Category: The Fifth Column

(JR)  – Voters who turn out for primary elections often are characterized as party extremists responsible for nominating candidates with ideologically extreme views. But a new analysis finds that these voters may not be much different from those who participate in general elections — although they do seem to be more interested in politics. Election reform advocates frequently argue that changing the primary process could reduce political polarization. The forthcoming study, from researchers at George Washington University and the University of California, Los Angeles, offers insights about the men and…

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Some are old wives’ tales. Others are pieces of mangled trivia that get passed around and retold like gospel. If you’re ready to learn the truth behind some of the world’s most common medical myths, here are the real facts. Myth: The cold makes you sick. Contrary to popular belief, shivering in the snow doesn’t make you sick. While it’s true that things like the flu tend to flourish in winter, it’s mostly the result of humans congregating in small spaces and sharing more germs than usual. At the end…

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  (HRW) – New accounts by witnesses suggest that the killers of a group of people in a poor neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro on November 11, 2017, were members of the army special forces, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch interviewed two witnesses and reviewed witness accounts from case files indicating that the clothing and gear of the killers were the same as those of the army personnel who arrived on the scene minutes later. “Today marks six months of suffering for the survivors and for the…

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(GV) – Russia’s so-called “Digital Resistance” has struck out against the country’s internet blacklist, an ever-growing list of websites censored by the Russian government. Since April 16, Russia’s media regulatory agency Roskomnadzor has been trying — with mixed results — to block Telegram, a popular mobile messaging service. Since then, the blacklist, or registry of blocked websites, has grown and shrunk many times. The collateral damage of their approach has been enormous. Millions of unrelated IP addresses and internet services were blocked when the agency went after internet cloud services…

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(GV) – There are companies that require staff to wear a certain style of dress. There are schools where a certain form of dress is mandatory. There are events which include a note on the invitation suggesting the style of clothing guests should wear. And there is a country which is trying to implement a dress code for its women, dictating everything from what they should wear at home to the garments they should wear at public events, concerts, in public buildings, or simply on the street. The country which…

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If cockroaches coming out of an electrical outlet sounds like something from a horror movie, think again. While virtually everyone will deal with a pest infestation from time to time, nothing compares to these homeowners who almost had to burn their house down to get rid of the pests. 1. When Bees Move In Source: Arete Pest Control For Loretta Yates of Ontario, Canada, the yellow, sticky substance that was dripping from the ceiling of the first floor in their house wasn’t sap, but honey that had accumulated from nearly…

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(HRW) – Today, the United Nations Security Council will get a briefing on the situation in Sudan’s Darfur region. Since March, government-led attacks have surged against dozens of villages in Jebel Mara, a restive mountainous rebel stronghold in central Darfur, resulting in killings, widespread destruction, looting, and mass displacement. The latest report of UNAMID, the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, calls the situation in Darfur “generally stable” with some “low scale skirmishes.” With such a gloss-over assessment from peacekeepers, there’s a real risk the dire protection needs of civilians will…

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(DoomAndBloom) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that food poisoning from romaine lettuce harboring the bacteria E. Coli spread recently to 29 states and sent at least 150 people to the hospital. The areas involved include all parts of the country from Florida to North Dakota to California, and new cases are making it the worst E. Coli outbreak nationally since 5 people died and 200 were hospitalized in 2006. Although E. Coli is a common inhabitant of the intestinal tract, some strains, especially O157:H7,  produce a…

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(GV) – A prison riot involving forty convicted terrorists is currently unfolding in Depok, a West Javan city adjacent to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. The riot began on Tuesday evening local time at Mobile Brigade Command Headquarters (Mako Brimob), a high security prison whose inmates include those convicted of terrorism. According to official reports, a standoff occurred as a result of a simple misunderstanding over food between one inmate and a member of Densus 88, Indonesia’s counter-terrorism squad. The situation escalated quickly as the inmate incited others to action, took…

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Thousands protest in Istanbul against corruption and Erdogan’s government, December 2013. A banner with Fethullah Gulen and PM Erdogan’s pictures reads “one is no better than the other”. Fulya Atalay for Demotix. (GV) – It took just a few hours for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to realise the mistake he made while speaking to the members of his party in Ankara on May 8. Referring to himself first in the third person, President Erodgan said: “his foes have just one care – to destroy Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.” He continued: “If…

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