CIA Underwear Bombers?

Last month the US learned of an attack Al-Qaida's Yemen branch had been planning to unleash aboard a US plane. The US was fortunate enough to hear the news before the attack, and due to informants working with CIA and Saudi intelligence the attack was stopped and it turned out that the very men Al-Qaida relied on carrying out the attack were the informants.

 The Bomb that was supposed to detonate aboard a plane was to be hidden in a passenger's underwear. This bomb was also an upgrade from the bomb discovered on an airplane over Detroit in 2009 which failed to detonate.  Unlike the bomb from 2009, this bomb had no metal and used a chemical as a detonator. Although intelligence knew of the bomb prior of its use in this case, officials say that the bomb would have been seen anyway when the passenger stepped into the full body scanner. After the operation was over and this new bomb found, security in US airport  stayed the same.

After hearing about this attack being foiled, I still feel worried about our security. Sure the scanner would have found it but, this new bomb shows that Al-Qaida is getting smarter with their bombs and although they took a defeat on this one, no one knows what the future holds.

My question to you is, do you feel safe getting on an airplane today? After reading about this, will you be focusing on all passengers scratching their back sides? Do you think the US should tighten security in airports even though it could cause airline companies to crash due to price increases?

Full Article: http://news.yahoo.com/officials-al-qaida-bomber-cia-informant-221800669--finance.html;_ylt=Ajob.MBnY1IX.0WkIPEGCMWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNtc2llbDJxBG1pdANKdW1ib3Ryb24gRlAEcGtnAzhhYzFiYmM1LTU3N2ItMzgyNi1iMzA0LWVlNDM2YzBjOGM4MARwb3MDMgRzZWMDanVtYm90cm9uBHZlcgNjMTVkNDE5MC05OTYwLTExZTEtYjdjMy0yY2Y1ZTU3ZDQwNjI-;_ylg=X3oDMTFlamZvM2ZlBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Elections in France

The News in France this week is that there is to be a runoff election between the incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy and socialist challenger Francois Hollande.  Many are predicting this could be the end for Sarkozy, polls seem to indicate Hollande is slightly ahead of Sarkozy.  If elected Hollande will be France’s first socialist president in 17 years.  

Sarkozy has attempted to reclaim votes by appealing to France’s right wing voters by discussing issues such as restriction on immigration.  Hollande has been arguing for his policy to tax earnings over 1million Euros at 75%.  Hollande has also proposed, as a response to the financial crisis, to separate retail and investment banks.

 

Both Candidate clearly have opposite view when it comes to the economy and reform.  Sarkozy’s popularity has fluctuated in the past years, he came under criticism for raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 in 2010, yet he also was praised for being both vocal and active against Gaddafi by using NATO to fight Libya’s former leader.  So who will win? Many seem to think it will be Hollande on the platform of socialist reform.  Other’s think Sarkozy could win by a very thin margin.  What do you guys think is the future for France?

Here are the candidates policies on the French Economy 

Very Expensive Art

Yesterday Edvard Munch’s iconic pastel painting, The Scream sold at a Sotheby’s Auction for 119.9 million dollars.  This makes it one of very few artworks to sell for over 100 million dollars.  The painting was bought by a telephone bidder of an unknown origin.  

The Scream is also one of four versions created by Munch but what makes this one special is that Munch wrote a poem about  this one. 

Other artwork that rivals The Scream in price includes Picasso’s Boy With a Pipe for 104 million, Alberto Giacometti, Walking Man I at 104.3million, and  Cezanne’s, the Card Players as the most expensive at 

254million.

In last the last couple of year’s paintings, sculptures and other forms of art have been exceeding their auction estimates and selling at very high prices relatively quickly.  It would however be foolish to assume that the Art world hasn’t been affected by the recession.  While there may be a select few buyers out there willing to spend their hard earned millions, museums and art galleries could be struggling to attract visitors.  So I pose the questions; Is Art Recession Proof? Can Art act as a long term investment? Is the market for high end luxury good going to see a decline? 

HELP!! I'M BEING BRAINWAS--- No killing moths or putting boiling water on the ants..

You heard it here first, folks! The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has already begun research into "finding ways to generate versions of events that could be used in attempts to persuade people not to support the enemy." If you were wondering who the "enemy" is and who the "people" are, your guess is as good as mine... I wasn't suspicious at first, but after reading the almost 10 references to mind control, I knew something was up. Still not convinced? Skeptics click here.

In actuality, DARPA is funding a project called Narrative Networks which is essentially the study of "why are we grabbed by some stories and not others." In theory, research into the effects of narratives on the human mind could help reduce conflict in places like Afghanistan. This idea was tested by a study that took Palestinians and Israelis, and asked them to write about the difficulties caused by the ongoing conflicts that they were facing.  What was the end result? The study showed that "attitudes of the Palestinians towards the Israelis improved more when they were allowed to tell their stories, rather than listening, whereas Israelis' attitudes about Palestinians improved more after they listened to Palestinians describing their experiences."  Now why does this program matter? The U.S government already spends more than a billion dollars a year trying to convince foreign audiences of its benevolence. That is a hefty bill to pay, especially when considering that the "research is starting to show that what might be most effective would be the ear of America." In other words, we should begin to let foreigners tell us their stories.

The question remains... if "you could somehow reliably change peoples’ minds so that they didn’t want to kill anymore, should that be done?" So, what do you think, yeah you!? Would this violate our rights or would it be an acceptable price to pay? Do you think this type of research should be endorsed by the government?

You can find the article here.