Rather than welcoming refugees for re-settlement in Europe, governments should be investing in the long-term future of countries like Syria and Iraq

The more refugees become settled down far from their homelands, the less likely they will go back to join that vital reconstruction effort. Before the war, Syria had 31,000 doctors. Now more than half are believed to have fled, many treating patients in Europe. Iraq complains of a serious brain drain as its skilled young professionals form the vanguard of those seeking a new life in the West. Rather than welcoming refugees for re-settlement in Europe, governments should be investing in the long-term future of countries like Syria and Iraq by working for peace and security there, and increasing support for refugees camped in neighbouring countries. 

The Autocracy App

What would the world look like if Facebook succeeded in becoming the Operating System of Our Lives? That status has arguably been achieved only by Tencent in China. Tencent runs WeChat, which combines aspects of Facebook, Messenger, Google, Twitter, and Instagram. People use its payment system to make purchases from vending machines, shop online, bank, and schedule appointments. Tencent also connects to the Chinese government’s Social Credit System, which gives users a score, based on data mining and surveillance of their online and offline activity. You gain points for obeying the law and lose them for such behavior as traffic violations or “spreading rumors online.”

Five Eyes intelligence alliance builds coalition to counter China

The five nations in the world’s leading intelligence-sharing network have been exchanging classified information on China’s foreign activities with other like-minded countries since the start of the year, 

How Ronaldo's Legal Team Dealt with Disaster

While Mayorga hired a lawyer in July 2009 who specialized in securing damages after auto accidents, Ronaldo's people operated like an international crisis management team.

This most recent story is actually the second time that Ronaldo has been accused of assaulting a woman in a hotel room. The first time was in London in 2005. He was arrested and questioned but there were no criminal charges.

Viktoria Marinova: Bulgarian TV journalist raped and murdered

Marinova launched a TV show called “Detektor” in September and in the first and only aired episode she interviewed Attila Biro and Dimitar Stoyanov—two journalists of OCCRP partners and investigative outlets Rise Project and Bivol—who were detained in September while probing alleged fraud involving EU funds linked to Bulgarian businessmen and politicians.

Vietnam's children and the fear of climate change

One little girl draws a nightmarish picture of people calling for rescue as they drown in rising water.

The IPCC says that even the most optimistic scenario for climate change is dire.

Nadia Murad has been jointly awarded the 2018 Nobel peace prize for her efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war

she recounts the harrowing experience of being abducted with other Yazidi women by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq in August 2014. The gynaecologist Denis Mukwege is the other winner of the prize, for his work helping the victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Environmental Crime is Largest Source of Income for Militias

Environmental crimes are now the biggest source of funding for non-state militias and terrorist organizations, bringing in 38 percent of their revenue, according to a new study released by Interpol and researchers on global organized crime.

Vivaldi - C minor recorder concerto (RV441) - Bolette Roed & Arte dei Suonatori

Canada’s Donna Strickland, of the University of Waterloo, becomes the third woman to win a Nobel for physics

Arthur Ashkin of Bell Laboratories in the United States won half of the 2018 prize for inventing “optical tweezers” while Strickland shares the remainder with Frenchman Gerard Mourou, who also has U.S. citizenship, for work on high-intensity lasers.

Das Bad, Häutung Bellevue (1988) - Heidi Bucher (Adelheid Hildegard Müller)

Heidi Bucher’s artistic legacy, is concurrently a visionary and aesthetic testimonial, as well as a conceptional liberation from an old, patriarchal affected world.

The FCC in December handed ISPs sweeping new powers to recast how Americans use the internet

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said on Sunday the Trump Administration was ignoring “millions of Americans who voiced strong support for net neutrality rules” while California, which is “home to countless start-ups, tech giants and nearly 40 million consumers - will not allow a handful of power brokers to dictate sources for information or the speed at which websites load.”

China’s provinces are secretly building coal plants in defiance of the national government

In 2017, plans to cancel or slow construction on 151 planned or underway coal projects were announced. But in many cases, the rules were ignored entirely, and in others, construction plans were simply “delayed” until after 2017. 

Cool polymer paint saves on air conditioning

Air conditioning accounts for 10% of global energy consumption. Now researchers at Columbia University and Argonne National Laboratory in the US have produced a polymer “paint” capable of cooling surfaces to around 6 °C below ambient temperatures without using any energy at all. 

#DearCatalonia

Write letters to the Catalan politicians and civic movement activists who have been imprisoned for their political beliefs or actions.

The possibility of faster than light travel

We see them all the time in the best science fiction stories — ships with warp drives that make it possible for the characters to explore new planets and new galaxies. These crafts would go even faster than the speed of light except, if general relativity taught us anything, it’s that nothing can exceed the speed of light. Right? After all, light has no mass and thus it can move at 299,792,458 meters per second.

Christine Blasey Ford’s use of the word “sequela” wasn’t accidental

In Blasey Ford’s case, the originating trauma she’s referring to is what she saw as Kavanaugh’s attempt to rape her, while drunk, with his friend Mark Judge watching and jumping in to participate. She describes making eye contact with Judge in the hopes he’d help her while, she said, Kavanaugh groped at her clothes and was deterred only by her one-piece bathing suit and his inebriation.

Artist Candice Breitz Called Out a Düsseldorf Museum for Its Male-Dominated Show. More Than 1,000 People Agreed With Her *

The letter sharply criticizes the exhibition, organized by curators Florian Waldvogel and Alain Bieber, for including work by 12 male artists, three collectives (one of which is all male), and two women. Originally, there was only one female artist on the list, but British artist Suzanne Treister was added after an initial outcry on social media about the gender disparity. 

* Surely much more dozens of thousands will agree with her.

The decline in Facebook usage is a symbol of a corrupt internet

Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon now have employee camps and internal discontent to worry about. We went from over-sharing to over-consuming to not caring at all. 

Helena Almeida (1934 – 25 September 2018)

Almeida used shutters or blinds which transformed into paintings. Her goal is to break down the ideas of a painting. 

Geta Brătescu, Romanian multidisciplinary artist, has died, aged 92

Brătescu’s artistic practice included performances, drawings, textiles, films, installations, photography and printmaking. 

Is contemporary art the kale of the art world?

In fact, if one truly wishes to understand many diverse cultures, the place to start is with their respective histories, not the contemporary art of an ever more homogenous world. 

European Court: Parliamentarian Allowances Are ‘Personal’

The European Parliament has no obligation to tell the public what its 751 members do with their tens of millions of Euros annually in tax-free allowances, according to a verdict released Tuesday by the European Court of Justice (EC).

Japan developing supersonic glide bombs to defend Senkaku Islands

The ministry is promoting the deployment of surface-to-ship guided missile units on Okinawa’s Miyako and Ishigaki islands in response to the Chinese military, which has stepped up its activities in the East China Sea, including waters around the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands.

China unilaterally declared the ADIZ over the waters in 2013, a declaration that stoked concern at the time but which has largely been ignored by Japan and the United States.

“GAN-ism”

“Because they create instant gratification even if you have no deeper knowledge of how they work and how to control them, they currently attract charlatans and attention seekers who ride on that novelty wave,” 

Planet Earth Wobbles As It Spins, and Now Scientists Know Why

The melting of the Greenland ice sheet was a particularly important contributor, the researchers found. That's because Greenland has released a large amount of water that was once locked up on land into the oceans, where its mass has been redistributed, 

Jorge Peixinho - "Deux Pièces Meublées"

Over half of Dutch bishops shielded priest-abusers

A sensational new report on sexual abuse in the Netherlands claims over half of the bishops in the country from 1945-2010 were involved in either covering up abuse or abusing children themselves.

Pussy Riot activist in hospital after being poisoned

Over a period of two hours “he got worse exponentially”, Veronika Nikulshina, a member of Pussy Riot who is in a relationship with Verzilov, told Meduza. “First his sight, then his ability to speak, then even his ability to walk.”

"Lama" Ogyen Kunzang Dorje/Ogyen Kunzang Choling Community: kidnapping of children, torture, sexual abuse, fraud, falsification of documents, money laundering, and tax evasion

Litigation has been pending against Robert S. in Belgium since Livia and others filed suit in 1997. However, the wheels of the Belgian court system grind slowly, and the group of accusers have been almost helpless against Robert S.’s team of lawyers. Though new accusations have been added to the file over the years, the proceedings only began to really move again in 2015, when Ben took over the reins and began mobilising the various participants. The file contains accusations of over 170 crimes, including kidnapping of children, torture, sexual abuse, fraud, falsification of documents, money laundering, and tax evasion.

In September 2016, Robert S. was convicted in abstentia by a Brussels court in the first instance, and given a four-year suspended sentence. Now 76 years old, he did not appear in court, citing health reasons. He stayed in his villa in Spain and sent eight lawyers in his place, recalls Ben. The accusers were able to pay their lawyer twelve thousand euros thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. Despite the meagre sentence, Robert S. appealed. Almost twenty years have passed since the first claims were filed, and no end is in sight. There is still no news as to when the appeal will be heard.

Ben has had to undergo a long and painful process. He had to break out of the mental prison that he grew up in, and had no opportunities, no money, no social insurance and no basic education. Many former members are in the same position. Any money that they had was donated to the OKC, leaving them with no savings

The collapse of the European Union

The European Parliament just endorsed the article 11 (or the "Link Tax"). "Union" is just a word that, in the present situation, is no more than a joke: UE is divised as it was never before. As the US is no longer the "security umbrella" of Europe, we start to realise the the enemy is now inside doors. Never mind whats the "eurocrates" do vote - even if they may be  sometimes allright: the European Union is fatted to collapse and the European Parliament to disappear. We saw the powerful lobbies pushing many european regulations; we saw huge fines for ones (Google) and blind eyes for others (Facebook's unremovable "apps" inside the system of the devices); we realised that, even with the elected European Parliament and despite all the rhetorics,  the "real" citizens were the very last concern for the "eurocrates". "Eurocrates" that still bullying the british, because they voted to abandon the wreck called European Union (where the real "union" literally lacks). Today you voted against the link. Even if there are three links (*) in this article, it is my own writing, basically to tell you that your vote was completely wrong and may prevert the internet, and, if it happens, perhaps the European Union  will disappear for good of our internet. (anyway, some day it will collapse for any or many different reasons, not least because European Union is allowing Spain to continue holding Catalonia's political prisoners. In the other side, UK, that is now leaving this "club" of totalitarians and corrupts, did allow Scotland's referendum - what a difference of civilizations!)

(* actually four more one)

How Russia is Tormenting Political Prisoners Sentsov and Kolchenko

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg  Sentsov and activist Sasha Kolchenko were both detained in occupied Crimea on May 10, 2014. They were accused of plotting terrorist acts, taken to Russia and convicted. Kolchenko was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Sentsov – 20 on fabricated charges and based on testimonies given under tortures.

Two other Ukrainians – Gennadiy Afanasiev and Oleksiy Chirniy – were arrested with Sentsov and Kolchenko. Afanasiev was released in a 2016 prisoner exchange, and Chirniy is still in a penal colony in Magadan.

"I no longer believe that I will soon walk free and that we will all live happily in Kyiv,” Kaplan quoted Sentsov as writing in a letter he sent her from prison.

Trump Administration Wants to Make It Easier to Release Methane Into Air

The Trump administration, taking its third major step this year to roll back federal efforts to fight climate change, is preparing to make it significantly easier for energy companies to release methane into the atmosphere.

Constança Capdeville - Momento I

Air pollution causes ‘huge’ reduction in intelligence

It found that high pollution levels led to significant drops in test scores in language and arithmetic, with the average impact equivalent to having lost a year of the person’s education.

“Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show” - Yayoi Kusama

At Kusama’s 1963 “Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show” at New York’s Gertrude Stein Gallery, Warhol allegedly told her how impressed he was with the work, which covered the floor, walls, and ceiling with a repeated photograph of the exhibition’s only sculpture. Fast-forward three years later, and the Pop art legend installed Cow wallpaper at Leo Castelli. “Andy picked up what I did and copied it for a show!” Kusama said.

Russia joins forces with China in largest war games since Soviet era

With 300,000 soldiers, 36,000 vehicles, 1,000 aircraft and 80 ships, the Vostok exercises in eastern Russia will be even bigger than the USSR's 1981 Zapad training, according to defence ministry claims. They will last a week and take place across nine training grounds as well as in the Sea of Japan and near the Bering Strait.

New study raises red flags on tax haven role in environmental destruction

Tax havens – and the financial secrecy they provide – may bolster industries tied to Amazon deforestation and the unsustainable management of natural resources, a new study has found.

Ocean Cleanup project sails out to sweep Pacific plastic

A supply ship towing a long floating boom designed to corral ocean plastic has set sail from San Francisco for a test run ahead of a trip to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Alien Life Could Exist on Worlds Overflowing with Water

Red dwarfs are dimmer than our own sun, but if planets are close enough to the star, they could, theoretically, have water on their surfaces and meet the conditions for habitability. 

The dark side of creativity: Depression + anxiety x madness = genius?

"The sun began to set - suddenly the sky turned blood red," he wrote. "I stood there trembling with anxiety - and I sensed an endless scream passing through nature."

Can the EU actually protect itself against Russia?

The EU itself is becoming weaker rather than stronger amid rising nationalism and populism, and even those countries that favor a stronger, more united Europe — namely France and Germany — disagree over who should lead it. Europe’s more realistic politicians — including Merkel — understand this, which is why they have emphasized the need for continuing trans-Atlantic cooperation on security and other issues, and cautioned against precipitating a decisive break.

Atlanticism has long been a convenient myth

“Atlantic” designates not a real set of values so much as an empty form that can be filled with whatever meaning its organisers want: liberal democracy, the diplomatic partnership between the US and Europe, or the simple continuation of structures set up after the second world war and not redefined since.

Why is glyphosate all over our food?

Because according to current EU rules, Monsanto & Co. can keep their industry studies secret – studies which independent experts could potentially use to show the substance is carcinogenic, if they had access to them. If there is proof a substance could cause cancer, the EU wouldn't allow it on the European market. Now the Commission wants to increase transparency in our food system. It’s proposing new rules which could force industry to disclose its secret studies. But industry is pushing back hard, and as a result, the new rules could be rendered meaningless, or worse: they could leave us with even less information than we have access to now. 

Hidden but not forgotten: Int’l Day of the Disappeared shines light on Tibet’s dark prison secrets

Tibetans and Uyghurs who defend their culture, Chinese dissidents and activists in Hong Kong are all at risk under Chinese Communist Party rule. Official state figures reveal a conviction rate of 99.93 percent; of the 1.16 million people placed on trial last year, Chinese courts returned a guilty verdict for all but 825 of them.

Like Tashi Wangchuk, many of these people will have never have committed a recognisable crime. His charge, “inciting separatism”, is one of a number of catch-all “state security crimes” contained in the Chinese penal code.

...

a Tibetan monk named Thardhod Gyaltsen was sentenced to 18 years in prison after a police raid allegedly found him to be in possession of images and recordings of the Dalai Lama.

Händel: sonata HWV 367 | D. Castello: Sonata seconda | Vivaldi: from concerto for 2 violins RV 522 -- Lucie Horsch, recorders / Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya, harpsichord

Arctic Wintertime Sea Ice Extent Is Among Lowest On Record

The Arctic has gone through repeated warm episodes this winter, with temperatures climbing more than 40 degrees above average in some regions. The North Pole even experienced temperatures above the freezing point for a few days in February.

Join the protest on copyright action day in your city on August 26

Save your internet today!

John McCain dies aged 81

McCain’s first brush with death came in July 1967 when, as a a navy pilot in the Vietnam war, a missile exploded near his fuel tanks, causing a ship fire that killed 134 troops. Three months later he was shot down over Vietnam, breaking both arms and a leg, and was captured by the North Vietnamese.

McCain was offered early release because his father was a four-star admiral but rejected it until his fellow PoWs were also freed. During five years in captivity, including more than two in solitary confinement, he suffered beatings and torture almost daily.

McCain is dying of cancer but he won’t leave this earth without one more fight. The Restless Wave is his latest book, and Vladimir Putin’s Russia is his latest foe.

Bergoglio out! Vatican shutdown!

Francis marked the first papal visit to Ireland in 39 years by acknowledging that the failure of Church authorities to adequately address “repugnant” clerical child abuse crimes there remains a source of shame for the Catholic community.

* Former top Vatican official says pope should resign

Old wounds have never healed for millions of Spaniards

While Franco has lain in splendour 37 miles (60km) outside Madrid, until recently, an estimated 140,000 of his opponents lay in unmarked graves around the country, buried where they were summarily executed during and after the civil war. The last of these executions was carried out in 1975.

Cleaning Cash Amid Slovakia’s Peaks

Journalists were about to publish an investigation into the Vadalas in Slovakia when Jan Kuciak, a member of the reporting team, was murdered.

...

One never fully investigated angle involved Fruitpoint BV, a Dutch fruit importer from whose docks the Aquinos picked up some of their drug-laden containers.

New evidence for cyclic universe

Unexpected hot spots in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) could have been produced by black holes evaporating before the Big Bang. 

How Tourists Are Destroying the Places They Love

residents of the cities and regions affected are perhaps the biggest losers. When, for example, it becomes more lucrative for property owners to rent their apartments out to tourists on a daily or weekly basis than to locals who need an affordable place to live.

9 Female Painters of the 19th Century You Need to Know

The women who bravely paved the way for the modern-day counterparts are largely forgotten, mere footnotes in the art history textbooks. “Women Artists in Paris” seeks to change that, shining a light on 37 women from 11 countries who studied art in Paris in the second half of the 19th century. 

...

“Every single one of these artists could have a powerful monographic exhibition,” she added, noting that she hopes the current show will be a stepping stone for further recognition for its subjects. “It is the responsibility of institutions to continue this dialogue in a sustained way, not just having the exhibition and forgetting about these artists again, but to really keep seeking out opportunities to highlighting this work, encourage art historical inquiry, and to engage our public with the work of these women.”

Aretha Franklin died

the undisputed Queen of Soul, died Thursday at her Detroit home, the Associated Press reports, surrounded by family and friends. She had been battling various undisclosed illnesses for years, and, in recent weeks, was receiving hospice care. Franklin was 76.

Catholic Priests Abused 1,000 Children in Pennsylvania

Bishops and other leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania covered up child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests over a period of 70 years, persuading victims not to report the abuse and law enforcement not to investigate it

New study raises red flags on tax haven role in environmental destruction

An analysis of Brazilian central bank data from 2000 to 2011 revealed that at least nine of the world’s largest producers of soy and beef, two industries considered to be main drivers of deforestation, use offshore subsidiaries to finance their operations in the Amazon forest, which Galaz called “a sleeping giant” in the climate change system. Scientists agree that deforestation is one of the main causes of global warming as the carbon dioxide that is typically absorbed by trees gets released in the atmosphere when they are cut or burnt.

Haydn - L'Isola d'isabitata (Overture) - Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell

Chinese delegates try to play down and suppress evidence of Beijing’s repression in Tibet

On 25 July, Free Tibet was contacted by a staff member at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights informing them that the Chair of CERD had requested that their submission be removed from the session’s website. The decision to remove the submission was based on the fact that the submission contained a footnote referring to Tibet being invaded and occupied in 1950, and that Free Tibet’s mission statement again referred to China’s occupation of Tibet.

The decision for a UN human rights body to remove a NGO submission is rare. Given China’s long track record of trying to subvert efforts to scrutinise its human rights record in international forums, Free Tibet and Tibet Watch have strong grounds to believe that the decision to remove the submission was taken after the Chinese government put pressure on the Chair of CERD.

Tibet: A Glossary of Repression

The agency in charge of propaganda, the Propaganda Bureau, is one of the highest-level offices in the Chinese Communist Party (the “Party”) and reports directly to the Central Committee, the Party’s senior leadership. Its task is to persuade populations both at home and abroad of the correctness of the Party’s rule and of its policies, as well as to use censorship and other means to deter or prevent criticisms of the Party.

Heat: the next big inequality issue

The deadly global heatwave has made it impossible to ignore: in cities worldwide, we are now divided into the cool haves and the hot have-nots

“Justice, not corruption”

Massive crowds gathered in downtown Bucharest on Saturday night, watched by security forces as they chanted: “Down with the government” and “Justice, not corruption”.

Naipaul died (but the immortals do not die)

Immortals do not die. So the greatest of the XX century "neo-realist" novelists did *. When I read "The Bend in the River" I start to wonder that that would happen with me. Waiting in some crazy country's border until the official gave me, after many hours, an affordable price to allowd me to cross the border with my very old veichle. Automatically I felt a deep connection with VS Naipaul and I did read everything I got from him. If the moving "A House for Mr Biswas" is, perhaps, the most "famous" of his creations, everything comming from his pen is a great "image", sucesion of images, or whatever, of the "human been", grasping the "essence" of it, in a interesting, acute and funny way. I have two great-great masters among the great masters of the literature: one is VS Naipaul, the other one is Marguerite Yourcenar (and, again, less because of her most famous work, "Memoires of Hadrian", than of the total of his creations). Styles completely differents coming from genius completely differents **. Immortals never die. Rest in Pace Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul because you will keep alive forever.

* after all he was an human been with (human) socio-cultural contextualized mistakes... like his misogyny, which, pretty obviously, is comming from his "native" culture, that he despised to much...

** Naipaul had an approach based in what he saw. Yourcenar's approach was completely detached from her own experiences, founded in hers great erudition, namely in ancient and medieval history. Most of the Nobel prizes just can dream on writing as Naipaul did. The great Marguerite Yourcenar never got the Nobel. And... what that matters?

Boulez - Notations 1-4 & 7 - BBCSO/Susanna Malkki

2018 Is Shaping Up to Be the Fourth-Hottest Year

Temperatures are still rising, and, so far, efforts to tame the heat have failed. Heat waves are bound to get more intense and more frequent as emissions rise, scientists have concluded. On the horizon is a future of cascading system failures threatening basic necessities like food supply and electricity.

Beethoven - Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile from Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111 - Maria João Pires

What is PM2.5?

when scientists talk about air pollution, they’re generally thinking about those sources and variants that arise from human activity: things like sulfur dioxide from power plant and other emissions, nitrogen dioxide from vehicle exhaust, and ground level ozone — as well as particulate matter. That last category is crucial, because it’s the microscopic stuff that can actually slip past the respiratory system’s defenses and cause both acute, short-term impacts, and over time, chronic diseases that kill.

Saudi-led air strike on bus kills 29 children

The health ministry run by the rebel Houthi movement said put the death toll at 43, and said 61 people were wounded.

The coalition, which is backing Yemen's government in a war with the Houthis, said its actions were "legitimate".

U.S. imposes sanctions on Russia for nerve agent attack in UK

Washington said on Wednesday it would impose fresh sanctions on Russia by the end of August after it determined that Moscow had used a nerve agent against a former Russian agent and his daughter in Britain.

Quantification of drought during the collapse of the classic Maya civilization

We modeled the data and conclude that annual precipitation decreased between 41 and 54% (with intervals of up to 70% rainfall reduction during peak drought conditions) and that relative humidity declined by 2 to 7% compared to present-day conditions.

Facebook wants to know your bank balance

The tech mogul’s Facebook has been quietly lobbying some of the biggest US banks to sign partnerships that would have the financial institutions share customer data — including account balances and recent purchases.

Researchers suggest that global warming will have severe consequences for the planet

They paint a picture of boiling hot climates and towering seas in years to come if temperatures rise by just 2C.

Women speak out on France's harassment problem

“It’s not about harassment, it’s about women being treated as objects in society and the new law won’t change anything. The police don’t have the money to train officers effectively about what constitutes harassment and often they are part of the problem. “If you call them and say a guy behaved weirdly towards you, often the first reaction is they laugh. The answer is having more women in charge of the institutions, the police, the fire services, other bodies. Then we might have real changes.”

Metamorphoses (Bass Clarinet Concert) - Jorge Peixinho