Mainstream News

Somali militants claim ‘blowback’ motivation for Nairobi mall attack

"At least 39 people were killed when masked gunmen stormed an upscale Nairobi mall, Kenya’s president said on Saturday. Al Shabaab militants said the attack was retaliation for Kenya’s involvement fighting Islamists in neighbouring Somalia. Masked gunmen killed 39 people when they stormed an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address on Saturday, adding that he lost family members in the attack claimed by Somalia’s al Qaeda-inspired al Shabaab rebels. The Islamist rebels said the massacre was in direct retaliation for Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia, where African Union troops are battling the Islamists." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSomali militants claim ‘blowback’ motivation for Nairobi mall attack

Twelve years after 9/11, we still have no idea how to fight terrorism.

"The seven studies include among them 86 findings about the effectiveness of counterterrorism programs, and those findings are startling. Lum, Kennedy and Sherley report that the average effect of the programs examined was negative. That is, the intervention was found to increase terrorist incidents rather than reduce them. The results varied by the type of intervention, but not in a way that should give us any comfort about our strategy. It's scandalous that we spend billions every year on counterterrorism but barely spend any effort on evaluating whether what we're doing works." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwelve years after 9/11, we still have no idea how to fight terrorism.

Dementia Drugs Ineffective at Slowing Mental Decline

"Cognitive enhancement drugs only have short-term benefits and can cause significant side-effects for people with mild memory problems, according to researchers. In a new review of existing data, researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada studied eight randomized clinical trials and three companion reports on the efficacy of four drugs in people with mild cognitive impairment. The drugs were donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), galantamine (Razadyne), and memantine (Namenda). They found that while the drugs do have short-term benefits, they are lost after a year and a half of treatment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDementia Drugs Ineffective at Slowing Mental Decline

Kevin Trudeau jailed for not paying $38 million to feds over natural remedies

"The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been after 50-year-old Trudeau, originally from Massachusetts, for several years after he made millions flogging what he claims are natural cures for serious and potentially fatal illnesses. The ruling at the end of last month was the latest round in more than a decade of legal battles that began with a suit filed by the Federal Trade Commission. Trudeau was slapped with a $38 million fine in 2011 after allegedly scamming customers for decades. FTC put the value at $37.6million as to how much consumers were defrauded by 'deceptive infomercials' that Trudeau filmed in order to plug his book - The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKevin Trudeau jailed for not paying $38 million to feds over natural remedies

Chicago ‘Safe Passage’ Worker Hit Woman, Stole Benefits Card

"A Safe Passage worker for Chicago Public Schools allegedly struck a woman and stole her Link benefits card, authorities say. Lashia Brown, 22, has been charged with misdemeanor battery and felony ID theft. Police confirmed Brown has a prior criminal record that includes possessing a weapon without a Firearm Owners Identification Card, an offense for which she pleaded guilty. Brown allegedly struck the victim in the face and used her Link card to withdraw money. She was arrested Tuesday in the 3200 block of West Madison and ordered held on $10,000 bond. A Link card provides cash and food-buying assistance for families that meet income guidelines." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChicago ‘Safe Passage’ Worker Hit Woman, Stole Benefits Card

Woman sues US Airways for losing her husband’s ashes after TSA mishap

"Initially, Mrs O'Grady planned to take the urn on board with her, but was stopped by TSA agents who told her she wasn't allowed to bring the cardboard box containing his urn through security because 'it's contents were not a solid substance'. So she went back to the airline's front desk and put the box in her checked luggage. Because of that delay she nearly missed her flight as well. By the time she got to the gate, she was too late and the airline had already given up her seat. Mrs O'Grady had to buy a $500 first-class ticket just to stay on the same flight. But the real shocker happened after she arrived at her sister-in-law's house in Hull. She opened the bag and the box of ashes was gone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWoman sues US Airways for losing her husband’s ashes after TSA mishap

French mother jailed for sending son to school in ‘I am a bomb’ shirt

"A French mother who sent her three-year-old son to school in a T-shirt reading 'I am a bomb' and 'Jihad, born on September 11' was given a suspended prison term Friday for defending crime. Bouchra Bagour said she had simply wanted to mark the birthday of her son — who is named Jihad and was born on September 11 — and had not intended any connection with the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001. On Friday, an appeal court in the southern city of Nimes fined Bagour 2,000 euros ($2,700) and giving her a suspended one-month jail term. Her brother Zeyad, who gave his nephew the T-shirt, was fined 4,000 euros and given a two-month suspended prison sentence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench mother jailed for sending son to school in ‘I am a bomb’ shirt

Least Surprising News Flash Ever: Study Finds Bureaucrats Are Lazy

"Gee, knock me over with a feather. Lazy people are more likely to work for the government. And they even admit it! However, it seems that there are some causation/correlation issues. It may be that you don’t work for the government because you’re lazy. Instead, working for the government may make you lazy. As a taxpayer, I confess this causes me some mixed feelings. I’m irked that bureaucrats are getting lavishly compensated at my expense. And I don’t like the idea of them goofing off while playing Solitaire or updating their Facebook pages. But then I remind myself that this may be the least-destructive way for them to occupy their time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLeast Surprising News Flash Ever: Study Finds Bureaucrats Are Lazy

France’s interior minister says Syria militants pose national security threat

"France’s interior minister revealed Thursday that hundreds of homegrown Islamist militants were signing up to fight in Syria and warned they could pose a security threat when they come back. More than 300 French nationals or residents are either currently fighting in Syria’s civil war, planning to go and fight or have recently returned from there, the minister, Manuel Valls, told France Inter radio. Most of them were young men, often with a delinquent past, who had become radicalised, he said. 'This is a phenomenon which worries me because they represent a potential danger when they return to our soil,' Valls said. 'We have to be extremely attentive.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance’s interior minister says Syria militants pose national security threat

Tunisian women ‘waging sex jihad in Syria’

"Tunisian women have travelled to Syria to wage 'sex jihad' by comforting Islamist fighters battling the regime there, Interior Minister Lotfi ben Jeddou has told MPs. 'They have sexual relations with 20, 30, 100' militants, the minister told members of the National Constituent Assembly on Thursday. 'After the sexual liaisons they have there in the name of ‘jihad al-nikah’ — (sexual holy war, in Arabic) — they come home pregnant,' Ben Jeddou told the MPs. Jihad al-nikah, permitting extramarital sexual relations with multiple partners, is considered by some hardline Sunni Muslim Salafists as a legitimate form of holy war." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTunisian women ‘waging sex jihad in Syria’