British Film director Michael Winner dies at 77

Film director Michael Winner dies at 77 (via AFP)

British film director Michael Winner, who made the violent thriller "Death Wish" and become a restaurant critic in later life, has died at the age of 77, his wife said on Monday. Winner had been ill for some time and after a spell in hospital last year died at his home in the upscale west London district…

French special forces a lifeline for Mali soldiers

French special forces a lifeline for Mali soldiers (via AFP)

Fighting on the front in Mali to halt a swoop by Islamists descending from the north, French Special Forces have been a lifeline for the country's ill-equipped and demoralised soldiers. The French military intervention, sparked by the fall of the central town of Konna to Al-Qaeda linked militants over…

Attack of the Frankenfish!

Dear friends, 

The US is about to treat the world to the first genetically modified meat: a mutant salmon that could wipe out wild salmon populations and threaten human health -- but we can stop it now before our plates are filled with suspicious Frankenfish.

The new fake salmon grows twice as fast as the real one, and not even scientists know its long-term health effects. Yet it’s about to be declared safe for us to eat, based on studies paid for by the company that created the GMO creature! Luckily, the US is legally required to consider public opinion before deciding. A growing coalition of consumers, environmentalists, and fishermen is calling on the government to trash this fishy deal. Let's urgently build an avalanche of global support to help them win.

The consultation is happening right now and we have a real chance to keep mutant fish off the menu. 

The Bizarre History Of The Hollywood Sign

The most famous sign in the history of mankind is the one that graces the side of the hill above Hollywood, California. As famous a landmark as the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio De Janeiro, the Eiffel Tower in Paris France, the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, The Church of the Savior on Blood in Saint Petersburg Russia, and the Statue Of Liberty in New York City, the Hollywood sign is known around the world as the symbol of the American movie industry.

Dutch uneasy at role as Cameron's EU reform podium

Dutch uneasy at role as Cameron's EU reform podium (via AFP)

The Dutch are increasingly uneasy about Prime Minister David Cameron going to the Netherlands to make his speech on Britain's future in Europe, with some critics saying he'd be better off staying at home. Friday's speech, billed as one of the most important by a British leader since World War II, is…

Petition: Stop UK universities from expelling Syrian students!

Hundreds of Syrian students in the UK could be sent home to face detention, torture, and possibly execution. Let’s raise our voices to demand the government supports them to continue their education here.  

 Click here now to sign and tell everyone about it!

Star Wars to Mean Girls: Top 10 Movies for a Night In

Time alone at in your property is hard to come across. It’s not often that we get the chance to crash on the lounge with a pot of tea and a good film or two, so don’t waste time watching bad ones!

For a perfect night in, add a few of these movies to your watch-list and have an amazing night – all in the comfort of your own home!

Gene study settles debate over origin of European Jews

Gene study settles debate over origin of European Jews (via AFP)

Jews of European origin are a mix of ancestries, with many hailing from tribes in the Caucasus who converted to Judaism and created an empire that lasted half a millennium, according to a gene study. The investigation, its author says, should settle a debate that has been roiling for more than two…

The Flushing Meadows Park Zoo Animal Mutilations and UFO Mystery

By: Bill Knell

Flushing Meadows Park has a long and unusual history. It is located ten miles east of Manhattan on Long Island in the Borough of Queens, New York City, between the towns of Flushing and Corona. The park started out as swampy land situated along Flushing Creek. The area skirted ancient Native American trails that were later developed into Rodman Street (today it’s called College Point Boulevard), Roosevelt Avenue and other paved roadways.

Because of its location and inability to be used for much else, the swampy land became a dumping area for ashes. By the 1920’s, it was known as the Corona Ash Dumps. F. Scott Fitzgerald called the place “a valley of ashes” in The Great Gatsby, his famous 1925 novel about Long Island Society. However, the once worthless area was about to be transformed into a marvelous showplace thanks to a grand event known as the World’s Fair.

Because it was one of the few large blocks of land still available for development in the New York City area, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and city planners devised a plan to clear and fill the land for use as the site of the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair. Most of the ashes and refuse were incorporated into the bases of new highways that were being built around and through that area. These later became the Grand Central Parkway, Van Wyck Expressway, Interboro Parkway and Long Island Expressway.

After the 1939-1940 World’s Fair ended in 1940, many of the structures from the fair were leveled and the area became known as Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. A few of the buildings that remained included the New York State Pavilion that was used as the first home to the United Nations from 1946 until 1951 when that organization moved into their permanent location in Manhattan. That building still exists today and has become the Queens Museum of Art.

Pussy Riot member denied early release by court

Pussy Riot member denied early release by court (via AFP)

A Russian court on Wednesday turned down a request by a jailed member of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot to defer serving her jail sentence until her five-year-old son is older. "The court has ruled not to satisfy the petition," the judge said at Berezniki city court in the Perm region of the Urals…

US vows aid for Mali battle but 'no boots on ground'

US vows aid for Mali battle but 'no boots on ground' (via AFP)

The United States stands ready to support France's military assault on Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels in Mali -- but without putting any US troops on the ground, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday. Washington is determined to prevent north African armed jihadist group Al-Qaeda in the Islamic…

Why Do Young People Join Gangs?

Contrary to popular belief, gangs are not merely an “inner city problem.” Gangs exist across all racial, cultural, and geographical divides. The problem of “gangs” should not be viewed as limited to one specific area or demographic. Instead, gangs should be viewed as a national problem, which affects us all.

It’s all too easy to write gang members off as sociopathic criminals who are past the point of no return— seemingly beyond salvation. This outlook is certainly understandable. Gangs wreak havoc on neighborhoods, terrify citizens, and perpetuate crimes which are beyond comprehension to the average person. The crimes that gang members commit are so horrible, many of us forget one very important fact about the people who join gangs—they’re kids.

Why would a teenager who is full of possibility, with their whole life in front of them, choose to lead a life a crime and destruction? The future of a gang member has little to offer: prison, death, paralysis, and drug addictions are what gang members have to look forward to, and from speaking with them, they know it. Gang members are not naive about the life they have chosen for themselves, and usually they know exactly where they’re going to end up. So why then do they do it?