What Makes People Tick?

If you care about what happens in the world, in the United States, in Israel, in the Middle East, in Europe... If you care about the survival of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of opinion and free press... Watch this video of (former mayor of New York) Rudy Giuliani speaking out about world issues, the danger of power in the wrong hands and how to make the world a better place.  I am - shock horror - quite a fan of (American president) Obama and very much appreciate that he is attempting to bring the entire world together or at least that he's trying to talk to the Arab / Muslim world, not just to white / European / western / Christian countries. What I think is ridiculous is that the American president does not seem to want to link terrorists motivated by (their particular version of) Islam to Islam as a global religion .  I refuse to blame all of Islam (as a religion) or all Muslims for the horrible and despicable acts of a relatively small gro...

"Surveys suggest that as few as    one in 10 cases [of rape] are ever    reported to the police in many countries" Top 5 Countries with the Highest Rates of Rape  The International Business Times (UK), January 2014 The Times of India reports in a July 2014 article that "If one goes by the latest statistics of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), every day 93 women are being raped in the country." The article explains that the total number of reported rape cases in India has gone up. In 2012, a total of 24,923 rapes were reported while in 2013 the total number came to 33,707. This means that more women are coming forward and filing reports; more women are speaking up about what is being done to them. I can only hope the trend continues, and 2014 will see even more reports.  Wikipedia's article Rape in India puts the above numbers into perspective. Looking at the same data, the article explains that "24,923 rape cases were reported a...

World-famous celebrity couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis are the proud new parents of baby girl Wyatt Isabelle Kutcher, as reported by several media outlets. Apart from seeing the parents on television and in movies I don't know much about them, nor do I need to. They're both good at what they do, that's what matters to me. I know I've enjoyed their work on more than one occasion. So, why am I commenting on their happy news? The proud father posted a birth-notice online with eight baby photos, including one of a dog and one of a llama. I thought his words worth repeating: Mila and I would like to welcome Wyatt Isabelle Kutcher to the world.  May your life be filled with wonder, love, laughter, health, happiness, curiosity, and privacy.  Can you guess which one is ours, or does it really matter? All babies are cute.  -Ashton  Source: One of these is Mila and Ashton's baby....and her name is Wyatt , A + What struck me about the first paragraph was the ...

Vox.com presents an interesting article with 40 maps that show the start and spread of the internet. It looks like it all started in America, spreading from there to Europe and beyond. Reading this article made me wonder - didn't Dan Brown once write that the internet started at CERN? (Or some part of the technology that makes the internet possible anyway... Heck, it was a long, long time ago that I read his books...) "The internet increasingly pervades our lives, delivering information to us no matter where we are. It takes a complex system of cables, servers, towers, and other infrastructure, developed over decades, to allow us to stay in touch with our friends and family so effortlessly. Here are 40 maps that will help you better understand the internet — where it came from, how it works, and how it's used by people around the world." Source:  40 maps that explain the internet , Vox.com Maps 14 and 15 shows domain names around the world. The first map shows E...

The always inspirational Hillary Clinton, former First Lady, former Secretary of State and presumed Democratic presidential candidate, appeared on the 15 July 2014 episode of The Daily Show. She gives a candid four-part interview, talking about a very wide range of topics. I highly recommend watching all four parts of the interview -  part one  here and part two  here. Parts three and four deal with the ongoing attacks against Israel and the war in Gaza. The Daily Show The First Video: Part Three The Second Video: Part Four

“Hamas was perfectly well aware what would happen if they started raining rockets on Israel. They fired a thousand of them, and they have a strategy designed to force Israel to kill their own civilians so that the rest of the world will condemn them.” ~ Former US president Bill Clinton Source: Bill Clinton says Netanyahu 'could and should' clinch peace deal , The Jerusalem Post

Today was a day full of interesting developments in Israel / Palestine. The Jewish Press reports: Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas swore in what he called a new PA “unity government” today (Monday) at 1:00 p.m. local time in a televised ceremony in Ramallah.  “Today, after announcing the government of national unity we declare the end of division that caused catastrophic harm to our cause,” Abbas said. “This black page in the history (of the Palestinians) has been turned forever, and we will not allow it to come back.” Source : The Wedding is On – Hamas and Fatah Unite in Palestinian Authority , The Jewish Press Al Jazeera English also reports on the formation of a Palestinian unity government: In a pre-recorded message that aired on Palestine TV, Abbas said the new government was transitional, and that negotiations with Israel would remain in the hands of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. "This government, like its predecessors, will abide by all previou...