00
On the surface, it appears that a group of passionate parents spontaneously rallied together to support the passage of Senator Richard Pan's California State Bill SB277 - a bill that takes away the choice of parents to exempt their child from being vaccinated. [2] Analysis revealed groups and individuals who are well-connected to pharmaceutical companies assisted in an opportunistic marketing campaign which promoted the passage of this bill. A news release by the California Medical Association announced that: The California Medical Association (CMA), American Academy of Pediatrics, California (AAPCA), California Immunization Coalition (CIC), Vaccinate California and Health Officers Association of California (HOAC) have joined forces to launch the "I Heart Immunity" campaign in an ongoing effort to promote the importance of vaccines and Senate Bill 277 (Pan/Allen). [3] | |
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RT
2015-11-19 17:16:00
China has signed a contract to buy 24 Sukhoi Su-35 multipurpose fighter jets from Russia, becoming the first foreign buyer of the advanced warplane, according to manufacturer Rostec. The deal, estimated to be worth $2 billion, is a significant boost to Russia's arms exports. "The long negotiation on the Su-35 sale to China has been completed. We have signed a contract," Sergey Chemezov, the head of the Russian state-owned high-tech giant Rostec, told Kommersantbusiness daily. Chemezov didn't disclose the details of the deal, but Kommersant cited sources in the Russian arms industry as saying that China had purchased 24 Su-35s at a price of about $83 million each. The Su-35 (designated Flanker-E+, not to be confused with the Su-27M, which used to be called the same name before its discontinuation) is a long-range "4++ generation" fighter jet. It is armed with an internal 30mm cannon and has 12 hardpoints with a combined capacity of 8,000 kg, compatible with a wide range of unguided and guided missiles and bombs. | |
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RT
2015-11-19 17:35:00
The alleged mastermind and sponsor of attacks in the French capital on Friday, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed during an anti-terrorist operation in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday, Paris prosecutor François Molins said. His body was found under the wreckage of the building in Saint-Denis, which was stormed in Wednesday's raid. "Abdel Hamid Abaaoud has just been formally identified and certified killed during the raid, after comparing fingerprints," the statement said. "It was the bullet-ridden body we discovered in the building," Paris persecutor François Molins said. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls praised the elimination of one of the masterminds behind the Paris attacks. Following the deadly attacks that killed at least 129 people, reports emerged that Abaaoud, 27, an active Islamic State executioner in Syria, could be behind the massacre. | |
Comment: Dead men tell no tales.
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Daniel Fielding
The Islamic State and the other jihadi groups fighting alongside it in Syria are now experiencing bombing the like of which they have never known before or could probably even imagine.Russia Insider 2015-11-19 17:09:00
On Tuesday Russia's military briefed Putin on the further escalation of the air campaign in Syria. The new air forces deployed are of a power beyond anything seen before. They all operate from bases deep inside Russia. There is no plan apparently to send more aircraft to Syria itself. The air base at Latakia is full to capacity. There is no room for more aircraft there. Apparently there are no plans for the moment to establish another base in Syria. The Russians continue to rule out sending a ground force. | |
Comment: The US' idea of fighting ISIS is to send them lots of love, guns, and Toyota trucks. Russia's plan seems much more sensible.
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Sputnik News
2015-11-19 14:44:00
If French President Francois Hollande intends to effectively lead an international coalition against ISIL, involving Russia and the United States, he would have to be ready to make some political concessions, the French daily Le Temps reported. On Monday, Hollande called for a broad coalition including the United States and Russia to tackle ISIL which had claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks on Friday. The following day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia and France's navies must develop a joint plan of action for their operations in Syria. Hollande is scheduled to travel to Moscow on November 26 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which the two leaders would negotiate an international anti-terrorism operation in Syria. Prior to meeting with Putin, the French President would also visit the United States to meet with Barack Obama. First things first, the French government should be ready to share intelligence with both the Russians and the Americans to coordinate their military actions. It's going to be tough, because right now Russian, US and French planes prefer not to come close to each other, Le Temps said. Secondly, in order to get meaningful support from Russia, Hollande will have to be ready to compromise on certain issues, namely the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is a Russian ally. | |
Comment: Shake-ups seem to be in the wind. How will these re-alignments play out? Are these moves independent or choreographed? Considering the possibility of Russia and the US uniting, is France dreaming? Many questions await answers.
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ABC News
2015-11-19 09:42:00
Thirty-three countries are attending NATO's largest ever cyberdrill in Estonia, focusing on malware in tablets and how infected devices may compromise data privacy for staff of the world's biggest military alliance. U.S. Navy Cmdr. Robert Hoar, who heads the drill, on Thursday said scenarios do not include "attacking or defending;" participants have instead been provided realistic "storylines" that must be solved. The five-day Cyber Coalition 2015 exercise, held at the alliance's cyber exercise range in Estonia's second city, Tartu, mainly aims at enhancing NATO nations' ability to work together in a crisis situation. NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence — a think-thank and training facility — is based in Tallinn, the Estonian capital. It is the third time that the small Baltic nation is hosting such an event. | |
Comment: Almost a year ago Admiral Mike Rogers, the director of the U.S. National Security Agency warned:
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| Society's Child |
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IOM
2015-11-17 21:14:00
Greece is reporting that a boat carrying some 20 migrants capsized this morning off the Greek island of Kos, leaving nine migrants dead. Two of the victims were children aged seven and 14. Seven people were rescued. "The Hellenic Coast Guard has recovered nine bodies, but four others may be missing and search operations are continuing,'' said Kelly Namia, an IOM Athens spokesperson. Tuesday's tragedy brings to at least 562 the number of migrant and refugee fatalities in the Eastern Mediterranean this year. It brings to 3,515 the total of all migrant and refugee fatalities across all sea-borne routes to Europe in 2015. | |
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Juan Cole
Informed Comment 2015-11-17 00:00:00
Some half of US governors have announced their opposition to their states taking in Syrian refugees after the Paris attacks. Although they can bother refugees, they can't actually dictate to people who are here legally where they can live. But anyway, here are the reasons for which these announcements are a form of political hysteria and not grounded in any rational policy considerations: 1. The attackers in Paris were European nationals. The Syrian passport found near one of them was a fake. So are the governors opposed to Belgian immigration into the United States? 2. The attackers were not refugees. They were born in Europe. Refugees are poor and lacking in knowledge or resources about their new environment. The attackers knew exactly where everything was that they wanted to assault and were hooked in with arms smugglers and other hard-to-discover criminal networks. Comment: 3. There is no rational reason to bar Syrian refugees but accept refugees from other conflict areas. The US already admits 70,000 refugees every year, but only took in about 400 Syrians last year.Most refugees are fleeing conflict situations or oppressive governments, and if you wanted to be paranoid about them you could fear them all on the same grounds that the GOP fears Syrians. The US has accepted a former child soldier from the Congo (might have skills). In 2014 the US accepted 758 refugees from Afghanistan; how are they different from Syrian refugees? And here's the kicker:the US accepted 19,651 refugees from Iraq last year! It is completely irrational to single out Syrians if you are going to take in Iraqis. | |
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Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse 2015-11-18 00:00:00
If the U.S. economy really is in "great shape", then why do all of the numbers keep telling us that we are in a recession? The manufacturing numbers say that we are in a recession, the trade numbers say that we are in a recession, and as you will see below the retail numbers say that we are in a recession. But just like in 2008, the Federal Reserve and our top politicians will continue to deny that a major economic downturn is happening for as long as they possibly can. In this article, I want to look at more signs that a dramatic shift is happening in our economy right now. First of all, let's consider what is happening to hedge funds. For many years, hedge funds had been doing extremely well, but now they are closing up shop at a pace that we haven't seen since the last financial crisis. The following is an excerpt from a Business Insider article entitled "Hedge funds keep on imploding" that was posted on Wednesday... | |
Comment: There are, however, two sectors of the economy that are doing quite well - the military industrial complex and the banks, which are benefiting quite handsomely from the recent attacks in Paris.
Who benefits? Defense industry stocks soar after the Paris terror attacks | |
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Andrew Emett
The Free Thought Project 2015-11-19 19:07:00
In a case of mistaken identity, Toronto Police were caught on video viciously beating a nonviolent, innocent man with a developmental disability. On Wednesday, the victim filed a $5 million lawsuit against the police after a video of the assault was released. Around 8 a.m. on November 1, Santokh Bola, 21, arrived in the parking lot near his grandfather's store when two Toronto cops approached him at gunpoint. Responding to a call about a suspect with a knife, two officers tackled Bola to the ground as a bystander began recording the incident on hiscellphone. Two other cops rushed onto the scene immediately delivering kicks and punches to Bola's unprotected head. As an officer repeatedly kicked him, Bola shouted, "Hello! I didn't do anything, sir." Instead of conversing with the innocent man, a cop kneed Bola in the head before punching him multiple times in the face. As Bola continued to defend his innocence, one of the officers ordered him to shut up. Although Bola was restrained on the ground, the cops rained down a torrent of fists and knees instead of simply handcuffing him. | |
Comment: Cops are equal opportunity sadists, as the following articles show:
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Tovah Lazaroff
Jerusalem Post 2015-11-19 18:59:00
Three people were killed late Thursday afternoon when a Palestinian terrorist shot at cars stuck in a traffic jam near the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank. Initial reports suggest that the terrorist fired at the cars and then sped in the direction of the Alon Shvut settlement and slammed into a car. The terrorist exited the vehicle and attempted to fire off further shots. Security forces shot at the terrorist and then arrested him. | |
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Sputnik
2015-11-19 18:40:00
Hacktivist group Anonymous has accused a San Francisco Web services company of protecting pro-ISIL websites from cyberattacks. ISIL exploits the internet and social media sites to spread its propaganda and promote its activities — it also uses web services to guard the group from cyber attacks. As more attempts are made to disrupt ISIL-related sites, members of the terrorist organization are circumnavigating attacks by using web services readily available on the market. | |
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Ben Debney
Counterpunch 2015-11-16 00:00:00
True to form, the reaction to the Paris terrorist attacks has fallen hardest on Muslims and refugees rather than the handful of psychopathic nihilists who perpetrated them. Without even waiting for anyone to claim responsibility, François Hollande closed the borders, laying blame at the feet of refugees in pitiful capitulation to the far right. As in every such incident the powerful take advantage of the crisis produced by the violent atrocity not to address the causes so that it might not happen again, but to scaremonger and scapegoat; France has 6 million Muslims; if one tenth of one percent of these were jihadists, that percentage would amount to a hard core of 6,000. If France has that many jihadists, they are exceptionally lazy. If not, terrorism is not a specifically Muslim problem. | |
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RT
2015-11-19 09:09:00
Islamic State has released a new video threatening attacks on New York - the footage shows images of Times Square, crowds of tourists and a suicide bomber making an explosive vest and apparently preparing for an assault on the 'Big Apple'. Trends France terror attacks The five-and-a-half-minute video starts from horrific scenes from the recent Paris attacks and various recordings of French President Francois Hollande speaking about military operation against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) jihadists. French- and Arabic-speaking fighters are heard praising the attacks which killed at least 129 people in the French capital on Friday. | |
Comment: Sure, "don't panic everyone!," but in the meantime the police state apparatus now has further "justification" for bloating itself and, ultimately, treating everyone like criminals.
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Sputnik News
2015-11-19 16:14:00
The Baltic States are about to face a large-scale scandal after media revealed they scammed the EU's refugee re-settlement system by labeling their Russian-speaking populations as "refugees," RIA Novosti's Vladimir Barsegian said. The EU allocates extra money to countries that accept refugees. Although Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania let very few Middle Eastern and African refugees into their countries, they managed to get millions of euros from the EU budget for refugee resettlement programs. How did that happen? Well, German experts also asked the same question and began an investigation to find out what had really happened. Turns out the Baltic States passed off their Russian-speaking populations, who still have a non-citizen status, as "refugees," Barsegian said. Between 2007 and 2013, Latvia, which has around 260,000 non-citizens, received €33 million from the EU budget; Estonia got a bit less since it "only" has 88,000 non-citizens. These lies probably would have never surfaced and the Baltic States would have kept getting the easy money, if it were not for the current refugee crisis in Europe. As EU leaders began allocating refugee quotas across the union, they noticed that the Baltic States had one of the highest "refugee" numbers in the entire EU. The truth was revealed and some EU leaders began to speak about the issue, accusing the Baltic States of stealing EU funds. Furthermore, following the real refugee crisis EU leaders opened their eyes to the ugly side of their own members — the Baltic States discriminated against their own residents simply based on their ethnicity. What a true reflection of European values! | |
Comment: "Opportunity is the mother of invention," or so they say. Just don't reveal the details.
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RT
2015-11-19 17:23:00
A private boarding school in North Yorkshire that accommodates children aged 3-19 has allegedly installed 700 CCTV cameras to catch pupils "kissing and queue-jumping," an inspector's report has found. Following two unannounced inspections by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), Queen Ethelburga's School has come under scrutiny after pupils claimed it fitted cameras in classrooms to "catch students" committing minor disciplinary breaches. The inspectorate's report on the visit states that several students believe the school is determined to catch them "kissing and queue-jumping" on camera. The private school, which charges fees of up to £34,000 per year, denies the allegations. "At the time of the inspections, around 700 CCTV cameras were located around the school, including in the EYFS [Early Years Foundation Stage]," the ISI report reads. | |
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Nick Giambruno
Activist Post 2015-11-18 16:39:00
Central planners around the world are waging a War on Cash. In just the last few years:
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Dovas
Magnus Wennman, an award-winning photojournalist from Stockholm, has published a gutwrenching photo series revealing what is happening to the children in the Middle East and on Europe's doorstep as they flee the conflict in Syria. To create "Where The Children Sleep," he traveled throughout the regions where these children and their families are fleeing to to tell us their stories.Bored Panda 2015-11-19 14:21:00 In an interview with CNN, Wennman, who took the photos for the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, said that the conflict and the crisis can be difficult for people to understand, "but there is nothing hard to understand about how children need a safe place to sleep. That is easy to understand," he said. "They have lost some hope," Wennman added. "It takes very much for a child to stop being a child and to stop having fun, even in really bad places." Comment: As you look at these pictures and read the brief descriptions of what these children are forced to endure, keep in mind that the situation in Syria causing their horrendous trauma and suffering is mostly due to US intervention in Syria, and the US intervention is entirely illegal under international law. |
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RT
2015-11-19 16:08:00
Troy Goode's death was caused by Mississippi hog-tying him, not the LSD he took that night, an independent autopsy has ruled. The results were released by Tim Edwards, the Goode family's attorney, at a press conference in Memphis, Tennessee on Wednesday. Goode was left hogtied and on his stomach for an extended period which caused him breathing troubles. When his heart couldn't compensate, it went into cardiac arrhythmia and killed him, according to Edwards. The autopsy found no evidence of a pre-existing disease that would have led to Goode's death. An earlier toxicology report confirmed that Goode had used LSD and marijuana while attending a rock concert by the jam band Widespread Panic before he died. "The toxicology report... rules out any drug-related causes. That takes that off the table," Edwards said. "LSD does not cause heart failure." Goode, a 30 year-old chemical engineer and father from Memphis, Tennessee, died on July 18, two hours after his detention by police in the Memphis suburb of Southaven, Mississippi. His wife was taking him home when he got out of the car and started running around. Officers eventually subdued him, restraining his arms and legs behind him. Goode was taken to an area hospital, but was later pronounced dead. A video shot by a bystander showed Goode on a stretcher being wheeled to an ambulance. He was lying face down with his limbs restrained behind his back using leg irons and handcuffs. Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite issued a statement following the autopsy results to defend the actions of the police officers. Police were called as Goode was "acting erratically and posing a danger to himself and innocent bystanders," Musselwhite said.
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RT
2015-11-18 16:25:00
Yellowstone National Park has proposed killing roughly 1,000 wild bison this winter in an effort to curb the animals' annual migration to Montana. The bison, mostly calves and females, would be delivered to Native American tribes for slaughter. The controversial annual culling is aimed at lessening the risk of Yellowstone bison infecting cattle herds in Montana with brucellosis, a bacterial disease that can cause pregnant bison and other animals to miscarry their young. The yearly culling is part of a 2000 agreement made between Montana and the federal government, which was aimed at preventing the spread of the disease. "Through the legal agreement the National Park Service has to do this," Yellowstone spokeswoman Sandy Snell-Dobert said, as quoted by AP. "If there was more tolerance north of the park in Montana for wildlife, particularly bison as well as other wildlife, to travel outside the park boundaries, it wouldn't be an issue." | |
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Karma Allen
CNBC 2015-11-18 14:23:00
With the peak shopping season approaching, Urban Outfitters is asking its employees to pitch in a bit more on the weekends. But there's a catch: they won't get paid for it. In an email obtained by Gawker this week, the Philadelphia-based retailer told salaried employees that it was looking for weekend volunteers to help "pick, pack and prepare packages" for wholesale and direct customers. | |
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| Secret History |
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| Science & Technology |
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Science Direct
2015-11-19 20:17:00
For parents of young children, there are few milestones more memorable than that first word. But people communicate an awful lot to each other without ever saying anything at all. That raises an intriguing question: how do infants learn to communicate with the people around them nonverbally, through eye contact? Researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on November 19 have some new insight into this silent form of communication from an unlikely source: the sighted children of blind parents. | |
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Science Daily
New X-ray method uses scattering to visualize nanostructures2015-11-19 19:36:00
Both in materials science and in biomedical research it is important to be able to view minute nanostructures, for example in carbon-fiber materials and bones. A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the University of Lund, Charite hospital in Berlin and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) have now developed a new computed tomography method based on the scattering, rather than on the absorption, of X-rays. The technique makes it possible for the first time to visualize nanostructures in objects measuring just a few millimeters, allowing the researchers to view the precise three-dimensional structure of collagen fibers in a piece of human tooth. | |
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Michael Slezak
New Scientist 2015-11-04 17:02:00
Are you getting enough minerals? A new theory suggests most of Earth's mass extinction eventscould have been caused by a lack of essential trace elements in the world's oceans, causing fatal deficiencies in marine animals, from plankton to reptiles. Earth has been hit with five mass extinction events. The two most dramatic ones had pretty clear causes. The dinosaurs were probably wiped out 66 million years ago thanks to a massive meteor falling on modern-day Mexico, while the end-Permian extinction, which wiped out 90 per cent of species 252 million years ago, was probably the result of massive volcanoes in Siberia. But that leaves three other mass extinctions, with no agreed cause. "It's a complex scenario," says John Long from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. He says there are probably a lot of causes conspiring to drive these mass extinctions. But his latest work suggests fluctuations in essential minerals in the ocean could be an important, and so-far completely unexplored, cause. | |
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Irene Klotz
Discovery News 2015-11-18 18:00:00
For the first time, astronomers have directly observed a planet in the making. The baby planet circles a very young, sun-like star located in a giant cloud of molecular gas 430 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. Astronomers had previously noted a hefty gap in the disk of gas and dust surrounding the star, known as LkCa 15. They suspected the gravitational pull of an evolving planet had cleared out an orbital zone, similar to how some moons circling Saturn create gaps in its rings. Now, a new series of observations adds key details of the planet-in-the-making, showing for the first time how it is feeding on hydrogen gas. "This discovery has far-reaching implications for our understanding of the planet-forming process and of the properties of young planets," Princeton University astrophysicist Zhaohuan Zhu wrote in a commentary in this week's Nature. | |
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Mike Wall
Discovery News 2015-11-19 04:00:00
Curiosity is headed toward the dark Bagnold Dunes, which lie in the northwestern foothills of the towering Mount Sharp, and should begin investigating the sandy feature in the next few days, NASA officials said. The Bagnold Dunes are substantial; Curiosity will study one dune that's as wide as a football field and as tall as a two-story building, NASA officials said. And they're active; observations by Mars orbiters show that some of the dunes are moving by as much as 3 feet (1 meter) per year. "We've planned investigations that will not only tell us about modern dune activity on Mars but will also help us interpret the composition of sandstone layers made from dunes that turned into rock long ago," Bethany Ehlmann of the California Institute of Technology and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, both of which are located in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. While Mars rovers have visited sandy swales in the past, no active dunes (which feature slopes steep enough for sand to slide down) have ever been studied up close on a world beyond Earth, NASA officials said. | |
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Ian O'Neill
Discovery News 2015-11-19 12:00:00
Astronomers have detected something baffling at the furthest frontiers of our observable universe: massive galaxies -- lots of massive galaxies -- that shouldn't even exist. Depending on the wavelength you observe the universe in, different celestial objects and cosmic phenomena present themselves. This rule is especially true when looking deeper into the universe — the further you look, the farther back in time you can see. Because the universe is expanding, the most ancient light traveling over these vast distances becomes more difficult to observe. This nature of space-time becomes abundantly clear when considering new discoveries in the infrared realm — light has become so red-shifted (basically stretched) that only infrared observatories can see the faint glow at the most distant corners of the cosmos. In an effort to reveal galaxies that have remained hidden from view at these vast distances, the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at the ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile has revealed some of the youngest galaxies discovered to date, galaxies that were born a mere billion years after the Big Bang. But there's something weird going on: There's lots of them. And they're monsters. | |
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Julie Fidler
Natural Society 2015-11-18 07:15:00
The biotech firm Editas Medicine says that humans who have had their DNA genetically modified could exist within the next 2 years. The company announced that it will soon start the first trials of what it calls a groundbreaking new technique. U.S.-based Editas is striving to become the first lab in the world to edit the DNA of patients suffering from leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a genetic condition that causes severe vision loss at birth. Some LCA patients also experience central nervous system conditions, such as epilepsy, developmental delays and motor skill impairment. LCA is said to be caused by defects in a gene responsible for the creation of a protein that is vital to vision. Editas Medicine scientists believe they can fix the mutated DNA using gene-editing technology known as CRISPRs. CRISPRs, which stands for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats," allows scientists to edit genes "with precision, efficiency and flexibility," Gizmodo explained in a May 5, 2015 article. Researchers have reportedly been able to create monkeys with targeted mutations andprevent HIV infection in human cells using this piece of biotechnology. In early May, Chinese scientists said they'd successfully applied CRISPRs to nonviable human embryos, suggesting that the technology could someday be used to treat any genetic disease. It might even be used to create "designer babies" in the future, though that day is a long ways off. Editas Medicine hopes to start a CRISPR trial with blind patients in 2017. It would be the first time the technology was ever used on humans. | |
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| Earth Changes |
The lancetfish is no Finding Nemo but one has been found a long way from home. A lancetfish - usually found around 1000 metres deep - has been found just offshore at Fitzroy beach in New Plymouth. Nik Pyselman was running with his friend Cam Twigley along Fitzroy beach on Wednesday evening when he saw an iridescent blue shape in the water. "It looked like it had been washed in and was sruggling to swim back out to sea," he said. "I've heard of people catching them on long lines but I've never seen one myself." "I've also heard them called cannibal fish before because they eat their own kind." | |
Comment: See also: Rare, mysterious deep sea fish washes ashore along North Carolina coast
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Neha Singh
International Business Times 2015-11-19 19:41:00
An earthquake measuring 5.0 on Richter scale rattled Nepal once again on Thursday morning with epicentre near Kathmandu. The tremors were felt at 9:45 am. According to US Geological Survey, the fresh tremors were felt 25 miles northeast of Kathmandu. National Seismological Centre (NSC) is reported to have said that the epicenter was at Nimlung in Sindhupalchowk district, The Kathmandu Post reported. The NSC also said that the fresh earthquake was an aftershock of the 25 April Great Quake of 7.9 magnitude. | |
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Nick Rostron-Pike
The Sun (UK) 2015-11-19 19:02:00
A Bolivian footballer has been killed after being struck by lightning. The incident, which happened during a match last Saturday, injured eight other players in the town of Villazon. According to reports, a lightning strike hit the ground killing David Alvarez. Villazon borders Argentina, in south Bolivia. Local media are reporting eight other players were electrically shocked, although it's unknown how serious these injuries are. | |
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Zimbabwe Daily
2015-11-17 18:51:00
Three Bulilima District pupils have died following a deadly hailstorm that hit the area on Monday. Many more pupils were stranded and their families searched for them well into the night, leading to their rescue after large hailstones pounded several villages. Two Early Childhood Development pupils from Sevako Primary School, both girls aged six years, died in the violent weather while a third, a boy from Ndolwane Primary School whose age and grade could not be ascertained, drowned yesterday. The Bulilima Civil Protection Committee chairperson who is also the District Administrator for Bulilima, Ethel Moyo, said the ECD pupils died on their way home from school while the other pupil drowned in a flooded pit latrine at the school. | |
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Corinne Purtill
Quartz 2015-11-19 12:39:00
Temperatures in certain parts of the Pacific Ocean are warmer right now than at any time in the last 25 years at least, according to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The reason: an El Niño, one that scientists say has a chance at being the biggest one ever recorded. It's a sign that this El Niño could surpass in strength the previous record-setting events of 1997 and 1982. Both of those events were Super El Niños. This year's event looks so much stronger than the 1997 record that a climatologist compared it to an upstart displacing a grand sumo wrestling champion. El Niño is a weather phenomenon that arises when sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean rise, pushing northward the heavy rains that usually fall on South American rainforests. It typically results in drought in South America and Australia, mild winters in the northeastern United States, and heavy rain in the southern US. | |
Comment: For more information on this years El Nino, see:
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Gathoni Jemimah
Citizen Digital 2015-11-15 17:38:00
Over 20 cows have been reported dead after a mysterious disease hit a village in Chuka Igambang'ombe Constituency. Villagers, especially farmers in Kiang'ondu, are now a worried lot, claiming the government has done little to help them and are calling on the national and county governments to step in and stop the disease from spreading. Among those affected is Mutwiri Mutegi, a farmer, who claimed that a county livestock department representative had toured the village once but did not enforce quarantine in the face of the deadly disease. "This disease has been here close to a month now and some symptoms such as the cows legs swelling are easily noticeable," said Mutegi. He claimed that when they reported the matter, the officers demanded bribes, which they could not afford. On their part, veterinary officers who toured the region said the signs and symptoms portrayed by the animals could be those of ramp skin and anthrax, a deadly disease that is highly contagious. Reports indicated that over the last one week, 20 cows have died and more than 30 households have animals that are already infected. The farmers are now demanding for an apology from the livestock department due to the loses they have incurred so far, while at the same time urging the county government for assistance following the tragedy that has befallen them. | |
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Eric M Johnson
Independent Online 2015-11-19 10:14:00
About 185 000 homes and businesses remained without power in Washington state late on Wednesday, after a storm blew down trees and triggered mudslides, killing at least three people, authorities said. Governor Jay Inslee declared a statewide emergency because of the storm, which left a wide swath of the Puget Sound region under flood watches and warnings. In the Spokane area of eastern Washington, utility Avista warned it could take three to five days to restore services to nearly 115 000 customers without power. The city closed schools after winds up to 70 mph (113kph) tore through the area. In Oregon, fallen trees, mudslides and floods shut down roads across the western part of the state on Tuesday night, including a 80km stretch of Interstate 84 that authorities declared impassible into midday Wednesday. Several other highways remained closed, Washington state police said. At least three people were confirmed to have died in storm-related accidents, authorities in Washington state said. | |
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RT
2015-11-19 08:05:00
A 4.7-magnitude earthquake has struck Oklahoma, the US Geological Survey reported, adding that the quake hit at a depth of 6.2 km, just 13 km from the town of Cherokee. There have been no reports of damage or casualties following the quake. Local media reports said that the earthquake was also felt in neighboring Kansas. Kansas-based KSN reported that the quake had affected Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, with almost 400,000 residents. "It was a quick jolt with windows rattling with [the first waves], then 5-10 seconds later [the second waves] rattled windows and shook appliances and computer monitors," said AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions meteorologist William Clark, who felt the earthquake in Wichita. Oklahoma has repeatedly seen seismic activity, which reportedly has links with fracking operations being undertaken in the area. | |
Comment: Across the planet generally volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are increasing. Very recent seismic activity in the Oklahoma area include:
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| Fire in the Sky |
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Olga Gertcyck
The Siberian Times 2015-11-19 19:16:00
Described as 'scary but beautiful', the streaking fireball provoked jokes about aliens and Batman's calling card, but no-one could definitively explain a flying object that was also seen far to the south in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Footage highlighted by major media outlet LifeNews showed the UFO flashing fast track over the local IKEA furniture store in Omsk, heading in an easterly direction. Yet it is one of a number of recent unexplained flying objects over Siberia - links to others are here. Astronomers at the planetarium of the Siberian State University of Geosystems and Technologies in Novosibirsk said of the early evening 17 November sightings: 'It is definitely not a comet.' Their theory was that 'the object was the second stage of intercontinental ballistic missile Topol launched at 15:12 Moscow time (or 18:12 Novosibirsk time) from Kapustin Yar cosmodrome in Astrakhan region.'
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| Health & Wellness |
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Julie Steenhuysen
Reuters 2015-11-19 18:33:00
Federal regulators cleared the way for a genetically engineered salmon to be farmed for human consumption in the first-ever such approval for an animal whose DNA has been scientifically modified. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of the salmon, developed by AquaBounty Technologies to grow faster than conventional, farmed salmon, followed years of deliberations. The regulator has now declared that the salmon is as nutritious as normally grown Atlantic salmon, which means the salmon will not require special labeling. | |
Comment: Muir said there is "no credible evidence" that these genetically modified fish are a risk to either human health or the environment."
Really?! Interesting that this debate has gone on for years and yet now, with FDA approval, the 'frakenfish' will not be labeled as such! Talk about setting a precedent for other genetically engineered fish and animals. Unsure about the safety of this new frakenfish coming to market?
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RT
2015-11-19 17:22:00
Scientists have identified the first gene helping bacteria resist the only antibiotic group known to be effective when all others fail. Chinese and British experts came to the alarming conclusion that our last line of antibiotic defense has been breached. The conclusion follows a large body of prior research that warns humanity about the dangers of becoming completely resistant to antibiotics. Now, Chinese doctors cooperating with UK specialists from Bristol and Cardiff Universities say we could soon be looking at the spread of uncontrollable superbugs. In the research published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, the researchers predict a return to the Dark Ages, when even common germs like E. Coli put a person in mortal danger. "These are extremely worryingly results," professor and co-author on the study Liu Jian-Hua, from China's Southern Agricultural University, said in a press release. | |
Comment: See how Mother Nature takes care of herself when humans are out of control and not caring enough for the environment and the planet we rely on for sustenance.
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Allison Oligschlaeger
Male circumcision rates in Utah decline as parents reconsider the procedureCity Weekly 2015-11-19 16:36:00
Spenst Hansen knows better than to take his body for granted. Born in the midst of his parents' divorce, the 24-year-old Salt Laker was, of course, a major sticking point in the split. More surprisingly, so was his circumcision status. "My mother and her side of the family really wanted to get [the procedure] done—so much so, apparently, that they were threatening to get it done behind my father's back," Hansen says. "My father was very adamant and very passionate about letting me keep my whole and unaltered body. From what I understand, he actually put out a court-ordered cease and desist for every pediatrician in the state." | |
Comment:
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Kirsten Cowart
The Mind Unleashed 2015-11-16 16:32:00
According to the new report from the U.S. Pediatricians, the overuse of antibiotics within animal feed it making it harder for doctors to help children fight off life-threatening infections. The recent report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says that the fairly common practice of giving healthy livestock antibiotics as a 'prevention' tactic is making the drugs more ineffective especially when they are needed to treat infections in our children. Most of the nonorganic meat in the US is full of hormones and antibiotics which ends up in the food and is negatively influencing our health. | |
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March Against Monsanto
2015-11-10 16:13:00
Recently on this blog we posed the question as to whether or not the "clean vaccine movement" and the clean food movements should be separated, or marching together in unison. That topic is still up for debate, but with the vaccine movement growing in strength and more people in the spotlight questioning additives and packed vaccine schedules, it's important to be aware of the latest happenings. It's no secret that vaccines are virtually unparalleled moneymakers for the pharmaceutical industry, and one of the biggest players, Pfizer, has reportedly set its sights on a "significant expansion" of its vaccine repertoire. As reported by the New York Times, the company is taking steps to promote vaccines to be used "from cradle to grave, from shots for pregnant women to protect their babies from the moment of birth to vaccines for senior citizens with waning immune systems." | |
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| Science of the Spirit |
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Will Storr
Brain Decoder 2015-11-18 18:29:00
For years she had tried to be the perfect wife and mother but now, divorced, with two sons, having gone through another break-up and in despair about her future, she felt as if she'd failed at it all, and she was tired of it. On 6 June 2007 Debbie Hampton, of Greensboro, North Carolina, took an overdose of more than 90 pills - a combination of ten different prescription drugs, some of which she'd stolen from a neighbor's bedside cabinet. That afternoon, she'd written a note on her computer: "I've screwed up this life so bad that there is no place here for me and nothing I can contribute." Then, in tears, she went upstairs, sat on her bed, swallowed her pills with some cheap Shiraz and put on a Dido CD to listen to as she died. As she lay down, she felt triumphant. But then she woke up again. She'd been found, rushed to hospital, and saved. "I was mad," she says. "I'd messed it up. And, on top of that, I'd brain-damaged myself." After Debbie emerged from her one-week coma, her doctors gave her their diagnosis: encephalopathy. "That's just a general term which means the brain's not operating right," she says. She couldn't swallow or control her bladder, and her hands constantly shook. Much of the time, she couldn't understand what she was seeing. She could barely even speak. "All I could do was make sounds," she says. "It was like my mouth was full of marbles. It was shocking, because what I heard from my mouth didn't match what I heard in my head." After a stay in a rehabilitation centre, she began recovering slowly. But, a year in, she plateaued. "My speech was very slow and slurred. My memory and thinking was unreliable. I didn't have the energy to live a normal life. A good day for me was emptying the dishwasher." | |
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Cari Wira Dineen
Prevention 2015-01-16 18:00:00
The sound of his chewing is beyond annoying. And let's not get started on how she never ever makes the bed. "These little issues are totally normal in any relationship, and aren't indicative of whether or not your romance will survive," says Melissa Cohen, a couples therapist in Westfield, New Jersey. But, according to Cohen and many other relationship experts, there are several warning signs they notice during sessions that signal bigger problems—and threaten the viability of their patients' relationships. Ready to assess the strength of your union? Here are 9 big red flags to look out for. 1. Your conflicts include criticism and contempt. Instead of saying, "Please unload the dishwasher" it sounds more like this: "Do you have some sort of mental condition? Or are you just too stupid to remember to do what I asked?" Notice how the criticism is not about the task—it's about the person. Any version of "What is wrong with you?" basically attacks the other person's character, which, when done regularly, can chip away at the relationship. As for the contempt part, that means you feel superior to you partner. Often, this can sound like, "Why do I have to do everything around here? You do nothing to help out." Contempt is also expressed non-verbally: eye-rolling, sneering, or imitating the person's mannerisms. And contempt just causes more conflict. If you are stuck in a cycle of negativity, Cohen suggests that you make five positive comments to offset one negative comment. "If, say, you criticized your husband about his terrible driving, force yourself to make at least five endearing comments throughout the rest of the day to smooth things over," she says. | |
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Karla McClaren
Karla McClaren 2015-11-19 17:55:00
When I wrote The Language of Emotions, I had not yet found a concise definition of emotions anywhere, so I sort of tap-danced around the issue and dove into my own empathic view of emotions as unique messengers that carry specific gifts. But I read a wonderful book last year that presented the perfect definition: emotions are action-requiring neurological programs — and I relied upon this definition in my newest book, The Art of Empathy. It is an absolutely magnificent frame through which to view emotions! This definition comes from neuroscientist Antonio Damasio's book, Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain. It's a good, though quite involved read, in which Damasio lays out some theories of consciousness, based on his work as a research scientist. How does a brain create a mind? How does the mind create a self? What are the connections between wakefulness, consciousness, mind, and self? Can you be awake but not conscious? (Yes, for instance, in epileptic "absence" seizures, where you can be walking around but have no conscious awareness of anything you're doing, and no memory of anything you did during the seizure.) | |
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Jamil Zaki
Emotional investment in children can make people feel like they don't have as much space to care about anyone else.The Atlantic 2015-11-19 14:40:00
Throughout my wife's pregnancy, it seemed like everyone who already had kids was eager to tell us about the changes parenting would bring to our lives. Some were mundane but a little scary (losing the opportunity to shower every day), others profound and hopeful (a powerful new sense of purpose). At any rate, most of them were right—just a few weeks into her life, our daughter has already changed me in many ways. Some new experiences seem par for the course—feeling less annoyed by crying kids on planes, embarrassingly tearing up to dad-themed commercials—but other changes have surprised me. I've grown more suspicious of strangers, for example. I've mentally rehearsed potential sidewalk conflicts. I've researched nearby boxing gyms, as though by becoming stronger or more threatening, I could somehow keep her safe. | |
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RT
2015-11-19 16:01:00
A fresh study has confirmed that people are reluctant to change their minds and adapt their views, even when new information has been presented. This holds true even if they stand to lose money. The research from the University of Iowa is based on previous studies indicating that people are particularly likely to stick to their original viewpoint when they've had to write their beliefs down - a phenomenon known as the 'explanation effect', which also affects future actions. In the study, Tom Gruca, a professor of marketing at the Tippie College of Business, tried to find evidence of something called 'confirmation bias' - the tendency to give preference to existing information or beliefs, rather than considering alternative possibilities. He says equity analysts working on financial markets are particularly prone to this bias, with those who issue written forecasts being especially vulnerable to falling into the trap, despite having access to new data to influence them. Gruca believes the findings are particularly relevant to market research, and that they may be used to better predict trader behavior in future. | |
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Wasseem el Sarraj
Middle East Eye 2015-11-18 11:17:00
When looking out towards other parts of the world it's much less stressful, much less cognitively demanding, to see victims rather than people who more or less resemble yourself. This week I have been watching a spread of global responses to the Paris murders. As a therapist what has been most illuminating to me has been watching the various corporations, Amazon, Facebook and Uber to name a few, and many other powerful nations show solidarity with France through changes to their website or otherwise. I don't personally know anyone in Paris but it must be comforting on some very basic level to be reminded that you are not alone, that what you are experiencing is being felt, and even understood, by others - and that suffering is being met with acknowledgment and an empathic response. A response that serves to indicate to Parisians that the world "gets" what is happening. It's perhaps this alignment that leaves a little less space for alternate realities and provides a little less room for uncertainty - although I'm sure both must persist. | |
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Sophie Jane Evans
Daily Mail 2015-11-05 21:48:00
A five-year-old savant who is apparently displaying signs of telepathy is being studied by scientists after his mother posted videos online showing him reciting random numbers 'written in secret'. Ramses Sanguino - who is already learning seven languages and solving complex mathematical equations - was filmed seemingly demonstrating telepathy at his home in Los Angeles, California. In the footage, the youngster, who has a 'high functioning' form of autism, correctly recounts the value and suits of playing cards, as well as numbers that were reportedly penned out of sight. | |
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| High Strangeness |
No new articles.
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| Don't Panic! Lighten Up! |
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Jennifer Viegas
Discovery News 2015-11-17 00:00:00
The trio of cats that evaded tight security at last weekend's G20 Summit in Turkey brought some levity to the otherwise very serious event concerning the global economy. But animals have actually been used in the past for strategic gains. The cats in this case came and went, as did leaders like President Obama and President Vladimir Putin, yet they clearly got through security, revealing holes in efforts meant to keep the event fully threat-free.
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Comment: Could they have smelled a rat? Putin outed ISIS's G20 financiers — But not a single western media outlet has reported it [link]
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