Mainstream News

Use of garages as social gathering place spurs action by officials

"More patio than parking place or storage for power tools, Mariam Khalaf said her garage is primarily for 'chilling purposes' — including smoking, eating and watching TV with family and friends, including next-door neighbors Muheeb Nabulsy and his wife, Fatima Mkkawi. Now, officials in the Detroit suburb are looking at changing an ordinance on garage use, arguing that as people get a little too comfortable hanging out in the garage, more cars are clogging side streets. Dearborn officials say the ordinance-tightening is not meant to target Arabs or anyone else. They say the structures are not meant to be living spaces, so building permits cannot be issued to convert them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUse of garages as social gathering place spurs action by officials

Refined carbohydrates can trigger food cravings, study says

"Refined carbohydrates such as corn syrup could trigger food cravings not unlike the cravings that drug addicts experience, new research suggests. The findings, published last week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, imply that the quick spike and subsequent crash in blood sugar that comes after eating highly processed carbs activates reward and addiction centers in the brain. The findings could suggest that avoiding refined carbohydrates might be a good weight-loss strategy because people would avoid not only the calories but also the strong cravings that the carbs they induce." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRefined carbohydrates can trigger food cravings, study says

Whole milk may be better for kids than skim milk

"'We just don't see any benefit for focusing on reducing fat,' Ludwig said. 'We think it's a holdover from a paradigm that evolved in the late 20th century based on the relatively simplistic idea that fat has the most calories per gram and that eliminating fat will reduce weight gain.' Another study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood in March echoed the JAMA study and showed that children who drank lower-fat milk were more likely to be overweight later in life." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhole milk may be better for kids than skim milk

Human breast milk has become a new luxury for China’s rich

"Xinxinyu, a domestic staff agency in the booming city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, provided wet nurses for newborns, the sick and other adults who pay high prices for the milk’s fine nutrition, the Southern Metropolis Daily said. 'Adult (clients) can drink it directly through breastfeeding, or they can always drink it from a breast pump if they feel embarrassed,' the report quoted company owner Lin Jun as saying. Wet nurses serving adults are paid around 16,000 yuan ($2,600) a month — more than four times the Chinese average — and those who were 'healthy and good looking' could earn even more, the report said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHuman breast milk has become a new luxury for China’s rich

Belgian diplomat booted from NY golf club, treated like ‘terrorists’ over wife’s breast-feeding

"Minutes later, the Greenburgh Police Department arrived. Detective Scott Harding allegedly yelled, 'Close the doors!' and two other diners were told to leave the terrace. 'He was walking as if he was acting in a Western movie,' Neijens said. 'He had one hand on his gun, one hand on his Taser.' Neijens said the officer warned the couple they were trespassing and said some people at the club thought they were terrorists because of their black backpack. When Remans, on the verge of tears, questioned why terrorists would breast-feed at a ritzy club, the cop allegedly replied, 'In Sri Lanka, babies are used by terrorists.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBelgian diplomat booted from NY golf club, treated like ‘terrorists’ over wife’s breast-feeding

Hey, scofflaws! Police union cards available on eBay

"Buying a 'get out of jail free' card is just a mouse click away. Police union cards that cops hand out to friends and family free of charge are selling on eBay for as much as $100 a pop, even though the resale of the coveted plastic is strictly prohibited by the unions. The cards are often used to get out of minor jams like speeding tickets or parking violations — flashing one with your driver’s license is a way of suggesting you’re a member of law enforcement or at least related to someone who is. One eBay seller, 'anonymous1234567,' pointed out that some cards — like the 2013 LBA card he sold to The Post for $100 — work better than others." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHey, scofflaws! Police union cards available on eBay

Catholic Priest Allegedly Beheaded in Syria by Al-Qaeda-Linked Rebels Who Take Pictures and Cheer

"The Catholic news service quotes local sources who report that the radical Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, or Al-Nusra Front, was behind the savage killing. Dozens of men and boys are seen cheering on as three men are seated on the ground awaiting their grisly fate. The men are methodically beheaded one at a time by men holding what appears to be a simple kitchen knife after which the heads are placed on top of the bodies. A frenzy ensues, with dozens drawing out their smartphones to capture the bloody scene. Catholic Online is raising alarm that western nations are providing support to the rebels who have shown a proclivity toward persecuting Christians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCatholic Priest Allegedly Beheaded in Syria by Al-Qaeda-Linked Rebels Who Take Pictures and Cheer

When is a coup not a coup?

"Republicans also voiced strong support for Egypt’s military, whose close ties to Washington stretch back to the 1979 Israeli-Egypt peace accords. 'The Egyptian military has long been a key partner of the United States and a stabilizing force in the region, and is perhaps the only trusted national institution in Egypt today,' said U.S. Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House. 'Democracy is about more than elections,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhen is a coup not a coup?

Missouri threatens return of gas chambers for death row inmates

"The state of Missouri is threatening to resurrect the use of the gas chamber for executions, as an alternative to its dwindling supply of lethal-injection drugs. Drugs companies in America, Europe and Asia have refused on ethical grounds to sell their products to corrections departments, and the European Commission has imposed tough restrictions on the export of anaesthetics to the US. As supplies became harder to procure, Missouri last year became the only state in the nation to turn to an execution protocol that used just one lethal injection, of the anaesthetic propofol in doses 15 times stronger than in usual surgical procedures." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMissouri threatens return of gas chambers for death row inmates

Edward Snowden’s leaks cause editorial split at the Washington Post

"It said: 'Stopping potentially damaging revelations or the dissemination of intelligence to adversaries should take precedence over US prosecution of Mr Snowden — which could enhance his status as a political martyr in the eyes of many both in and outside the United States.' And all this in the paper responsible for publishing Snowden’s leaks. Syndicated newspaper columnist David Sirota contends that the editorial 'represents the paper’s higher-ups issuing a jeremiad against their own news-generating source and, by extension, the reporters who helped bring his leak into the public sphere.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden’s leaks cause editorial split at the Washington Post