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Updated January 10, 2014, 1255 GMT. See bottom for details.
80 civilians "massacred," bodies thrown in ovens, and an international cover up of a horrific act of terrorism — these are just some of the striking claims made by the Russian network RT. On December 15th, the Russian state-owned media outlet formerly called "Russia Today" reported claims made by the Syrian and Russian governments that dozens of people had been butchered by radical Islamists in the Syrian town of Adra.
By the 17th, RT had even more alarming and detailed claims:
"People put in ovens, entire families kidnapped, Christians and Alawites executed — These horrifying reports come to RT from the town of Adra, north of the Syrian capital which has been occupied by Islamist rebel groups. At least 100 people are said to have been massacred by the rebels, but as the Syrian Army continues to liberate the city, that number is expected to rise. Our crew spoke to some of the survivors."
This massacre in Adra, if it could be proven, could have been one of the worst massacres so far in Syria's civil war.
According to the report, Adra's residents were attacked by Islamist rebels, whom they have dubbed "the decapitators," in a town that RT describes as "an industrial town" populated by workers who were trapped when a rebel surprise attack caught them, and the Syrian military, off guard.
There is only one problem — it has been more than three weeks since this report aired, and there is not a single piece of evidence that supports the claim that Islamic radicals massacred anyone in Adra. There's not even evidence that a massacre has occurred at all. Even worse, several of RT's key pieces of information have proven to not only be false, but to have been falsified in such a way that it appears that RT either made no attempt to verify the facts, or perhaps even helped falsify the report themselves.
Evidence? What Evidence?
The initial reports from RT and from the Syrian government are built on two factors: reports from the Syrian government, and eyewitness reports. There are problems with the presentation of both. RT's coverage and the Syrian government's claims are confusing as to whether the massacre happened when the Syrian government was in control of the town. If the army was in control of the town, why didn't it stop the massacre and why hasn't it presented solid evidence that a massacre happened? If it was not in control at the time, then how does it know what has happened inside? If the Syrian government still has "official sources" inside the town, why have they not produced any solid evidence of the massacre? And as far as the witnesses on RT are concerned, they have been filmed in a studio setting, and so their testimony can't be tied directly to the town. How did they witness such horrors and escape, through rebel battle lines, with their lives? And what steps, if any, did RT take to ensure that these people were really from Adra or really witnessed any of the things that they say?
In fairness, some of RT's initial coverage of Adra contained several disclaimers that stated that the information was not independently verified, but it's clear that due diligence was not taken and the evidence of the massacre was not properly analyzed by RT's news team.
Take this report, for instance, posted by RT on December 18th:
There's no reliable way at the moment to communicate with the people trapped inside Adra, but RT Arabic's Abutaleb Albohaya, reporting from Damascus, cites the country's officials as saying that "the atrocities against the civilian population are continuing."
In the same article, RT consulted Human Rights Watch and The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), both of whom did not have enough information to comment on the claims made by the Syrian government. The ICRC said that the area was "inaccessible" to its researchers. This appears like RT has done due diligence, as it added the proper disclaimers and sought outside experts, even if those opinions were inconclusive.
But the article did contain one piece of verifiable evidence — an embedded tweet that showed a picture of the caskets of some of the dead. Pictures are some of the easiest pieces of evidence to verify, especially since a "reverse image search" using Google or Tineye.com can see if the picture has been posted elsewhere on the internet.
Finding out whether this picture is genuine is often very easy. In fact, in Google Chrome, one can simply right-click, search for the image on Google, and sort the results by date. In less than 10 seconds, it is obvious that this picture is not from Adra and was posted a month before the massacre reportedly happened:
In fact, a blogger, "lopforum," performed a reverse image search on many of the images posted by pro-Assad media outlets and news reports, including RT and RT Arabic. The results — so far, all of the images that say they show the Adra massacre are in fact fake and show some other incident (see the results – warning, some are graphic).
Another Kremlin website, Pravda, reported the massacre and cited Alalam news as having published pictures that show the bodies. A simple Google search confirms that Alalam's pictures, just like RT's, are also fake (see same link above), old pictures taken of a different incident and pushed as proof of an incident that only Syrian and Russian state-controlled media are reporting as verified.
Did RT make any attempt to verify this image at all? Did Pravda? Did Alalam?
On December 17th, the claims made by RT were analyzed and discussed in Storyful's Open Newsroom. The forum is a collection of journalists and experts who work together to verify or debunk news-worthy information posted to social networks, blogs, and other news websites. The Open Newsroom has also been widely cited by major news agencies for its work in the last year (Full disclosure – I am one of the founding members of the Open Newsroom, and am a fairly frequent contributor, including to the thread discussed here).
There was a clear consensus of several contributors that, based on the way news typically spreads out of Adra, the patterns involved in this story did not add up. For instance, much of the first reporting of these incidents where in Arabic (as we'd expect) but were coming from two Facebook pages, both of which were set up the day that this story broke, and both of which posted very similar claims. The pages were widely promoted by established social media accounts, many of which are openly pro-Assad. Partisan social media sites established by parties unknown strictly for the purpose of reporting a single incident should be red flags to professional news reports, especially those investigating the Syrian crisis.
As Storyful's Felim McMahon pointed out, the other activity on social networks seemed to point to these Facebook pages as the original source of many of the claims, pages that had no track record or established credibility, and pages that have yet to post images or videos that can be independently corroborated. The images that have been posted have been debunked, or do not show bodies at all.
Weeks later there is still no evidence corroborating RT's claims, despite the fact that the Syrian army appears to be retaking at least parts of the town from the rebels. By December 31st, the Syrian State media outlet, SANA, reports that thousands of civilians have been "evacuated" from the town. Not one of these civilians has posted a picture or video to social networks that proves that a massacre has taken place or that any group is responsible for crimes in Adra. On January 2nd, RT published an article carrying claims from the Syrian government that more than 100 people were executed by Islamists in the town. The article is currently unavailable for reasons unknown, but can be read here.
In other words, there is no sign that a "massacre," or anything close to that word, ever happened in Adra.
On the other hand, the Syrian opposition in Adra pre-dates even the armed insurgency in Syria. The Local Coordination Committees, run by moderate opposition members, have a presence in the town, but they have not reported any such massacre. For instance, on December 12th, they reported that the FSA, moderate rebels, had captured a security checkpoint, and a different part of the city already in rebel control was being shelled by Assad mortars, leading to the deaths of 6 people. On the 14th, the LCC reported that opposition members found a group of frozen bodies, 11 in all, possibly in an area that had recently fallen to opposition forces — but no sign of a sectarian massacre resembling the one claimed by the pro-Assad websites.
For those of us who have been reporting on Syria for some time, we are very familiar with the way rumors and reports of horrors of this scale matriculate. Usually, they originate from social media reports, as witnesses testify of a recent event. Often, but not always, those witnesses soon post pictures and videos themselves. But there are times when the rumors spread faster than the evidence, and it takes some time for those who verify these incidents on the ground, the Syrian citizen journalists, to capture the images. Within a day or two, however, the evidence either emerges or the rumors are dismissed as just that — unsubstantiated rumor. The Syrian people have become skilled reporters because they have witnessed perhaps far more than 130,000 deaths and many groups, such as the Violations Documentation Center (VDC), have documented tens of thousands of those deaths, or at least the bodies of the deceased. If 80 people were brutally murdered in a single town nearly a month ago, we should have seen the evidence by now.
RT still spreads the Adra message
As early as December 17th, there was growing consensus within the community of journalists who cover Syria that either there was no massacre in Adra, or at the very least there was not enough evidence to continue to repeat the news of the alleged massacre without heavy stipulation. In particular, Storyful's Open Newsroom appeared to reach unanimous consent that there was no evidence confirming that the Adra massacre had taken place. The group openly discusses best practices and verification techniques, and it welcomes conversation, as the goal of the room is to verify or debunk reports. Ivor Crotty, an editor at RT, is a member of the forum, and he was fully aware of the criticisms made of Adra story in the forum. In fact, he even took part in the conversation. His only response to the gathering evidence that a massacre may never have happened is revealing:
The next day RT's reports were more inflammatory and less stipulated than previous reports. "At least 80 people were massacred there," RT's anchor says factually, without any disclaimer. [1. Ivor Crotty responded to this article by saying that he did not work on these stories and the meaning of his comment was misconstrued: "My comment related to an ongoing discussion of building social media sources into RT stories, cross-platform publishing and other network-building issues, not to the merits of the Adra story per se." When asked whether RT would be addressing any of these issues, this was his response: "James once again, I'm on (Open Newsroom) in a personal capacity and do not speak on behalf of RT here. I return to work from 3 weeks holidays tomorrow."
On January 10, 2014 11:08, as a response this article, the fake picture on the December 18th story was removed at the bequest of Ivor Crotty.]
A rallying cry for those who support Assad or oppose helping the opposition
While RT's editor was discussing the attack in one forum, on the other hand RT was already using Adra as a central rallying cry in its criticism of "the role of the NATO military alliance, Turkey, the US and Israel in supporting the so-called freedom fighters in Syria." Take, for instance, this excerpt from an interview conducted with Canadian academic Michel Chossudovsky on December 17th, where Adra is used as an example of American support for terrorism:
RT: We are hearing that atrocities and cruelty have happened in Adra, where 80 people have been killed [note that this is stated as fact – JM]. In your experience is it taking the atrocities to a new level?
Michel Chossudovsky: We have to ask who is behind these atrocities. This is a new wave of killings; it is part of the humanitarian crisis. But we must understand that from the very outset of this conflict the Western military alliance has covertly supported the terrorists with a view of destabilizing Syria's nation state. There's ample evidence to these facts that the United States, NATO and Israel are behind the rebels, and that these rebels are trained in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and then they come in and commit atrocities. The issue is who the underlying masters behind this humanitarian disaster are, what the geopolitical implications are, what the agenda is.
RT: In terms what's been reported in Adra, there is very little mainstream media coverage of this, although we hear a lot about the alleged government attack on Aleppo recently. Why, do you think, that is?
MC: I can't address this issue. The issue I'd like to address is the fact that in the recent weeks there has been an important shift in the relationship between the US government on the one hand and what is now being presented as the New Islamic Front. We see now that the United States is, in fact, negotiating and establishing a dialogue with the leaders of these terrorist organizations. There is also a possibility that the aid to Al-Nusra, to the jihadist groups involved in these atrocities will be channeled not through the Syrian Free Army, which is in disarray following the ransack of its headquarters, and the fact that General [Salim] Idris has, in fact, resigned and he is no longer in command.
The claims here are strong. The US was working with terrorists to conduct terrorism, and Adra is a prime example. But just like the rest of RT's coverage of this issue, several distortions have to take place in order to establish this argument. For instance, Jabhat al Nusra, a group that is not a member of the Islamic Front, has been declared a terrorist organization by the American government. The US is not interacting with Jabhat al Nusra, and in fact is not even (yet) negotiating directly with the Islamic Front, which was established to be an Islamist fighting group, but one that is a more moderate alternative to Al Nusra. And it is the Islamic Front that was primarily responsible for the capture of Adra from government control, not Al Nusra (though Jabhat al Nusra was present) nor its more extreme cousin, ISIS (which did not take part in the assault). In order to accept RT's narrative here, we therefore also have to believe that even the moderate groups of rebels, formed to serve as a hedge against Al-Qaeda-linked groups, would permit such a massacre without raising the alarm.
Furthermore, RT's complaining about the media coverage of the Adra massacre is curious. Most of the world learned about the alleged massacre not because of an overwhelming body of evidence streaming from Syria, but because of the claims, which remain unverified, coming from RT itself. Yet even RT's Ivor Crotty, who is a member of the Open Newsroom, has failed to even try to establish the facts of the massacre in the forum established for journalists specifically for that purpose. So not only are there completely obvious reasons why there would be no media coverage of the Adra massacre, arguing that the mainstream media was ignoring the story when RT's editor was failing to answer their questions seems suspect.
It's also interesting that while there may be hundreds or thousands of videos and pictures of "barrel bombs" and their aftermath in Aleppo, and the phenomenon has been well-documented by photojournalists, citizen journalists and established sources, these claims are given a very careful disclaimer.
Worse yet, not only did RT continue to discuss the alleged massacre at Adra, despite how "impressive" Crotty believed the skeptics to be, they also dropped their disclaimers and qualifications about the reliability of the story. RT has changed their carefully-stipulated claims about the uncertainty of their sourcing. In other words, the story of the Adra massacre, in RT's coverage at least, has moved from an unverified report to an established fact.
For example, on December 19th RT ran a story about Amnesty International's worries that radical jihadists affiliated with Al Qaeda were engaging in the kidnapping and torture of prisoners. Their closing paragraph used Adra as an example of how these incidents were widespread:
It's not the first time that the Syrian rebel factions become known for human rights violations and extreme violence. On Wednesday, Russia condemned a massacre in the town of Adra, 20 kilometers north of Damascus, where jihadist rebel groups executed dozens of civilians, including children, beheading them or burning them alive. At least 80 people reportedly were killed.
RT's facts are all in dispute, but the only qualification in this statement is the body count, which, according to RT, is perhaps only an estimate.
And the impact of this distortion by RT? By December 18th, the Russian Foreign Ministry was already reporting the Adra massacre, which may never have happened, as an established fact that proves that the Syrian rebels are all terrorists.
As they say in the computer programming world, however, Russian state-owned media's failure to verify their facts is not a "bug." It's a feature.

subset: commoncrawl


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Christmas Card Advent Calendar #17 – Gingerbread Man and Stars Wreath card
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Today's #17 card uses another pre-colored digital topper from Digi Web Studio Cheryl Seslar's Sweet Wreaths (retired).
Digital paper is from Kristin Aagard's Gingerbread Digital Scrapbooking kit, available at The Lily Pad and Papermania's A4 Jolly Santa paper pack. I added the sentiment to the center.
As with #1, I added a little gingerbread man for embellishment. A bit of crinkled paper ribbon and Sizzix Christmas Trims #3 diecut border dress it up.
Supply List
Paper – cardstock, Kristin Aagard's Gingerbread Digital Scrapbooking kit, Papermania's A4 Jolly Santa paper pack
Digital pre-colored topper – Digi Web Studio Sweet Wreaths by Cheryl Seslar
Dies – Die-namic circle stax, Sizzix Christmas Trims #3 border
Embellishments – crinkled paper ribbon, gingerbread man
Posted by Paperesse at 3:00:00 PM
Labels: Cards
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It has been 14 months since Wizards point guard John Wall ruptured his Achilles and the point guard was progressing nicely before the NBA suspended its season. Wall had been practicing with the Capital City Go-Go – Washington's G League team – leading up to the hiatus, Fred Katz of The Athletic passes along in detailed piece.
"It just gets harder as you go along to collect guys off the street," GM Tommy Sheppard said. "You want a highly competitive deal, so we sort of decided with John, it was time to play with the Go-Go (and) practice. And when we can, we'd have a scrimmage for him. It's just been wonderful. It validates our process we have in place, to be able to utilize the Go-Go for so many functions to help the Wizards. And for them, I think those kids were freakin' thrilled to play with John."
The Wizards have been careful with the former All-Star's recovery. There was never an expectation that he would play this season and even if the league resumes this summer, he won't see the court.
Wall was scrimmaging every three days or so prior to the NBA suspending its season. He started going through controlled scrimmages with the team's player development staff, Katz writes. He also participated in casual pick-up games with some former NBA players like Amar'e Stoudemire, Michael Beasley, and Jeremy Tyler.
The G League team would hold scrimmages roughly twice a week and Wall would get in 20-to-25 minutes of action in those contests.
Wall has publicly stated that he wanted to be a player development coach or a GM after he hangs up his jersey. He's already begun that kind of work, helping the Wizards' young guys improve on the court.
"He's been an extra coach for me," teammate Admiral Schofield said. "And it's great hearing it from John Wall, a player you've grown up watching and playing against. Just feedback and little things and hearing him get excited when you make shots and him being confident in you knocking down shots is great."


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- Home
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This condominium residence offers buyers a unique, lakeside resort and residential community in Phuket's last remaining prime west coast location, just minutes from the pristine sands at Kamala beach.
The condominium residence consists of 236 studio and one-bedroom units. The sizes range from 47 up to 65 square meters. Units can also be combined into spacious two bedroom condos and an option to buy an entire block thereby creating a villa sized freehold property is also available subject to availability.
Units in 39 buildings are nestled around a beautiful lake consisting of waterfalls, walkways and tropical landscaping.
A varied selection of studio and one bedroom unit types all feature tall windows and wide balconies that maximise the views.
Ownership: Foreign freehold and Leasehold.
Compare listings
Can foreigners buy property in Phuket? Find out here
For all the latest up-to-date travel info for Thailand please visit – tatnews.org


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Just over a month ago I chronicled the milestone of dropping both my daughters off at college. My ex–husband and I separated when the girls were in 7th and 9th grade. I think the difficulties the girls and I faced only brought us closer together. Aside from the usual teen issues, both girls came through it great. Now with the two of them in college, I've decided to make a clean break with the past and forge ahead into a new chapter of my life. Translation, I'm selling the family apartment.
I've struggled with this decision for a long time. We came to this apartment when the girls were four and seven. This was the home they grew up in and always represented stability and security to me, a warm haven in a big city. But as hard as it is to break with the past, once that mental leap was made it's been invigorating.
I spent the last month decluttering, a cathartic process that fueled my sense of adventure as I lightened my load. I have a good friend who insists you should change your life every 12 years. When he said this almost a year ago at dinner I laughed it off and said I'm years overdue. His statement stuck with me though and I think it's true. Life is change, like it or not, so why not drive that change rather than react to it. Emboldened, I took the leap and now our home of fourteen years is on the market and being shown. Of course in the world of Manhattan co-ops nothing moves at lightning speed with co-op board approval for the buyer an additional hurdle to cross, but the wheels are most definitely in motion.
So to celebrate change and honor the past, a collage of memories of our last few years spent here with links to the apartment listing 😉
Here's to embracing change!


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Some of my background is in building and repairing residential and commercial properties. In this industry it is essential to unwind from the exerted day. The home is one of the best places to relax and mentally wipe away the days effort.
Creating a place either inside your home or outside the home has Unlimited Benefits which will keep you and your thoughts clear and creative. I'm noticing, most people do not take advantage of this for a variety of reasons...I may not be an expert in Relaxation Techniques (which there are alot of...) but, I consider myself an expert in the getting you information and contacts on creatping and building that area to relax in.
Personally, I have a zone where I like to unwind from the day and refresh my scope...all the time keeping my thoughts clear and ready to move on to enjoying my family and all that that includes.
Time is more valuable than money,
You can get more money,
But, you cannot get more time.
Do not Hesitate to ask Questions...email@example.com
|Sue Heldenbrand
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|David Riklan
|Alan B. Densky
|Albert Weiss
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|Kenia Payano "Morales"


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Export Britain – South Africa Market snapshot
Trade outlook
More than half of South Africa's trade is with developed countries, i.e. the EU, Nafta and Japan. Brazil, India and China doubled their exports to South Africa and also increased their share of South Africa's imports from 8% to 14%. This development is hardly surprising considering that India and China are the fastest-growing economies in world, and have population of more than a billion each. South Africa's trade still relies on the developed world for markets but is slowly shifting towards developing countries for sources of supply. The domination of the developed world as a supplier is being challenged by middle-income developing countries.
Opportunities for UK Businesses
South Africa is one of the most sophisticated, diverse and promising emerging markets. Strategically located at the tip of the African continent, South Africa is a key investment location, both for the market opportunities that lie within it and for the opportunity that exists to use the country as a gateway to the rest of the continent. South Africa has spent R642-billion on infrastructure development in the past three years – and plans to spend more than R827-billion over the next three years. Opportunities lie within the energy, transport, healthcare, and education sectors.
Visit Export Britain for more information and to find support in this market.


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Fresh, cool air is drifting through the color of the autumn trees and some of us are turning the thermostat to "Heat." Smaller homes and vacation cabins often do not have a furnace, so we rely on the fireplace, a wood stove, or electric heat baseboards to keep the house livable in the winter time. Even in homes with central heating, a small "space heater" can be a handy addition when we only need heat in one chilly area.
Space heaters are handy and convenient, but don't count on one to heat your home exclusively, or to save much on your heating bill. Electric heaters, even those claiming "infrared technology" are expensive to operate compared to central heat systems such as heat pumps and propane furnaces. You may see mail or television ads for "discounted" space heaters that claim to save you money on your electric bill. Don't fall for these claims. Most of these ads feature items that are overpriced and then discounted. Similar performance can be found for much lower prices in models available over the internet or in local stores.
Hit the internet yourself (or ask a teenager to help you if this is not your favorite thing) and learn everything you can. Reading the reviews on can tell you a lot. My favorite is Consumer Reports magazine. Consumer Reports Union is a non-profit organization and they do not accept advertising in their magazine. As a result, they are professional and unbiased in their testing and ratings of products.
Use the following tips to choose the right space heater for your home.
What size should you get? The amount of heat generated is rated in "watts" which is a way to determine how much electricity the heater is using. It's easy to figure out how many watts you need:estimate 10 watts per square foot and multiply the square footage of the room by 10. For example, a room with 144 square feet will require 1,440 watts. When we say square feet, we are just saying measure your room with a tape measure – length and width – and multiply the 2 numbers.
Once you know how many watts you need, you can calculate what it will cost over a year by multiplying the watts times how many hours you have it on times the rate per kilowatt-hour that the electric company charges. Here's an example. If you have a 1,500-watt heater and you leave it on 24 hours a day at a rate of 9 cents a kilowatt-hour, the cost would be $3.24 a day(1,500 x 24 ?� 1,000 x $0.09). Over a month that would amount to $97.20; a year it would be $1,166.40.
How can a space heater help save on energy costs? While the costs in the last paragraph are indeed high, you can still use a space heater and save a little money every month by doing the following.
A� Only run the heater when you are in the room.
A� Buy an appliance timer to use with your heater if you think you'll forget to turn it off.
A� Lower the thermostat in the rest of the house. Obviously if there are a lot of people in the house, or you're going from room to room, this strategy will not be comfortable.
Although you will hear words like radiant, oil filled, infrared, ceramic, quartz halogen, and convection in heater descriptions, there are really only 2 types of heaters: radiant and convection, plus combinations of these two. Radiant simply means a strong heating element, like a halogen bulb, that radiates heat. These heaters work well for spot heating. Convection heaters use wire or ribbon elements and a powerful fan to move the heat through the room. They are better for heating large areas. A combination unit, such as a radiator type, uses water or oil circulating in metal fins to produce heat. They don't get as hot and give off a constant, steady heat.
Any of these heater types are available for less than $200 unless they have fancy accessories like remote controls. Do your homework, and you'll save money and stay warm too.
Fresh, cool air is drifting through the color of the autumn trees and some of us are turning the thermostat to "Heat." Smaller homes and vacation cabins often do not have a furnace, so we rely on the fireplace, a wood stove, or electric heat baseboards to keep the house livable in the winter time. Even in homes with central heating, a small "space heater" can be a handy addition when we only need heat in one chilly area.


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ZURICH — Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter was asked by Switzerland's foreign ministry last year to help persuade an African president to leave office.
Blatter offered Burundi president Pierre Nkurunziza an ambassador's role in world soccer as the nation fell into violent turmoil, according to his new book, which was launched on Thursday.
Blatter's intervention was supported by the United States, he claims in "Sepp Blatter: Mission and Passion Football," which was published in German.
After Nkurunziza said last April he wanted an unconstitutional third presidential term, a bloody military coup failed to remove him. Blatter said his offer to Nkurunziza followed an approach by Yves Rossier, the state secretary of the Swiss ministry.
"I proposed to the president, who is a big football fan, in front of witnesses that if it would be an advantage for his country and him, FIFA could deploy him as an ambassador for football in Africa or in the whole world," Blatter is quoted saying in an interview section of the 300-page book.
"Unfortunately, that never happened," Blatter said of the offer, which was rejected.
Nkurunziza then won a disputed election in July and continues to lead his troubled nation.
On Thursday, the Swiss ministry confirmed there was contact between Blatter and Rossier.
"The intention was to contribute to a peaceful solution in order to prevent the current crisis in Burundi," the ministry said in a statement, adding that Switzerland "never asked president Nkurunziza not to run for the office of president again."
Blatter's picture-led book reflects on his 41 years at scandal-hit FIFA, which ended in February. It includes photographs of Blatter with U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis.
The book had been scheduled for release before the Feb. 26 election to replace Blatter as FIFA president, but was delayed.
Blatter is awaiting an appeal hearing date at the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge a six-year ban from soccer by FIFA. He was suspended for a financial conflict of interest over a payment given to UEFA President Michel Platini. Platini goes to CAS on April 29 to appeal against his six-year ban.
Blatter is the subject of a Swiss criminal investigation over the payment and for approving the sale of undervalued World Cup television rights for the Caribbean. That deal benefited disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner, who appears in the book in the photograph of Blatter with Obama at the White House in 2009.
The FIFA election was won by former UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, who Blatter says in the book once applied for a job at an unspecified date in the FIFA legal department.
"Without success," Blatter wrote.
Story: Graham Dunbar / Associated Press
To reach us about this article or another matter, please contact us by e-mail at: [email protected].


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By Giorgio Milos
6 August 2010
Article source: The Atlantic
Google "Origins of Coffee" and you get more than 8 million results. More noteworthy than sheer numbers are the differing schools of thought that click-throughs reveal, right on page one. Depending on whom you trust, coffee was discovered around the 13th century. Or the fifth century.
Coffee's history comprises yet another great debate, like preparation method and bean source; one more example of deeply felt passion for coffee on display. Such intellectual debate is entirely fitting for a beverage known to stir provocative thought. The coffeehouse's roots as a place for free idea exchange and political conversation in the 16th century Ottoman Empire are historically well established.
But I'm jumping ahead. Let me rewind, and give a very abridged version of coffee history. Hopefully, it will make your next coffee experience just a little richer.
Many of those Google results point to the legend of an Ethiopian goat shepherd named Kaldi, who noticed the strange ways his goats behaved after eating the fruit and leaves of a certain bush. The goats were jumping around and dancing, all full of energy, the story goes. Curious, Kaldi tried the fruit for himself, and felt a rush of energy. Some accounts peg the tale (real or fiction, I can't say) to around 850 AD.
We do know for sure that the coffee plant originated from a plateau in Ethiopia, given its proclivity for spontaneous growth there as nowhere else. The region is known as Kaffa. It's not clear if coffee took its name from the region, or vice versa. So it's a short leap to assume that coffee was first consumed on a large scale in Ethiopia, and to figure out roughly when. Well, not so easy, and not so fast. We can't know either for sure.
There is no documentation, so I came up my own theory. I imagine one of our starved ancestors (thousands or millions of years ago) walking around what is now Ethiopia looking for something to eat. Desperate, ravenous, he discovers a bush full of red fruit. He's a little worried. He doesn't know if it's poisonous, but left with little choice, he picks a cherry and puts it in his month. He finds a relatively un-pulpy inside, along with two big beans.
The taste is sweet, signaling nourishment. Maybe this is okay, he thinks. He continues eating until he feels satiated, and realizes he feels more than just full. He feels rested, awake; his reflexes are alive. When night comes he can't sleep. He likes this sensation—all these sensations—and decides to bring this new fruits to his people. And quite possibly from that moment, coffee (if not yet its beverage form) becomes part of his tribe's diet.
Very real echoes of this story are found today in a tradition of an Ethiopian tribe, the Galla, who regularly consume "energy balls" made by blending animal fat and macerated coffee cherries. The bottom line for coffee's history: those who consumed it early on were after the stimulant substance it contained, that alkaloid well known today as caffeine. All of coffee's legends tell of its energizing effect, from Kaldi's goats to Mahomet, who, after consuming a hot, black liquid given to him by the angel Gabriel, promptly removed 40 knights from their horses, and satisfied 40 virgins in just one day. (Take that, Viagra!)
The first person known to write about coffee was a Persian physician and philosopher named Rhazes or Razi (850 to 922 AD), who characterized it as a medicine. He described a beverage called bunchum, prepared with an infusion of a fruit called bunn—the Ethiopian name for a coffee cherry.
Other early writings establish Yemen, on the southern part of Arabian Peninsula, just across the Red Sea from Ethiopia, as home to the first coffee plantations starting in the early 15th century. Coffee plants were brought over from Ethiopia, Yemen lacking its own indigenous coffee. There, Sufi monks prepared an infusion of coffee cherry leaves to stay awake and pray through the night. The first real roasting and grinding activities likely happened here.
Coffee's true worldwide journey came with the Turkish conquests of the Arabian Peninsula during the early 16th century. It was the Ottoman Empire that brought coffee to entirely new places, for new reasons.
The Muslim religion's prohibition of alcohol consumption gave a big lift to coffee throughout Turkey and the rest of the Ottoman Empire. Coffee became a substitute for wine, and was given the name kahve—literally, "wine of Arabia." The word came from the Arabic term oahwah, itself from the verb oahiya, signifying the action of feeling sated.
Coffee diffused quickly throughout the Ottoman Empire, giving rise to world's first coffee houses, called kaveh-kanes or oahveh-khaneh. The first documented coffee house opened in Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1554, but there may well have been others earlier in Cairo, Damascus, Mecca, and Medina.
The early 17th century saw Muslim coffee's introduction to Christian Europe, through the work of Venetian merchants. It met with strong resistance from the Catholic Church, especially by the Pope's Councilmen, who asked Pope Clemente VIII to declare the black beverage "the bitter invention of Satan." The Pope opted for taste over haste before deciding. Fortunately, he liked what he tried, declaring, "this devil's drink is so delicious … we should cheat the devil by baptizing it."
Coffee's diffusion throughout Europe went at breakneck pace. Venice's first coffee house ("bottega del caffe`") opened in 1645, England's in 1650, France's in 1672, and on to the New World, a Boston outpost in 1676. Today's rapid proliferation of coffee houses: nothing new, save perhaps for the free Wi-Fi.
Coffee quickly became precious and coffee plants much sought after. Big European empires like Holland and France tried to grow coffee in their own territories, far from the tropical climates where it was already known to best thrive. (Virtually all of the coffee we drink today is produced in regions situated in the tropics.) To preserve their monopoly, Arabian coffee traders intentionally made export beans infertile by parching or boiling them before export to Europe.
The Dutch persevered, obtaining coffee plants and creating the first successful coffee plantation away from the Middle East, on their colony of Java in early 18th century Indonesia. They started with just a few coffee plants obtained through trade with merchants in the Yemenite port of Mocha. Mocha Java was born, its first shipment to Europe dating to 1719.
Following Java's success, coffee production was fast established on Sumatra and Ceylon. Some plants were cultivated in specially created botanical gardens in Amsterdam. As part of a military agreement, France received some of these plants as gifts in 1720, promptly transporting them to its colonies in Central America.
A captain of the French Navy, Gabriel de Clieu, was ordered by King Louis XV to establish a plantation in Martinique. As the story goes, during the voyage, water was rationed, and the captain took care to share his portion with the plants. Recent findings points to coffee already growing in the French colony of Saint-Domingue as early as 1715, and in the Dutch colony of Surinam since 1718.
The New World's tropical regions revealed themselves as ideal for cultivation, and coffee plantations spread throughout Central and South America. Central America's first coffee harvest occurred in 1726. Today, Brazil reigns as the world's biggest producer, claiming no fewer than 10 billion (billion, with a "b") coffee plants.
Coffee's modern history, rich with innovation, scientific learning and large-scale commercialisation, is a story all its own. I'll leave that for another time. For now, the next time you take cup in hand, give thanks to Kaldi and those hyperactive goats.


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Volkswagen said on Thursday it reached an agreement with the attorneys general of 10 US states to pay $157.45 million to resolve environmental claims related to its cheating of emissions tests in the United States.
The company said the settlement also resolved "certain consumer claims" that were not included in Volkswagen's prior multi-state agreement.
Volkswagen said the $157.45 million would be allocated among Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
"The agreement avoids further prolonged and costly litigation as Volkswagen continues to work to earn back the trust of its customers, regulators and the public," said Volkswagen.
In total, Volkswagen has now agreed to spend almost $25 billion in the United States to address a multitude of claims from regulators, owners, states and dealers.
In June, 2016, Volkswagen reached a $603 million agreement with 44 US states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to resolve state consumer protection claims.
That consumer settlement did not include claims for injunctive relief or restitution related to 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles which were included in Thursday's settlement.
In January, Volkswagen reached an agreement with the US government to pay a combined penalty of $1.45 billion to resolve federal environmental claims under the Clean Air Act and customs-related civil claims.
As part of its civil settlement agreements, Volkswagen is also establishing a $2.92 billion environmental trust to remediate the total, lifetime excess nitrogen oxide emissions from affected 2.0L TDI and 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles in the United States and invest $2 billion over 10 years in zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, access and awareness initiatives.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said: "Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche tried to pull off an extraordinarily cynical corporate fraud – deceiving hundreds of thousands of consumers, pumping thousands of tons of harmful pollution into our air, and flouting New York and federal environmental laws designed to protect public health.
"This went on for nearly a decade, for no other reason than their bottom line, so the companies could avoid the expense of engineering cars that would actually meet our environmental standards.
"Adding insult to injury, they marketed these dirty vehicles as environmentally-friendly and technologically-advanced – not only deceiving consumers and harming our environment, but also undercutting the sales of their law-abiding competitors …
"But Volkswagen was caught – and today's settlement means we've now held them to full account."


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About the Author
Alicia L. Lewis works as an assistant director in a fun-filled fantasyland known as Hollywood. During the day, she often finds that her imagination wanders and leads her to magical places filled with tooth fairies and inquisitive young ladies. When she is not traveling to far offplaces in her mind, she lives in Pasadena, California-cooking, knitting and waiting for Lulu or Lilleth to make their next adventure known to her. Lulu's Slightly Scary, Super Hairy, Very Purple Tooth Fairy is Alicia's first book.
Delaney Buday is a high school student from New Jersey who, in her limited free time from work and school obligations, draws, writes, and daydreams. She aspires to become an animator or English professor. She also enjoys traveling and finds inspiration for her art and stories in almost everything she does. Lulu's Slightly Scary, Super Hairy, Very Purple Tooth Fairy is the first book she has illustrated.


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The Liverpool International Music Festival is almost here.
The event will take place in Liverpool's Sefton Park between Thursday, July 20 and Sunday, July 23.
There are big names who will be performing at this year's LIMF - including Gorgon City, Corinne Bailey Rae, So Solid Crew, Jax Jones, Naughty Boy, DJ Spoony and Cast.
We have put together everything you need to know about the line-ups and the stage times for this year's LIMF.
Thursday, July 20
At the Palm House
7pm - midnight: LIMF Presents Good Times, with Norman Jay
7pm: Norman Jay MBE
Friday, July 21
Central Stage
LIMF Presents at Summer Jam
Garage Classical Presented by DK Spoony, hosted by Jay Hynd
At Sefton Park
8.30pm: DJ Spoony
8.30pm: Royal Northern College Music
8.30pm: Taya
8.30pm: Raheem Alameen
7.30pm: Sticky
7pm: So Solid Crew
6.20pm: Artful Dodger
6pm: Donae'O
5pm: DJ Zeke
It's Liverpool Stage
At Sefton Park
9pm: The Farm
8.10pm: The Vryll Scoiety
7.25pm: Xamvolo
6.45pm: Zuzu
6.05pm: Pink Kink
5.30pm: Neil Noa
5pm: Marc Jones
DJ Stage at Sefton Park
8.30pm: Logan Sama
7.30pm: Crazy Cousinz
6.30pm: Siobhan Bell
5.45pm: Elijah and Skilliam
5pm: DJ 2Kind, featuring L100 Cypher
Academy Stage
At Sefton Park
8.10pm: Gazelle
7.30pm: Tabitha Jade
6.50pm: To Eva
6.10pm: Shak Omar
5.30pm: Hannah's Little Sister
5pm: Dan Kraines
Silent Disco
At Sefton Park
8pm: At Jimski
6.45pm: Adam French
5.30pm: Olly Downing
Bandstand stage presented by Mellowtone
At Sefton Park
8.45pm: Beaten Track DJs
8.15pm: Seafoam Green
7.30pm: Edgar Jones
6.45pm: Nick Ellis
6pm: Anwar Ali and Dave Owen
5pm: Beaten Track DJs
LIMF presents
At Central Stage in Sefton Park
5pm - 9.30pm: Garage Classical Presented by DJ Spoony
At The Palm House
5pm to midnight: LIMF Presents: Circus of the Year
Saturday, July 22
Central Stage
Summer Jam hosted by Jay Hynd
At Sefton Park
7.15pm: Gorgon City
6.15pm: Jax Jones
7.35pm: Naughty Boy
4.30pm: Fleur East
3.45pm: Fuse ODG
3.05pm: Sinead Harnett
2.45pm: M.O.
1.45pm: Younger
1.05pm: Taya
12.30pm :Halem
Noon: Adele Roberts
It's Liverpool Stage
At Sefton Park
7pm: Norman Killion
6pm: The Christians
5pm: The Sugarmen
4.10pm: Veyu
3.30pm: Pixey
2.50pm: Paris Youth Foundation
2.10pm: The Hummingbirds
1.30pm: Charlie Straw
12.50pm: Eleanor Nelly
Noon: Bernie Connor
DJ Stage
At Sefton Park
6.30pm: MJ Cole
5pm: Ras Kwame
3.30pm: Seani (Brukot)
2pm: Wideawake
1pm: James Hype 1pm
Noon: Spykatcha
Academy Stage
At Sefton Park
6.40pm: Mary Miller
6pm: Astles
5.20pm: 50FT Warrior
4.20pm: Generation
4pm: Lilium
3.20pm: Joseph Mott
2.40pm: Karuna
2pm: We Were Glue
1.20pm: Daisy Gill
12.40pm: Wildfires
Noon: Dan Kraines
Silent Disco
6.30pm: DJ 2Kind
5pm: D-Fresh
3.30pm: Rebel Sound
2pm: DJ One2Wo
1pm: Richie Vegas
Bandstand Stage presented by Mellowtone
At Sefton Park
6.45pm: Beaten Track DJs
6.15pm: Silvastone
5.30pm: Ovvls
4.45pm: The Grande
4pm: Marvin Powell
3.15pm: Jimmy Rae and the Moonshine Girls
2.30pm: Lilium
1.15pm: Astles
1.10pm: Shipbuilders
12.30pm: Simon Cousins
Noon: Beaten Track DJs
LIMF Presents
At Palm House
7pm Reminisce: 90's R&B with Trevor Nelson
Sunday, July 23
Central Stage
Summer Jam hosted by Jay Hynd
At Sefton Park
7.15pm: Cast
6.10pm: Corinne Bailey Rae
5.15pm: JP Cooper
4.30pm: Becky Hill
3.45pm: Jessie Reyez
3pm: Louis Berry
2.10pm: Kate Nash
1.25pm: Etta Bond
Noon: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
It's Liverpool Stage
At Sefton Park
7pm: Andy Mac
6.20pm: Tea Street Band
5.20pm: She Drew The Gun
4.30pm: Hooton Tennis Club
3.30pm: Jane Weaver
2.40pm: No Fakin
2.10pm: Jo Mary
1.20pm: Suedebrown
12.50pm: L U M E N
Noon: Dave Monks
DJ Stage
At Sefton Park
6.30pm: DJ Target
5pm: Tieks
3.30pm: Manny Norte
2pm: Diztortion
1pm: DJ Edu
Noon: DJ Muvelo
Academy Stage
At Sefton Park
6.40pm: Remee
6pm: Grey Areas
5.20pm: Luna
4.40pm: Raheem Alameen
4pm: Kallo
3.20pm: Weekend Wars
2.40pm: C-Two
2pm: Tori Cross
1.20pm: Vain Male
12.40pm: Grace Kim
Noon: Adam French
Silent Disco
At Sefton Park
6.30pm: Luca
5.30pm: One a Penny
4pm: DJ Pooky
2.30pm: MJ Ruckus
1pm: Dice DJs
Bandstand Stage Presented by Mellowtone
At Sefton Park
6.45pm: Beaten Track DJs
6.15pm: Sub Blue
5.30pm: Loka
4.45pm: Yammerer
4pm: Ali Horn
3.15pm: Blue Saint
2.30pm: Eleanor Nelly
1.50pm: Limerance
1.10pm: Bird and Family Bryan
12.30pm: Mike Murphy
Noon: Beaten Track DJs
LIMF Presents
At Palm House
7pm - midnight: No Sleep with DJ Stretch Armstrong


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Finding that first item to list may be the biggest challenge you'll come across when using Poshmark, but trust us when we say that it's a hurdle you'll cross in no time (and with very little effort!). Check out our daily Posh Parties and see what our amazing community is selling to get inspiration on what you should list.
Branded Posh Parties. Our first Posh Party every day is focused on a particular set of designers, which vary from day-to-day. Check out what designer parties are coming up in the app or desktop. Then, open your closet and find those brand-name goodies you love, but no longer wear, and list away!
Category-specific Posh Parties. Another way to browse your closet for pieces to sell is by using our category-themed Posh Parties. Is there a "Jewelry & Accessories Party" coming up? Open up your jewelry case to see what pieces you no longer wear. Or, is there a jackets party happening tomorrow? Reach into your coat closet and pull out last season's blazers to list.
Style-focused Posh Parties. Our daily Posh Party fun always ends with a party focused on a particular style or trend, such as 'Work Week Chic' and 'Jetset Glamour.' Use these themes to go through your closet and pull out those items that you feel fit the themes best!
For example, if it's a spring-focused party, then floral skirts, sandals, and sunglasses work. If it's a date night party, then go through your cocktail dresses or suits to see which ones need to find a new home.
Combing through your closet for items to sell has never been this easy (and fun)! Head over to the Posh Party Line-Up to know what parties not to miss out on.


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03 Aug 10+ asian movies you should watch
Hooray! Another movie list!
Have you already seen my list of 10+ visually influential movies?
Many of these movies on the list are exquisitely over the top and this is exactly why I love asian cinematography. Here you will find the most dramatic, most scary and most weird movies I've ever seen!
They are arranged alphabetically to make it easier for me.
What happens if an anime director of one of the best cyberpunk animated movies (Ghost in the Shell, Mamoru Oshii) makes a live action movie in Eastern Europe? Love the tone and aesthetics of this movie, all these old trams made in the Czech Republic are exactly like they were in my home city. And this atmosphere is perfect for such sci-fi dystopia.
Battle Royale
Probably the most famous movie on the list, because it is Quentin Tarantino's favorite. So it is really violent, graphic and controversial. Like Lord of the Flies set up in the futuristic dystopia. Also a great performance by Takeshi Kitano!
Speaking of Takeshi Kitano… Here's his masterpiece based upon traditional Japanese Bunraku puppet theater. It consists of three classic stories joined together. Also this is one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen!
The Happiness of the Katakuris
And back to the weird stuff! This is one of my favorite directors, famous for his creativity and delightfully weird, funny, terrifying movies. I chose this movie as the top one just because it is so messed up and crazy. This is a comedy/drama/musical about a little hotel on the road and it's visitors… In some way it reminded me of the first season of Misfits TV show.
Also consider watching his other movies:
- Visitor Q — seriously weird.
- Dead or Alive — criminal action drama with the best film ending in history.
- One missed call — funny parody on The Ring movies, also the scariest movie I've ever seen.
In the Mood for Love
Sweet and beautiful romantic drama from Hong Kong by . I don't remember much of the plot, but still remember the feeling from this movie.
Kung Fu Hustle
This movie holds two very special places in my heart.
Of the best comedy and the best martial arts movie. Just watch it already!
This film is so good that Spike Lee recently made a big budget remake of it. Remake flopped, but you definitely must see the original! It is one of the most intense and dramatic movies on a scale of a Greek tragedy and may be the best movie on this list. And that scene with a hammer will stay in the history of filmmaking forever.
Oldboy is a part of Park Chan-wook movie trilogy about revenge.
The only Indian movie on the list. The fan edit of this movie with all the crazy scenes was a big hit on youtube and in social media. But really this movie is a little bit more than just a crazy and funny ride with all that indian ridiculousness… It explores the classic cyberpunk question: "What it is to be human?". And it really touched me.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring
Elegant and simple Korean movie by Kim Ki-duk. Subtle and unforgettable.
Of course there must be Akira Kurosawa movie on this list. Ran is also one of the most beautiful movies, deliberate and epic. It is based on the Shakespeare's King Lear, but set up in the medieval Japan.
Bonus: Three… Extremes
Three short disturbing horror films by asian directors, two of them were in this list.


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reverse engineering
A development process based on the notion of taking something apart to see how it works and then putting it back together again. Reverse engineering often means decoding or analyzing a device or program with the intent of using its technology to create another product. Most software user agreements now prohibit unauthorized reverse engineering, making it a violation of intellectual property rights.
One of the most blatant examples of this is the IBM-compatible PC (see: IBM-PC). Somewhere along the line, someone reverse-engineered the chips in the first IBM-PC and created a working counterpart without infringing upon IBM's copyrights.
This term is also used as slang for an interrogation, as in, "She reverse-engineered him all day until he finally fessed up about the office party." Another example is "We have to reverse engineer their homepage to figure out what people want, not what the client thinks they should want."


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Who killed the voting star…?in Site Updates by Lars Brandstäter
…Youtube did it and we've done it also.
Using the rainy day here in Rostock for some programming I decided to get rid of the two years of voting on our great images. People and their beloved photos are a very emotional and personell subject.
I always disliked the idea of taking images and getting in some kind of contest, due to the rating system. So why not simplify our lives and transform it into a way of still having the chance to express my "Favs" and leave all other images alone.
Almost 30.000 votes got converted to a more simplier system of: "like it, or leave it". The vessels image thumbnail now has only one star left to honor the photographer. Show, that you are a fan of the photo. Thanks to the help of our friend Marcus and a little bit of AJAX you can also decide later on about your decision :-)
It will take another day of hacking to count the results and display them inside the stats icon, so hang on.
Let us know, if you like the new way here:
UPDATE: we replaced the STAR with a THUMBS UP icon (Stevos suggestion)


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Articles on Primal Therapy, psychogenesis, causes of psychological traumas, brain development, psychotherapies, neuropsychology, neuropsychotherapy. Discussions about causes of anxiety, depression, psychosis, consequences of the birth trauma and life before birth.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Hypnosis (Part 1/20)
Hypnosis currently enjoys widespread acceptance among the public and the scientific community. Hypnotherapy is generally believed to provide significant relief of both physical and psychological symptoms, and its use is on the rise. Of 1,000 psychotherapists surveyed in 1994, 97 percent considered hypnosis a worthwhile therapeutic tool.[1]
There is no question that hypnosis can be useful, particularly in the area of pain control. It is also widely used in treating the symptoms of neurosis including anxiety disorders, insomnia, and addictions, but with little permanent success. This might be explained because the state of hypnosis is similar to an extended but temporary case of neurosis. What I shall try to demonstrate in the following pages is that most of us who are neurotic are simply in a long-term hypnotic trance.
A permanent state of post-hypnotic suggestion can begin early in our lives when authority figures (parents) "suggest" certain behaviors based on the possibility or withdrawal of love. The suggestion is usually not consciously undertaken by the parent; it is simply the parent's unconscious needs translated into expectations and imposed on the child. The child, unaware of what's happening, slips into the behavior without a scintilla of reflection. Part of him then is asleep or unconscious without his being aware of it.
In fact, you can use the concentrated and condensed neurotic state known as hypnosis to demonstrate the process of neurosis – that is, how neurosis comes into being. Hypnosis does not eliminate the sources of neurosis, nor does it integrate consciousness. Rather, it disintegrates consciousness, thereby achieving dissociation, in which two or three levels of consciousness act independently of one another. Hypnosis demonstrates the interactions of different levels of consciousness in both initiating and maintaining neurosis. Hypnosis and neurosis in fact utilize the same neurophysiological mechanisms. Hypnotic suggestibility is itself contingent upon a pre-existent neurotic state. So when psychotherapies use some form of hypnosis, they misapply the principles of consciousness and, as a result, actually reinforce the neurosis.
The use of hypnosis dates back to man's earliest history. Until recently, it has been shrouded in mystery, magic, and the supernatural, associated with everything from Druidic healers and high priests in ancient Greece to shamans, gods, witches, devils, and quacks. As a therapeutic technique, it predates psychoanalysis by at least a century. Freud used hypnosis therapeutically before discarding it in favor of psychoanalysis. Over time it has gained popular and scientific acceptance, been assimilated into a wide range of therapies, and been applied to most types of medical and psychological problems.
Today hypnosis is used to treat psychosomatic symptoms such as ulcers, migraines, and colitis. It is used to manage pain and in rehabilitation cases where organic damage has occurred. It is used to alter physiological functioning, such as to reduce blood pressure, relieve asthmatic symptoms, and alleviate gastrointestinal distress. It is also used in dentistry and obstetrics. It is used to treat addictions such as overeating, alcoholism, smoking, and drug abuse; to treat phobias and sexual problems; to enhance memory and studying abilities; and even to make warts disappear. It is also used to deal with varying emotional and psychological problems.
While hypnotherapy is now considered a treatment category of its own, it is almost always incorporated into the particular therapeutic orientation of each therapist. Thus it may be used by therapists from such diverse areas as psychoanalysis, behaviorism, ego psychology, gestalt, and even holistic transpersonal groups.
17 comments:
AJ said >>> What I shall try to demonstrate in the following pages is that most of us who are neurotic are simply in a long-term hypnotic trance.<<ReplyDelete
So zombies are real, aren't they? And with constant distraction, they are even more hypnotic, due to lack of concentration. I have always said they run on autopilot. Programming and conditioning are the tools of many authorities. That is what water-boarding is about. Conditioned Primal Pain. It can be cultivated if one was sadistic. Of course, that wouldn't happen with authorities, right? ;-) I won't mention the other tortures. Schools also condition kids. We might wonder about that as well. I won't mention the media and their power to condition and program.
AJ said >>> A permanent state of post-hypnotic suggestion can begin early in our lives when authority figures (parents) "suggest" certain behaviors based on the possibility or withdrawal of love. The suggestion is usually not consciously undertaken by the parent; it is simply the parent's unconscious needs translated into expectations and imposed on the child. The child, unaware of what's happening, slips into the behavior without a scintilla of reflection. Part of him then is asleep or unconscious without his being aware of it.
Now this sounds like what Orwell suggested, in that the policy or programming of the "orthodoxy " is so subtle as to not be seen or known about . . . . unless you happen to step out of line. Is there an orthodoxy around? Are any of us in doubt? Believers? Could this orthodoxy, if it exists (and yes'em, I believes in orthodoxies, massah) be subtly promoting some conditioning and programming that is so subtle that even we do not detect it. Can people who are all primalled out still be hypnotized or unwittingly programmed? I would think it at least possible.
Maybe a lot of that programming is not traumatic enough to register deep with trauma. Or maybe it just spolits after enough is accumulated. But maybe we might do well to explore just how much programming and conditioning has been carried on without our notice.
To All: Of course, if we probe, we risk irritating those who make the programming. Ouch. But some have said in the past that: "no pain, no gain." There are necessary casualties in any war, even propaganda and information wars. Who wants to be the first to throw themselves on the stakes fronting the enemies lines? Any volunteers? Listen, you might be surprised at what I have experienced just in one law suit. Got followed home twice, from different places. Attempted car run-over, which my hyper-vigilance helped me easily avoid. I could brag some more but only courage will be enough to help PT over the hump and reach into more acceptance. You got what it takes?
We all gotta go sooner or later. But if I gotta go, I want it to be for something worth while. I'll go down but it will be swinging not crying!
When you talk about "The child, unaware of what's happening, slips into the behavior without a scintilla of reflection. Part of him then is asleep or unconscious without his being aware of it." I think the moment the child's hypnotic state occurs is because the pain is so intense that there are no other possibilities. We may find it hard to imagine the sensitivity of a fetus… but the ration on a scale of what is painful may speak a different language?
Art, I use hypnotherapy and I think there is a difference between regression and direct suggestion techniques. We have the answers inside us, hypnosis is one way of accessing what we know. If we can "chase" the first time someone felt a feeling, like for example, feeling unwanted, they can then feel that feeling and process it, and other significant events that have the same feeling might also need to be processed, but going back to the first time is essential. Creating a safe space where they can do that is crucial. Like all tools/techniques, it really depends on who is using them and how.ReplyDelete
Noreen, love, you cannot get well unconscicously. Well means consciousness, and nothing less. Why make the patient less conscious? We want frontal cortex connection and left brain connection. Before we decide on "who's doing them" we need to decide on the science of it. We can no longer do therapy "a la derive", "en vrac", in a touchy feely way. There is science now and in the 21st century we must strictly adhere to it. AJReplyDelete
Art, I agree that we need to be conscious and consciousness means being well, and having been hypnotised, I was conscious of all that was going on. I think hypnotherapy *accesses* the unconscious when regression is used, it doesn't make us unconscious, therein lies the opportunity. What I find interesting in science at the moment is the research into how important mindfulness, empathy and compassion are, like Daniel Siegel for eg. I agree touchy feely is out but there are not enough therapists who are compassionate and empathetic they're not willing "to go there" in my opinion, or put themselves into someone else's shoes. Many talk about safety but they don't create it. Many things are reframed in a completely polyannaish way and there is a temporary change in behaviour for a while until the effect wears off. As you said in a different post, many haven't felt their pain and they're petrified of others feeling theirs because it reminds them of their own pain which they want to avoid just because it's so painful. I also find how Antonio Damasio differentiates between emotions and feelings is fascinating. He says "A feeling is a conscious experience of having an emotion", so when we're feeling something we're healing it, we're experiencing it, instead of leaving it unprocessed causing havoc in our system. I think it's quite simple, we just need to *feel*. But it doesn't just take one or two sessions, it takes as long as it takes, it might be simple but it's not easy. NoreenReplyDelete
Within weeks of fully feeling the traumatic loss and abandonment by my mum at boarding school and earlier (still getting there) and then consciously disolving in the expression of that grief I began to notice how certain dissociative states I could get into no longer had quite the hold over me that they did before.
Nor did I feel so urgently the need to act out or project onto others. I could OWN MY OWN FEELINGS!
I used to do Transcendental Meditation and noticed an amazing bliss state developing during and afterwards. This would not last, nor could it because the temprary bliss state had not even touched the original trauma. Now, after catharting (in short doses) I get so blissed out that the previous 'meditational' state of bliss pales by comparison.
TM is a short cut and does not deal with the original traumas and Maharishi has got a lot to answer for, he should have known better than to advertise TM as a cure all.
I would say the same thing is true of Hypnotism.
OK, it is good to learn these techniques, when under stress it is important to know something that can help one deal with ones' unruly emotions in times of great need.
Paul G.
Noreen, do me a favor. Read all 21 articles on hypnosis that I wrote which will appear in the next many weeks and then write me and see if you still feel the same way. OK ? We are after full consciousness, not dampened csns. To say noting of trying to run the show with a patient when she is the seat of all knowledge. Patients are too used to being "done to." Don't participate in that. AJReplyDelete
I think it may pay to differentiate between "conscious of" and "consciousness". When we are hypnotised we are half asleep so we can never be fully 'awake' to a feeling. You might feel (be part conscious-of) part of a feeling, but you will only be so in an anaesthetised state. You need to be fully awake to the feeling to process it(?). If so, then a hypnotised state could never do it.ReplyDelete
To say:
I think the 'great' hallmark of PT is the discovery that the brain actually heals itself.
So, the primal is truly natural - 4 billion years of evolutions way, not some institutions in-vogue ideological way. Primal does not "do to" it only facilitates. The human brain "does to" itself, when only given the opportunity.
From here we can know to be suspicious of any new method that, again, tries to believe it knows better than the authority of natures way, which is the authority of 4 billion years of evolutionary development.
Noreen, I know, but you should listen carefully to what AJ says. You cannot feel again and incorporate that awareness of at last-feeling-again if you access the pain unconsciously (hypnotised).ReplyDelete
Andrew: Well said. artReplyDelete
i often feel like i am holding on, and it would be quite easy to let go and start feeling whatever it is. the only thing stopping me from doing that is the knowledge that it could go wrong.ReplyDelete
what could be more natural than surrendering to your brain's natural flow? but if there's too much pain, we must opt for a less natural primal using tranquillisers to stop the feelings from breaking the dam so to speak.
i guess primalling would be natural if we did it as soon as we were ready, instead of letting the pain accumulate over many years until it can't be released safely.
I've been thinking about what value the psycho-analytical aspect of understanding really has to a patient. . . Or the value of certain palliatives. . . Like Shiatsu acupressure and so on.
In the absences of really well trained therapists where we live (or enough money to get us to the clinic yet) future patients are compelled to "cope".
AJ forbid we get stuck in a queue for something we can not afford nor find the will to commit to.
Each person has to find a way through their difficulties and we have tried many things. Even after Primal Therapy there is a long road to tread. We can't say all paths are wrong paths till PT, or maybe we should? Nevertheless how ever to back track to get to the right entrance to the right way?
There is an old saying:
"Keep tight hold of nurse, for fear of something worse".
Perhaps the first thing to do once realising we need to go to California for at least 3 weeks, preferably 3 to 6 months, is to accept the circumstances we're in and the coping strategies we have already developed.
Then we might get a glimpse of living in two worlds simultaneously; the first: the hell we suffer with our repressions & neurosis, the second the freedom to feel every moment as it happens, free from the past.
We have to live in two worlds. The unconsciously repressed live in only 1 world and it is flat. Flat-land. The other world is 3 dimensional and one can move around unrestricted by the rules of repression. In this world of three dimensions the flat-landers can not hurt us or distort our truth.
So I think there is a value in really pondering our individual circumstances in the light of Primal and accepting the 'analysis' as part of the journey. Along the way we aught to receive the temporary relief of palliatives, even if that is all they are. Find the right ones for you but don't fall into a comfortable sleep believing the journey is the destination.
With PT there is a destination and it is a cure, not a palliative.
Hi Apollo,ReplyDelete
I agree with your observation about how subtle repressions can be put onto children by the unconscious withdrawal of 'love' as retribution for 'unacceptable behaviour'.
It looks a lot like emotional distancing and is part of the way scape-goating begins in groups; family groups also. . . Parents often do not know how to cope with rivalry amongst siblings or ignore it because they them selves are defended against the pain, distanced from the potential divided loyalties, where the beginning of painful rebuffs start. So often one of the children begins to repress the family pattern as a model of 'dissociation' in themselves. . . They become what Yung called the shadow bearer for the group. This person necessarily has to become exiled as they can not bear to see in the people they love the things these family members cannot see in themselves. Often they are excellent performers and bright artists and academics.
To an extent, where parents are not willing to explore their own "motives & fixations" the emotional distancing technique becomes automatic and inevitably (amongst the siblings) an authoritarian pecking order emerges in the place of a "community of interest".
The course of family history can change if the parents open up and admit their faults. This so rarely happens though. As we siblings grow up we carry with us retarded development from parental emotional distancing, usually stuck at the co or counter-dependent stage eternally secumbing to the will of the more powerful (read fixated) or arguing and fighting and discarding for our rights, indignantly trying to find the real us. Repulsion, expulsion, dismissal,trashing out and scapegoating are all inevitable programmed re-actions. Look at the so called adult world around us. . .
Sometimes parents can be an infuriating mixture of real love and attention followed by emotional distancing and punishment. . . A perfect re-enforcement of the manic depressive condition brought on by a tricky birth.
Since I started really feeling the dreadful injustices of my childhood I have become acutely sensitive to the way "Authoritarianism" masquerades as "Clear Parental Care". . . Bullshit! That sort of thing is emotional blackmail but so few parents can see it. After all, some-one must control the children.
Paul G.
Richard: Primalling is natural but you need help. I have seen so many self-primallers go so wrong. art janovReplyDelete
Paul: Don't make the mistake of thinking I am going on forever. This is my sixtieth year of practice. art janovReplyDelete
Hi Art,ReplyDelete
If I had the money I'd be on the next flight.
I nearly went bankrupt last year. To get to California in the next 6 months I will either have to rob a bank or apply for charitable funding from your wealthy donors. How do I do that?
Sorry, either /or. No, I won't rob a bank.
If you die before I get to California I'll stab myself in the face with a vanilla ice cream.
Ted's looking after me in the meantime (remember? The soft furry one who doesn't argue, listens well and has no weird belief systems).
I could ask some very wealthy people I know but they'll need too many answers to too many questions about the carpentry business they funded and bailed out, their daughter (the other director, my ex) and the losses the business made, she hasn't told her folks yet.
So that's not gonna work is it?
My bank are coaching me into the position of a very good credit rating by lending me money at a very high interest rate, this time next year they will lend me enough money to do all sorts of things but at the moment I should be on site snagging the mess the glazers left behind them, doing the drawings for the next carpentry project and also cutting 6 joints in the workshop twenty miles away, all before lunch, it's 10:20am.
Is this what my birth was like?
Paul G.
Paul G.
A facebook comment: "Hypnosis and neurosis in fact utilize the same neurophysiological mechanisms. *Hypnotic suggestibility is itself contingent upon a pre-existent neurotic state* (italics). So when psychotherapies use some form of hypnosis, they misapply the principles of consciousness and, as a result, actually reinforce the neurosis. --This is the guts of this piece. Why do practitioners not consider the effects (other than perceived or actual "benefit") of what they are doing???"ReplyDelete


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Composition of Board of the Riigikogu remains the same
Ene Ergma was re-elected President of the 11th Riigikogu for the second term of office, and Kristiina Ojuland and Jüri Ratas were elected Vice-Presidents.
Chairman of the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union Faction Mart Laar nominated Ene Ergma as a candidate for President of the Riigikogu.
93 Members of the Riigikogu took part in secret ballot of the election of the President. 83 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of Ene Ergma, 2 members of the Riigikogu voted against her and 8 ballots were invalid.
In the election of Vice-Presidents, Chairman of the Estonian Reform Party Faction Keit Pentus nominated Kristiina Ojuland as a candidate for Vice-President of the Riigikogu, and Chairman of the Estonian Centre Party Faction Vilja Savisaar nominated Jüri Ratas as a candidate for Vice-President.
91 members of the Riigikogu took part in secret ballot. 50 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of Kristiina Ojuland and 38 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of Jüri Ratas. There were 3 invalid ballots. According to the number of votes received, Kristiina Ojuland was elected the First Vice-President of the Riigikogu and Jüri Ratas was elected the Second Vice-President.
The Riigikogu Press Service
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The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) has officially rejected activist investor Dan Loeb's suggestion that it sell off its petrochemical business. According to The Street, the company said an internal review indicated that selling that part of its business would reduce its overall value.
Loeb chips away at Dow Chemical
Last month, Loeb's Third Point firm disclosed that it held a major stake in The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW). The firm did not say how big the sake is, although some have reported that the firm has sunk $1.3 billion into buying up its shares. Dow's market capitalization is approximately $55.3 billion.
This week The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) included an addendum in the presentation it gives to investors at the end of the year. The company said that its board of directors and external advisors determined that Loeb's suggestion would have a negative impact on the company's bottom line because it would cut some benefits from having cross-platform technology and some economies of scale.
Dow did not specifically mention Dan Loeb or Third Point, but the intention behind the addendum was clear. On Wednesday, Loeb said they would be interested in signing a non-disclosure agreement so that they could talk over the issue with Dow and talk about the analysis which resulted in the company's conclusions.
Dow Chemical continues to restructure
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) also said this week that it would continue with its restructuring plans. Back in 2008, the company began to dump units with lower margins and focus on specialty materials which sell for higher prices. It paid $18.8 billion to acquire Rohm and Haas Co. Since then, the company has also been looking into some potential separations for some of its units. In December, Dow Chemical reportedly hired bankers to sell off its chlorine operations. In addition, the company has been shuttering plants and cutting jobs.
The company's goal has been to transition "from a commodity-based model into a vertically integrated science company focused on specialty materials, agriculture and specialty plastics," according to its regulatory filing. It indicates that it has made progress and believes it is following the right strategy. However, Loeb said in his January letter than the strategy was the wrong one.