Korean soldier opened fire on his comrades

Korean soldier opened fire on his comrades at the police station near the border with North Korea, near the village of Goseong. Five people were killed. 

The sergeant shot and killed 22 members of an infantry division and later escaped from K-2 rifle and ammunition. According to information provided by the agency Yonhap that the soldier "first fired a grenade, and then opened fire." 

Different sources give conflicting information on the number of wounded in an exchange of fire between the sergeant and the firing squad of trying to stop him. 

It is not clear why the soldier identified as Sergeant Im, opened fire on comrades. 

Manhunt continues for sergeant. How to give authorities, military branches block possible escape, secure the border with North Korea and seek to protect areas where civilians reside. 

As reported by the BBC, in the past, in South Korea there were cases of similar gunfights.

The Kennedys were considered, at one point, to be America’s Royal Family

A powerful dynasty that was also beloved and admired by the public. However, the mind-boggling “Kennedy Curse” struck the family to the core as numerous members lost their lives at a young age and in strange circumstances. This series of articles will expose lesser known facts regarding the Kennedys and explain how the family’s fate is related to the shadow government running America.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 will always remain one of the most tragic days in American history. It can be pinpointed as the day where the American public “lost its innocence” and got a glimpse of the dark and morbid shadow government working behind the scenes. In 2000, over 81% of Americans believed that JFK’s assassination was planned by more than just a lone gunman, making it one of the most widely accepted conspiracy theories in US history. However, as the years go by, countless theories and hypothesis about JFK’s assassination keep appearing in the form of “tell-all books” or “shocking documentaries”, contradicting previous theories and muddying the waters of truth instead of clarifying them. One can wonder if some of these “revelations” are actually attempts at disinformation in order to keep the truth from ever emerging.

But to understand the Kennedys and what lead them to power, one must go deeper than JFK’s presidency and his assassination. We must look at those who preceded him, especially his father, Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr., who gained an incredible amount of wealth and became close with the most powerful families in the world. While these connections ultimately sent the family to the White House, the Kennedys did not remain in power for long. The same “hidden hand” that lead them to the top apparently sought to completely eradicate them. Was the curse actually a series of hits aiming at removing the Kennedys from power? Studying the story of the Kennedys is essentially studying at the inner-workings of the occult elite. We’ll first look at the origins of the Kennedy dynasty.

Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. : The Mogul That Started it All

Joseph Kennedy Sr. was a powerful figure in business and in politics. He was also connected with the most prominent bloodlines in the world.

Media Guide to Skepticism,What does it mean to be a Skeptic

Purpose: To provide a clear, easy-to-read guide about the “Skeptical” viewpoint as subscribed to by many who might call themselves Skeptics or critical thinkers; to distinguish practical Skepticism from the popular use of the phrase “I’m skeptical,” and from those who claim to be “skeptics” regarding some well-established conclusion (such as climate change).



What is skepticism?


Skepticism is an approach to evaluating claims that emphasizes evidence and applies tools of science. Skepticism is most often applied to extraordinary claims – those that refute the current consensus view.


The Skeptical process considers evidence obtained by systematic observations and reason.


The conclusion that is reached at the end of this Skeptical process is provisional because additional or better evidence may come along that points towards a more suitable explanation.

More Alternative News HERE

Example: Mr. X tells us that a new pill greatly improves his memory. This claim, if true, is important and extraordinary. So, it would be fitting to apply Skepticism to this claim. We would want to see evidence that his memory is improved and that the pill was responsible for that. We consider alternative explanations that could explain why Mr. X would say the new pill improves his memory: he may be mistaken, he might be going through a less-stressful time of life, he wants to feel like he spent his money wisely on the pills, he was paid to promote the pills, etc. Good evidence that his claim has validity would be quality research results (multiple studies) that show many who take the pill displayed a measurable improvement in memory. And, preferably, we would be provided a plausible explanation for how the pill works to improve memory. If the manufacturer of Mr X’s pills do not have well-controlled studies of large groups of people that show that the product actually works, we can’t just accept his word that they work as they say because the alternative explanations are more likely.



The more extraordinary the claim, the stronger the evidence must be to support it. If a claim is made that would require us to revise or overturn well established knowledge, we should be very suspicious and ask for a greater degree of evidence.


Example: Psychics claim that they are able to predict events. That would not be in accordance with what we have observed about the human mind. It would not correspond to well-tested ideas in biology and physics. It does not make sense in terms of what we know. So, in order to justify discarding all we already know, the claimant must have a great deal of solid evidence that withstands scrutiny.


These are cases of applying scientific skepticism. Skeptics value contributions of science but also those of logic and math that lead towards the best explanation. Skepticism can be applied to subjects such as history, art and literature, as well, by using critical thinking and respect for the evidence for any claims that are made.




What does it mean to be a Skeptic?


You will often hear “I’m a skeptic” or “I’m skeptical” from people who are not sure about or who doubt some concept. That is a common, casual use of the term. Simply calling oneself a “skeptic” is not the same as practicing it. It’s easy to “doubt” things; everyone is “skeptical” about something. Good Skepticism involves understanding why one might or might not doubt the claim.


A Skeptic subscribes to a number of tenets.


Respect for the evidence. The application of reason to evidence is the best method we have to obtain reliable knowledge.


Respect for methods, conclusions and the consensus of science. Science is a particular way of obtaining information that is designed to reduce the chances of coming to an incorrect conclusion. Using a scientific process will minimize errors (but not eliminate them entirely). So, Skeptics are often vigorous advocates of science – in medicine, in schools, and for informing policy decisions. Fake, junk and pseudo-science is called out as a ruse. Logic and math are also components of science that can be valuable in assessing claims.


Preference for natural, not supernatural, explanation. Natural laws give us rational boundaries in our quest to determine explanations. Miracles are an example of using a supernatural agent (a god, saint or angel who operates outside of natural laws) as part of the explanation. A Skeptic will look for a natural explanation that does not call for a supernatural, unproven (and possibly unprovable) entity to be included.


Promotion of reason and critical thinking. Many Skeptics are good at identifying mistakes in arguments and reasoning.


Awareness of how we are fooled. People routinely fool themselves and are fooled by others. This is most commonly seen in our over-reliance on our senses and memory – for example, “I know what I saw,” or “I remember it like it was yesterday.” Skeptics are wary of eyewitness testimony because observation is fallible and memory is malleable. Stories of events, even from trustworthy people, make for very poor evidence on their own. Even collectively, anecdotes don’t tell us much about the validity of the claim. Skeptics also understand that people tend to look for, remember and favor the evidence that supports their preferred conclusion.


What Skepticism ISN’T


This section contains possibly the most important things to know about Skeptics. There are many misconceptions about what it means to be a Skeptic. Not everyone who says they are “skeptical” are applying Skepticism.


Skeptic is not the same as “cynic” or “disbeliever”. Good Skeptics do not dismiss claims out-of-hand. The “Skeptic” is often seen as the “debunker”, the “downer”, or the “balloon buster”. It may appear that way for those who are very attached to certain concepts to which Skepticism is being applied, such as existence of ghosts, Bigfoot or UFOs. Skeptics aren’t skeptical of everything, either. In classical Greek Skepticism, the individual did not commit to stating “knowledge”; everything was doubted, there was no certainty. That is not a popular stance today. When we speak of modern Skepticism, we are talking about those who seek the conclusion best supported by current evidence and reason.


Skeptic does not equal “atheist”. Many Skeptics are atheists, but not all. Skepticism is a process of evaluating claims, not a set of conclusions. Skeptics are a diverse group so lack of religious beliefs should not be assumed. Scientific Skepticism is applied only to testable claims (such as “prayer heals”), not to untestable claims such as the existence of God, who is supernatural. “Is there a God?” is a question outside the realm of science. However, philosophical skepticism can be invoked in considering claims about the supernatural.


Skeptic does not mean “denialist” or “truther”. A practicing Skeptic is informed by the scientific consensus. So called “climate skeptics” are not practicing Skepticism when they doubt global warming based on selective belief and by ignoring the results that science has given us to this point. “Denialists” (of climate change, evolution, conventional medicine, etc.) reject science that does not support their view. “Truthers” insist that the real “truth” has not been revealed and instead put forth the explanation that a conspiracy is afoot. These stances do not give fair weight to well-established knowledge we have.


Skepticism is not a religion. Skepticism doesn’t tell you what to think. It tells you how you should think about something to get to the conclusion that has the best possibility of being true. Skepticism may not always be the best approach to decisions at the moment, sometimes decisions based on emotions can feel like the right thing to do. So applying skepticism to everything in life is not always the best policy. There may be other factors to consider.


Skepticism is important


Why use Skepticism as a process to evaluate claims? Critically evaluating claims for flaws, mistakes and inaccuracies lessens the potential that you will believe something that isn’t true. Skepticism and critical thinking can be applied in everyday life where an invalid claim might have serious effects on you or people around you – such as in consideration of a medical treatment, a financial investment, a consumer product, or life choices.


Proponents of a claim will frequently say, “You can’t prove it’s not true.” That’s a ridiculous statement. It’s not up to the Skeptic to show that an extraordinary claim isn’t true. It’s up to those making the claim to provide evidence and reasons why it IS true. We must have evidence that a person DID commit a crime, for example, not prove that everyone else in the world did not.


What do Skeptics do?


Skeptics have a loose community consisting of publications, web sites and online forums, organizations, and events. Skeptics are all around the world, organized into casual and formal groups and associations. It is a community made up of people with varying backgrounds, ideas, goals, communication styles and skill sets. It also gets very fluid at the edges. You might be a Skeptic and not even know it. Many people don’t self-identify as a “skeptic” but selectively follow the practices of Skepticism in their lives. Some people are disinclined to take on any labels or join a group.


Many Skeptics enjoy the fringe subject areas, they like solving mysteries and appreciate being around people who think as they do or who argue rationally when they don’t agree. Some Skeptics are activists who promote critical thinking and Skepticism in their communities and the public as individuals or as part of local or national organized groups and online.


Some of the topics Skeptics are involved in are science education, alternative medical treatments, the paranormal, dubious consumer products and services, hoaxes and scams, UFOs and aliens, monsters and folklore, superstition, and why people believe strange things.


Those who represent Skepticism in the public sphere are happy to provide a science- and reason-based viewpoint for the media. The backgrounds of the those in the Skeptical community are varied. Many participants in the skeptical community are experts in particular areas like the paranormal, medicine, cryptozoology, history, archaeology, textual analysis, linguistics, psychology, astronomy, physics and magic.


Skeptical Resources


Here are the best means to connect to the people and ideas of scientific skepticism.
Sites
Podcasts
Online Resources
Skeptical People





The directory for all things skeptical online


Organizations


The major Skeptic organizations have as their mission a goal to promote scientific skepticism. There are three major national skeptical organizations in the United States.


Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI)


CSI (formerly known as CSICOP) is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization, started in 1976. Their mission is to promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims. They publish the Skeptical Inquirer and Skeptical Briefs. They host an annual conference called CSIcon and many local events, workshops and lectures in conjunction with their overarching organization, the Center for Inquiry. Contact: info(at)csisop.orgMore


James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)


Founded by magician James “The Amazing” Randi in 1996, the foundation is dedicated to promoting “critical thinking by reaching out to the public and media with reliable information about paranormal and supernatural ideas so widespread in our society today.” They organize one of the largest gatherings of international skeptics and critical thinkers, The Amazing Meeting (TAM), every year and offer the One Million Dollar Challenge for those who claim paranormal abilities. Contact: +1 213 293-3092 More


The Skeptics Society


Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the Skeptics Society is a nonprofit, scientific and educational organization led by Dr. Michael Shermer. Their mission is to engage leading experts in investigating the paranormal, fringe science, pseudoscience, and extraordinary claims of all kinds, promote critical thinking, and serve as an educational tool for those seeking a sound scientific viewpoint. They sponsor a monthly lecture series at the California Institute of Technology. Contact: skepticssociety(at)skeptic.com More

Publications
Skeptic Magazine
Skeptical Inquirer
Skeptical Briefs
The Skeptic (U.K.)
The Skeptic (Aust)

Famous Skeptics
Harry Houdini (1874 – 1926) Magician, psychic debunker.
Martin Gardner (1914 – 2010) Popular math and science writer.
Isaac Asimov (1920 – 1992) Biochemist, professor, science fiction and science author.
Paul Kurtz (1925 – 2012) Philosopher, professor, author, organizational founder.
James Randi (1928 – ) Magician, investigator, author, organizational founder.
Carl Sagan (1934 – 1996) Astronomer, astrophysicist, author.
Richard Dawkins (1941 – ) Evolutionary biologist, professor, author.
Stephen Jay Gould (1941 – 2002) Paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, science historian, author.
Elizabeth Loftus (1944- ) Cognitive psychologist, world-renowned expert on human memory.
Joe Nickell (1944 - ) Paranormal investigator, author.
Carol Tavris (1944 – ) Social psychologist, author.
Eugenie Scott (1945- ) Physical anthropologist, Director of National Center for Science Education.
Lawrence Krauss (1954- ) Theoretical physicist, cosmologist, professor, author.
Michael Shermer (1954 – ) Science writer, organizational founder, editor of Skeptic magazine.
Steven Novella (1964 – ) Clinical neurologist, writer, editor.
Brian Dunning (1965 – ) Science writer, video and podcast producer.
Richard Saunders (1965 – ) Science educator, video and podcast producer.
Richard Wiseman (1966 – ) Psychologist, popular science author, paranormal investigator.
Christopher French (?- ) Professor, anomalous psychology researcher, editor-in-chief of The Skeptic (U.K.).
Benjamin Radford (1970- ) Paranormal investigator, author, deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer.
Derren Brown (1971 – ) Illusionist, mentalist, TV personality.
Tim Minchin (1975- ) Comedian, actor, musician.

References


What is Skepticism? Brian Dunning


What Is Skepticism, Anyway? Michael Shermer, 2013


Why Is There a Skeptical Movement? Daniel Loxton, 2013


Bigfoot Skeptics, New Atheists, Politics and Religion Steven Novella, 2013


The New Skepticism, Paul Kurtz, Prometheus Books, 1992

Acknowledgements


Eric Weiss from Skepticsonthe.net, David Bloomberg, Kylie Sturgess, Torkel Ødegård, Barbara Drescher, Robert Blaskiewicz, Massimo Pigliucci, Chris French, Adriana Heguy, Daniel Loxton, Eve Siebert, Eddie Scott, Howard Lewis, Iain Martel, Tiffany Taylor, Terry O’Connor, Stephan Naro, Paul Wilkins, Richard Saunders.






Permission to reprint is granted as long as the following attribution is given: By DoubtfulNews.com, 2013






Media Guide to Skepticism by Sharon Hill/Doubtful News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.





DOWNLOADS:


Easy to print: What is Skepticism pamphlet 8 pages


Easy to print copy: Beginners Guide to Skepticism 4 pages

Please share!!!

DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR FOOD IS GENETICALLY MODIFIED? GMO

HAS YOUR FOOD BEEN GENETICALLY MODIFIED?

Food connects everything.

It connects us to animals. It connects us to the earth. To connect with another person we share a meal with them. So it’s no wonder that food is the biggest business of all, dwarfing oil, pharmaceutical, and transportation.

Food means big money, and as you follow the money (and the control of agriculture), you discover the bitter secret behind food…GMO’s. (Genetically Modified Organisms)

GMO’s are defined by the World Health Organization as “foods derived from organisms whose genetic material has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally”. To accomplish this requires cutting-edge modern science, using a process that involves changing the DNA of a plant or animal.

As we learned in high school, DNA is the blueprint, the software, the building block of our physical self. DNA was only discovered in 1953, yet science is now so powerful that it can purposefully alter these building blocks to great effect.

To some scientists this purposeful alteration represents a powerful and exciting development, while to others, GMOs are “Frankenstein” foods- dangerous and potentially tragic. The vast majority of scientists and consumers feel it is still too early to risk exposing ourselves and the environment to such untested and unpredictable tinkering. GMOs first came to my attention after my daughter developed serious asthma fourteen years ago.

Asthma is an auto-immune disorder which is very often triggered by environmental toxins. So I became a toxin hunter. And this is where I encountered massive amounts of scientific deceit bolstered by public-relations spin, behind which stood huge corporate profits and the centralization and control of our food supply, with the entire process subsidized with taxpayer money!

FOR MORE ALTERNATIVE NEWS CLICK HERE

A cover-up of all the toxic consequences of eating and growing genetically engineered food was in full swing. And that made me mad.

I kept searching and soon learned that to alter a plant’s DNA, genes are taken from completely different species, or even different kingdoms, and randomly inserted into another living plant’s (or animal’s) DNA: This new living thing takes on new characteristics. An early genetic experiment involved taking genes from a cold-water fish (Winter Flounder) and inserting them into a tomato!

It was thought that this new tomato would be frost-resistant, and that we could then forever after enjoy fresh tomatoes throughout the winter!

Are you seeing the dollar signs yet? This tomato never reached our dinner plates. It was truly a monster, a Frankenstein, a mess.

Despite billions and billions of dollars in research and development, very few advantageous new traits have been created in plants by tinkering with their DNA in laboratories. Despite what you may have heard, GMO plants do not produce higher yields, they are not more nutritious, and pesticide use has gone way up since they were introduced, which is the opposite of what we were told.

The one advantage they really have are government price supports: Uncle Sam will purchase your GMO soy or corn crop for a set price, no matter what. If you plant GMOs you are guaranteed a profit! Now that’s an advantage that has nothing to do with the laboratory.

In just fifteen years since their arrival in our supermarkets, GMO’s have reached a saturation point in the American diet, and the health of the average American is in steep decline. Since that time we have seenskyrocketing numbers of severe food allergies and auto-immune disorders like asthma.

ADHD and mood disorder rates, which many nutritionists link to digestion and gut flora, are increasing. The cancer rate is still climbing and so are nervous disorders like Alzheimer’s. Huge increases in obesity and diabetes can be linked to the ultra-cheap corn and corn syrup supplied by GMO corn.

Many, many studies have consistently shown genetically modified food to be dangerous and unhealthy, and it’s showing up in our health, especially in the health of our children, who are much more vulnerable to the effects of toxic food.

GMO’s have been proven to heighten and cause allergic responses, and a body already fighting one allergy can become susceptible to other allergies- in effect creating an overactive immune system. This is called toxic overload, which can lead to numerous immune disorders like lupus, or chronic fatigue to just name two.

Whether GMOs actually affected my daughter’s asthma is not provable, since no human testing has been done on GMOs. To understand why GMOs have never been tested on humans brings us to the sensitive issue of political corruption.

The Food And Drug Administration is the federal agency tasked with protecting us from dangerous substances. They put warning labels on cigarettes and made the law that keeps them out of reach of children. Yet they refuse to put any warning labels on GMOs.

Internal memos of FDA scientists prior to the approval of GMOs have revealed that many, many warning signals were sounding from the FDA’s own testing procedures. Yet when a major bio-tech corporation (Monsanto) had their own lawyer installed in high places at the FDA, (Michael Taylor) the approval for GMOs was fast-tracked.

George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama are all complicit in this, as they all were responsible for FDA appointees. Even Al Gore is a huge supporter of GM foods.

Monsanto, which has a terrible history of corporate criminality, and is primarily a chemical making company, was effectively allowed to run the safety and approval division of the Food And Drug Administration! GMOs are now in 75% of all packaged and processed food in America.

And it is not mentioned on the label. Terrible allergies are only one concern about GMOs.

Farmer Jerry Rosman describes the infertility he and twenty five farmers in his area experienced in their breeding sows that ere fed GMO corn. Other concerns relate to the pesticides that are used in conjunction with GMOs.

The single advantage resulting from laboratory genetic manipulation has been making certain plants like soy and canola to be able to withstand huge dosing of chemical herbicides. These are broad-spectrum herbicides, like Agent Orange (a Monsanto product) that kill everything- every plant- except the GMO plant. As a result herbicide use has greatly increased, even though we were told it would decrease.

And the main GMO herbicide, glyphosate, is now implicated in numerous human and animal illnesses, diseases and death.

Purdue University Professor Emeritus Don Huber explains his concernsabout new pathogenic soil organisms that he believes are generated by GMOs and their herbicides, as well as the infertility issue. A recent studyshowed that everyone now has glyphosate in their urine! And the pollen from GMO plants can cross breed with pollen from natural plants and contaminate them.

Believe it or not there are even other serious concerns about GMO plants and animals. A different “advantage” conferred on GMO crops is the insertion of a pesticide toxin, called Bt, into every cell of the plant- the idea being that when a pest eats the plant it will die. The idea worked, except we too eat that toxin with every bite. The bacteria in our gut can even potentially incorporate that toxin making DNA into their DNA, making our stomachs pesticide factories.

The idea also backfired as predicted by many scientists. Because of over-planting, some pests are no longer affected by the toxin- they are now officially classified as super-bugs. Super weeds have been reported as well.

All the while, gastroenterological disorders are on the rise. Unhealthy intestinal bacteria are linked to numerous disorders. This Bt GMO toxin is now found in the breast milk of almost every nursing woman in the USA! It is in almost all of us. It has even been found in fetuses.

Peru recently called for a 10 year moratorium on the planting of genetically modified food crops. France just upheld a ban on the planting of genetically modified maize. All GMOs are outlawed in Japan and Ireland.

One of the world’s leading bio-tech companies has completely abandoned the European market due to public and farmer opposition. That company is Bayer, the same company that made cyanide gas for the concentration camps under Hitler. Bayer’s GMO division has relocated to the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina, finding a more favorable business climate here.

GMOs are viewed with extreme hostility in all of the European Union. If a product contains even a trace amount of GMO material it must be labeled as such. China and Russia have severely limited them, China having just announced that after a seven year long study they will not develop genetically engineered rice.

Not so in the United States, where the vast majority of GMO research, development and production occurs.

GMO alfalfa was just approved, a new strain of GMO sweet corn for humanconsumption was just approved, and many think that approval of GMO salmon will soon be announced. The FDA has never said no to Monsanto!

Furthermore, Monsanto has been aggressively buying smaller conventional seed companies. And since GMO seeds are patentable, Monsanto can sue farmers when their GMO seeds blow on to a conventional farmer’s fields. With a huge budget for litigation, these small farmers often just start growing GMOs to avoid the hassle.

Organic farming increases yields, but the plants cannot be patented, so there is no possibility for control.

I could go on and on. It is a complicated story with a lot of history and, as you can see, it is taking place all over the world.

The good news is that we as consumers hold the winning cards in this battle. We must refuse to purchase and eat GMO food. If we don’t buy it, they can’t sell it.

This isn’t easy right now because currently, GMOs aren’t labeled.

Boycott GMOs, especially for your children. The simplest way is to cook as much of your own food as possible.

75% of all packaged food contains GMOs. Most of the GMOs are used for animal feed, so try to eat only organically raised meat.

GMO crops are also used for making cooking oil. So avoid cottonseed oil, canola oil, corn oil and soy oil, as these are the four main GMO crops. Since corn and soy are in almost all processed foods, stay away from packaged foods that contain these ingredients.

GMO ingredients are not allowed in certified organic products either. Oh and by the way- my daughter is 17 now, takes no medication, and she hasn’t had an asthma attack in many years.

After two consecutive defeats in the FIFA World Cup, the British press admits the England football team is not at par with the best teams in the world.

FIFA World Cup: British Press Slams 'Sloppy' England Team

London: England are simply not good enough to compete against the best teams and are just too sloppy to pull off their new expansive approach, Britain's press said on Friday.

Following at 2-1 defeat to Uruguay in Sao Paulo on Thursday that left their World Cup hopes relying on other results, England have shown they cannot handle the pressure when faced with serious opposition, national newspapers said.

Wayne Rooney scored for Roy Hodgson's England, between two emphatically-finished goals by Uruguay's Luis Suarez.

England's loss came after their opening 2-1 defeat to Italy in Manaus and now their tournament in Brazil rests on Italy beating Uruguay and Costa Rica, and England beating the Central Americans by a sufficient scoreline to qualify from Group D.

The Daily Mail said England's defensive frailty had been their undoing, leaving the team unable to handle the World Cup pressure.

"Sloppy, intimidated, scared," said the tabloid.

READ MORE HERE

American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again

President Barack Obama said the United States "will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action" to blunt the rapid advance of Islamic militants that have been spreading sectarian violence in Iraq.

The president, speaking Thursday from the White House briefing room, outlined a multipart plan to help prevent Iraq from descending into outright civil war. It includes sending up to 300 military advisers, along with increasing security and surveillance in the war-torn country.

The plan does not entail sending combat troops, Obama emphasized. 

"American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again," he said, repeating a point he made last Friday. "We do not have the ability to simply solve this problem by sending in tens of thousands of troops and committing the kinds of blood and treasure that [have] already been expended in Iraq.

"Ultimately, this is something that is going to have to be solved by the Iraqis."

Read Full Story HERE

Congress reaffirms indefinite detention of Americans under NDAA

The US House of Representatives approved an annual defense spending bill early Thursday after rejecting a proposed amendment that would have prevented the United States government from indefinitely detaining American citizens.

An amendment introduced in the House on Wednesday this week asked that Congress repeal a controversial provision placed in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 that has ever since provided the executive branch with the power to arrest and detain indefinitely any US citizen thought to be affiliated with Al-Qaeda or associated organizations.

“This amendment would eliminate indefinite detention in the United States and its territories,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington), a co-author of the failed amendment, said during floor debate on Wednesday,“So basically anybody that we captured, who we suspected of terrorist activity, would no longer be subject to indefinite detention, as is now, currently, the law.”
That is an enormous amount of power to give the executive, to take someone and lock them up without due process," Smith added. "It is an enormous amount of power to grant the executive, and I believe places liberty and freedom at risk in this country."Pres. Barack Obama vowed when he signed the 2012 NDAA into law on December 31, 2011 that he would not use the indefinite detention powers provided to him by Congress.

 When that provision waschallenged in federal court, however, the White House fought back adamantly and appealed a District Court ruling that initially reversed the indefinite detention clause, eventually sending the challenge to the Supreme Court where it stalled until earlier this month with the justices there said they would not consider the case.

And while the White House is unlikely to abandon its own fight with regards to keep the indefinite detention provision intact, the Obama administration threatened to vote this year’s NDAA because it would continue to complicate the president’s promise to close the Guantanamo Bay facility — a vow older than his own administration.

"If this year's Defense Authorization bill continues unwarranted restrictions regarding Guantanamo detainees, the president will veto the bill," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statementWednesday evening.

When the 2011 NDAA passed Congress with the controversial indefinite detention provision included, the White House said at the time that it would veto the legislation before Pres. Obama eventuallybalked.

On Twitter, Smith said he was “disappointed” but “won’t stop fighting to pass this critical legislation.”

x

5 Way’s To Fail At Blogging

Since a lot of blog’s out there provide advice on what you should do to be successful, I am going to provide 5 ways to make sure you don’t become successful. If you want to fail in blogging, follow the advice below. (Disclaimer: Don’t blame me for the effects)

5 Ways To Fail At Blogging

1. Try to completely copy the look and content from a successful blog which includes buying almost the same domain but misspell the URL on purpose. To make this really work, just spin every blog post from the blog. No need to know anything about this niche because you just copying and praying you make as much money as the successful blog does. You are dreaming if this would work out well for you in the search engine rankings.
2.Have a lot of large banner ad’s and other 3rd party ads enabled on the blog. Have those ads that make certain keywords in the blog post get linked to some 3rd party ad network. Doing all this will slow the page load speed down and annoy the visitor so much that he or she will make note to never come back again to a blog that is made for money and not to inform the public.
3. No moderation in the comment’s department. Don’t even read the blog comments, just have them set to approve upon submission. You then would have people posting pre-typed useless off topic messages with self promoting in them. This is awesome, you are proving you have no standards and know nothing about quality blog comments sparking up traffic.
4. You allow guest blog posting on the blog and don’t bother to pre-screen the potential authors. Google has cracked down on blogs that allow guest blog posting and there are certain things you need to know to force your guest blog posters to follow. Your blog will fail because it will get hit by a Google penalty and it’s hard to get out of it and regain old rankings. Loss of rankings effects your revenue.
5. Poor web hosting. Yes a blog will fail and never get off the ground with a poor web host. There are certain web hosts out there that are cheap and dedicated to WordPress. These types of web hosts will help you’re in many ways and not go nuts when you install a plugin that may use up more server resources. See my recommended web host list. If your blog keeps messing up the server it is on, the web host may suspend your account to protect the other customers who are on it. Frequent downtime is not good for retaining subscribers

Also see: Is WordPress.org The Right Choice For Me?

Endless Ways To Fail At Blogging

There are ton’s of ways to fail at blogging. Your blog’s success is in your own hands. If you get greedy or try to bend the SEO rules to obtain rankings, you will end up failing. Slow and steady wins the race. Take your time and build an excellent blog and stay true to your marketing plan. While your competitors get hit by Algorithm penalties, you will be seeing better rankings and all those months or years of following the SEO guidelines would have paid off big time.

Good luck.