“She was a redheaded rebel, the singer in the family, a trash-talking, tattooed 21-year-old wrapped up in a hip-hop dream of becoming Holland’s Eminem. Then Betsy found Allah. After her sudden conversion to Islam last summer, Betsy began dressing in full Muslim robes. By January, the once-agnostic Dutch woman, raised in a home where the only sign of religion was …
Obama ban on police military gear falls short as critics say it’s a ‘publicity stunt’ – Tom McCarthy & Lauren Gambino
It has become an emblematic image of police militarization: a half-dozen heavily outfitted officers, assault rifles drawn, advancing on an African American man in a T-shirt with his hands way up. The police – photographed in Ferguson, Missouri, last summer – are wearing helmets and goggles and knee pads and gas masks. The man is wearing a cap from Cabela’s, the …
Awe may promote altruistic behavior
Inducing a sense of awe in people can promote altruistic, helpful and positive social behavior according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “Our investigation indicates that awe, although often fleeting and hard to describe, serves a vital social function. By diminishing the emphasis on the individual self, awe may encourage people to forgo strict self-interest to improve the …
The Ethical Demise of the American Psychological Association – GEOFF GRAY
The conscience of the American Psychological Association (APA) is slowly dying as it facilitates torture, cheats its own members, and hussles junk science boondoggles to the defense industry. But the APA wasn’t always this way. Founded in the late 19th century by the intellectual giant William James and others, it had a proud history of advancing the science of psychology, …
Patriotism at a Price: US Military Paid NFL Teams to ‘Honor’ Soldiers at Games – Sarah Lazare
What better way to advertise military culture—and recruit teenagers—than by staging heartfelt salutes to “hometown heroes” at professional football games in front of thousands of fans? That, apparently, is what Department of Defense officials thought when they shelled out at least $5.4 million of U.S. taxpayer’ money to 14 NFL teams between 2011 and 2014—to pay them to promote the …
Pentagon Hiding Data on Military Sexual Assault: Report – Nadia Prupis
Sexual assault in the U.S. military is occurring at a much higher rate than the Defense Department has previously admitted, a new report released Monday revealed. After investigating more than 100 sexual assault cases that took place on four large domestic military bases, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, released a damning critique of …
The new global arms race – Thomas Gaist
Since the 1980s, in an effort to maintain the position of unchallenged global primacy it achieved during and immediately following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the US ruling elite has spearheaded a global arms race and militarization drive that now threatens to produce a third imperialist world war. After a superficial and short-lived drawdown during the “peace dividend” years …
American Psychological Association Bolstered C.I.A. Torture Program, Report Says – JAMES RISEN
The American Psychological Association secretly collaborated with the administration of President George W. Bush to bolster a legal and ethical justification for the torture of prisoners swept up in the post-Sept. 11 war on terror, according to a new report by a group of dissident health professionals and human rights activists. The report is the first to examine the association’s …
Pentagon can’t account for $1 billion in Afghan reconstruction aid – JAMES ROSEN
The Defense Department can’t account for $1.3 billion that was shipped to force commanders in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014 for critical reconstruction projects, 60 percent of all such spending under an emergency program, an internal report released Thursday concludes. The missing money was part of the relatively small amount of Afghanistan spending that was routed directly to military officers …
US plays “Chicken” with Russian Air Force while Nukes are on Hair-Trigger Alert
A Russian Su-27 jet intercepted a U.S. RC-135U reconnaissance plane that was closing in on the territory of the Russian Federation. Unable to identify the radar target, the Russian Air Force deployed the interceptor, forcing the U.S.’ plane to change course. Meanwhile, experts stress that the U.S. is acutely aware of Russia’s disadvantage with regards to defending the country against a possible nuclear …