From Trailer Parks to the White House

From Trailer Parks to the White House

As recent headlines of alleged domestic violence by top White House officials demonstrate, abusive behavior transcends all socio-economic lines. Dr. Laura Streyffeler's book, Wife Beater Shirt Optional, reveals that abuse is not limited by social or economic class, age, race, gender, or sexual orientation. Using real life examples and frank discussions, the author pulls the reader into the minds and behaviors of both victims and abusers.  

The book introduces you to an upper middle class woman who denied being a victim of domestic violence because in her mind, real victims "live in trailer parks and their husbands wear 'wifebeater shirts'." 

This book explains why there is no dress code for domestic violence. Dr. Laura Streyffeler addresses the many myths and misperceptions about domestic abuse and violence.

Recent headlines of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry is another example of abuse of power.  Dr. Streyffeler's book discusses the dynamics of power and control, the various types of abuse and the resulting trauma.  

A trending question is "Why is it taking victims so long to come forward?" Dr. Streyffeler's book provides the answer to this question and many more.

"Wife Beater Shirt Optional" 
By Laura Streyffeler, Ph.D., LMHC 

Hardcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 154 pages | ISBN 9781504388238 
Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 154 pages | ISBN 9781504388214 
E-Book | 154 pages | ISBN 9781504388221

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author:

Dr. Laura Streyffeler (via Psychology Today)

Laura Streyffeler, Ph.D., LMHC, is a licensed mental health counselor and a board certified expert in traumatic stress and in domestic violence and forensic counseling. Streyffeler maintains a psychotherapy practice while providing professional trainings and serving as an expert witness in domestic and sexual violence and other trauma related court cases.

SOURCE:  Dr. Laura Streyffeler, WBSO LLC

To Amber Rudd: Shut Down Nazi Websites On UK Soil [Petition]

Amber Rudd - UK Home Secretary (via EU Today)

The following is an email I've received earlier from our friends at HOPE Not Hate... As usual, feel free to read it and act accordingly.

Thanks in advance.

Stay safe!

Loup Dargent

The web content of NS131, a neo-Nazi organisation that celebrated the murder of Jo Cox MP (above), is being stored in London and Manchester. (via The Guardian)

The Email:

"Loup,
Some big news just in from our research team: violent, neo-Nazi and terrorist websites are being stored illegally on UK soil.

Cloudflare, a big US web company, is storing the website of at least one banned terrorist organisation - NS131 - right here in London and Manchester. This might breach hate crime and Holocaust denial laws, it is definitely unethical, and it goes against Government calls for firms to clamp down on hate speech online.

NS131 is so hateful the government banned it in 2016 -- it's even accused of ties to a plot to kill a Labour MP. We've always thought that, by hosting their hatred in the US, these extremists were beyond the reach of the UK authorities. But now we might have a chance to hurt these Nazi groups' ability to promote their vile views.

This news is a HOPE not hate exclusive, and it's not widely known -- yet. So we need you to break this story. It'll take as many of us as possible adding our names to a petition to call on the Home Secretary to investigate and shut down this loophole. Add yours now: 

Sign the petition

Cloudflare sells websites a protective shield that blocks them from attacks. NS131 is just one of its clients which include some of the most violent, extreme, and illegal organisations in the world, and it's storing them in our backyard.

Until now, our government's hands are tied because far-right groups hide websites "offshore" in the US, where hate laws are lax. The revelation that many are kept closer to home in the UK is game-changing.

This government has already banned NS131, so she shouldn't take too much convincing to eradicate this cyberspace loophole if HOPE not hate supporters get it out in the open.

Sign the petition to Amber Rudd now: launch a full-scale investigation into the practices of Cloudflare's website protection services and immediately shut down websites that store illegal and extremist content on servers in the UK.

Thanks,
The HOPE not hate team"

NS131 - Neo-nazi group banned in the UK  (image via HOPE Not Hate)

More Related Links:

• A Home For Hate
• National Action: Neo-Nazi group's aliases 'Scottish Dawn' and 'NS131' banned under terrorism laws, says Home Office
• Far-right groups Scottish Dawn and NS131 to be banned under terror laws
• Who are National Action / NS131 / Scottish Dawn?

The 'Mandela Effect' And How Your Mind Is Playing Tricks On You

(Image via Shutterstock)

By Neil Dagnall, Manchester Metropolitan University and Ken Drinkwater, Manchester Metropolitan University

Have you ever been convinced that something is a particular way only to discover you’ve remembered it all wrong? If so, it sounds like you’ve experienced the phenomenon known as the Mandela Effect.

This form of collective misremembering of common events or details first emerged in 2010, when countless people on the internet falsely remembered Nelson Mandela was dead. It was widely believed he had died in prison during the 1980s. In reality, Mandela was actually freed in 1990 and passed away in 2013 – despite some people’s claims they remember clips of his funeral on TV.

Paranormal consultant Fiona Broome coined the term “Mandela Effect” to explain this collective misremembering, and then other examples started popping up all over the internet. For instance, it was wrongly recalled that C-3PO from Star Wars was gold, actually one of his legs is silver. Likewise, people often wrongly believe that the Queen in Snow White says, “Mirror, mirror on the wall”. The correct phrase is “magic mirror on the wall”.

Broome explains the Mandela Effect via pseudoscientific theories. She claims that differences arise from movement between parallel realities (the multiverse). This is based on the theory that within each universe alternative versions of events and objects exist.

Broome also draws comparisons between existence and the holodeck of the USS Enterprise from Star Trek. The holodeck was a virtual reality system, which created recreational experiences. By her explanation, memory errors are software glitches. This is explained as being similar to the film The Matrix.

Other theories propose that the Mandela Effect evidences changes in history caused by time travellers. Then there are the claims that distortions result from spiritual attacks linked to Satan, black magic or witchcraft. But although appealing to many, these theories are not scientifically testable.

Where’s the science?
Psychologists explain the Mandela Effect via memory and social effects – particularly false memory. This involves mistakenly recalling events or experiences that have not occurred, or distortion of existing memories. The unconscious manufacture of fabricated or misinterpreted memories is called confabulation. In everyday life confabulation is relatively common.

False memories occur in a number of ways. For instance, the Deese-Roediger and McDermott paradigm demonstrates how learning a list of words that contain closely related items – such as “bed” and “pillow” – produces false recognition of related, but non presented words – such as “sleep”.

There’s a theory online that nuclear research experiments caused the world to shift into an alternate reality where Donald Trump became president.(Shutterstock)

Memory inaccuracy can also arise from what’s known as “source monitoring errors”. These are instances where people fail to distinguish between real and imagined even. US professor of psychology, Jim Coan, demonstrated how easily this can happen using the “Lost in the Mall” procedure.

This saw Coan give his family members short narratives describing childhood events. One, about his brother getting lost in a shopping mall, was invented. Not only did Coan’s brother believe the event occurred, he also added additional detail. When cognitive psychologist and expert on human memory, Elizabeth Loftus, applied the technique to larger samples, 25% of participants failed to recognise the event was false.

Incorrect recall
When it comes to the Mandela Effect, many examples are attributable to so called “schema driven errors”. Schemas are organised “packets” of knowledge that direct memory. In this way, schemas facilitate understanding of material, but can produce distortion.

Frederic Bartlett outlined this process in his 1932 book Remembering. Barlett read the Canadian Indian folktale “War of the Ghosts” to participants. He found that listeners omitted unfamiliar details and transformed information to make it more understandable.

This process is called “effort after meaning” and occurs in real world situations too. For instance, research has previously shown how when participants recall the contents of a psychologist’s office they tend to remember the consistent items such as bookshelves, and omit the inconsistent items – like a picnic basket.

The pseudoscientific belief puts differences between memories and the real world down to glitches caused by time travel. (Pexels)

Schema theory explains why previous research shows that when the majority of participants are asked to draw a clock face from memory, they mistakenly draw IV rather than IIII. Clocks often use IIII because it is more attractive.

Other examples of the Mandela Effect are the mistaken belief that Uncle Pennybags (Monopoly man) wears a monocle, and that the product title “KitKat” contains a hyphen (“Kit-Kat”). But this is simply explained by over-generalisation of spelling knowledge.

Back to reality
Frequently reported errors can then become part of collective reality. And the internet can reinforce this process by circulating false information. For example, simulations of the 1997 Princess Diana car crash are regularly mistaken for real footage.

In this way then, the majority of Mandela Effects are attributable to memory errors and social misinformation. The fact that a lot of the inaccuracies are trivial, suggests they result from selective attention or faulty inference.

This is not to say that the Mandela Effect is not explicable in terms of the multiverse. Indeed, the notion of parallel universes is consistent with the work of quantum physicists. But until the existence of alternative realities is established, psychological theories appear much more plausible.

About Today's Contributors:
Neil Dagnall, Reader in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University and Ken Drinkwater, Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Cognitive and Parapsychology, Manchester Metropolitan University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. 

Bonus Videos:

UAE Launches Seed Grants to Support New Research into Space Settlement & Space Habitation

Settlement Challenge Fact Sheet (PRNewsfoto/Dubai Future Foundation)

In its commitment to accelerating global space exploration activities, the UAE launches the Space Settlement Challenge; a dedicated seed grant fund that supports ambitious projects from all areas of research pursuing ideas and concepts to unlock the future of human space habitation. The challenge aims to attract brilliant minds from all around the world regardless of discipline, background, or origin. 

The UAE has announced a dedicated seed grant of AED2 million (approximately 500,000 euro) towards the Space Settlement Challenge. The funds will be used to bankroll proposals that explore novel ideas and develop new business models for living and working in space. 

The Challenge will solicit project proposals from diverse disciplines through a next-generation platform called "Guaana", whose innovative model dramatically reduces the time and effort required to fund seed ideas.

The Space Settlement Challenge is the first project of the newly established Mohammed Bin Rashed Centre for Accelerated Research, an initiative of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF).

Dubai Future Foundation's CEO Khalfan Belhoul said: "The UAE has set itself on an ambitious path to lead the global space race, establishing the first city on Mars as per the 2117 Mars Project. Space research is the logical next step in humanity's search for knowledge and survival, and an advanced means to preserve human cultures, societies and economies. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Settlement Challenge we are launching today is designed to provide support for creative minds, unconventional ideas, innovative designs and research."

The space challenge is composed of three categories, the first of which revolves around Space Settlement - aims to develop plans for locations that could support a thriving sustainable settlement in space accommodating at least 100 people. It explores matters like construction automation, power, food, water, heating and cooling, all the while taking the human factor into consideration.

The second category - Terraforming & Space Ecology - looks into creating livable long-term environments, formulating strategies for the responsible terraforming of off-planet bodies near the Moon, Mars, asteroids and other orbital habitats.

The third category- Economics, Business Model & Governance - seeks to develop business plans for optimal economics and resource utilization, writing scenarios that identify private-sector partners interested in conducting commercial activities in space. The challenge also seeks to ensure good governance by proposing national policies that promote society's awareness of peaceful settlement in space.

⏩ Application is open from February 10, 2018, for a month on: mbrspacechallenge.ae

SOURCE: Dubai Future Foundation

The Video:

Stitcher Brings Marvel's Wolverine To SXSW

Wolverine: The Long Night

Stitcher, one of the world's leading podcast platforms, is making a major play at South by Southwest (SXSW) next month as it showcases some of its top podcast stars and sponsors the festival's Next Stage series of programming.

Festival goers will enjoy an exclusive first listen of "Wolverine: The Long Night," the long-awaited podcast collaboration between Stitcher and Marvel, ahead of the series' premiere during a panel that answers the question, "What does a superhero sound like?"

(Image via We Are Geeks Of Color)

Actor Richard Armitage ("The Hobbit"), the voice of Logan for the series, will join in conversation with the series' writer, award-winning comic book author Ben Percy; Dan Silver, vice president, head of platforms and content for Marvel New Media; and Jenny Radelet, Stitcher's head of content. 

⏩ The session takes place at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 11 at the Next Stage.

"Wolverine: The Long Night" is a 10-episode scripted series that is a hybrid of mystery and the larger-scale fantasy of the Marvel Universe. 

More About "Wolverine: The Long Night":
(via wolverinepodcast.com)

Following a string of mysterious deaths in Burns, Alaska, Special Agents Sally Pierce and Tad Marshall arrive to investigate. They soon find there’s more going on than meets the eye. The first scripted podcast from Marvel, starring Celia Keenan-Bolger and Ato Essandoh as Agents Pierce and Marshall, with Richard Armitage as Wolverine. Also featuring Scott Adsit, Bob Balaban, Zoe Chao, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, and Brian Stokes Mitchell.

The Trailer:

⏩ Stitcher is the sponsor of the Next Stage, which showcases a diverse lineup of panels and performances March 11-14 in the Austin Convention Center.

SXSW Trade Show 2017 - Photo by Merrick Ales

About SXSW:

SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film and music industries. 

The event, an essential destination for global professionals, features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions and a variety of networking opportunities. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together. 

SXSW 2018 will take place March 9-18, 2018. SXSW 2018 is sponsored by Capital One, Mercedes-Benz, Bud Light and The Austin Chronicle.

SOURCE: The E.W. Scripps Company

Becoming Beast: Marvel's New Black Panther Movie Has A Surprising Medieval Connection

Black Panther (Image.net)

By Lydia Zeldenrust, University of York

Black Panther looks to be another hit for Marvel. The film has been highly anticipated, not least because it is a milestone in cinema with a black lead superhero starring alongside a majority black cast.

The film tells the story of T'Challa, who grapples with his new role as king of the technologically advanced, fictional African nation of Wakanda. He also happens to be a badass warrior who runs around in a bulletproof catsuit with retractable claws.

Humans with the heightened senses and enhanced strength and agility of animals, have become a staple feature of the comic book genre. But what makes Black Panther different from Spiderman or Wolverine is that his abilities are not the result of genetic mutation or technological augmentation. Though his suit is advanced technology, T'Challa’s abilities come from a magical herb and his mystical connection with a Panther god.

Considering these supernatural origins, Black Panther has interesting echoes with medieval tales of humans who take on the appearance and characteristics of beasts. And just like Black Panther, in these tales, getting closer to the animal doesn’t make someone less than human – but superhuman.

These are not the usual stories of fear that the animal inside will overwhelm the human, but of humans still in control of their faculties when they become the beast.

Medieval werewolves
Surely the most famous example of humans with the skins of beasts is the werewolf. Medieval werewolves differ from later versions, as they are often sympathetic heroes rather than dangerous adversaries.

Take Melion, one of King Arthur’s knights. His transformation, with the help of an enchanted ring, is portrayed not as problematic, but as a loving gesture. Melion becomes a werewolf because he believes this will save his wife. Only in wolf form is he able to hunt down the stag she claims she must eat or she will die. The real foe in this story is the wife, as she takes her husband’s becoming a wolf as the perfect excuse to elope with another man.

Another heroic werewolf appears in the romance Guillaume de Palerne. This wolf saves the four-year-old prince Guillaume from his uncle’s plot to poison him and take the throne. The werewolf continues to take care of Guillaume well into adulthood, probably because the two have much in common. The beast is also a prince, Alfonso, whose enchantment is the result of another family struggle over the throne.

Both tales show how there remains a human inside the beast. Melion continues to think rationally and feel human emotions while in wolf form. When at court, the wolf shows civilised behaviour, even drinking wine instead of water.

Alfonso might look like a dangerous animal, but he is highly intelligent and has self-control. His civilised, human nature shines through, for instance, when he feeds Guillaume processed food like bread and wine instead of raw meat. And when Alfonso does hunt, it is a sign of his intelligence, as he gets deer skins they can use as a disguise while they are on the run.

Humans in animal skins
Melion and Alfonso have enhanced abilities, too – they are stronger, faster, and often more intelligent than humans – but the beast never takes over. Though their bodies change, their identity remains stable.

T'Challa is the Black Panther – a righteous king, noble Avenger, and fearsome warrior. (Art by Gabriele Dell'Otto)

Even when the wolves threaten to lose control and act violently against humans, these acts are presented as reasonable and understandable. This is because the main victim of such violence is someone who hurt them. Alfonso growls at the stepmother who enchanted him, and Melion attacks the man his wife left him for.

We are meant to see this not as a loss of control, but the only way someone stuck in a wolf skin can let others know of their plight, since they can no longer speak. Alfonso in particular finds out that when he gestures with his paws, the humans only give him a puzzled look – an interesting comment on the limits of communication across species.

Enhanced humans?
In both tales, it is this uncharacteristic beastly behaviour that leads to the discovery that the wolves are enchanted humans, and their return to human form. But not all medieval stories end with a fairy tale like resolve where the animal becomes human again.

Melusine takes care of her children while in half-animal form. (Wikimedia Commons)

A case in point is Melusine, a woman cursed to turn into a half serpent once a week. After discovering her part-animal form, Melusine’s husband chooses to see his wife as a beast rather than a fellow human being, condemning her to become a serpent for all time. But as with the werewolves, Melusine remains human inside her dragon-like suit – though with the added bonus of being able to fly.

What all this shows is that humans with the abilities of animals are certainly not an idea first invented in comic books. But like Black Panther, these medieval stories are about a fusion of human and animal characteristics rather than strict hybridity – highlighting the potential advantages of becoming beast. As a reader or viewer, we are invited to imagine what it may be like to be an animal – but while the human inside remains unchanged.

About Today's Contributor:
Lydia Zeldenrust, Associate Lecturer in Medieval Literature, University of York

This article was originally published on The Conversation. 

Bonus Pictures:

Black Panther Conqueror (via DeviantArt.com)

Black Panther (via DeviantArt.com)

Captain America : Civil War - Black Panther (via DeviantArt.com)

Survey: How Does Money Affect Relationships and Does It Impact Who We're Attracted To? NFEC Conducts a Pre-Valentine's Day Poll to Find Out

(Image via Pixabay)

So what impact does money have on your romantic relationships? The National Financial Educators Council was curious, so they asked 2,644 people across the US survey questions related to money and relationships.

The goals of the surveys were to get a better understanding around these 3 areas: how people felt money affected their romantic relationships, whether we are attracted to financially similar people, and the general tone of financial conversations with our significant others.

⏩ See the full results of the surveys conducted between February 6th – 8th 2018 by visiting: financialeducatorscouncil.org/money-and-relationships.

To better understand whether respondents were attracted to partners with similar financial mindsets, the NFEC received feedback from 857 respondents on the question, "In my most recent romantic relationship, we shared money attitudes and habits that were…" The results:

• 39.4% answered 'very similar'.
• 26.7% answered 'somewhat similar'.
• 9.8% answered 'neither similar nor different'.
• 11.6% answered 'somewhat different'.
• 12.5% answered 'very different'.

⏩ Do opposites attract or are we attracted to those like us? Well, according to the initial results, the conclusion is people are attracted to those with very similar financial behaviors with over 66% answering 'similar' and 'very similar'.

To assess the overall impact of money on relationships, the NFEC asked 893 people, "Money has affected my past and current romantic relationships mostly in a..."  The results:

• 24.7% selected these choices: 'very positive way' (10.3%) and 'positive way' (14.4%).
• 19.1% selected these choices: 'negative way' (12.2%) and 'very negative way' (6.9%).

"I'm not shocked with the results of this question," states Scott Bown, CFEI, CFP(R). "While many of my clients state the top goal is to improve their finances, deeper into the interview process true motivations become apparent – the root motivation is often to improve relationships with their significant other."

To get a general sense of the tone of our personal finance conversations with significant others, the NFEC received 894 responses to the question, "In my past and current romantic relationships, discussions about money generally have had a…"  The results:

• 39.6% responded discussions had a 'very positive tone' (24.7%) and a 'somewhat positive tone' (14.9%).
• 20.3% responded discussions had a 'somewhat negative tone' (14.5%) and a 'very negative tone' (5.8%).

This question was designed to assess the overall tone of such conversations to better understand the intensity of money discussions between romantic partners. The NFEC is currently conducting supply-side research on this topic with financial coaches – the data will be released over Financial Literacy Month (April 2018).  

"The impact of money is greater than just dollars and cents – it impacts many areas of our lives. These studies demonstrate that money is having a direct impact on people's romantic relationships; unfortunately, for many respondents it is a negative impact. We encourage people to work toward a more secure financial future together and keep the lines of communication open when it comes to money," states Vince Shorb, NFEC's CEO.

⏩ This Valentine's Day survey is the first conducted by the NFEC that is centered around relationships and money. The NFEC and collaborators are conducting an ongoing series of research exploring financial education, attitudes, behaviors, and wellness on a person's romantic relationships.   

SOURCE: National Financial Educators Council

KKK, Alt-Right Groups Target Author Over Controversial Novel "The Slave Players"

The Slave Players

In a continuingly heated and contentious social and political landscape, art often serves as the catalyst for conversation and education, but one book, The Slave Players, has incited tremendous backlash against both the author and publisher from vocal hate groups across America.

"What began as one woman's unique perspective and twist on race relations in the South has turned into a hostile campaign against a very skilled writer who put pen to paper to explore her fears," says David Adams, CEO of Burn House Publishing. "While many recognize The Slave Players as art and a departure into different themes of our divisive political climate, certain groups committed to racial discrimination and unrest are trying to threaten her into silence."

The Slave Players, written by Megan Allen, fictionalizes a present-day Alabama that is undone by a racial uprising brought on by a horrific tragedy. The nightmare act sparks a new Civil War, and the revolt of a still-subjugated group places the white citizens of Alabama in the same bondage that countless black slaves endured during our country's history of slavery.

After the book's release, hate mail and social media content - including YouTube videos calling for violence - have targeted both Allen and Burn House Publishing. While much of the inflammatory correspondence has come from alt-right circles, the Ku Klux Klan is taking a more aggressive approach to the hateful rhetoric.

In a widely circulated letter that has appeared on dozens of college campuses, the KKK wrote, "It is loud-mouth literature that poisons society against us. And we must all stand together against it. A novel is out titled The Slave Players, which was clearly written just to agitate the college educated, who always think they have a better answer for the woes of the world." The Klan's Imperial Grand Wizard, Chris Barker, took things furthers, releasing a grotesque and vulgar response on YouTube attacking African Americans and Allen, literally tearing the novel to pieces in front of the camera.

"I wrote The Slave Players as an alternate viewpoint to some of the underlying discriminatory tones in our society that have recently surfaced in present-day events like our last Presidential Election," says Megan Allen, author of The Slave Players.  "And through the heartbreak of tragedies like Ferguson, we've seen the birth of landmark groups that are finding their voice, like Black Lives Matter.  It's movements like these that inspire progress.  The #MeToo movement is very similar, as women finally broke through to find their power – their authentic voice.  This is why dialogue is so critical for our society to first understand and then to heal."

As the anger over the book spreads, so does the support. The Slave Players is quickly becoming a book club favorite, and is sparking much conversation – and controversy – on social media. The book follows race relations in the South to a terrifyingly possible conclusion, and holds an unflattering mirror to each and every American. We can't continue to look at our advancements and ourselves as a nation through rose-colored glasses, and author Megan Allen is more than happy to tear them off to open our eyes to what is really happening in our backyard.

About The Slave Players: 
(via The Slave Players site)

"It’s modern day in the Deep South. Racial unrest is rampant, and outbreaks of violence reach epidemic proportions. When a church bus makes a wrong turn in the Alabama countryside, a dozen teenage girls become victims of a heinous crime. The resulting outcry is explosive, as a new civil war erupts, but this time it will be whites who are cast into bondage. And Slave Playing becomes a cruel game of tyranny and survival.

The story winds and unwinds as it coils around the reader like a great serpent. At times it will be a love story, with warmth, humor and human kindness. But mostly it will slap hard at the Wall-Builders, and those who would be king at the expense of others, who would be prey. And a man will arrive on this tiny speck of land in the heart of Alabama. He will bring with him a whip, and a lesson of what tyranny and oppression can do to the human spirit."

About the author: 

Author Megan Allen

Megan Allen is a 27 year old California native who received her Bachelor's from UC Berkeley and her Master's in creative writing from the University of Edinburgh. 

After graduating she spent long periods of time in the Deep South visiting her father. And it was there she found inspiration for her debut novel, The Slave Players. 

She writes, "I grew up naively, and had no idea that racism still prevailed with such intensity in my own country. Then I met Alabama."

SOURCE: Burn House Publishing

Bonus Videos: