October 25, 2014

Islamic State makes violent video game to recruit young fighters

Islamic State jihadists are believed to have released a new recruiting video based on a notoriously violent computer game.

The mocked-up Grand Theft Auto-style trailer is designed to attract younger members and features virtual fighters shouting “Allahu Akbar!” as they attack U.S. troops.

Throughout, the terror group’s logo is displayed at the top of the screen, alongside the apparent “GTA” styling.

According to Islamic State’s media wing, the video aims to “raise the morale of the mujahedin and to train children and youth how to battle the West and to strike terror into the hearts of those who oppose the Islamic State”.

http://themuslimissue.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/islamic-state-daash-creates-terrorist-video-game-to-glotify-jihad-and-attract-young-recruits/

October 25, 2014

Real Wives of ISIS Try to Pull in Other Women for the Brothers

ISIS has proved to be adept at using social media, and the group’s female followers, particularly those from England, are no exception. Glancing at assorted tweets, Tumblrs, Instagram, Ask.fm pages and Facebook accounts of ISIS supporters, it’s initially tricky to distinguish between the online white noise of 15-year-olds in Wigan, an English town, who want to seem edgy by supporting the group, and genuine followers on the ground.

A closer look, however, shows a cadre of real ISIS followers who have made the hijrah and are leaving an online account of the day-to-day workings of life under ISIS. By adopting more everyday, accessible approach to their posts, the women have carved out a social media niche, composing listicles like “10 Marriage Facts From the Islamic State,” which was published by a blogger who goes by “Bird of Jannah,” referring to the Islamic name for heaven. The list includes details such as how the Euphrates is every newlywed’s favorite date spot, how every ISIS fighter gets seven days off and how ISIS gives newly married couples a gift of $700. Well, that last one was later changed to the more general:

“Dawlah will give money or gifts to every newly-married couple.”

These women broadcast their realities through social media much like anyone of their generation, using the platforms to make sense of their lives by sharing personal details and reflections in public. Their ability to be relatable has made these women a crucial part of the ISIS media machine. And just like their male counterparts, the women are fighting a running battle with the Twitter police, who frequently suspend their accounts


http://www.vocativ.com/world/isis-2/wives-isis-attracting-western-women-syria/

October 24, 2014

BCAM: Living With Breast Cancer – as a Man

For Gallo, the culprit turned out to be genetics. “Right after I was diagnosed, my doctor referred me to a genetic counselor,” he says. “I had the BRCA test, and I came back positive for the gene.” The BRCA gene is a mutation that raises your risk for breast cancer by up to 85 percent and can be passed down in your family.


There’s no difference between men and women diagnosed with breast cancer, says Marleen Meyers, an assistant professor of medical oncology with NYU Langone Medical Center. Detection, treatment and prognosis are the same. The only problem is that men tend to get diagnosed much later than women. “Men are not undergoing routine screenings,” she says. “They only seek medical attention when they feel a lump, whereas women have routine screenings and get it identified earlier. By the time men come in, the tumor is usually at least 1 centimeter in size, and the cancer has often spread.”

Gallo’s tumor was 2 centimeters by time he went for surgery, and the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes. He opted for a double mastectomy and had his breast tissue and 30 lymph nodes removed. Then he started chemotherapy. “It was pretty rough,” he says. “ did eight treatments over 16 weeks. It left me really nauseous and in incredible pain. I’ve been finished for almost a month now, and I’m still feeling the effects. It’s turned my life upside down.”


http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2014/10/22/living-with-breast-cancer-as-a-man

October 23, 2014

ISIS calls for MORE attacks on Canada

'Follow the footsteps of our brave brother': ISIS takes to Twitter to call for MORE attacks on Canada as it's feared more than 130 young Muslims have already left the country to join the terror group


•Suspected terrorist attacks in Canada have sparked commentary from the online jihadist community on Twitter who are calling upon others to strike
•'Muslims in Canada, follow the footsteps of our brave brother Martin Rouleau who took revenge for Canadian military aggression in our lands,' wrote suspected jihadist Abu Khalid Al-Kanadi
•The Canadian government estimates that over 130 Muslim youth have already left the country to join ISIS and that the number is growing

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2804359/Follow-footseps-barve-brother-ISIS-supporters-taken-Twitter-call-attacks-Canada-130-youths-left-Canada-join-terror-group.html

October 23, 2014

Australian teen Abdullah Elmir is new public face of Islamic State

A TEENAGE boy from western Sydney has been used as a new public face of Islamic State, starring in a propaganda video “especially” targeted at Australia and claiming that Tony Abbott should know the terror group will never surrender.

Abdullah Elmir, a 17-year-old who told his family that he was going on a fishing trip with a friend before leaving Australia to join the conflict in Syria and Iraq, is fighting with Islamic State and is now front and centre in the fourth episode of the series entitled Message of the Mujahid.

The video, released by Islamic State just hours ago, sees Elmir — identified as “Abu Khaled from Australia” — clutching an assault rifle while delivering a 90-second diatribe with between 70 and 100 heavily armed fighters stand behind him.

“This message, I deliver to you, the people of America,” he says in the video. “I deliver this message to you, the people of Britain. And I deliver this message to you — especially — the people of Australia.
“And I say this about your coalition. You threaten us with this coalition of countries. Bring every nation that you wish to us. Bring every nation that you want to come and fight us. It means nothing to us.”


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/terror/australian-teen-abdullah-elmir-is-new-public-face-of-islamic-state/story-fnpdbcmu-1227097275395

October 23, 2014

BCAM: Expand conversation to include metastatic breast cancer

Expand conversation to include metastatic breast cancer
By Anne Morris | October 20, 2014


While we’ve done a great job of raising awareness about early stage breast cancer, there’s a critical need to move the conversation further to include a population that largely goes unnoticed, and left feeling alone. I’m talking about those living with metastatic breast cancer — cancer that has spread beyond the breast to other organs in the body, and is incurable.

Current estimates show as many as a quarter of a million people in the United States are living with the uncertainty, fear, and sense of isolation that often accompanies metastatic breast cancer. It lives with them everyday as they undergo grueling treatment hoping for another month, another year, knowing their future is uncertain. Every year 40,000 die from it.

In Massachusetts we are building momentum in our efforts to engage and educate women about metastatic breast cancer. Later this month two events highlighting metastatic breast cancer will take place in Boston, as experts come together and present their thoughts and findings on the state of the disease.

These programs demonstrate the willingness and commitment on behalf of breast cancer researchers, organizations, and those who support the cause to communicate and engage the public on this very important topic. But this is only the beginning. We have a lot more to accomplish.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/10/20/expand-conversation-include-metastatic-breast-cancer/OIpTIXUpWJJCWUt4oDjHJN/story.html

October 22, 2014

Michael Zehaf-Bibeau: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

1. An ISIS Media Account Tweeted a Picture Purporting to Be Bibeau

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2. Bibeau Recently Had His Passport Seized, Just Like the Other Canadian Soldier Killer
3. He Has a Long Criminal Record
4. Nathan Cirillo Has Been Named as the Slain Soldier
5. He Was Killed by the Parliament’s Sergeant-at-Arms


http://heavy.com/news/2014/10/michael-zehaf-bibeau-ottawa-parliament-shooting-terro-attack/

October 22, 2014

BCAM: Why are Komen's pink ribbons on so many carcinogenic products?

Breast cancer giant Susan G. Komen has found its strangest bedfellow yet in one of the world's largest oilfield services corporations, Baker Hughes. The two have teamed up for a second year to distribute 1,000 pink drill bits to oil fields worldwide.

Each drill bit, which burrows thousands of feet underground to tap fossil fuel reservoirs, is "shipped to the drill site in a pink-topped container containing information packets with breast health facts, including breast cancer risk factors and screening tips," according to energy news site FuelFix.com.

These pink drill bits deliver not only barrels of oil, but also good PR and money: Baker Hughes gets to claim it cares about women's health, and Komen will receive a check from the Houston-based company for $100,000. The campaign has even come up with a cute tagline: "Doing their bit for a cure." But this partnership creates something far more insidious - a profit cycle whereby Komen raises millions of dollars each year to cure a disease that its corporate partner could be helping to cause. Baker Hughes' business includes hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process for extracting oil and gas using a mixture of water and chemicals, including known or possible carcinogens.

This is just the latest example of "pinkwashing" - when a company or organization claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink-ribbon product but at the same time manufactures or sells products that are linked to the disease. Pinkwashing publicity stunts serve one purpose: They generate public goodwill and profits for corporation and nonprofit alike.


http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/why-are-komen-s-pink-ribbons-on-so-many-carcinogenic-products-karuna-jaggar-1.9529132

October 21, 2014

Foreign fighters flow to Syria

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/foreign-fighters-flow-to-syria/2014/10/11/3d2549fa-5195-11e4-8c24-487e92bc997b_graphic.html




WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD, FOLKS

October 21, 2014

Man with Down's Syndrome Beheaded for 'ATHEISM' (GUESS WHO?)

‘Even animals don’t do it’: Kobani siege survivors on ISIS brutality

http://rt.com/news/197232-rt-survivors-isis-kobani/


Bazran Halil, a Kurdish rights activist and freelance journalist briefly crossed into Turkey with his wife from Kobani for an interview. His laptop is full of graphic videos, lending credence to rumors of the Islamic State’s (IS, or ISIS, or ISIL) trademark brutality.

“There was a man with Down Syndrome,” he says. “He couldn’t understand the situation, to flee, or to run away from the frontline. When ISIS arrived they beheaded him and took photos, shared them on social media and said ‘we killed an atheist, a Kaffir’.”