Being and Flowing is a good place to begin Healing Your Thoughts.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcw2ztGwZJLXBJpD3PxloBdTp0YCN1orzsyk-Sgsb9EIHQisqHRv3ngUa_6A4wnFAjXoT-wAqzQ5B0-Gr_v7SlkF6c1A_sEvdYo4IGUhYarXmUWyIpfdRGjcwYLFJZzHHwrcn6PGwcCRM/s1600/TTCONSENT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcw2ztGwZJLXBJpD3PxloBdTp0YCN1orzsyk-Sgsb9EIHQisqHRv3ngUa_6A4wnFAjXoT-wAqzQ5B0-Gr_v7SlkF6c1A_sEvdYo4IGUhYarXmUWyIpfdRGjcwYLFJZzHHwrcn6PGwcCRM/s320/TTCONSENT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>  <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">The first part of the Being and Flowing Sequence of contemplation is a basic relaxation session where some (or several) of the techniques of guided imagery or meditation can be used. In fact, for this type of relaxation, you can use new techniques or techniques that are familiar to you and that have worked for you in the past. If you do the sequence regularly, you can switch between techniques if you like.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />One caveat: We find that general medical/therapy techniques, specifically those that are not associated with a particular spiritual path, work best for the Being and Flowing meditation in this context. (We link to some general relaxation techniques from the University of Maryland Medical Center, below). <br /><br />Being and Flowing First Step: Basic Relaxation Session<br /><br />One: Position<br /><br />If you are outdoors, find a quiet, safe place in a garden, park, beach or woods. Remember, safety comes first. If you are indoors, find a place where you won’t be disturbed. Sit on a floor cushion or in a chair with your feet on the floor, or lie down in a comfortable position. Whatever position you choose, try to remember, you might choose not to move or shift while being and flowing, so make sure it’s really comfortable.<br /><br />Two: Watch Your Thoughts<br /><br />Once you are comfortable, the first thing to keep in mind: Don’t worry about your thoughts. Allow them to come and go as they wish. Give them their freedom to come and go as they like. Don’t try to control them. Just observe them. <br /><br />Three: Watch Your Breath<br /><br />Don’t try to control your breathing. Just observe your breath. If you are familiar with breathing techniques and want to try them, you could, but to forge a new path it’s sometimes good to let go and experience non-familiar meditative pathways.<br /><br />Four: No Goal<br /><br />If you feel stressed or anxious, remember: there is no goal here. Just passively watch where your thoughts and breath take you. If after a few tries anxiety (or boredom, which can be a symptom of anxiety during meditation) feels overpowering, take a break.<br /><br />Five: Far Away<br /><br />At some point, your thoughts may seem to “melt away”. They may feel far away; you know they’re there, but they don’t seem to touch you, or you don’t really touch them. There is a gulf between you and your thoughts, including your less-than-helpful ones. When they are so far away, their ability to control you is greatly diminished.<br /><br />Help!<br /><br />If you need help we recommend you try music. We really like (and recommend) Dr. Harry Henshaw’s relaxation music. (Last year, we interviewed him, <a href="http://blogs.psychcentral.com/therapy-soup/2011/09/healing-with-music-relaxation-therapy/">here</a>.)<br /><br />Dr. Henshaw’s audio tracks of <a href="http://www.enhancedhealing.com/">free-floating music</a> are really de-stressing. We can best describe them as providing a musical pathway on which your thoughts can flow. His music doesn’t restrain or confine your thoughts as much as gently supports them. We really liked the ones on <a href="http://www.enhancedhealing.com/products_results.php?ProductCategoryID%5B%5D=1&Search=Search">these pages</a>; so far, we’ve sampled the uplifting music of Clarity, the gentle vibrato of Cosmic Reflection, the sweet tones of Equilibrium and the progressions of Inner Peace.*<br /><br />If you want more concrete help the techniques of progressive relaxation (and toe tensing) can be very helpful. The University of Maryland Medical Center has <a href="http://www.umm.edu/sleep/relax_tech.htm">clearly outlined them.</a> They recommend the techniques for sleep disorders, but they are also helpful for tension and anxiety. One quibble: they don’t mention that slightly tensing each area of the body (not just the toes) before you relax that part, can be even a more powerful path to relaxation.<br /><br />We’ve made our own relaxation recordings at home. We record our soft, slow voices giving a step-by-step progressive relaxation session. You might enjoy making your own recordings, too.<br /><br />Being and Flowing Second Step: Journal<br /><br />If you are in therapy, or even if you’re not, it’s a good idea to do a Being and Flowing journal. Some people like to share this with their therapist, others don’t. It’s up to you.<br /><br />You might consider doing an audio or video recording if you don’t like to write. Writing or otherwise recording your general experience with your relaxation session, is a good starting point. Then, if you like, continue to write or otherwise comment on your experience of your thinking process. What were your thoughts? Were you able to let them drift by? Did any thoughts “stick” more than others? Did new thoughts, thoughts you never “thought” before, pop up?<br /><br />Also, you might explore the self that observed the thoughts. And so on. If you don’t like to write and don’t want to do an audio or video recording, you can try illustrating your experience by drawing, painting, collage (found objects, fabric, and so on), photography, etc.<br /><br />Once you have a sense of Being and Flowing, you’ll might find yourself being able to step back, even in a non-relaxing session, from your thoughts that are not beneficial. You might find it easier to dispassionately examine your thoughts (and beliefs, which are a type of thought often mingled with emotion) and see if they are really beneficial to you.<br /><br />In fact, a very important, even central, part of therapy is examining thoughts and beliefs that hamper or are openly damaging to: your personal growth, relationships, mental health, and physical health. Therapy, in part, teaches you how to “rethink” things, even changing your most closely held beliefs, if they don’t serve your growth. Healing your thoughts is central to healing your life.</span>

Being and Flowing is a good place to begin Healing Your Thoughts.

  The first part of the Being and Flowing Sequence of contemplation is a basic relaxation session where some (or several) of the technique...

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How do you treat yourself

<p>How do you treat yourself?     How should you treat yourself? What should you think about yourself? How should you feel about yourself? Well..... how do you treat your best friend? What do you think about them? How do you feel about them? Now take that and multiply it by 10, multiply it by 100. Imagine how you would feel about somebody you were completely in love with, that you loved more than life itself, but it was an unconditional, open, free, healthy love, and not a needy, posessive, jealous, conditional love. Your eyes are wide open and you see all their faults and yet you love them despite their faults, perhaps because of them. Now perhaps you are getting close to how you should feel about yourself..........<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap;">Simon Meadowcroft</span></p>

How do you treat yourself

How do you treat yourself?     How should you treat yourself? What should you think about yourself? How should you feel about yourself? Well...

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Animal-human hybrid stickers invading Parisian streets

<p><br /><img alt="Suriani-16.jpg" class="center" height="465" src="http://www.coolhunting.com/2012/06/Suriani-16-thumb-620x465-42436.jpg" style="margin: 4px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; display: block; color: #222222; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff;" width="620" /></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 20px; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;">While marketing and mainstream communications campaigns have derived branding inspiration in the comic-like cartoon style of street art, and the values attached to its culture—freedom, community, transgression—the paradox still exists to see it framed and sold through traditional art channels.</p><p><img alt="Suriani-1.jpg" class="center" height="465" src="http://www.coolhunting.com/2012/06/Suriani-1-thumb-620x465-42408.jpg" style="margin: 4px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; display: block; color: #222222; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff;" width="620" /></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 20px; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;">We caught up with street artist Rafael Suriani at his recent show, "Collages Urbains", at <a href="http://www.lecabinetdamateur.com/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: #020202;" target="_blank">Cabinet d'amateur</a> gallery in Paris, where he told us more about street art and his relationship with the medium.</p><p><img alt="Suriani-4.jpg" class="center" height="465" src="http://www.coolhunting.com/2012/06/Suriani-4-thumb-620x465-42410.jpg" style="margin: 4px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; display: block; color: #222222; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff;" width="620" /></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 20px; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;">Suriani's mark features animals, surviving and thriving in the streets for its powerful and highly recognizable aesthetic. In his half-human-half-animal figures, the animal faces act as liberating masks, allowing the artist to express social criticism in an elegant way. The vibrant, seemingly playful creatures refrain from getting too serious and maintain a suggestive tone that avoids the obvious.</p><div class="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; clear: both; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; color: #222222; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff;"><img alt="Suriani-8.jpg" height="434" src="http://www.coolhunting.com/2012/06/Suriani-8-thumb-325x434-42412.jpg" style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: none;" width="325" /> <img alt="Suriani-3.jpg" height="434" src="http://www.coolhunting.com/2012/06/Suriani-3-thumb-289x434-42414.jpg" style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: none;" width="289" /></div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 20px; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;">The stickers are the result of a double-binding process that first assembles man and animal, then adheres the resulting figure to the wall. In the past, Suriani has drawn from his Latin-American heritage, playing with shamanic mythology figures such as toucan or jaguar. In his recent series, on the other hand, he is more interested in urban domestic animals such as cats and dogs—according to the artist, the convention that they tend to resemble their owners offers a metaphoric way to talk about us people. Recently Suriani made a series of French "Bulldogs" as a special dedication on London walls, using this breed to cartoon and make fun of some French characteristics. Each dog expresses a different state of mind—humor, spirituality, criticism or beauty.</p><div class="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; clear: both; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; color: #222222; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff;"><img alt="Suriani-9.jpg" height="284" src="http://www.coolhunting.com/2012/06/Suriani-9-thumb-427x284-42416.jpg" style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: none;" width="427" /> <img alt="Suriani-10.jpg" height="284" src="http://www.coolhunting.com/2012/06/Suriani-10-thumb-188x284-42418.jpg" style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: none;" width="188" /></div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 20px; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;">Suriani uses the rare technique of hand-painting every poster he sticks on the streets. Making each sticker is the result of a process involving selecting photos from the Internet, cutting them in Photoshop, then screening and painting before cutting the final product. Such repetition lies at the heart of street art practice, which is often based on plastering as many spots as possible, invasion-style.</p><p><img alt="Suriani-17.jpg" class="center" height="465" src="http://www.coolhunting.com/2012/06/Suriani-17-thumb-620x465-42438.jpg" style="margin: 4px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; display: block; color: #222222; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff;" width="620" /></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 20px; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;">When considering the ephemeral fate of the piece of work destined for degradation of the elements, police destruction or theft from passers-by, the time and effort for such little reward seems remarkable. Suriani explains, however, that the fleeting nature of his work is freeing and allows him to be audacious with both subject and technique. To him, because there is no pressure or constraint, that achievement is rarely a failure.</p><p><img alt="Suriani-11.jpg" class="center" height="465" src="http://www.coolhunting.com/2012/06/Suriani-11-thumb-620x465-42420.jpg" style="margin: 4px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; display: block; color: #222222; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff;" width="620" /></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 20px; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;">In the end, the piece of art is not the only sticker by itself, it is the sticker in its context, seen as a whole on the wall with the daylight shining on it, the motorbikes parked against it or the branch of a tree creeping across. Rarely is the work's time spent on the wall its only life, after all, with the rise of dedicated photographers immortalizing the scenes for the Internet.</p><p><img alt="Suriani-7.jpg" class="center" height="465" src="http://www.coolhunting.com/2012/06/Suriani-7-thumb-620x465-42422.jpg" style="margin: 4px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; display: block; color: #222222; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff;" width="620" /></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 20px; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;">Suriani claims his intention to step into the city's landscape by bringing much-needed beauty comes with a positive message. Rather than being aggressive or controversial, Suriani takes pleasure in having people on the street enjoy his figures. His work is bound to the city—physically, geographically and socially—compelling the public to refresh their view of their surroundings and drawing their eyes to the places that typically go unnoticed. As an architect, Suriani has found a way to unveil the city and change people's perception of the scenes they see everyday without truly seeing them. The choice of venue is very important, based on aesthetic consideration with attention to the context and surroundings like the location.</p>

Animal-human hybrid stickers invading Parisian streets

While marketing and mainstream communications campaigns have derived branding inspiration in the comic-like cartoon style of street art, and...

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EURO 2012 POSTERS BY DAVID WATSON

<p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><img alt="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108862" height="745" src="http://0.design-milk.com/images/2012/06/Euro-2012-2.jpg" style="padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" width="500" /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Euro 2012 recently began and, for those of you who don’t know, it’s the European football championship. European football is what we Americans call soccer, and it has slowly gained steam over the years, although still not as popular as American football…  Whether you’re into the championship or not (or even sports in general), you’ll probably love these simple, modern posters <a href="http://eurotwentytwelve.tumblr.com/" style="color: #000000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">David Watson</a> of<a href="http://www.trebleseven.com/" style="color: #000000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Trebleseven</a> designed for it.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span id="more-108859"> </span><img alt="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108873" height="745" src="http://3.design-milk.com/images/2012/06/Euro-2012-1a.jpg" style="padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" width="500" /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Each poster represents a particular country that’s playing, and the colors of their flag are incorporated into one of the various circular designs. I love the typographic twist these posters have and how they don’t have blatant sports references in them.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><img alt="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108865" height="745" src="http://0.design-milk.com/images/2012/06/Euro-2012-3.jpg" style="padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" width="500" /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><img alt="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108866" height="745" src="http://0.design-milk.com/images/2012/06/Euro-2012-4.jpg" style="padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" width="500" /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><img alt="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108867" height="745" src="http://0.design-milk.com/images/2012/06/Euro-2012-5.jpg" style="padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" width="500" /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><img alt="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108868" height="745" src="http://0.design-milk.com/images/2012/06/Euro-2012-6.jpg" style="padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" width="500" /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><img alt="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108869" height="745" src="http://0.design-milk.com/images/2012/06/Euro-2012-7.jpg" style="padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" width="500" /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><img alt="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108875" height="745" src="http://1.design-milk.com/images/2012/06/Euro-2012-10.png" style="padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" width="500" /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><img alt="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108870" height="396" src="http://1.design-milk.com/images/2012/06/Euro-2012-8.jpg" style="padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" width="500" /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><img alt="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108871" height="365" src="http://1.design-milk.com/images/2012/06/Euro-2012-9.jpg" style="padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;" title="Euro 2012 Posters by David Watson" width="500" /></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><br /><br /><br /></span></p>

EURO 2012 POSTERS BY DAVID WATSON

Euro 2012 recently began and, for those of you who don’t know, it’s the European football championship. European football is what we America...

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AWARE2 gigapixel camera

<p><img alt="" height="477" src="http://www.designboom.com/weblog/images/images_2/rodrigo/AWARE2/gigapixel_05.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 818px; width: auto !important; height: auto; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff;" width="818" /><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff;" /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: xx-small;">'</span>AWARE2' gigapixel camera by duke university<br />above: 3 increasing zoom levels of footage taken by the camera<br /><br /> <br />engineers at duke university have developed a camera able to take photos with up to one billion pixels of resolution. <br />the 'AWARE2' gigapixel camera uses 98 sensors each at 14 megapixels, capable of detecting detail from as far as 1 kilometer away.<br />the current model weighs in at approximately 100 pounds, and only shoots in black and white.<br /><br />explore more of the super high-resolution photos on duke's site with these zoomable examples of a lake scene, building atrium and riverside town.<br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff;" /></p><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff;"> </div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff;"><br /><img alt="" height="542" src="http://www.designboom.com/weblog/images/images_2/rodrigo/AWARE2/gigapixel_02.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 818px; width: auto !important; height: auto;" width="818" /><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">original image shot at .96 gigapixels; explore the full zoomable image </span><a href="http://mosaic.disp.duke.edu:90/aware/static/html/stadium.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: #000000;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">here</span></a><br /><br /><br /><img alt="" height="838" src="http://www.designboom.com/weblog/images/images_2/rodrigo/AWARE2/gigapixel_01.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 818px; width: auto !important; height: auto;" width="818" /><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">the 'AWARE2' camera</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="704" src="http://www.designboom.com/weblog/images/images_2/rodrigo/AWARE2/gigapixel_06.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 818px; width: auto !important; height: auto;" width="818" /><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">camera processor</span><span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: x-small; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: x-small; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">r</span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: x-small; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">e</span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: x-small; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">n</span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: x-small; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">d</span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: x-small; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">e</span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: x-small; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">r</span></span><br /><br /><br /><iframe width="818" height="614" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ejB1W_SFYF0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">making of 'AWARE2' gigapixel camera </span></div>

AWARE2 gigapixel camera

' AWARE2' gigapixel camera by duke university above: 3 increasing zoom levels of footage taken by the camera   engineers at duke uni...

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Police study Murdoch's 'secret' iPhone account

<p>Scotland Yard detectives investigating phone hacking at the News of the World are examining the call records of four newly discovered Apple iPhones issued to senior executives at News International. The smartphones, issued by O2 in a contract beginning in October 2009, included a handset given to James Murdoch, the former chairman and chief executive of News Corp Europe. Despite billing for the phones totalling nearly £12,000 between June last year and May this year, neither Operation Weeting nor the Leveson Inquiry was told of the existence of the smartphone accounts. Phone text messages and emails sent and received by News International executives and advisers have provided some of the most controversial evidence heard by Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into press practices and ethics. It had been assumed that the email and text traffic from key News International executives was centred solely on their company BlackBerry account with Vodafone. In accounts seen by The Independent, issued through 02's corporate customer services at Arlington Business Park in Leeds, Mr Murdoch's iPhone account is listed as "active". Mr Murdoch is said to have told 02 that he specifically wanted a "white iPhone" when the smartphone was issued to him in the summer of 2009. Katie Vanneck-Smith, listed as News International's chief marketing officer, also has an active account. Two other NI executive numbers are described as disconnected. Between June last year – just before The Guardian revealed in July that the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler had been hacked into – and the beginning of the Leveson Inquiry in November, the NI iPhone accounts were billed for £9,650. Last night, Labour MP Tom Watson said people would be "shocked" to learn that the smartphones had been issued to key NI executives, while the company's disclosures focused only on the BlackBerry Vodafone accounts. Mr Watson said he hoped that News Corp's Management and Standards Committee, which is responsible for all matters relating to phone hacking, would enforce its own promise of full transparency and appropriate disclosure, by revealing all the data and logs held on the discovered phones to both the police and the Leveson Inquiry. Last night, a spokeswoman for News International, said: "Mr Murdoch fully co-operated with the Leveson Inquiry. It is ridiculous to suggest that James Murdoch keeps or kept a 'secret phone'." Meanwhile sources close to the Leveson Inquiry have denied that Lord Justice Leveson threatened to quit his judicial investigation following comments made in February by Michael Gove. The Education Secretary told a gathering of political journalists that the inquiry into press ethics and practices was creating a "chilling atmosphere" towards press freedom. During Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons the day after Mr Gove's lobby speech, David Cameron appeared to back his cabinet colleague's view. Concern that Mr Gove might be the Prime Minister's advance messenger prompted Lord Justice Leveson to call the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood. Whitehall sources say Lord Justice Leveson wanted to learn directly from Mr Cameron whether his inquiry was wasting public money on an ultimately futile exercise or whether his initial remit stood. Although the reassurances from No 10 took two days to arrive, sources claim there was no threat from the judge to resign from his own inquiry.</p>

Police study Murdoch's 'secret' iPhone account

Scotland Yard detectives investigating phone hacking at the News of the World are examining the call records of four newly discovered Apple ...

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NOBODY DIED FROM LACK OF SLEEP, AA MYTHs

<p><div id="leadItem"><p>Beyond leaving you drowsy and irritable, sleepless nights can take aserious toll on your physical and mental health.</p><p>"We know sleep is a critical biological function that influences a wide variety of physiological process," said Dr. Susan Redline, a sleep specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "Sleep deficiency can affect mood and the ability to make memories and learn, but it also affects metabolism, appetite, blood pressure, levels of inflammation in the body and perhaps even the immune response."</p><p>Lack of sleep has been linked to stroke, obesity, diabetes, anxiety, depression, and the country's No. 1 killers: heart disease and cancer. Read on to learn the health hazards of sleep deficiency and how you can sleep better.</p></div><div id="item_0"><h2>HEALTH HAZARDS LINKED TO LACK OF SLEEP</h2></div></p><table><tbody><tr><td>Stroke</td></tr></tbody></table><p><div id="item_0"><p>A new study of more than 5,600 people found those who slept fewer than six hours a night were more likely to suffer a stroke than their well-rested counterparts.</p><p>"We speculate that short sleep duration is a precursor to other traditional stroke risk factors, and once these traditional stroke risk factors are present, then perhaps they become stronger risk factors than sleep duration alone," Megan Ruiter of the University of Alabama at Birmingham said in a statement.</p><p>The study was presented today at the 26th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Boston, Mass.</p><p>Stroke risk is also higher in people who are overweight, diabetic or hypertensive -- all conditions linked to poor sleep.</p></div><div id="item_1"><h2>HEALTH HAZARDS LINKED TO LACK OF SLEEP</h2></div></p><table><tbody><tr><td>Obesity and Diabetes</td></tr></tbody></table><p><div id="item_1"><p>Sporadic and irregular sleep can raise blood sugar levels and slow the body's metabolism,increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes, according to an April 2012 study published in Science Translational Medicine.</p><p>"The evidence is clear that getting enough sleep is important for health," said study author Orfeu Buxton, a neuroscientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.</p><p>Sleep deficiency can also lead to bad food choices, according to a study that found the sight of unhealthy food activated reward centers in the brains of sleep-deprived people.</p><p>"The results suggest that, under restricted sleep, individuals will find unhealthy foods highly salient and rewarding, which may lead to greater consumption of those foods," said Marie-Pierre St-Onge from St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center and Columbia University in New York, and lead author of the study presented today at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Boston. "Indeed, food intake data from this same study showed that participants ate more overall and consumed more fat after a period of sleep restriction compared to regular sleep."</p></div><div id="item_2"><h2>HEALTH HAZARDS LINKED TO LACK OF SLEEP</h2></div></p><table><tbody><tr><td>Anxiety and Depression</td></tr></tbody></table><p><div id="item_2"><p>Sure, sleepless nights make for miserable mornings. But chronic sleep deficiency can lead to anxiety and depression -- both serious mood disorders.</p><p>"People feel more anxious, restless, irritable, less satisfied," said Dr. Mark Dyken, director of the University of Iowa's Sleep Disorders Center in Iowa City, adding sleep deficiency can impact careers and relationships. "They have difficulty focusing and sometimes feel like they just don't care anymore."</p><p>Brain imaging suggests sleep deprivation can boost activity in the brain's emotional centers, according to a study presented today at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Boston.</p><p>"Our results suggest that just one night of sleep loss significantly alters the optimal functioning of this essential brain process, especially among anxious individuals," study author Andrea Goldstein from the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a statement. "This is perhaps never more relevant considering the continued erosion of sleep time that continues to occur across society."</p></div><div id="item_3"><h2>HEALTH HAZARDS LINKED TO LACK OF SLEEP</h2></div></p><table><tbody><tr><td>Cancer</td></tr></tbody></table><p><div id="item_3"><p>Sleep deficiency has also been linked to an increased risk of cancer.</p><p>A 2008 study published in the British Journal of Cancer found women who slept fewer than six hours a night were more likely develop breast cancer, and a 2010 study published in the journal Cancer found those who slept fewer than six hours a night were more likely to have colorectal polyps, which can lead to colon cancer.</p><p>The biological mechanisms are unclear, but lack of sleep has been shown to boost levels of inflammation in the body and interfere with the immune response, both of which have been implicated in cancer.</p><p>"Sleep is restorative," said Dyken. "And if you don't get it, your health will suffer."</p></div><div id="item_4"><h2>HEALTH HAZARDS LINKED TO LACK OF SLEEP</h2></div></p><table><tbody><tr><td>Heart Disease</td></tr></tbody></table><p><div id="item_4"><p>Short and sporadic sleep may also raise the risk of heart disease.</p><p>A 2011 study published in the European Heart Journal found people who slept fewer than six hours a night were 48 percent more likely to develop or die from heart disease.</p><p>The link could have something to do with levels of inflammation in the body, but the researchers also found higher blood pressure and cholesterol in people with sleep deficiency.</p></div><div id="item_5"><h2>HEALTH HAZARDS LINKED TO LACK OF SLEEP</h2></div></p><table><tbody><tr><td>Get Your Sleep</td></tr></tbody></table><p><div id="item_5"><p>With hectic work and family schedules, getting a good night's sleep is no easy feat. But experts say a little planning can go a long way, helping you feel refreshed the next morning and for many to come.</p><p>"Make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet, and avoid reading anything that's going to make you excited or worried," said Dyken. "Try not to exercise or eat a big meal within three hours of your bedtime, but don't go to bed hungry, either."</p><p>Caffeine and alcohol can also interfere with sleep, according to Redline.</p><p>"Much of sleep deficiency is self-inflicted," she said. "But adults should do their best to get to bed at regular times and aim to have 7.5 hours on average of sleep. Set your schedule such that you honor and respect your sleep needs."</p></div></p>

NOBODY DIED FROM LACK OF SLEEP, AA MYTHs

Beyond leaving you drowsy and irritable, sleepless nights can take aserious toll on your physical and mental health. "We know sleep is ...

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ON CLOUD NINE: BATH SALTS BY ANOTHER NAME... WITH STRONG COMPULSIONS TO REDOSE

<p>After the recent stream of disturbing news reports of people eating others' flesh, Hornaday Manufacturing has released bullets that promise to ‘make dead permanent.’</p><p>The ammunition, branded as Zombie Max offers Proven Z-Max bullets, is live ammunition, but is actually only intended for use on targets – not people.</p><p>Scroll down for videos</p><div><img alt="The Walking Dead: Hornady Manufacturing has started selling Zombie bullets, 'just in case'; it is live ammunition" height="805" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/08/article-2155816-1380DB17000005DC-480_634x805.jpg" width="634" /><p>The Walking Dead: Hornady Manufacturing has started selling Zombie bullets, 'just in case'; it is live ammunition</p></div><div><div><img alt="A violent attack in Scott is eerily similar to a case out of Florida connected to the dangerous bath salts line drug known as Cloud Nine" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/07/article-2155816-137BC80C000005DC-386_306x423.jpg" width="306" /></div><div><img alt="Police arrested homeless Brandon De Leon on Saturday Deleon on June 2 " height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/07/article-0-13763149000005DC-783_306x423.jpg" width="306" /></div><p>Attacks: Carl Jacquneaux, left, who was arrested for allegedly biting another man's face and Brandon De Leon, right, who allegedly tried to bite two policemen while threatening to eat them</p></div><p> </p><p>Hornaday spokesman Everett Deger told WWJ Newsradio 950 that the company’s president has a love of zombie culture – including popular shows like the Walking Dead – and was inspired to make the bullets in honour of the cultural phenomenon. </p><div><h3>ON CLOUD NINE: BATH SALTS BY ANOTHER NAME... WITH STRONG COMPULSIONS TO REDOSE</h3><div><img alt="Cloud Nine bath salts " height="177" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/07/article-2155816-137F0918000005DC-878_296x177.jpg" width="296" /><p>The 'bath salts' sold under the name Cloud Nine are likely to be stimulant drugs such MPDV or ephedrine. </p><p>'Bath salts' does not refer to a single chemical, but instead to a range of synthetic drugs that can be sold legally in the U.S. as long as they are not marked for human consumption – hence the misleading name.</p><p>Drugs such as MPDV are highly potent stimulants, similar to some amphetamines, and in MPDV's case particularly, cause a strong compulsion to 'redose' with more of the drug. </p><p>In high doses, such drugs can cause violent and unpredictable behaviour, and terrifying hallucinations – and the compulsion to take more of the drug continues, even once the 'high' has begun to make the user feel bad.</p><p>Various different compounds use the name 'Cloud Nine', and it's still not confirmed which exact chemical was in the drug reported to have caused these attacks, but some reports have pointed the finger at MPDV. </p><p>The chemical is already illegal in Florida – although other 'bath salts' remain perfectly legal in the state.  </p></div></div><p> </p><p>‘We decided just to have some fun with a marketing plan that would allow us to create some ammunition designed for that…fictional world,’ he told the radio station.</p><p>Mr Deger noted that the bullets are some of the ammunition company’s most popular products.</p><p>The news comes as two more cannibal attacks have been reported in the US as police warn of a dangerous new mind-altering drug called Cloud Nine.</p><p> </p><p>Last week Rudy Eugene - who is believed to have taken the over-the-counter ecstasy-like drug - growled at officers as he chewed off most of a homeless man's face before being shot dead by Miami police.</p><p>Since then two further incidents have been linked to the substance, which is part of a new line of 'bath salts'.</p><p> </p><div> </div><div><h4>More...</h4><ul><li>Revealed: Miami cannibal's girlfriend shows herself in public for the first time and claims her beau was carrying a BIBLE before the attack</li><li>Caught on camera: The moment woman driver rams into pedestrian and travels for hundreds of yards with him clinging on 'because of her hormones'</li><li>Revealed: The videos 'Canadian cannibal' sent to his 'fans' while on the run from police - and one of them contains infamous song from American Psycho</li></ul></div><p> </p><p>The second occurred on Saturday when a snarling homeless man, identified as Brandon De Leon, threatened to eat two officers, echoing the Miami attack.</p><p>A third incident took place in Louisiana where Carl Jacquneaux, 43, bit off a chunk of his victim's face. Miami police have issued a warning about Cloud Nine and told their officers to exercise extreme caution when dealing with homeless men who appear to be acting unusually.</p><p>Police investigating the case of Rudy Eugene, who ate the face off a homeless man, say as well as being naked, he was carrying a bible.</p><p>Some pages had been ripped out of the book and were found close by, according to CBS Miami. A preliminary toxicology examination has also found that the 31-year-old had been smoked cannabis shortly before the incident.</p><p>They were forced to fit 21-year-old De Leon with a Hannibal Lecter-style mask after he was arrested for disturbing the peace in North Miami Beach. When put in a police cruiser De Leon slammed his head against the plexiglass divider and shouted at officers, 'I'm going to eat you', NBC Miami reported. </p><p>He then growled, gnashed his teeth and tried to bite the hand of an officer attempting to treat his head wounds.</p><p>'Brandon growled and opened and closed his jaw, slamming his teeth like an animal would,' the report said. Miami police said they believe he was on a cocktail of drugs, including Cloud Nine. </p><p>In a second case Carl Jacquneaux, 43, is accused of attacking Todd Credeur at his home in Scott, Louisiana, over the weekend after he became upset following a domestic issue.<img alt="Victim: Todd Credeur, though in shock, managed to spray his attacker in the face with wasp spray to stop him from eating any more of his face" height="389" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/06/article-2155544-137BA1FD000005DC-14_634x389.jpg" width="634" /></p><p>Victim: Todd Credeur, though in shock, managed to spray his attacker in the face with wasp spray to stop him from eating any more of his face</p><p> </p><div><img alt="Scene: Todd Creneur was attacked while working on the yard outside his home in Scott, Louisiana" height="286" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/06/article-2155544-137BA202000005DC-834_634x286.jpg" width="634" /><p>Scene: Todd Creneur was attacked while working on the yard outside his home in Scott, Louisiana</p></div><p> </p><div><p>KATC reported that Mr Credeur was working in his front yard when he was attacked.</p><p>Scott Assistant Police Chief Kert Thomas said: 'During the attack, the suspect bit a chunk of the victim's face off.'</p><p>Mr Credeur reportedly managed to spray Jacquneaux in the face with wasp spray to stop him from eating any more of his face.</p><p>Jacquneaux then allegedly left the home and went to another man's home where he held him at knife point and stole a hand gun. This is where police found him and arrested him.</p><p>A friend of the victim said she believes Jacquneaux was under the influence of Cloud Nine, which is the same drug which is believed to have been taken by the 'Miami Cannibal' Rudy Eugene.</p><p>Eugene ate the face of homeless man Ronald Poppo in Miami last week and a police memo to officers has highlighted the dangers surrounding the drug's use. </p></div><p>It warned the De Leon case 'bears resemblance to an incident that occurred in the city of Miami last week, when a male ate another man's face'.</p><p>'Please be careful when dealing with the homeless population during your patrols.'</p><p>Police have suggested Eugene was under the influence of the synthetic stimulant usually sold in drug paraphanelia shops.</p><p>Cloud Nine is 'addictive and dangerous', the memo said, part of a 'disturbing trend in which new drugs are sold in the guise of household products'.</p><p>The drug, which is also as Ivory Wave in the U.S., comes in harmless-looking packets, police said, adding that it is illegal in Britain and Australia.</p><div><div><img alt="Rudy Eugene attacked and chewed the face off a homeless man " height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/07/article-2155816-13625B3E000005DC-797_306x423.jpg" width="306" /></div><div><img alt="Ronald Poppo was attacked by a man who hurled him to the ground and tore into his face with his teeth" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/07/article-2155816-13625C48000005DC-7_306x423.jpg" width="306" /></div><p>Crazed attack: Cloud Nine, which is the same drug which is believed to have been taken by the 'Miami Cannibal' Rudy Eugene (left) when he savagely attacked 65-year-old Ronald Poppo (right)</p></div><p>The potentially addictive drug stimulates the central nervous system and symptoms include heart palpitations, nausea, hallucinations, paranoia and erratic behaviour.</p><p>The series of shocking incidents began on May 26 when a naked Eugene encountered his victim, 65-year-old Ronald Poppo, who was sleeping in the shade on elevated train tracks.</p><p>In surveillance footage from the nearby Miami Herald building, Eugene was seen struggling with the naked homeless man, throwing him to the ground and then tearing into his face with his teeth as cars and bicycles sped by.</p><p>About 18 minutes into the attack, an officer appeared on the scene and yelled at Eugene to stop, but the 31-year-old just growled at him and continued chewing Poppo’s face.</p><p>The officer then opened fire on Eugene, shooting him to death.</p><div>Enlarge <img alt="Horrific attack: The spot on MacArthur Causeway where a man was killed after chewing the face off a stranger " height="409" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/07/article-2155816-137C87C3000005DC-215_634x409.jpg" width="634" /><p>Horrific attack: The spot on MacArthur Causeway when a man was killed after chewing the face off a stranger</p></div><p> </p><div><img alt="Poppo miraculously survived the attack, but was left without a nose, mouth or eyes " height="402" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/07/article-2155816-137C87A6000005DC-517_634x402.jpg" width="634" /><p>Disfigured: Poppo, here on a stretcher, miraculously survived the attack, but was left without a nose, mouth or eyes</p></div><p>Poppo remains in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital with his nose, mouth and eyes torn off. He faces months of treatment to rebuild his features and psychological care.</p><p>Controversially this week the scene of the attack on Poppo has been Miami added to sites visited by a tourist tour's itinerary.</p><p>The famous Miami Mystery & Mayhem: Crime Tour tour led by Miami-Dade College professor Dr Paul George will stop on the road that connects downtown Miami to popular South Beach.</p><p>Dr Paul told the South Florida Business Journal: 'Horrible as it was, it is part of our history. Currently, our tour takes us over the causeway right past the site, so this fits well.'</p><p>In a completely separate case not involving the drug, Canadian Luka Rocco Magnotta has been sent back to his country from Germany after an international manhunt.</p><p>He is alleged to have killed his partner, Jun Lin, before eating parts of his body then chopping it to pieces that were then posted to different authorities. Mr Lun's head has not yet been found.</p><div class="cleared art-ins news" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; min-height: 50px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"><h3>'ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE': RECENT CANNIBAL ATTACKS ACROSS AMERICA</h3><div class="ins cleared xolcc bdrcc" style="margin: 0px; padding: 4px; min-height: 1px; background-color: #e8fbff; border: 1px solid #00aad2;"><div><img alt="shows Rudy Eugene, the man who was shot dead by police as he ate the face of a homeless man during Memorial Day weekend in Miami. " height="110" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/06/article-2155544-13625920000005DC-619_110x110.jpg" width="110" /></div><p>Since Rudy Eugene attacked and ate the face of homeless man Ronald Poppo on May 26 in Miami, Florida, while allegedly high on 'bath salts' there has been a spate of similar attacks.</p><p>The 'Miami Cannibal' case shocked the nation after police had to shoot dead Eugene when he refused to stop eating his victim's face off. Poppo is now recovering in hospital with horrific injuries.</p><p> </p><div><img alt=" Police arrested homeless man Brandon Deleon on June 2 " height="110" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/06/article-2155544-13763149000005DC-374_110x110.jpg" width="110" /></div><p>Brandon DeLeon, 21, was high on drugs and drunk on Four Loko on June 2 when he tried to bite off a police officer’s hand after he was arrested for disturbing customers in a Miami fast food restaurant.</p><p>The homeless man repeatedly banged his head against the patrol car’s Plexiglas and yelled, ‘I’m going to eat you.’</p><p>At the police station, De Leon tried to bite the officer who was taking his blood pressure and tending to his self-inflicted wounds. The police report noted that he 'growled and opened and closed his jaw slamming his teeth like an animal would.'</p><p> </p><div><img alt="A violent attack in Scott is eerily similar to a case out of Florida connected to the dangerous drug known as bath salts" height="110" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/07/article-2155816-137BC807000005DC-655_110x110.jpg" width="110" /></div><p>Carl Jacquneaux, 43, is accused of attacking Todd Credeur at his home in Scott, Louisiana, over the weekend after he became upset following a domestic issue.</p><p>Mr Credeur reportedly managed to spray Jacquneaux in the face with wasp spray to stop him from eating any more of his face.</p><p>A friend of the victim said she believes Jacquneaux was under the influence of Cloud Nine, which is the same drug which is believed to have been taken by the 'Miami Cannibal' Rudy Eugene.</p><p> </p><div><img alt=" Alexander Kinyua, a 21-year-old Kenyan college student accused of killing a housemate." height="110" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/06/article-2155544-1369E733000005DC-471_110x110.jpg" width="110" /></div><p>Alex Kinyua, 21, a college student, used a knife to carve up Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie, 37, before eating his heart out and parts of his brain.</p><p>He then took to his social networking site to boast about it to his friends saying: 'Are you strong enough to endure ritual HBCU mass human sacrifices around the country and still be able to function as human beings?'</p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; min-height: 1px;">He referred to the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech and 'other past university killings around the country' and warned 'ethnic cleansing is the policy, strategy and tactics that will affect you, directly or indirectly in the coming months.'<span><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; min-height: 1px;"> </p></div></div><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"><span><iframe width="636" height="358" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bQWb-5nblx4" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;"><strong><br /></strong></span></span></p>

ON CLOUD NINE: BATH SALTS BY ANOTHER NAME... WITH STRONG COMPULSIONS TO REDOSE

After the recent stream of disturbing news reports of people eating others' flesh, Hornaday Manufacturing has released bullets that prom...

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A mind-altering drug banned in Britain two years ago is being blamed for the spate of cannibal attacks in America.

<p>Narcotic Cloud Nine was blamed for the attack when Rudy Eugene ate 75% of homeless man Ronald Poppo’s face in Miami last month.</p><p>Horrific images surfaced of the attack that only ended once police shot and killed 31-year-old Eugene.</p><p>Mr Poppo is still recovering from his injuries in hospital.</p><p>Police are now warning people to stay away from Cloud Nine – also known as ‘bath salts’ - after two similar attacks were reported.</p><p>The most recent prompted an internal memo to police warning officers the case “bears resemblance to an incident that occurred in the city of Miami last week, when a male ate another man’s face”.</p><p>The memo called the synthetic drug “addictive and dangerous” and said it was part of a “disturbing trend in which new drugs are sold in the guise of household products”.</p><p>It added: “Please be careful when dealing with the homeless population during your patrols.”</p><p> </p><p><img alt="This undated booking mug made available by the Miami-Dade Police Dept., shows Rudy Eugene" height="768" src="http://www.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article867226.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/This+undated+booking+mug+made+available+by+the+Miami-Dade+Police+Dept.%2C+shows+Rudy+Eugene" title="Rudy Eugene, 31: Ate 75% of a man's face in Miami before being shot dead" width="615" />Rudy Eugene, 31: Ate 75% of a man's face in Miami before being shot dead</p><div>AP</div><p><img alt="Brandon De Leon, who allegedly tried to bite and threatening to eat two policemen in Miami" height="769" src="http://www.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article867228.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Brandon+De+Leon%2C+who+allegedly+tried+to+bite+and+threatening+to+eat+two+policemen+in+Miami" title="Brandon De Leon, 21: Tried to bite two police officers after he was arrested in North Miami Beach" width="615" />Brandon De Leon, 21: Tried to bite two police officers after he was arrested in North Miami Beach<img alt="Carl Jacquneaux, who was arrested for allegedly biting another man's face" height="731" src="http://www.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article867229.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Carl+Jacquneaux%2C+who+was+arrested+for+allegedly+biting+another+man%27s+face" title="Carl Jacquneaux, 43: Bit a man's face in Scott, Louisiania. Wasp spray was used to end the attack" width="615" />Carl Jacquneaux, 43: Bit a man's face in Scott, Louisiania. Wasp spray was used to end the attack<img alt="Alexander Kinyua" height="922" src="http://www.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article856631.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Alexander+Kinyua" title="Alex Kinyua, 21: Accused of eating the heart and brain of friend in Maryland" width="615" />Alex Kinyua, 21: Accused of eating the heart and brain of friend in Maryland</p><div>Splash</div><p><img alt="The Silence of the Lambs" height="894" src="http://www.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article867233.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/The+Silence+of+the+Lambs" title="Horror: Film cannibal Hannibal Lecter" width="615" />Horror: Film cannibal Hannibal Lecter</p><div>Channel 5</div><p> </p><p>During the latest attack homeless Brendon De Leon threatened to eat two Miami police officers and had to be fitted with a Hannibal Lecter-style mask to prevent him carrying his threats out.</p><p>He had been arrested for disturbing the peace in North Miami Beach while high on drugs and put in a police cruiser when he slammed his head against the plexiglass divider and shouted: “I’m going to eat you” to officers before growling and baring his teeth.</p><p>Miami police said they believe he was on a cocktail of drugs including Cloud Nine.</p><p>In another case, Carl Jacquneaux, 43, was accused of attacking Todd Credeur in his front garden in Scott, Louisiana, over the weekend after being upset over a domestic issue while under the influence of what is said to be bath salts.</p><p>Jacquneaux bit Mr Credeur before being sprayed in the face with wasp spray.</p><p>Scott Assistant Police Chief Kert Thomas said: “During the attack, the suspect bit a chunk of the victim’s face off.”</p><p>Jacquneaux was then said to have left the property and gone to another man’s home where he held him at knife-point and stole a handgun before being apprehended by police.</p><p>The drug, which is also known as Ivory Wave, was blamed for several deaths in Britain during 2010 before being banned. It is also illegal in Australia.</p><p>The potentially addictive drug stimulates the central nervous system and symptoms include heart palpitations, nausea, hallucinations, paranoia and erratic behaviour and is often sold in plain packaging with the contents purporting to be harmless.</p>

A mind-altering drug banned in Britain two years ago is being blamed for the spate of cannibal attacks in America.

Narcotic Cloud Nine was blamed for the attack when Rudy Eugene ate 75% of homeless man Ronald Poppo’s face in Miami last month. Horrific ima...

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Bank of England meets amid talk of £50bn stimulus

<p>Bank of England policymakers meet today to decide whether to change interest rates or to pump in more money into the ailing economy, with leading economist saying they may opt to inject a further £50bn of stimulus.</p>

Bank of England meets amid talk of £50bn stimulus

Bank of England policymakers meet today to decide whether to change interest rates or to pump in more money into the ailing economy, with le...

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Europe is on the verge of financial chaos.

<p>Global capital markets, now the most powerful force on earth, are rapidly losing confidence in the financial coherence of the 17-nation euro zone. A market implosion there, like that triggered by Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008, may not be far off. Not only would that dismantle the euro zone, but it could also usher in another global economic slump: in effect, a second leg of the Great Recession, analogous to that of 1937. This risk is evident in the structure of global interest rates. At one level, U.S. Treasury bonds are now carrying the lowest yields in history, as gigantic sums of money seek a safe haven from this crisis. At another level, the weaker euro-zone countries, such as Spain and Italy, are paying stratospheric rates because investors are increasingly questioning their solvency. And there’s Greece, whose even higher rates signify its bankrupt condition. In addition, larger businesses and wealthy individuals are moving all of their cash and securities out of banks in these weakening countries. This undermines their financial systems. 423 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post The reason markets are battering the euro zone is that its hesitant leaders have not developed the tools for countering such pressures. The U.S. response to the 2008 credit market collapse is instructive. The Federal Reserve and Treasury took a series of huge and swift steps to avert a systemic meltdown. The Fed provided an astonishing $13 trillion of support for the credit system, including special facilities for money market funds, consumer finance, commercial paper and other sectors. Treasury implemented the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program, which infused equity into countless banks to stabilize them. The euro-zone leaders have discussed implementing comparable rescue capabilities. But, as yet, they have not fully designed or structured them. Why they haven’t done this is mystifying. They’d better go on with it right now. Europe has entered this danger zone because monetary union — covering 17 very different nations with a single currency — works only if fiscal union, banking union and economic policy union accompany it. Otherwise, differences among the member-states in competitiveness, budget deficits, national debt and banking soundness can cause severe financial imbalances. This was widely discussed when the monetary treaty was forged in 1992, but such further integration has not occurred. How can Europe pull back from this brink? It needs to immediately install a series of emergency financial tools to prevent an implosion; and put forward a detailed, public plan to achieve full integration within six to 12 months. The required crisis tools are three: ●First, a larger and instantly available sovereign rescue fund that could temporarily finance Spain, Italy or others if those nations lose access to financing markets. Right now, the proposed European Stability Mechanism is too small and not ready for deployment. ●Second, a central mechanism to insure all deposits in euro-zone banks. National governments should provide such insurance to their own depositors first. But backup insurance is necessary to prevent a disastrous bank run, which is a serious risk today. ●Third, a unit like TARP, capable of injecting equity into shaky banks and forcing them to recapitalize. These are the equivalent of bridge financing to buy time for reform. Permanent stability will come only from full union across the board. And markets will support the simple currency structure only if they see a true plan for promptly achieving this. The 17 member-states must jointly put one forward. Both the rescue tools and the full integration plan require Germany, Europe’s strongest country, to put its balance sheet squarely behind the euro zone. That is an unpopular idea in Germany today, which is why Chancellor Angela Merkel has been dragging her feet. But Germany will suffer a severe economic blow if this single-currency experiment fails. A restored German mark would soar in value, like the Swiss franc, and damage German exports and employment. The time for Germany and all euro-zone members to get the emergency measures in place and commit to full integration is now. Global capital markets may not give them another month. The world needs these leaders to step up.</p>

Europe is on the verge of financial chaos.

Global capital markets, now the most powerful force on earth, are rapidly losing confidence in the financial coherence of the 17-nation euro...

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A Facebook crime every 40 minutes

<p>A crime linked to Facebook  is reported to police every  40 minutes. Last year, officers logged 12,300 alleged offences involving the vastly popular social networking site. Facebook was referenced in investigations of murder, rape, child sex offences, assault, kidnap, death threats, witness intimidation and fraud.</p>

A Facebook crime every 40 minutes

A crime linked to Facebook  is reported to police every  40 minutes. Last year, officers logged 12,300 alleged offences involving the vastl...

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Prince Philip in hospital

<p>The Duke of Edinburgh has been taken to hospital with a bladder infection and will miss the rest of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Buckingham Palace said Prince Philip, 90, had been taken to the King Edward VII Hospital in London from Windsor Castle as a "precautionary measure". The Queen is still expected to join 12,000 others at the Jubilee concert which is under way at the palace. The prince will remain in hospital under observation for a few days. The prince had appeared to be in good health when he accompanied the Queen on Sunday on the royal barge the Spirit of Chartwell, which formed part of the rain-drenched Jubilee river pageant. He and the Queen stood for most of the 80-minute journey, as they were accompanied by 1,000 boats travelling seven miles down the river to Tower Bridge.</p>

Prince Philip in hospital

The Duke of Edinburgh has been taken to hospital with a bladder infection and will miss the rest of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Bucki...

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Luka Rocco Magnotta, the 'Canadian Psycho,' arrested in Berlin

<p>Luka Rocco Magnotta was arrested in Berlin Monday after a four-day international manhunt that spanned three countries. The 29-year-old Canadian wanted over a horrific Montreal ice pick murder and decapitation of a Chinese student that he allegedly filmed and posted to the Internet, was arrested in or near an Internet cafe, Berlin police said. Montreal police confirmed they are aware of the reports that Magnotta was arrested, but said they are still in the process of contacting their Berlin counterparts. The arrest comes after French authorities said they were investigating a tip that Magnotta travelled from Paris to Berlin via bus on the weekend. “Somebody recognized him and (then) all the police recognized him,” Berlin police spokesperson Stefan Redlich told CP24 Monday. Handout (Click to enlarge) Magnotta's alleged victim is Lin Jun, a 33-year-old Concordia University student from Wuhan, Hubei, China. He was last seen on May 24, police said, and reported missing on May 29. Redlich said police were called in by a civilian who spotted Magnotta and he was arrested after police asked for his identification at about 2:00 p.m. local time in Berlin. Reuters is reporting it was an employee of the cafe, Kadir Anlayisli, that recognized Magnotta. The cafe is on Karl Marx Strasse, a busy shopping street filled with Turkish and Lebanese shops and cafes in the Neukoelln district of Berlin. German television quoted the owner of the cafe saying Magnotta was surfing the Internet for about an hour before his arrest. Redlich said Magnotta has been taken into custody without incident and will go in front of a judge Tuesday. Canadian officials are expected to start the extradition process for Magnotta in the near future.</p>

Luka Rocco Magnotta, the 'Canadian Psycho,' arrested in Berlin

Luka Rocco Magnotta was arrested in Berlin Monday after a four-day international manhunt that spanned three countries. The 29-year-old Cana...

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Rush for safe havens as euro fears rise

<p>US benchmark borrowing costs plunged to levels last seen in 1946 and those for Germany and the UK hit all-time lows as investors took fright at what they see as a disjointed policy response to the debt crisis in Spain and Italy. In a striking sign of the flight to haven assets, German two-year bond yields fell to zero for the first time, below the equivalent rate for Japan, meaning investors are willing to lend to Berlin for no return. US 10-year yields fell as low as 1.62 per cent, a level last reached in March 1946, according to Global Financial Data. German benchmark yields reached 1.26 per cent while Denmark's came close to breaching the 1 per cent level, hitting 1.09 per cent. UK rates fell to 1.64 per cent, the lowest since records for benchmark borrowing costs began in 1703. "They are extreme levels because we are in an extremely perilous situation. People just want to put their money somewhere where they think they will get it back. People may soon be paying Germany or the US to look after their money," said Gary Jenkins, head of Swordfish Research, an independent credit analysis company. The flight to safety came as the situation in Italy and Spain, the eurozone's third- and fourth-largest economies, deteriorated further. Italy held a disappointing debt auction and saw its benchmark borrowing costs rise above 6 per cent for the first time since January. The euro fell 0.8 per cent against the dollar to under $1.24 for the first time in two years. Confusion over how the Spanish government's rescue of Bankia, the stricken lender, will be structured led the premium Madrid pays over Berlin to borrow to hit fresh highs for the euro era at 540 basis points. Analysts said the elevated level meant that clearing houses could soon raise the amount of margin, or collateral, that traders need to post against Spanish debt, a move that led to the escalation of crises in Portugal and Ireland. The European Central Bank has made clear to Spain that it cannot use the bank's liquidity operations as part of a recapitalision of Bankia. However, the central bank said on Wednesday it had not been officially consulted on the plans. Equity markets globally fell on the eurozone fears with bourses in Paris, Frankfurt and London all dropping 2 per cent. But Nick Gartside, international chief investment officer for JPMorgan Asset Management, noted that while US bond yields had halved since April last year the S&P 500 equity market was at the same level. "One of those two markets is mispriced. Core government bonds are an efficient market and they are ahead," he added. Investors said borrowing costs for the US, UK and Germany were likely to continue to fall amid a worsening economic backdrop and the threat of more central bank intervention. Wealth managers have been moving client assets into currency havens in recent weeks, with the Swiss franc and the US dollar among the biggest beneficiaries "Risk aversion, a rapidly slowing global economy and unusually low policy rates will pin these short and intermediate maturity bonds at unprecedented low levels for quite a while," said Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of Pimco, one of the world's largest bond investors. Mr Gartside said he could easily see German rates going below 1 per cent, following a path that only Japan and Switzerland have taken among major economies, while the US and UK could dip under 1.5 per cent. Markets are increasingly resigned to more turmoil until policy makers take more radical action. The two most popular plans of action for investors are for the ECB to buy Spanish and Italian bonds in unlimited size or for eurozone countries to agree on a fiscal union involving the pooling of debt. "You have to throw everything at it. Spain is just too big for half measures. The next intervention has to be not just massive in size but it has to show a total commitment," said Mr Jenkins. He recommends that the ECB set targets either for the premium Spain and Italy pay to borrow over Germany or for their yields.</p>

Rush for safe havens as euro fears rise

US benchmark borrowing costs plunged to levels last seen in 1946 and those for Germany and the UK hit all-time lows as investors took fright...

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Euro break-up 'could wipe 50pc off London house prices'

<p>Property prices in the capital’s most sought-after postcodes have been driven up by investors moving funds out of assets held in euros to buy into what is seen as a “safe haven” alternative. Foreign money seeking a refuge from the wider economic turmoil accounted for 60pc of acquisitions of prime central London property between 2007 and 2011, according to a report by Fathom Consulting for Development Securities. If the shared currency broke up completely, London property would initially be boosted by the continued flight towards a safe haven, the report predicts. But, once the break-up had taken place, demand for these assets as an insurance against this event would start to ebb. “Although fears about a messy end to the euro debt crisis may account for much of the gain in prime central London (PCL) prices that has taken place over the past two years, we find that a break-up of the single currency area is also the single greatest threat to PCL,” said researchers.</p>

Euro break-up 'could wipe 50pc off London house prices'

Property prices in the capital’s most sought-after postcodes have been driven up by investors moving funds out of assets held in euros to bu...

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Leveson - The Hunt is on

<p>Up until now, Lord Justice Leveson has only held the future of the British press in his hands. Today, despite all his protests to the contrary, his inquiry may determine the fate of the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt. The judge insists that it is not his job to put any minister in the dock and that he certainly will not be giving his verdict on whether there have been any breaches of the ministerial code. Nevertheless, the prime minister has made it clear that he sees today's hearing as the moment when Mr Hunt must defend his much criticised handling of News Corp's £8bn bid for total control of BSkyB. The culture secretary has, I'm told, submitted more than 160 pages of internal memos, emails and text message transcripts to the Leveson Inquiry. I understand that he will insist that, despite having originally been a cheerleader not just for Rupert Murdoch but also for his bid, he acted in ways which frustrated it rather than accelerated it once he was made the minister in charge. He will claim that he referred it to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom when told by officials that it wasn't necessary to do so. He is likely to face questions about why he did not follow Ofcom's advice to refer the bid to the Competition Commission. He is likely to reply that he was given legal advice that he had first to consider News Corps offer to spin off Sky News so as to deal with so-called plurality issues. The culture secretary is likely to be asked how he can claim to have been unaware of the scale or nature of the contact between News Corp and his political adviser, Adam Smith - who resigned once his flood of emails and texts were revealed. I understand that Jeremy Hunt originally believed that his adviser had done nothing wrong and told friends he would resign himself rather than letting a junior official resign for him. The prime minister shows no sign yet of wanting to force him out - believing that however bad things may now look, Mr Hunt didn't actually do anything wrong or anything which helped the Murdochs and their bid. Labour argue that - even before today's hearing - it is evident the culture secretary should go as he is in breach of the ministerial code for failing to supervise his adviser, and for misleading the House of Commons when he wrongly asserted he had published all contacts between his department and News Corp - as well as claiming never to have intervened to affect the outcome of the bid.</p>

Leveson - The Hunt is on

Up until now, Lord Justice Leveson has only held the future of the British press in his hands. Today, despite all his protests to the contr...

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Coulson on Sheridan perjury charge

<p>David Cameron's former communications chief Andy Coulson has been charged over allegations he committed perjury during the trial of former MSP Tommy Sheridan. The 44-year-old was detained for questioning at Govan police station in Glasgow by officers from Strathclyde Police. More than six hours later, the force confirmed he had been arrested and charged with perjury. A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal which will decide if Coulson is to face court proceedings. The former News of the World editor gave evidence at Sheridan's perjury trial at the High Court in Glasgow in December 2010, while he was employed by Downing Street as director of communications. At the trial, he claimed he had no knowledge of illegal activities by reporters during the time that he was editor of the now-defunct newspaper. He said: "I don't accept there was a culture of phone hacking at the News of the World." Sheridan was ultimately jailed for three years in January last year after being found guilty of perjury during his 2006 defamation action against the News of the World. He had been awarded £200,000 in damages after winning the civil case but a jury found him guilty of lying about the tabloid's claims that he was an adulterer who visited a swingers' club. The former Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) leader was convicted of five out of six allegations in a single charge of perjury relating to his evidence during the civil action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Sheridan was released from jail in January this year after serving one year of his sentence and vowed to continue the fight to clear his name. Coulson was arrested last year in relation to Scotland Yard's long-running investigation into phone hacking at the newspaper. He was held in July on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption, and had his bail extended earlier this month. Coulson resigned as editor in 2007 after the paper's former royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed for phone hacking. In May that year, he was unveiled as director of communications and planning with the Conservative Party. He quit his role as Downing Street communications chief in January last year after admitting the News of the World phone-hacking row was making his job impossible.</p>

Coulson on Sheridan perjury charge

David Cameron's former communications chief Andy Coulson has been charged over allegations he committed perjury during the trial of form...

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Julian Assange's fight to evade extradition to Sweden appears doomed despite stay of execution

<p>Julian Assange's fight to evade extradition to Sweden appeared doomed today though he was given a stay of execution by the highest court in the land. His celebrity-endorsed legal battle trundled on without him as the self-proclaimed champion of truth and transparency remained stuck in London's notorious traffic, undoubtedly disappointing his legion of fans. While vastly diminished in number from the early days of the furore surrounding the WikiLeaks founder, they were as vociferous as ever, penned in outside the Supreme Court yesterday, carrying megaphones, guitars and banners proclaiming “Free Assange” and “God Save Julian”. Mr Assange, 40, had argued that an European Extradition Warrant from Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual molestation was invalid as the public prosecutor who issued it did not constitute a “judicial authority”. He denies the accusations, insisting they are “politically motivated”. His case was partially trumped by the French translation of the words judicial authority, which judges at the Supreme Court said carried a far wider meaning that simply a judge or court. By a majority of five to two they decided the practice by many European countries to have public prosecutors issue such warrants countered the interpretation in United Kingdom and his appeal failed. Nevertheless they granted his lawyers 14 days to apply to have the case re-opened after they insisted that they had not been given an opportunity to argue on the very legal points on which the judges had based their decision.</p>

Julian Assange's fight to evade extradition to Sweden appears doomed despite stay of execution

Julian Assange's fight to evade extradition to Sweden appeared doomed today though he was given a stay of execution by the highest court...

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FORMER Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson has been arrested on suspicion of committing perjury during the Tommy Sheridan trial

<div><img alt="Andy Coulson has been arrested on suspicion of perjury. Picture: Getty" src="http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/1.2326533.1338370216!image/97450135.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/97450135.jpg" /><p>Andy Coulson has been arrested on suspicion of perjury. Picture: Getty</p></div><div><div><p>FORMER Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson has been arrested on suspicion of committing perjury during the Tommy Sheridan trial at the High Court in Glasgow, the Crown Office said today.</p></div><p> </p><p>The 44-year-old was detained in London this morning by officers from Strathclyde Police.</p><p> </p><p>Coulson gave evidence in Mr Sheridan’s perjury trial at the High Court in Glasgow in December 2010.</p><p> </p><p>He was also arrested last year in relation to Scotland Yard’s long-running investigation into phone-hacking at the News of the World.</p><p> </p><p>He was held in July on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption and had his bail extended earlier this month.</p><p> </p><p>A Strathclyde Police spokesman said: “Officers from Strathclyde Police Operation Rubicon detained a 44-year-old man in London this morning under section 14 of the Criminal Procedures Scotland Act on suspicion of committing perjury before the High Court in Glasgow.</p><p> </p><p>“It would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time.”</p><p> </p><p>It is understood Coulson is on his way to Glasgow.</p><p> </p><p>Operation Rubicon detectives have been looking at whether certain witnesses lied to the court during Sheridan’s trial as part of a “full” investigation into phone hacking in Scotland.</p><p> </p><p>Mr Coulson, then employed by Downing Street as director of communications, told the trial in December 2010 he had no knowledge of illegal activities by reporters while he was editor of the News of the World.</p><p> </p><p>He also claimed: “I don’t accept there was a culture of phone hacking at the News of the World.”</p></div>

FORMER Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson has been arrested on suspicion of committing perjury during the Tommy Sheridan trial

Andy Coulson has been arrested on suspicion of perjury. Picture: Getty FORMER Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson has been arre...

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Former News of the World Editor arrested in dawn raid on his London home

<p><div id="main-top"><h3><p> </p></h3></div><div id="main-big"><div><div><div><div id="slideshow-6296724"><div><div><div><div></div><div><img alt="" height="306" src="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/incoming/article7733089.ece/ALTERNATES/w460/Andy+Coulson+High+Court" width="460" /></div></div></div><div><div></div></div><div><div><div>PR man: Andy Coulson was held today by Strathclyde Police,David Cameron’s former No 10 spin doctor Andy Coulson was arrested today on suspicion of committing perjury.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><div><div><div><p>Mr Coulson, 44, was detained at his home in Dulwich at 6.30am by seven officers from Strathclyde police and taken to Glasgow where he will be questioned.</p><p>The case centres on claims that he misled a court about his knowledge of phone-hacking during a criminal trial in Glasgow. The former News of the World editor, hired by the Prime Minister as his director of communications, told a court in 2010 that he had no knowledge of illegal voicemail interception when in charge of the tabloid.</p><p>During the perjury trial of former Scottish MP Tommy Sheridan, Mr Coulson said: “I don’t accept there was a culture of phone hacking at the News of the World.” He also denied knowing that the</p><p> newspaper paid corrupt police officers for tip-offs. Mr Cameron has faced questions over his decision to bring Mr Coulson into the heart of government. Mr Coulson has already been arrested by the Met on suspicion of phone-hacking and bribing public officials.</p><p>The perjury charge, which carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years, is potentially the most serious facing the former Conservative Party spokesman.</p><p>One Downing Street source said the arrest came as a “complete surprise”.</p><p>Mr Coulson was a major witness in a trial involving Sheridan who was accused of lying in court during a libel victory against the NoW.</p><p>Coulson was editor when it published a story that labelled Sheridan an adulterer who visited swingers’ clubs. He was called as a witness and told the court that he had no knowledge of illegal activities by reporters.</p><p>Sheridan was jailed for three years last year after being found guilty of perjury during his 2006 defamation action against the NoW. He had successfully sued the newspaper over its claims.</p><p>Strathclyde police announced its probe into Mr Coulson last July but it was thought to be taking a back seat as five major Scotland Yard inquiries into the Murdoch media empire rumbled on.</p><p>However, the Standard can disclose that officers from Scotland recently visited London to interview several former NoW staff about their old boss.</p><p>Under Scottish law a suspect is detained on suspicion of an offence unlike in England and Wales where a suspect is arrested. Mr Coulson has not been charged.</p></div></div></div></div></div></p>

Former News of the World Editor arrested in dawn raid on his London home

  PR man: Andy Coulson was held today by Strathclyde Police,David Cameron’s former No 10 spin doctor Andy Coulson was arrested today on susp...

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EU cookie implementation deadline is today

<p>A year after its implementation in May 2011, the European Commission's Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive will finally start to be enforced as of tonight, meaning visitors to websites are required to be informed of, and given choice over, the site's intentions to store their data in cookies. Though there has been fierce opposition to the directive, some companies, such as the BBC, Channel 4 and the Guardian, have now begun implementing measures that range from multiple user choices in the level of information shared with the site, to a single message informing the user that, by continuing to browse, they have automatically agreed to have their information stored. Further reading EU cookie law is a 'restraint to trade online', says online retailer Most UK organisations not compliant with EU cookie law New EU cookie law set to come into force But the majority of companies, it is widely reported, will miss tonight's deadline. While the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) still disagrees that a "one size fits all" policy of standardisation is not the way forward when enforcing cookie legislation, some believe such a framework is the only way forward. Society for engineering and technology professionals, the Institution of Engineering & Technology said, "The implementation of this directive is likely to prove very variable until the introduction of a set of standards on the best way to provide a balance between easy browsing and personal privacy. "We had hoped that more progress would have been made on achieving this in the 12 month implementation delay that the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, gave British organisations."</p>

EU cookie implementation deadline is today

A year after its implementation in May 2011, the European Commission's Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive will finally star...

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Google plans to warn more than half a million users of a computer infection that may knock their computers off the Internet this summer.

<p>Unknown to most of them, their problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of infected computers around the world. In a highly unusual response, the FBI set up a safety net months ago using government computers to prevent Internet disruptions for those infected users. But that system will be shut down July 9 -- killing connections for those people.</p><p>The FBI has run an impressive campaign for months, encouraging people to visit a website that will inform them whether they're infected and explain how to fix the problem. After July 9, infected users won't be able to connect to the Internet.</p><dl id="related-media"><dt>LONG ARM OF SCOFFLAW</dt><p>An online ad scam is having some unintended ramifications: The fix may prevent as many as 360,000 from getting online. Several sites will show if you're infected:</p><p>DNS Changer Working Group: can discern whether you’re infected and explain how to fix the problem.</p><p>DNSChanger Eye Chart: if the site goes red, you’re in harm’s way. Green means clean.</p><p>The FBI website: type in the IP address of your DNS server to find out if it is infected.</p><p>Read more on how to stay safe</p></dl><p>On Tuesday, May 22, Google announced it would throw its weight into the awareness campaign, rolling out alerts to users via a special message that will appear at the top of the Google search results page for users with affected computers, CNET reported. </p><p>“We believe directly messaging affected users on a trusted site and in their preferred language will produce the best possible results,” wrote Google security engineer Damian Menscher in a post on the company’s security blog.</p><p>“If more devices are cleaned and steps are taken to better secure the machines against further abuse, the notification effort will be well worth it,” he wrote.</p><p>The challenge, and the reason for the awareness campaigns: Most victims don't even know their computers have been infected, although the malicious software probably has slowed their web surfing and disabled their antivirus software, making their machines more vulnerable to other problems.</p><p>Last November, when the FBI and other authorities were preparing to take down a hacker ring that had been running an Internet ad scam on a massive network of infected computers, the agency realized this may become an issue.</p><p>"We started to realize that we might have a little bit of a problem on our hands because ... if we just pulled the plug on their criminal infrastructure and threw everybody in jail, the victims of this were going to be without Internet service," said Tom Grasso, an FBI supervisory special agent. "The average user would open up Internet Explorer and get `page not found' and think the Internet is broken."</p><p>On the night of the arrests, the agency brought in Paul Vixie, chairman and founder of Internet Systems Consortium, to install two Internet servers to take the place of the truckload of impounded rogue servers that infected computers were using. Federal officials planned to keep their servers online until March, giving everyone opportunity to clean their computers.</p><p>But it wasn't enough time.</p><p>A federal judge in New York extended the deadline until July.</p><p>Now, said Grasso, "the full court press is on to get people to address this problem." And it's up to computer users to check their PCs.</p><div>'We started to realize that we might have a little bit of a problem on our hands...'<p>- Tom Grasso, an FBI supervisory special agent</p></div><p>This is what happened:</p><p>Hackers infected a network of probably more than 570,000 computers worldwide. They took advantage of vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system to install malicious software on the victim computers. This turned off antivirus updates and changed the way the computers reconcile website addresses behind the scenes on the Internet's domain name system.</p><p>The DNS system is a network of servers that translates a web address -- such as http://www.foxnews.com -- into the numerical addresses that computers use. Victim computers were reprogrammed to use rogue DNS servers owned by the attackers. This allowed the attackers to redirect computers to fraudulent versions of any website.</p><p>The hackers earned profits from advertisements that appeared on websites that victims were tricked into visiting. The scam netted the hackers at least $14 million, according to the FBI. It also made thousands of computers reliant on the rogue servers for their Internet browsing.</p><p>When the FBI and others arrested six Estonians last November, the agency replaced the rogue servers with Vixie's clean ones. Installing and running the two substitute servers for eight months is costing the federal government about $87,000.</p><p>The number of victims is hard to pinpoint, but the FBI believes that on the day of the arrests, at least 568,000 unique Internet addresses were using the rogue servers. Five months later, FBI estimates that the number is down to at least 360,000. The U.S. has the most, about 85,000, federal authorities said. Other countries with more than 20,000 each include Italy, India, England and Germany. Smaller numbers are online in Spain, France, Canada, China and Mexico.</p><p>Vixie said most of the victims are probably individual home users, rather than corporations that have technology staffs who routinely check the computers.</p><p>FBI officials said they organized an unusual system to avoid any appearance of government intrusion into the Internet or private computers. And while this is the first time the FBI used it, it won't be the last.</p><p>"This is the future of what we will be doing," said Eric Strom, a unit chief in the FBI's Cyber Division. "Until there is a change in legal system, both inside and outside the United States, to get up to speed with the cyber problem, we will have to go down these paths, trail-blazing if you will, on these types of investigations."</p><p>Now, he said, every time the agency gets near the end of a cyber case, "we get to the point where we say, how are we going to do this, how are we going to clean the system" without creating a bigger mess than before</p><p><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br /></span></p>

Google plans to warn more than half a million users of a computer infection that may knock their computers off the Internet this summer.

Unknown to most of them, their problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of infected computers...

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Under European Union law, Greece cannot leave the euro.

<p>That is the theory. But in practice, any protection the law offers investors could be difficult to enforce, according to lawyers trying to protect their corporate clients against the upheaval sure to follow if Greece defaults on its debts and adopts a new currency. So their advice is blunt: Remove cash and other liquid assets from Greece and prepare to take a short-term hit on any other investments. “My personal view is that it is irrational for anyone, whether a corporation or an individual, to be leaving money in Greek financial institutions, so long as there is a credible prospect of a euro zone exit,” said Ian Clark, a partner in London for White & Case, a global law firm that has a team of 10 attorneys focusing on the issue. Several multinational corporations have already taken the same view. Vodafone, the mobile phone operator, and GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceuticals firm, say they are “sweeping” money out of Greece and into British banks each evening. This applies not just to Greece but to most other euro nations, although Glaxo says it still keeps money in Germany. Corporate attorneys say looking to E.U. law provides only approximate guidance on whether Greece could stop using the euro while remaining in the Union. Although the E.U. prides itself on basing decisions on strict interpretation of the legal texts in its governing treaty and other legislation, the rules on euro membership have proved flexible. For example, while all 27 E.U. nations are supposedly obliged to join the single currency, once they meet certain economic criteria, Britain and Denmark were able to negotiate the option of retaining their own currencies. Sweden is one of the nations technically obliged to join the euro, but since a national referendum opposed the idea in 2003, no one has pressed the country to do so. Similarly, while leaving the euro might, legally, mean quitting the union itself, most experts see this as a technicality that can be circumvented as well. “The treaty doesn’t cover the question of what would happen if a country were to leave the euro and return to its previous currency,” said Stephen Weatherill, Jacques Delors Professor of European Law at Oxford University. “In the absence of any provision, there is plenty of space for European governments to concoct a solution, adopt it and for it to be legally enforceable,” he added. “In general, you can do anything you like, so long as you do not breach pre-existing international obligations.” The mechanics of leaving the euro would surely lead Greece to impose so-called capital controls to stem the flight of money from a currency destined to be devalued. Again, such controls look impossible under E.U. law. But Mr. Weatherill thinks that a loophole allowing for the protection of public security could be invoked. Mr. Clark, of White & Case, a global law firm, points to a clause in Article 65 of the treaty that says that the pledge on free movement should not prevent countries from taking measures “which are justified on grounds of public policy or public security.” Mr. Clark and his team serve clients that include financial institutions like BNP Paribas and hedge funds. In February, Andrew Witty, the chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, said: “We don’t leave any cash in most European countries” except Germany. Tens of millions of pounds flow into accounts in Britain every day, he said. But, apart from trying to ensure that debts are paid promptly and therefore in euros, legal options for companies are limited. Contracts covered by Greek law, particularly for services delivered in Greece, provide little protection against the currency’s being redenominated and devalued — a development regarded as unlikely until recently. “Greece would, through its laws, be able to amend contracts governed by Greek law or to be performed within the territory of Greece,” Mr. Clark said. “It is the governing law and the place of performance of the contract that is most important.” International contracts, which might be covered by English, German or Swiss law, would be more likely to be honored in the designated currency, though in some cases the wording of the legal document may be vague. And even if the law is on their side, companies would find that to extract payment from a Greek company, they would need a judge in Greece to enforce a ruling from a foreign court. “Enforcement of foreign judgments is harder or easier from country to country within the E.U.,” Mr. Clark said. “Greece has always had a reputation of being a difficult place in which to enforce judgments, from a practical perspective.” That means that international trading partners are likely to share in any losses that accompany a Greek exit from the euro. “International businesses that have long-term interests in Greece are going to have to be pragmatic and probably, in the short term, give some dispensation to their Greek counterparties, rather than trying to enforce the terms of contracts that cannot be performed,” Mr. Clark said.</p>

Under European Union law, Greece cannot leave the euro.

That is the theory. But in practice, any protection the law offers investors could be difficult to enforce, according to lawyers trying to p...

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Former Lloyds worker Jessica Harper in £2.5m fraud charge

<p>A former head of security at Lloyds Bank has been charged in connection with an alleged £2.5m fraud. Jessica Harper, 50, of Croydon, south London, is accused of submitting false invoices to claim payments, between September 2008 and December 2011. At the time she was working as head of fraud and security for digital banking and allegedly made false claims totalling £2,463,750. Ms Harper will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 31 May. She has been charged with one count of fraud by abuse of position. The bank, which is now 39.7% state-owned after being bailed out by the government during the financial crisis, refused to comment on the charging of Ms Harper. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said she was arrested on 21 December 2011 by officers from its fraud squad. Andrew Penhale, from the Crown Prosecution Service's Central Fraud Group, said: "The charge relates to an allegation that between 1 September 2008 and 21 December 2011, Jessica Harper dishonestly and with the intention of making a gain for herself, abused her position as an employee of Lloyds Banking Group, in which she was expected to safeguard the financial interests of Lloyds Banking Group, by submitting false invoices to claim payments totalling £2,463,750.88, to which she was not entitled. "This decision to prosecute was taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. "We have determined that there is a realistic prospect of conviction and a prosecution is in the public interest."</p>

Former Lloyds worker Jessica Harper in £2.5m fraud charge

A former head of security at Lloyds Bank has been charged in connection with an alleged £2.5m fraud. Jessica Harper, 50, of Croydon, south ...

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Bankia shares are suspended in Madrid

<p>Trading in shares in the Spanish lender Bankia have been suspended in Madrid. The market regulator CNMV said it was "due to circumstances that may affect the normal share trading". Bankia is reported to be due to ask the government for a bailout of more than 15bn euros ($19bn; £12bn) after a board meeting later on Friday. Bankia, which is Spain's fourth-largest bank, was part-nationalised two weeks ago because of its problems with bad property debt. Any extra government money would be on top of the 4.5bn euros in state loans that the government had to convert into shares in the group in the part-nationalisation process. Shares in Bankia's parent company Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA) have also been suspended. Bankia was created in 2010 from the merger of seven struggling regional savings banks. It holds 32bn euros in distressed property assets.</p>

Bankia shares are suspended in Madrid

Trading in shares in the Spanish lender Bankia have been suspended in Madrid. The market regulator CNMV said it was "due to circumstan...

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UK Jobseekers who reject help for alcohol and drug addiction face benefits cut

<p>Unemployed people suspected of suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction will have their benefits cut if they refuse treatment for their condition, the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, will signal on Wednesday. In a sign of the government's new benefits regime, which lies at the heart of Duncan Smith's cost-cutting welfare changes, staff in Jobcentre Plus offices will be encouraged to cut the jobseeker's allowance of claimants who reject treatment for addiction. The new rules will come into place in October 2013 when the universal credit, which is designed to wrap benefits into one payment, is introduced. A new claimant contract lies at the heart of the universal credit reforms. Claimants will have to sign a contract in which they agree to look for work in exchange for an undertaking from the government to support them while they do so. Government sources said the contract would allow Jobcentre Plus staff to say that a suspected addict is in breach of their commitments if they refuse help for alcoholism or drug addiction. Duncan Smith will give a flavour of the new rules when he addresses an event in parliament organised by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). He will say: "The outdated benefits system fails to get people off drugs and put their lives on track. We have started changing how addicts are supported, but we must go further to actively take on the devastation that drugs and alcohol can cause. "Under universal credit we want to do more to encourage and support claimants into rehabilitation for addiction and starting them on the road to recovery and eventually work. Getting people into work and encouraging independence is our ultimate goal. Universal credit will put people on a journey towards a sustainable recovery so they are better placed to look for work in future and we will be outlining our plans shortly." It is understood that the work and pensions secretary will not make a formal announcement on Wednesday of the powers that will be handed to Jobcentre Plus staff. Duncan Smith wants to use the event to focus on what he regards as the positive work AA does in helping to treat alcoholism. A government source said: "Iain wants to focus on the brilliant work Alcoholics Anonymous does in changing people's lives. He really wants to encourage people who have drink problems to go to AA for treatment. It will transform their lives and will help them into work." The source said Duncan Smith believes it is right to give jobcentre staff powers to cut benefits if an addict refuses treatment because they can detect signs of trouble. The source said: "The universal credit will allow staff in Jobcentre Plus offices to say: this person has been unemployed for some time. The staff know if people are addicted to alcohol. They know the people they are dealing with. "But we want this to be positive and to be about signposting people to superb organisations that can help them. This is about changing their lives. It is very important to support addicts into the workplace." But if claimants refuse they will have their benefits docked. "There will be sanctions," the source said, citing cuts to the jobseeker's allowance as an example. Ministers believe that one indicator Jobcentre Plus staff can use to see whether a claimant is an addict is the amount of times they apply for a crisis loan. "If you are applying for that up to 10 times a year then that is a sign of a chaotic life," one source said. Analysis by the Department of Work and Pensions shows that almost 40,000 people claim incapacity benefit with alcoholism declared as their "primary diagnosis". Of these, 13,500 have been claiming for a decade or more. There are about 160,000 "dependent drinkers" in England who receive one or more of the main benefits. There are 1m violent crimes a year that are related to alcoholism and 1.2m admissions to hospitals a year related to alcoholism. Universal credit is the most important element of Duncan Smith's welfare reforms, developed during his years in opposition through his Centre for Social Justice, which is designed to achieve his central goal of encouraging people into work. It will integrate tax credits and out-of-work benefits into one payment, with the aim of smoothing the transition to work. Labour has given the universal credit a cautious welcome, though it has taken issue with the scale of benefit cuts. Lord Low of Dalston, the vice-president of the Royal National Institute of Blind People who sits as a crossbencher, told peers this year: "Though it has some very sensible and progressive things at its core, in the shape of the universal credit, nevertheless it goes too far to most people's consciences in the way in which it takes vital support away from some of the most needy in our society."</p>

UK Jobseekers who reject help for alcohol and drug addiction face benefits cut

Unemployed people suspected of suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction will have their benefits cut if they refuse treatment for their c...

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