Misery...

After months of fighting to encircle its opponents in Aleppo, Syrian authorities backed by Russia  offered safe corridors out for residents and rebels in the northern city's besieged quarters, underlining the government's determination to seal off the metropolis and force an eventual surrender by the opposition.

The encirclement of rebel-held eastern Aleppo sets the stage for a drawn-out siege with potentially huge implications for the future of the armed opposition to President Bashar Assad. The military continued to consolidate its grip, seizing a district on the northern edge of the city.

On the other hand, a representative announce "We declare the complete cancellation of all operations under the name of Jabhat al-Nusra, and the formation of a new organisation with no affiliation to any external entity," .

The supposed breakup comes less than two weeks after Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States and Russia had agreed to cooperate in Syria against al Nusra in an effort to "restore the cessation of hostilities, significantly reduce the violence.

This war went full circle with a terrible outcome and plenty of misery to the Syrian people and the expansion of migrants problems. Let us get out.   Just a thought.

Truth serum

Computer security researchers say it’s difficult to definitively say the cyber theft of files from the Democratic National Committee subsequently was the work of  Russian hackers, as some media outlets have reported.

On Friday, Wikileaks released 19,252 emails and 8,034 attachments from leaders at the D N C.

The documents show antipathy toward Bernie Sanders, who had hoped to win the party's presidential nomination. They infuriated Sanders supporters and led to U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s announcement she would step down.

Hillary Clinton's campaign manager,  said on ABC's that the emails had been extracted by the Russians to help Donald Trump's campaign.....?

 The Russians didn't write the e mails. Safety and Security of the Country, Terrorism, instability of the Middle East, Migrants, Immigration, trust, among others, are all pouring in together. So who do you trust at this time? Things may clear out in the coming three months.

Just a thought.

Investment

Prosecutors say the case began when several people were caught trying to sell 11 pounds of methamphetamine worth $500,000.

Court records show that Ronnie Music of Waycross pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and, being a felon, in possession of firearms. Federal prosecutors said that Music, who won $3 million in the Georgia lottery, used the money to buy methamphetamine to sell.

U.S. Attorney Ed Tarver said in a statement that Music tried to test his luck by using lottery winnings to deal drugs and now faces decades in prison because of his "unsound investment strategy."

Way to go Playa.... Just a thought.

New Problem

 A failed asylum-seeker from Syria blew himself up and wounded 15 people after being turned away from an open-air music festival in southern Germany, authorities said Monday. It was the fourth attack to shake Germany in a week three of them carried out by recent migrants.

The 27-year-old set off a backpack laden with explosives and sharp bits of metal outside a wine bar Sunday night after being refused entry to the nearby festival in the southern town of Ansbach because he didn't have a ticket.

A spokesman for Germany's interior ministry said the man had received two deportation notices.

Two days earlier, a man [German-Iranian] went on a deadly rampage at a Munich mall, killing nine people and leaving dozens wounded. Police said that he had planned the attack for a year.

And an ax attack on a train near Wuerzburg last Monday wounded five. A 17-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker was shot and killed by police as he fled the scene. 

These attacks came shortly after a Tunisian man driving a truck killed 84 people when he plowed through a festive crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, along the famed French Riviera.

The culture, perceived religion, society norm, freedom of women, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, choices, respect for life, can be shocking to so many of the migrants. Just a thought.

Boos...

Ted Cruz defended his decision not to endorse Donald Trump after the real estate mogul’s attacks on his family during the primary. He added, “That pledge [to endorse the Republican Nominee] was not a blanket commitment.

[During the primary campaign, Trump retweeted an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz along with one of his ex-model wife, Melania Trump, writing, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Trump at one point insinuated that Rafael Cruz, Ted Cruz’s father, was a conspirator in President John Kennedy’s assassination.]

The boos began during Cruz’s speech to the RNC after it became clear he would not be endorsing Trump as the party’s nominee. Cruz also received a hostile reception from some Texas delegation. One held a sign that read “Cruz-Clinton,” and others broke into chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!”

Cruz called it “troubling” that he was booed. “What I wanted to do is lay out the principles I believe we stand for as Republicans,” he went on to say.  Cruz vowed that he would not to say anything negative about Trump.

Ted is for Ted .....   He had a choice. He could stay home, attend and not speak, or speak and not waste our time.   Just a thought.

Eat...*!

Sodium plays a key role in balancing the levels of fluid in our bodies by signaling to the kidneys when to retain water and when to get rid of it. A high-sodium diet can interfere with this delicate process and reduce kidney function. Less water removed, may lead to higher blood pressure. Excess strain on the kidneys can lead to kidney disease or exacerbate kidney problems.

This will lead to many serious conditions, such as stroke and heart failure. Although blood pressure increases naturally with age, according to the American Heart Association, reducing your salt intake can help prevent your blood pressure from increasing too much.

About 75 percent of the sodium we consume comes not from the salt shaker, but rather in processed and restaurant food.

A 2011 Australian study found that the brain responds to sodium similar to how it does for substances such as heroin, cocaine, and nicotine.

Canadian study on 1,200 older sedentary adults with normal brain function found that over the course of three years, high-sodium diets were linked to increased risk of cognitive decline. This result was “independent of hypertension and global diet quality” 


Excessive salt in the diet can cause swelling in the hands, arms, ankles, legs, and feet, caused by fluid retention. 

Look for the labels of any product and steer away of the high salt content.   Just a thought.

...and Alcohol

A man and a woman in Massachusetts have been convicted of charges they sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl and recorded the attack using Snapchat.

The victim told the court she remembered waking up nude and confused. "I remember saying, like, 'stop taking pictures of me'....I was naked and I was getting flashes,".

Among those watching the assault on Snapchat was teenager Syndee Enos, who took the witness stand. She said she knew the teens in the video, and that she saw the victim being restrained.  She recognized Kayilyn's blue hair.

"She was holding her down...almost in a headlock," said Enos. "She was kind of wiggling around trying to get out of it."

Screenshots from the Snapchat video were shown to jurors during the trial. The victim recalled drinking vodka with Deihim and Bonia on a couch in the woods near an elementary school in Saugus.

   Just a thought.

Needle....?

Image is not related.

The popular, needle-free FluMist influenza vaccine has not protected kids or adults against flu for years and should not be used this coming flu season, experts said.  FluMist was only 3% effective last flu season, CDC said.

The surprise decision could also leave pediatricians short of vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
                     

"In comparison, inactivated influenza vaccine (flu shots) had a vaccine effectiveness estimate of 63% against any flu virus among children 2 years through 17 years."
AstraZeneca said other research contradicts ACIP's and the CDC's findings.

The CDC recommends that just about everyone should be vaccinated against influenza every year. Even when the vaccines on the market do not work perfectly, vaccinated people are less likely to get severely ill and die from flu.

"How well the flu vaccine works can range widely from season to season and can be affected by a number of factors, including the person being vaccinated, the similarity between vaccine viruses and circulating viruses, and even which vaccine is used," the CDC said.  Just a thought.

Doing his job...

An officer with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department died Tuesday after being shot while investigating a report of gunfire, reports CBS affiliate KCTV.

Police say three or four people were inside a vehicle when police approached the scene where gunfire had been reported, at about 1:33 p.m. An officer took a suspect into custody minutes later, but other suspects fled, according to police.

Capt. Robert Melton, 46, was searching for one of the suspects when he drove up to someone who matched that person's description just before 2 p.m., police spokesman Tom Tomasic said. Before Melton could get out of his vehicle, the suspect opened fire and hit the officer multiple times, Tomasic said. The alleged shooter was caught five minutes later about a block away, he said.
Sad story.

Trouble...

Migrants who landed in Greece.

The coup attempt took Turkey out of Europe and placed it squarely in the Middle East. It tore away the country's stability. This added to ISIS suicide attacks; fighting with the Kurdish  (PKK); wholesale destruction of Kurdish towns by Turkey's security forces [given immunity]; and the ongoing Low-level violence targeting women.

 A government witch hunt for "putschists" and massive violent reprisals means more anger, more polarization and a destabilized population that is more likely to seek protection from outside. Groups like ISIS will likely capitalize on this disenchantment to seek more recruits.

The ruling party has systematically throttled the independence of state institutions, the media, education, civil society, and the highest courts in the land. It has tried to muzzle the army through a series of court cases that jailed hundreds of officers. 

Friday's tragedy is largely self-inflicted by a government who trade in a functioning democracy for dictatorial power. .  More Migrants to Europe ahead. Just a thought.