Leagăne

When Nicolae Ceaușescu came to power, in the mid-nineteen-sixties, Romania saw the proliferation of leagăne—literally, “cradles,” otherwise known as institutional homes for the very young. 

Ceaușescu wanted to increase Romania’s industrial output, and he thought that that required a larger population. In 1966, he enacted Decree 770, which restricted contraceptives, banned almost all abortions for women who hadn’t had at least four children, and instituted a thirty-per-cent income tax on childless men and women who were over the age of twenty-five. 

The result was one of the saddest natural experiments in modern psychology. Thousands of children, from birth to the age of three, grew up neglected in understaffed institutions, often experiencing severe sensory deprivation in their formative months.

Optimisim...

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

• Increased life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Lower levels of distress
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Better psychological and physical well-being
• Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body.

It's also thought that positive and optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and don't smoke or drink alcohol in excess

Arson...

Protesters lit fires, threw petrol bombs and attacked the parliament building.

In response, police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse crowds, and fired live warning shots as they tried to clear the streets.

The latest protests came just a day after the arrest of several key pro-democracy activists and lawmakers in China's special administrative region.

Hong Kong has now seen 13 successive weeks of demonstrations.

The movement grew out of rallies against a controversial extradition bill - now suspended - which would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.

Police said in a tweet they had responded at both sites after reports of "radical protesters" assaulting citizens and damaging property.

In a statement, Hong Kong's government also said some protesters had "committed arson and "hurled miscellaneous objects and iron railings" on to railway tracks, "completely disregarding the safety of other passengers.
Criminals undermine life and can't be considered Democracy seeker.  Just a thought.

Menassing...

Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's former president, has told a court that he received $25m from Saudi Arabia.

"We were told that the crown prince did not want his name to appear [linked to the transaction] ... and if the funds were deposited with Sudan's bank or the finance ministry, the source would have to be identified," he said.

Al-Bashir told the court he gave five million dollars to the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group that helped remove him from power, four million dollars to a university in Sudan and two million dollars to a military hospital.

An investigator had previously told the court that al-Bashir received $90m in cash from Saudi royals.

All the troubles of the Middle East may have a source.  Just a thought.

Youth...

“Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on the young.”

As young people we have some of the best opportunities, an abundance of energy, and probably the greatest amount of free time that we will have. It isn’t until we are older that we realize we should have taken advantage of the time, energy, and opportunities we were given when we were younger.

We often don’t realize how great childhood and youth are until we experience adulthood, but at that point we can’t get back the time or opportunities that we lost along the way.

Now that sounds depressing, and there’s nothing we can do about growing older. 

But we can all make some changes to how things are from now on. With that being said: Live your life. TRULY live your life. Get off your cell phone. Log off Facebook. Quit snapchatting your life instead of actually experiencing it. Actually BE with the people you’re with. Talk to people and get to know them on a level that is deeper than what their Twitter profile portrays or what your Facebook stalking skills can help you figure out.

Moments...

Happiness is a state of mind, an emotional state and a mental state. But how can we define a happy person? We can look at their emotions and the degree of pleasure or displeasure that they cause.

The happiest people are not those who experience pleasurable emotions more intensely. Instead, they are those who have positive emotions with moderate intensity on a frequent basis. High-intensity gratifying moments are unusual, even for the happiest people. So, happiness is linked to a feeling of inner fulfillment and psychological well-being.

Asking the people around us if they are really happy, they will mention specific events that have made them feel momentary ecstasy. For example, the birth of a child or a grandchild, the purchase of a new home or winning the lottery are events that are usually associated with moments of joy.

But these types of events do not happen often. Therefore, basing happiness on a hope for extraordinary events can end in unhappiness.

Looking for the sublime or the pleasant constantly leads us to error, even when we achieve desired results. People who seek  “maximum happiness or maximum pleasure” at all times tend to change partners or jobs repeatedly and compulsively. They do not engage in long-lasting friendship relationships.

There will always be something better. It is exactly this incessant search for excellence and that addiction to change that makes them desperate and bored.

List...

Cheering ...

The statement came hours after Emirati-backed separatists regained control of Aden - the Yemeni government's de facto capital - forcing government troops who entered the city a day early to withdraw.

In further violence in the port city, ISIS group claimed a suicide bombing.

Yemen's Ministry of Defence said more than 300 people were killed and wounded in the UAE's air raids.

Yemen's government urged Saudi Arabia to intervene and halt the UAE's air raids on its forces.

"The Saudis wants to ensure the Houthis are not a threat across the south.

The United Arab Emirates wants to  establish an independent southern state. 

And the United States of America is helping.

Baseless...

A new channel called the War Room, the name of Infowars’ afternoon program, surfaced for a few hours and started posting videos. Alex Jones, the founder of the outlet known for spreading conspiracy theories and baseless information, was banned from YouTube and numerous other sites in 2018 after policy violations including posting hate speech and violent content. He had multiple channels on the site.

“It sometimes means leaving up content that is outside the mainstream, controversial or even offensive,” wrote Wojcicki. “But I believe that hearing a broad range of perspectives ultimately makes us a stronger and more informed society, even if we disagree with some of those views.”

The relaunch of the channel coincided with a blog post earlier this week by YouTube’s chief executive, Susan Wojcicki. In the blog post, Wojcicki called for allowing some controversial content to remain on YouTube in the interest of fostering a more informed society.

“It sometimes means leaving up content that is outside the mainstream, controversial or even offensive,” wrote Wojcicki. “But I believe that hearing a broad range of perspectives ultimately makes us a stronger and more informed society, even if we disagree with some of those views.”

Lidar...

A former Google engineer spent months downloading Google’s secret files on self-driving cars before he abruptly quit the company in 2016 to run Uber's autonomous vehicle program, federal prosecutors alleged.  The engineer, Anthony Levandowski, has been charged with 33 counts of stealing trade secrets.

The files included critical engineering information, schematics and engineering drawings related to Google’s self-driving vehicle program, as well as documents revealing how Google developed lidar, the company's groundbreaking technology that allows self-driving cars to detect other vehicles in the vicinity using laser light.

The FBI will not tolerate the theft of trade secrets,” said FBI Special Agent. “These are the crown jewels of companies.