Australian Security Agencies Target “SyrianGirl” Mimi Al-Laham
by Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
Jun 12, 2014
Mimi Al-Laham (SyrianGirl)
In the Orwellian world of post 9/11 hysteria and the Global War On Terror, speaking truth is a revolutionary act. Indeed, such is evidenced by the fact that speaking out against terrorism is now enough to cause you to be labeled as a supporter of terrorism. At least, that is, in certain instances.
This is particularly the case with Mimi Al-Laham, (aka SyrianGirl), a young Syrian woman who has been active on YouTube, social media, and her own website in speaking out about the Western-backed destabilization of Syria.
Laham has consistently denounced the death squads operating inside Syria as terrorists and agents of the West as well as identified the so-called rebellion as being nothing more than a Western – organized, funded, and directed campaign against the Syrian government , all documented fact. For more information on this topic, please see my book, The Road To Damascus, The Anglo-American Assault On Syria.
However, her statements against terrorism, beheadings, rapes, slavery, and wholesale slaughter have caused her to be labelled as a potential “extremist” and purveyor of “extremist rhetoric.” For that reason, Australian security agencies have been closely monitoring Laham’s online statements and, presumably, much more than that.
Australian Institute of Criminology’s Shandon Harris-Hogan said that such statements and online behavior should be watched for “signs of an escalation in rhetoric or calls for violence” and that “When it crosses that line, particularly into encouraging, facilitating or preparing for violence, that’s when it’s going to particularly hit the radar of security services.”
Staring at screens all day linked to changes in eye secretions
A broker monitors share prices while trading at a brokerage firm in Mumbai May 13, 2014. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files
Jun 16, 2014
By Kathryn Doyle
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Office workers who spend long hours looking at computer screens have changes in their tear fluid similar to people with the disease known as dry eye, according to a study from Japan.
The protein MUC5AC, secreted by cells in the upper eyelid, makes up part of the normally occurring mucus layer, or “tear film,” that keeps the eye moist. But study participants with the most screen time had MUC5AC levels nearing those of people with diagnosed dry eye.
“To understand patients’ eye strain, which is one of major symptoms of dry eye disease, it is important that ophthalmologist pay attention to MUC5AC concentration in tears,” said Dr. Yuichi Uchino, an author of the new study.
Uchino is an ophthalmologist at the School of Medicine at Keio University in Tokyo.
“When we stare at computers, our blinking times decreased compared to reading a book at the table,” he told Reuters Health by email.
People staring at screens also tend to open their eyelids wider than while doing other tasks, and the extra exposed surface area in addition to infrequent blinking can accelerate tear evaporation and is associated with dry eye disease, he said.
Dry eye may be chronic for some but can be managed with over the counter or prescription eye drops.
Past research suggests that up to 5 million men and women over age 50 in the United States suffer from dry eye disease, the researchers write in their report. In Japan, tens of millions of people report some dry eye symptoms, often associated with computer work, they add.
The study team tested the tears from both eyes of 96 Japanese office workers, about two-thirds of them men, and measured how much of the total protein content of the tears was MUC5AC.
Only about 52 per cent of electorate cast ballots in Ontario election
Citizens lineup at a Parkdale/High Park Polling Station at the Humbercrest United Church to cast their vote for the Ontario Provincial Election in Toronto on Thursday June 12, 2014. (Aaron Vincent Elkaim/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
by Kaleigh Rogers
The Globe and Mail
June 13, 2014
Voter turnout in Ontario’s election ticked up for the first time in almost 25 years, but the province still has one of the lowest turnouts in Canada.
Elections Ontario is estimating 52 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in Thursday’s election, though final results won’t be published until June 18. The highest turnout was in Ottawa-Orleans with 61 per cent heading to the polls while the lowest turnout was in Mississauga-Brampton South, where just 42 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots.
“The reason why turnout is low in any given election is the same across all elections, which is that there is an increasing number of people who don’t feel like they have a duty to vote,” said Peter Loewen, assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, who said voter turnout is decreasing across Canada, particularly among young people.
Ontario’s voter participation is especially low when compared with the rest of the country.
While B.C., Alberta and Manitoba all had similar turnouts – a little more than half the eligible pool of voters – in their most recent elections, the rest of the provinces drew more impressive participation. Saskatchewan had 66 per cent of voters turn out in 2011, Quebec’s election attracted 71 per cent of voters this year and Prince Edward Island topped the list with a hefty 77-per-cent turnout to re-elect Liberal Premier Robert Ghiz in 2011.
Mr. Loewen said part of the difference boils down to size: In a small province such as PEI, the provincial government’s decisions have a more direct impact. Who you vote for could determine whether you have a job next year, he said.
Rockefeller billionaire’s son dead after single-engine plane crashes minutes after takeoff in Westchester
(Jason Kempin/WireImage) Dr. Richard Rockefeller, 65, was killed in the crash, authorities say.
The small private plane went down in trees near White Planes airport just after 8 a.m. Friday while taking off, officials say. The aircraft was registered to Richard Rockefeller of Falmouth, Maine.
by Terence Cullen, Barry Paddock, Larry Mcshane
NY Daily News
June 13, 2014
The Rockefeller family, after celebrating the 99th birthday of its billionaire patriarch David, is now planning a funeral for his doctor son after a morning plane wreck.
Richard Rockefeller died at the controls of his private Piper Meridian PA-46 when the single-engine craft crashed Friday in miserable weather conditions minutes after takeoff at Westchester County Airport.
Though several other flights were canceled due to the rain, fog and poor visibility, veteran pilot Rockefeller opted to take off at 8:08 a.m. from Runway 16 — and quickly dropped off the radar, authorities said.
Rockefeller, 65, was found dead amid wreckage of his plane, which barely missed hitting a house and building at Stratford Stables, just a half-mile from the White Plains airport.
The crash happened so quickly that Rockefeller never had time for a mayday call, officials said. A piece of the doomed plane’s wing dangled from a sheared pine tree as police in Purchase, N.Y., awaited the arrival of National Transportation Safety Board investigators.
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