Chilling Brain Scans Show Impact of Mother’s Love on Child’s Brain Size

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A shocking comparison of brain scans from two three-year-old children reveals new evidence of the remarkable impact a mother’s love has on a child’s brain development.

The chilling images reveal that the left brain, which belongs to a normal 3-year-old, is significantly larger and contains fewer spots and dark “fuzzy” areas than the right brain, which belongs to that of a 3-year-old who has suffered extreme neglect.

Neurologists say that the latest images provide more evidence that the way children are treated in their early years is important not only for the child’s emotional development, but also in determining the size of their brains.

Experts say that the sizeable difference in the two brains is primarily caused by the difference in the way each child was treated by their mothers.

While at first glance, the images might indicate that the child with the right brain might have suffered a serious accident or illness, neurologists said that the truth is that the child with the shrunken brain was neglected and abused by its mother, and the child with the larger and more fully developed brain was raised in a loving, supportive home and was looked after by its mother, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

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Islamic Fundamentalists Training Burkha-Clad Female Terrorists But How Do They See? (+video)

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By SAM WEBB and STEVE NOLAN. Burkha-clad women are being trained to fight by terrorists in the volatile Russian Republic of Chechnya.

This film, posted online by extremists, shows women in the traditional clothes being taught how to wield Kalashnikov assault rifles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and sniper rifles with deadly results.

It is believed the all-female group of fighters was recruited by a group linked to Al-Qaeda that has bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Terrorism experts suspect the women will be used to launch attacks because females are less likely to arouse suspicion among guards at terrorist targets.

The recruitment of women by the insurgent groups has become more common in recent years as it is thought that they are more effective at evading security check points. Read more from this story HERE.

G-R-A-C-E: The Healthiest Quins Ever Born Come Home (+video)

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The first letter of each baby’s name, G-R-A-C-E [Gabby, Riley, Addison, Cooper, and Emerson], spells out a word with deep meaning to the Ferraro’s, who are of profound faith: “Just to communicate that we want them to be full of grace,” John Ferraro said of the naming process. “We also like the song, ‘Amazing Grace.'”

Add in big sister Gianna, who is 2, and you have “Grace Plus One,” which is the name of the family’s website: graceplusone.com.

The quintuplets were born Sept. 26 at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, Ariz. The Ferraros lived in a nearby apartment until the babies – three boys and two girls – were strong enough to take home to Fullerton.

“We’re excited to be home,” Meryl Ferraro said. “This is the first step to help us feel organized.”

The couple had lived in Torrance but thought it best to relocate to Fullerton to be close to their family and spiritual base. The Ferraros attend First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton. John Ferraro was born and raised in the city. Friends from church plan to help with feedings, and all four grandparents likely will be spending lots of time with their new grandchildren. Read more from this story HERE.

Here’s a video of the five babies, their sister and parents:

Billy Graham Says His Heart Aches for ‘Deceived’ America

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The Rev. Billy Graham has posted a new prayer letter on his website where he addresses the people of the nation and tells them he is very much afraid of the damage that the American lifestyle is doing in the eyes of the Lord.

The 93-year-old evangelist begins his letter by recalling an incident a few years ago when his wife, Ruth, who has since passed away, remarked that “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah,” referring to the cities in the Old Testament destroyed for the sinful nature of their residents.

“I wonder what Ruth would think of America if she were alive today. In the years since she made that remark, millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely unconcerned. Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle,” Graham remarks.

The pastor then goes on to refer to several other incidents in recent times where he sees the American government and American society as a whole coming down on Christians – including instances where chaplains who serve the police department have been told to no longer say the name of Jesus during prayer.

“Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone – except God,” Graham says. “Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Surviving Economic, Societal Collapse: Your Biggest Enemy May Be … You

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I think it’s safe to say with some conviction that in the year of 2012 the concept of survival prepping is NOT an alien one to most Americans. When National Geographic decides there is a viable market for a prepper TV show (no matter how misrepresentative of true preppers it may be), when Walmart starts stocking shelves with long term emergency food storage kits, when survivalism in general becomes one of the few growing business markets in the midst of an otherwise disintegrating economy; you know that the methodology has gone “mainstream”. There is a noticeable and expanding concern amongst Americans that we are, indeed, on the verge of something new and unfortunate.

Is it the big bad hoodoo of the soon to expire Mayan Calendar? For a few, maybe, but for the majority of us, no. That jazz is a carnival sideshow designed to make the prepping culture appear ridiculous. We don’t need to believe in magical prophecies to know that there is a catastrophic road ahead; all we have to do is look at the stark realities of our current circumstances. It does not take much awareness anymore to notice looming fiscal volatility, social unrest, the potential for unrestrained war, and the totalitarian boldness of our government. I’ll take the wrath of Quetzalcoatl any day over the manure storm that is approaching us currently.

With some estimating a count of 3 million prepper families and growing in the U.S., the motto of “beans, bullets, and band-aids” is finding a home amongst legions. However, being closely involved in the survivalist movement during the past six years and speaking with literally thousands of preppers, it has become clear to me that we still have a long journey ahead of us before we can claim true efficiency and mastery.

Sadly, having a stockpile of food, weapons, and some slick tactical gear is not enough to ensure a high likelihood of survival, at least not in any of the social collapses that have occurred in the past century around the world. It’s a start, but only just…

There are a number of detrimental weakness to the survivalist movement and considerable holes in prepper knowledge that must be addressed now while we have the time and relative safety to do so. The greatest threat to the common survivalist is not economic collapse, roving bandits, Blackwater mercenaries, or predator drones; those dangers are a piece of cake compared to the threat of an overblown ego, which will get a man killed faster than the most sophisticated smart bomb. If we cannot accept that there is always more to learn, and room to improve, we have been defeated before we have begun.

Read more from this story HERE.

American Psychiatry in Shambles: Two More Children Killed

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Thursday night, Marina Krim, a mother on the Upper West Side of Manhattan opened the door to her apartment to find her two children dead. They had been stabbed to death allegedly by their nanny Yoselyn Ortega, who then slit her wrists in an apparent failed suicide attempt.

This horrific act of violence, like so many seemingly inexplicable ones, will likely turn out to have roots in unrecognized and, perhaps, untreated mental illness. While the Krim children did not die in a movie theatre showing of Batman at the hands of a man dressed like the Joker, they died at the hands of someone who must have been battling demons no less dark and no less commanding.

If we learn the truth about Yoselyn Ortega, it is possible we may learn that she could have been showing signs of a mental disorder and sharing them—either with a clinician or with others around her, in the days or weeks before this tragedy.

I have said this before, but will keep saying it on every occasion it fits: The mental health care system in America is in shambles. It barely even exists. That’s how bad it is. It leaves very, very ill people under-treated and many not treated at all. The system makes almost no attempt to educate the public about signs and symptoms of the most severe psychiatric conditions, as though such conditions still embarrass us or still define those suffering them as weak or depraved.

Read more from this story HERE.

Out-of-Control Judiciary: Federal Judge Orders Expert Opinion on Whether Electrolysis is Necessary for Sex Change Murderer

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The federal judge who last month ordered taxpayer-funded sex-change surgery for transsexual wife-killer Robert Kosilek is now forcing the state prison system to hire an expert to determine whether he needs electrolysis hair-removal treatment.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf issued the order today, telling the Department of Corrections to identify the expert by Nov. 2 “to evaluate Kosilek to determine whether electrolysis is medically necessary, and/or to provide the electrolysis, if it is ordered to do so.”

A state prison doc testified in 2010 that Kosilek doesn’t need the treatment; that doctor, Robert Deiner, will be called to testify again at a Nov. 19 hearing.

The Department of Corrections refused to comment on today’s order.

Wolf, in a landmark ruling last month, ordered the surgery for Kosilek, 63, an MCI-Norfolk lifer who suffers from gender-identity disorder and sued the state to provide sex-change surgery in 2006. Wolf ruled the surgery was “a serious medical need” and to deny the surgery would violate Kosilek’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama: Romney Presidency Means the End of Roe vs. Wade

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There’s no question a Romney presidency could spell the end of Roe v. Wade, President Obama said in an interview with Rolling Stone.

Romney has said he’d like to see the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that said abortion is legal. And if he wins in November, he might be able to tilt the balance of the court to make that possible.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Obama said when asked whether he fears that Roe could be overturned. “Governor Romney has made clear that’s his position. His running mate has made this one of the central principles of his public life. Typically, a president is going to have one or two Supreme Court nominees during the course of his presidency, and we know that the current Supreme Court has at least four members who would overturn Roe v. Wade. All it takes is one more for that to happen.”

The court currently has four solid conservatives and four solid liberals, with Justice Anthony Kennedy — a Republican appointee — serving as the most common swing vote. If a President Romney could replace even one justice, especially a liberal, most observers believe there would be five reliable votes against abortion rights.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen as the most likely of the current justices to retire in the near future. At 79, she is the oldest member of the court. Kennedy and Justice Stephen Breyer, also a liberal, are also in their 70s.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Was Sole Senator to Refuse to Vote For Bill Protecting Rape Victims

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In a 1999 legislative vote, then-Illinois State Senator Barack Obama was the sole state senator to not vote for for a bill that would protect sexual assault victims from having the details of their cases revealed publicly.

On May 11 of that year, Obama voted “present” on a bill, ultimately made law, that allows victims of sex crimes to request that their cases be sealed from public view following a criminal conviction. Illinois Senate voting records show that Obama was the only senator who did not vote in favor of the bill.

Obama’s unique objection to voting for a bill meant to protect victims of sex crimes is a substantial departure from the picture he has attempted to paint for women voters.

The future president, it was reported then, questioned the bill’s constitutionality.

The legislation’s intent was to prevent public consumption of the explicit details of sex crimes without “good cause.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Make-up, Hairspray & Food Packaging May Cause Menopause Years Early, Feminize Boys

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Chemicals found in make-up, hairspray and food packaging are causing women to hit the menopause early, researchers warn.

Those exposed to high doses have been found to go through the change almost two and a half years before other women.

And in some cases, these chemicals may be causing women to stop having periods 15 years too soon, say scientists.

There is already is widespread concern over the potential health risks of pthalates, a group of chemicals found in plastics, cosmetics, household products and food packaging.

Recent studies have shown they may increase the risk of cancer, diabetes and obesity and there is even evidence they may feminise the brains of young boys.

Read more from this story HERE.