Month: March 2017

Curiositys, Globalization, Living, Manipulation, Media&Culture, Psychology, TechnologyLeave a comment

The Secret Playbook of Internet Trolls. “Disrupt, Misdirect and Control Internet Discussions”

Fernando Kaskais

By Washington’s Blog Relevant to the evolving Fake News saga, this incisive article was first published in 2014. The objective is to smear Truth in Media Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name What’s confusing you Is the nature of my game – The Rolling Stones The reason that Internet trolls are effective is that people still don’t understand their game. There are 15 commonly-used trolling tactics to disrupt, misdirect and control internet discussions. As one interesting example, trolls start flame wars because – according to two professors – swearing and name-calling shut down our ability to think and focus. And trolls will … Continue reading The Secret Playbook of Internet Trolls. “Disrupt, Misdirect and Control Internet Discussions”

Africa, Bizarre, Freak Religion, Islam, Media&Culture, Rights, Unbelievable1 Comment

Muslims Confiscate Wives Salaries – Where Are Feminists?

Fernando Kaskais

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > WORLD More Algerian women work, but husbands control wages By AFP Female police cadets perform during their graduation ceremony at the police academy in Ain Benian August 6, 2009. PHOTO: REUTERS ALGIERS:  More and more Algerian women are challenging traditional norms by getting jobs, but many see their salaries confiscated by their husbands despite a law against the practice. “It’s financial harassment,” lawyer Fatma-Zohra Benbraham said. “It’s a dangerous phenomenon that has been kept silent for a long time.” Lawyers say that as more women go into the workplace, tensions over money are causing a surge … Continue reading Muslims Confiscate Wives Salaries – Where Are Feminists?

Bizarre, Conspiracy, Curiositys, Freak U.S.A, Hypocrisy, Living, Manipulation, Matrix, Media&Culture, Politics, RightsLeave a comment

The Illusion of America: Has it Ever Really Existed?

Fernando Kaskais

by Ryan Cristian, Guest Waking Times In the past, this country has always prided itself on the personal freedom and Constitutional rights of the individual, and oddly enough, it still does today despite the fact that the US currently ranks 41st according to the 2016 world press freedom index, and 11th on the Heritage Institute’s 2016 index of economic freedom, behind countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Chile. However, the facts have yet to stop the government, or rather the faction that co-opted the government, from carrying out its will and broadcasting whichever story reinforces that will. From lying about attacks … Continue reading The Illusion of America: Has it Ever Really Existed?

Art, Brain, Curiositys, History, Literature, Living, Media&Culture, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

Polish Poet and Nobel Laureate Wisława Szymborska on How Our Certitudes Keep Us Small and the Generative Power of Not-Knowing

Fernando Kaskais

Art by Salvador Dalí from a rare edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland BY MARIA POPOVA “Attempt what is not certain. Certainty may or may not come later. It may then be a valuable delusion,” the great painter Richard Diebenkorn counseled in his ten rules for beginning creative projects. “One doesn’t arrive — in words or in art — by necessarily knowing where one is going,” the artist Ann Hamilton wrote a generation later in her magnificent meditation on the generative power of not-knowing. “In every work of art something appears that does not previously exist, and so, by default, … Continue reading Polish Poet and Nobel Laureate Wisława Szymborska on How Our Certitudes Keep Us Small and the Generative Power of Not-Knowing

Curiositys, Health, Living, Media&Culture, Psychology, Science, Sex, SportsLeave a comment

Everything That’s Ever Been Said About Boning Before Sporting Events

Fernando Kaskais

by Andrew Fiouzi 1. The idea that celibacy breeds maximum athletic performance dates back to 444 B.C., when Plato, of all people, opined, “Olympic competitors before races should avoid sexual intimacy.” A few centuries later, Aretaeus of Cappadocia, a celebrated Greek physician, gave Plato’s thinking a little more color: “If any man is in possession of semen, he is fierce, courageous and physically mighty, like beasts.” 2. The most detailed explanation, though, can be found in Philostratus’ Gymnasticus, the oldest text on sports known to man: “Those who come to the gymnasium straight after sex are exposed by a greater number … Continue reading Everything That’s Ever Been Said About Boning Before Sporting Events

Curiositys, History, Politics, Psychology, WarLeave a comment

When nations apologise

Fernando Kaskais

‘What people do when words fail them’: German Chancellor Willy Brandt kneels before the memorial to the dead of the Warsaw Uprising, 7 December 1970. Photo by Ullstein Bild/Sven Simon (image edited by Web Investigator) National apologies are a big deal: they acknowledge the past to help move everyone forward. No wonder they’re so hard by Edwin Battistella teaches linguistics and writing at Southern Oregon University.  He has a PhD in linguistics from the City University of New York. His most recent book is Sorry About That: The Language of Public Apology (2014). In May 2016, when Barack Obama visited Hiroshima, some speculated that … Continue reading When nations apologise

Africa, Curiositys, Eco, History, Media&Culture, Planet, ScienceLeave a comment

What Really Turned the Sahara Desert From a Green Oasis Into a Wasteland?

Fernando Kaskais

One of the world’s most iconic deserts was once lush and green. What happened? (Alamy ) 10,000 years ago, this iconic desert was unrecognizable. A new hypothesis suggests that humans may have tipped the balance By Lorraine Boissoneault SMITHSONIAN.COM When most people imagine an archetypal desert landscape—with its relentless sun, rippling sand and hidden oases—they often picture the Sahara. But 11,000 years ago, what we know today as the world’s largest hot desert would’ve been unrecognizable. The now-dessicated northern strip of Africa was once green and alive, pocked with lakes, rivers, grasslands and even forests. So where did all that water … Continue reading What Really Turned the Sahara Desert From a Green Oasis Into a Wasteland?

Bizarre, Curiositys, Humor, Living, Media&Culture, Psychology, Sex, UnbelievableLeave a comment

Don’t Be That Guy… to the Women You’re Trying to Sleep With

Fernando Kaskais

Illustration by Dave van Patten Tracy Moore Dudes gotta dude, but must you dude like this… to the other half of the population? Men who date, marry and love women sometimes have a funny way of showing it. This week gave evidence to some strangely misguided approaches for how men coexist with the other half the population, even when they ostensibly love and care about them. Your Stalker Is Calling Men in India, Morocco and other places where gender segregation still reigns supreme have found an ingenious yet deeply alarming way to try to meet women: Calling random numbers until someone answers, … Continue reading Don’t Be That Guy… to the Women You’re Trying to Sleep With