The discovery of how the proteins in a tick’s saliva stop a human’s immune system from running amok could be the answer to treating life-threatening blood disorders, researchers say.
Lauren Kirchner: What’s the Evidence Mass Surveillance Works? Not Much – Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics
{The billions spent on collecting and combing the data is, for the most, part of the CYA program supported by nearly all elected politicians in nearly all countries. They support the spying programs so they can tell the people voting for them – “We are spending billions protecting you with the latest technology and brightest minds available.” If any useful information in collected – woohoo! but neither the politicians or we who vote for them care – we just want to know that the money is being spent and we hope it does some good. In short, shame on them and shame on us!}
Current and former government officials have been pointing to the terror attacks in Paris as justification for mass surveillance programs. CIA Director John Brennan accused privacy advocates of “hand-wringing” that has made “our ability collectively internationally to find these terrorists much more challenging.” Former National Security Agency and CIA director Michael Hayden said, “In the wake of Paris, a big stack of metadata doesn’t seem to be the scariest thing in the room.”Ultimately, it’s impossible to know just how successful sweeping surveillance has been, since much of the work is secret. But what has been disclosed so far suggests the programs have been of limited value.
Israelis rally around soldier filmed executing injured Palestinian | The Electronic Intifada
The new video shows the shooter “shaking hands with far-right activist Baruch Marzel” while al-Sharif’s body is removed from the scene, according to Haaretz. The US-born Marzel, a former leader of the violent group Kach, is notorious for fomenting attacks on Palestinians. Kach was outlawed by Israel after one of its members, the US-born medical doctor Baruch Goldstein, gunned down 29 Palestinians at Hebron’s Ibrahimi mosque in 1994. The video provides visible evidence of the close relationship between the Israeli army and the violent settlers it supports and protects.
Source: Israelis rally around soldier filmed executing injured Palestinian | The Electronic Intifada
New Finnish Forestry Act could mean the end of Sami reindeer herding – Intercontinental Cry
Sámi Culture Under Threat There is an urgent need to ensure that Metsähallitus and others are prevented from undermining present or future opportunities for the Sámi to practice and foster their culture. The new Act needs to include clauses that provide a protective zone and mechanisms for the Sámi to safeguard their cultural practices. These are missing from the existing legal proposal leaving both Indigenous Sámi leaders and Arctic scientists concerned about the proposed new reforms. “Sámi reindeer herding and the Sámi way of life are in danger of disappearing if the new Forestry Act legislation passes in the Finnish Parliament. In this case we will have few opportunities to influence the decision making over our lands. Rather, our territories will be controlled by market economy values,” says Jouni Lukkari, President of the Finnish Section of the Sámi Council.
Source: New Finnish Forestry Act could mean the end of Sami reindeer herding – Intercontinental Cry
Local Muslim group makes anti-extremist videos – Radio Sweden | Sveriges Radio
In an effort to counter jihadist propaganda a local association in the Stockholm area has produced two videos for young Muslims. For nearly a year, the “Islamiska förbundet i Järva” (the Islamic association in Järva) has received funding from a the national Inheritance Fund, which supports non-profit efforts for young people in Sweden. The Islamiska förbundet’s anti-radicalization project called WAANO has now released two videos, intended to be shown in schools and spread on social media. Each makes arguments, one directed towards men and the other towards women, against traveling to fight for extremists in other countries.
Source: Local Muslim group makes anti-extremist videos – Radio Sweden | Sveriges Radio
Curcumin may help fight drug-resistant tuberculosis | Vaccine News
Asians have long used turmeric to treat a variety of health conditions. Turmeric also has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and potentially anticancer properties. The health investigators discovered that provoking macrophages, which are human immune cells, can fight off experimentally infected cells within cultures. The infected cells have Mycobacterium TB, which causes TB bacteria to grow and spread through humans. Curcumin is able to stimulate these macrophages to fight the disease. This process was able to activate a cellular molecule, nuclear factor-kappa B. Curcumin can modulate the immune system against Mycobacterium TB, which suggests that it could be used as a new TB treatment that wouldn’t cause as much drug-resistance as traditional methods. “Our study has provided basic evidence that curcumin protects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in human cells,” Dr. Xiyuan Bai, lead author of the study that appears in Respirology, said. “The protective role of curcumin to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis still needs confirmation, but if validated, curcumin may become a novel treatment to modulate the host immune response to overcome drug-resistant tuberculosis.”
Source: Curcumin may help fight drug-resistant tuberculosis | Vaccine News
الامل في جيل يصبو الى الحرية بالحياة لا الموت
دخلت مع بناتي ما يشبه النقاش البيزنطي عندما بدأنا الحديث عن ما يجري من سقوط يومي للشباب والشابات . لا اذكر المنطقة المسدودة من الحديث عندما صار كل منا لا يسمع الاخر متهما اياه بالتهاون او التعصب.
في لحظة ما، استعملت سطوتي كأم وارغمتهن على سماعي. لا انكر ان ارغامي لهن كان يخرج منه الكثير من القلق .مجرد دخول هذه الافكار الى عقولهن يرعبني . وككل مرة استعملت حيلة الام المعهودة باسترحامهن او خوفهن علي ، شعرت هذه المرة بإحباط اكبر.
كان الكلام يتمحور حول جدوى القتل الجاري. وكانت محاولاتي في تفسير ما افكر به من محاولات لمنطقة الامور بائسة تماما . كان ربما ذلك الصوت الواهن الصادر مني ضعيفا مقابل حماس الشباب والدم المتدفق فيهم نحو الحياة.
هذا ما حاولت ان اقنعهن به .. الحياة . بان الحياة هي ما يجب علينا ان نسعى اليه لا الموت .
وكان صوت البنات يعاندني متسائلا : ” هل انت ضد رمي…
View original post 861 more words
To Save The Economy, We Have To Break Its One Sacred Rule | {He is right/wrong – “progress” or more, bigger, and more is the trap, is it not?}
The rule of GDP growth may seem sacred, but it is not. As quickly as we created it, we can pull it apart. And pull it apart we must—it’s time for the giant stone heads to roll. There are already movements in this direction. A number of states and countries have adopted much more sensible alternatives, like the Genuine Progress Indicator, which seek to promote human and environmental well-being. There are many others we might consider, and it doesn’t much matter which we choose—indeed, each city or country could pick a different measure, or no measure at all. The important thing is that we shake off the tyranny of GDP growth and open up a creative, democratic conversation about what kind of world we want to live in.
Source: To Save The Economy, We Have To Break Its One Sacred Rule | Co.Exist | ideas + impact
Israeli Education Minister: Even if the soldier made a mistake of judgment, he is not a murderer – PNN
Liberman, in addition to Education Minister and Jewish Home leader, Naftali Bennett, both attack B’Tselem Human Rights group for publishing the video. Immediately following the release of th e video on Thursday, politicians rushed to “dance to B’Tselem’s fiddle,” Bennett told Israel Radio on Sunday morning, referring to the human rights group that released the video of the killing, Jpost reported. Bennett said that “even if the soldier made a mistake of judgment he was not a murderer.” He said that the possibility of the soldier being tried for murder “demonstrated the total loss of proportions in the matter and he would act to ensure that the soldier would receive a just trial.” When asked about the execution, El-Or Azarya, the medic soldier who murdered Abdul-Fattah Al-Sharif said that he “did the right thing at the right time.”
Racism And The Invisibility Of White Privilege. | Rebelle Society
I thought I might share a few things as a white mama of black boys. I actually have three sons — two black and one white. My white son is 29, and my black boys are 14 and 15. Here are some of the privileges I never realized I experienced raising my white son: Not once… … did I ever have to explain to my white son that people might be mean to him, and even hurt or kill him, simply because of his skin color. … did I ever have to tell him to keep his hands out of his pockets while in a store. … did I ever have to go into a store or a school with him to assert myself as his mother so that people would treat him fairly… so they’d think, “Oh, his mom’s white, so he’s okay.” … did I ever have to tell him not to wear the hood up on his hoodie.
Source: Racism And The Invisibility Of White Privilege. | Rebelle Society








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