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Bibi1581 Blog For 05/15/2018: Morning Edition

1…………> Memory Transplant: Marine Mammals

Scientists have successfully transferred a memory from one marine snail to another, a research result that will improve scientists’ understanding of memory’s cellular and molecular processes that are very similar in humans and snails, and may pave the way for better treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer’s disease.

Seven of the snails that received the new RNA then went on to hide in their shells for an average of 40 seconds when the scientists came knocking, according to a paper published today in the journal eNeuro.

“It’s as though we transferred the memory,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. David Glanzman, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Professor Glanzman said in future it might be possible to awaken and restore memories that have gone dormant in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or ameliorate the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

 


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-15/scientists-transplant-memory-from-one-snail-to-another/9761590

 

 

2…………> Let’s Go Sailing: Europa

During NASA’s Galileo spacecraft 1997 flyby Jupiter’s moon Europa, a bend in the celestial body magnetic field appears to have been caused by a geyser gushing through its frozen crust from a subsurface ocean, giving researchers reason to infer that water plumes are shooting into space.


“We know that Europa has a lot of the ingredients necessary for life, certainly for life as we know it. There’s water. There’s energy. There’s some amount of carbon material. But the habitability of Europa is one of the big questions that we want to understand,” said planetary scientist Elizabeth Turtle of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

“And one of the really exciting things about detection of a plume is that that means there may be ways that the material from the ocean — which is likely the most habitable part of Europa because it’s warmer and it’s protected from the radiation environment by the ice shell — to come out above the ice shell.

“And that means we’d be able to sample it.”

 

 

 

3…………> Worksite Enforcement: ICE

Following a directive by Deputy Director Thomas Homan calling for increased worksite enforcement investigations to ensure U.S. businesses maintain a culture of compliance, HSI opened 3,510 worksite investigations; initiated 2,282 I-9 audits; and made 594 criminal and 610 administrative worksite-related arrests, respectively. In comparison, for the fiscal year 2017 – running October 2016 to September 2017 – HSI opened 1,716 worksite investigations; initiated 1,360 I-9 audits; and made 139 criminal arrests and 172 administrative arrests related to worksite enforcement.

“Our worksite enforcement strategy continues to focus on the criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly break the law, and the use of I-9 audits and civil fines to encourage compliance with the law,” said Acting Executive Associate Director for HSI, Derek N. Benner. “HSI’s worksite enforcement investigators help combat worker exploitation, illegal wages, child labor and other illegal practices.”

ICE is the federal agency responsible for upholding the laws established by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, which requires employers to verify the identity and work eligibility of all individuals they hire. These laws help protect jobs for U.S. citizens and others who are lawfully employed, eliminate unfair competitive advantages for companies that hire an illegal workforce, and strengthen public safety and national security.

 

 

 

 

4…………> Let’s Go Homeless: Seattle

What are the advantages of being homeless? Below are some scattered thoughts:

1. You don’t have to watch “Fake News”, or any news at all, but could in the news yourself.

2. You ain’t got no money, pay no taxes, own nothing except your blanket and possibly a pillow.

3. You can sleep as long as you can until unwelcome hunger wakes you up.

4. No social fly considerations, fashion, daily washing and grooming and other annoying waste of time.

5. You can shout at anybody smaller than you, and show a finger to someone bigger than you, provided he is across a tall fence.

6. All the money you collect are absolutely tax-free, and the extra quarters earned by selling your empty cans and bottles do not need to be reported to IRS.

 

Apparently, the Seattle City Council is trying to violate your Constitutional rights to sleep under that cozy and safe underpass by voting unanimously for a passage of “housing affordability” tax, a “fat-cat” tax that will raise $47million from those poor guys at Amazon and Starbucks who have piled up so much money that a cash purchase of the US government is not out of the question. 


“We remain very apprehensive about the future created by the council’s hostile approach and rhetoric toward larger businesses,” said Amazon’s vice president Drew Herdener disagreed following the vote.

“[It] forces us to question our growth here.”

And Starbucks said: “This City continues to spend without reforming and fail without accountability.”

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-44124326

 

 

 

5…………> Yogurt Diet: A Delicious Miracle?

Results from a new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison supports the hypothesis that yogurt can reduce inflammation by improving the integrity of the intestinal lining, thus preventing endotoxins, the pro-inflammatory molecules produced by gut microbes, from crossing into the bloodstream.

In a sample of 120 premenopausal women, half obese and half non-obese, half of the participants were assigned to eat 12 ounces of low-fat yogurt every day for nine weeks while a control group ate non-dairy pudding for nine weeks.

Team leader Dr.Brad Bolling, assistant professor of food science at Wisconsin-Madison, and his associates took fasting blood samples from participants at various points during the study and evaluated an assortment of biomarkers that scientists have used to measure endotoxin exposure and inflammation.

The results showed that while some of the biomarkers remained steady over time, the yogurt-eaters experienced statistically significant improvements in certain key markers, such as tumor necrosis factor or TNF, an important inflammation-activating protein.

“The results indicate that ongoing consumption of yogurt may be having a general anti-inflammatory effect,” said Dr.Bolling.

A study published on Monday in the Journal of Nutrition provided new evidence that yogurt might help dampen chronic inflammation, a factor in inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, and asthma.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-05/15/c_137178870.htm

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Bibi1581 Blog For 05/14/2018: Evening Edition

1…………> Get Well: Melania

 

“The procedure was successful and there were no complications,” Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre spokeswoman Ms. Stephanie Grisham said.

“The First Lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere,” as Ms. Trump, 48, underwent an embolization procedure to treat the kidney condition. 

 

Mr. Trump tweeted he was on his way to visit his wife, who he said was in “good spirits”.

Donald J. Trump

✔

@realDonaldTrump

Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania. The successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!

2:09 PM – May 14, 2018

14.5K people are talking about this

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-15/melania-trump-hospitalised-for-kidney-surgery-white-house-says/9761388

 

 

 

 

2…………> Netanyahu Defends Shootings: Gaza

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said his military was acting in self-defense against Gaza’s Islamist rulers, Hamas, who he said wanted to destroy Israel in the deadliest day of violence in Gaza since the 2014 war, with Palestinian officials saying that troops have killed 55 people and wounded 2,700.


The Palestinian Authority’s leader condemned a “massacre”, and the UN spoke of “outrageous human rights violations”, following the opening of the US  controversial embassy in Jerusalem.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44116340

 

 

3…………> Hidden Budapest: Unknown World

The limestone mined from the Kőbánya district, meaning the ‘stone mine district’, on the Pest side of the city, has led to the carving of an underground cellar system of more than 20 miles, and 90 feet below street level.

 

Countless buildings in Budapest, including the 1902 neo-Gothic Parliament building (pictured), were built with the stone mined below the city.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20180514-a-hidden-world-30m-below-budapest

 

 

4…………> “Cyber” Islamic State: A Warning

 

The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Hans-Georg Maaßen said the Islamic Merkeldom of Germany should be ready with its own malware to counter hackers, aa a sister service over the channel, the British MI5 warned that IS still posed a threat to Europe despite losses in the Middle East.

The spymaster told German media that the country should be ready with “anti-sabotage” measures to deal with any future attacks.

“This means that we should implement malware in all our critical infrastructures that we could then perhaps activate at a point in time X, when a political dispute arises,” Maaßen said in the interview, held ahead of a meeting of European security chiefs in Berlin.

http://www.dw.com/en/german-intelligence-head-warns-of-cyber-attacks-on-critical-infrastructure/a-43774802

 

 

 

5…………> Another Broken Window: Sichuan Airlines

 

It has been a long, deadly, and horrifying cluster of broken airplane windows, now joined by Chinese Sichuan Airlines Flight 3U8633 that was forced to make an emergency landing at China’s Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport on Monday after one of the airplane’s cockpit windows fell off mid-flight.


The Civil Aviation Administration of China’s Southwest Regional Administration (CAAC) reported that one of the pilots suffered scratches and waist pains, and a flight attendant also received a minor injury during the accident when the domestic flight, which was traveling from Chongqing to Lhasa, landed at the Chengdu Shuangliu airport roughly 20 minutes after the window broke.

Chief pilot Liu Chuanjian revealed that seconds after the malfunction, his fellow pilot started to get sucked out of the window, along with parts of the plane’s control unit.

“The windshield cracked suddenly and gave a huge bang. I looked aside and found half of the co-pilot’s body was already outside the window. Fortunately, his seat belt was fastened,” the South China Morning Post reported Liu saying. “The sudden loss of pressure and low temperature made me very uncomfortable and it was very difficult to make a single move when the aircraft was flying at 600 miles an hour and at such a high altitude.”

This incident comes weeks after a Southwest Airlines plane made an emergency landing in Cleveland, Ohio after a passenger alerted flight staff of a cracked window.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/201805141064452707-sichuan-airlines-window-emergency-landing/

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Bibi1581 Blog For 05/14/2018: Morning Edition

1…………> The “Days Of Wine & Roses: Ivanka In Jerusalem

 

“Remember this moment. This is history. President Trump, by recognizing history, you have made history,” Israel PM Netanyahu said. “The embassy of the most powerful nation on earth, the United States of America, our greatest ally, today its embassy opened here.”


“We are in Jerusalem, and we are here to stay,” Netanyahu added, to loud applause. “Thank you, president Trump, for having the courage to keep your promises.”

A visibly jubilant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat next to Ivanka Trump and presidential adviser Jared Kushner during the ceremony, said that today was a “glorious day.”

 The festive ceremony held despite violent protests by Palestinians which have already claimed nearly 40 lives, including a 14-year-old boy, and wounded hundreds more, 27 critically, included a congratulatory video message from President Trump, who didn’t attend the ceremony.


2…………> Shia Super-Power: Iran

Iran, a major military power in the Middle East with an estimated 534,000 active personnel in the army, navy, air force and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), ranked No. 13 in the world out of 136 countries. 

Iran’s population of 82 million offers a deep reservoir of manpower, a key factor in sustaining long wars of attrition such as the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War.

Iran’s asymmetric strategy uses regional allies and proxies, known as the “axis of resistance,” as leverage to weaken, bog down, deter or fight Iran’s enemies away from its soil.

Will Quds Force and its Hezbollah allies start a new war against Israel following the Jerusalem embassy initiation? Don’t bet against it.

http://p.dw.com/p/2xb9X

 

 

 

 

3…………> Gun Runner: Italy

An Italian national named Giovanni Zannoni, 35, a former member of the Italian military was convicted of weapons trafficking and was returned to his home country ICE officers.

In May 2017, Zannoni entered the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) with authorization to remain in the United States until August 2017. One day after his entry, Zannoni was arrested by HSI and charged in U.S. District Court-Eastern District of New York (EDNY) with weapons trafficking. On Sept. 22, 2017, Zannoni was convicted in EDNY of a violation of the Arms Export Control Act and sentenced to 11 months imprisonment. Additionally, he agreed to forfeit $436,673, gun parts, and night vision and thermal imaging devices. Zannoni was transferred to ICE custody in April 2018, while the agency finalized his return.


https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-removes-italian-national-convicted-weapons-trafficking

 

4…………> US Jerusalem Embassy: War Drums? 

At least 41 people had died, and more than 1000 people had been injured in the fighting, about 450 of them by live bullets in the highest Palestinian death toll in a single day since a series of protests dubbed the Great March of Return began at the border with Israel on March 30 and since the 2014 Gaza war. 


Senior White House adviser, and the US President’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, officially opened the relocated embassy.
“On behalf of the 45th President of the United States of America, we welcome you officially, and for the first time, to the embassy of the United States here in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel,” she said. 
 
 

The protests intensified on the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding, with loudspeakers on Gaza mosques urging Palestinians to join a “great march of return”, and black smoke from tires burned by demonstrators rose into the air at the border. 

“Today is the big day when we will cross the fence and tell Israel and the world we will not accept being occupied forever,” said Gaza science teacher Ali, who declined to give his last name. 
“Many may get martyred today, so many, but the world will hear our message. Occupation must end.” 
Among the Palestinians killed on Monday were a 14-year-old boy and a man in a wheelchair. 
The man in the wheelchair had been pictured on social media using a slingshot. 
The latest casualties raised the Palestinian death toll to 84 since the protests began on March 30. No Israeli casualties have been reported. 

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem — a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians — should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal. 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-14/israeli-forces-kill-protesters-in-gaza-as-anger-mounts/9760132

 

 

 

 

5…………> AG Sessions Precedent: Immigration Ax

The fate of tens of thousands of illegal border crossers and immigration law violators court cases could be soon in the hands of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has intervened into the immigration system by reviewing, and rewriting, precedent-setting decisions affecting hundreds of thousands of pending immigration court backlog rulings, including all those who are arrested and put into the deportation process in future.

By taking cases from the Board of Immigration Appeals — the Department of Justice agency that serves as a quasi-appellate body for immigration court cases — and referring them to himself to issue a decision instead, he could make it impossible for cases to be resolved or paused by using attorney general power to set immigration precedents.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/14/17311314/immigration-jeff-sessions-court-judge-ruling

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