The last of a group of rabbis arrested in New Jersey's largest-ever corruption sting has been sentenced, in a case that sent shock-waves through Orthodox Jewish enclaves from the Jersey Shore to Brooklyn

Lavel Schwartz was one of five rabbis and more than 40 people arrested in July 2009 in a massive money-laundering and political corruption sting that included Jewish leaders, New Jersey politicians and a man convicted of trafficking in human organs. Schwartz was sentenced in federal court in Trenton to 12 months and one day in prison. The 61-year-old Brooklyn, New York resident pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in May 2012, admitting that he conspired to launder illegal proceeds through purported religious charities run by his brother, Rabbi Mordchai Fish. Fish, who was arrested in the same sting, was sentenced in July 2012 to nearly four years in federal prison after pleading guilty. Prosecutors say that Fish and Schwartz laundered money for Solomon Dwek, a disgraced real estate and admitted Ponzi schemer who became a government informant in 2006 after his arrest on a $50 million bank fraud. Dwek told Fish, Schwartz and others in the sting that the money he needed laundered was proceeds from the sale of illegal handbags or assets he needed to hide from bankruptcy proceedings. Fish and Schwartz would take Dwek's checks and deposit them with a Jewish religious charity Fish controlled, then give Dwek back cash minus a 10% commission, according to court papers. Schwartz admitted to engaging in ten transactions with Dwek, converting between $200,000 and $400,000 in checks into a similar amount of cash, minus the 10% fee. Dwek is now serving a six-year prison term for the bank fraud charge that lead to his becoming a government cooperator. About three-quarters of the defendants arrested in 2009 have pleaded guilty or been convicted.

Spain's Interior Ministry says that police have arrested 17 people on suspicion of smuggling Nigerian women into Spain and forcing them into prostitution using threats including claims that they would cast voodoo spells on them if they didn't comply

An investigation began when police detected in January 2012 that around 10 women had been brought into the country illegally using a small boat. Police said that their raids seized computer equipment, mobile phones, and false identity and work permit documents, as well as objects that detectives said were used in voodoo rituals. Officers tracked down the pimps in cities throughout Spain and arrested 16 Nigerian nationals and one Ugandan citizen.

United States: In 2008, 53% of all households headed by an immigrant (legal or illegal) with one or more children under age 18 used at least one welfare program, compared to 36% for native households with children

Immigrant use of welfare tends to be much higher than natives for food assistance programs and Medicaid. A large share of the welfare used by immigrants is received on behalf of their U.S.-born children. But even households with children comprised entirely of immigrants still have a welfare use rate of 47%.

Students of color in Illinois are dropping out of school at an alarming rate compared to their white counterparts, according to a new study commissioned by the Chicago Alternative Schools Network

The study reveals that nearly a quarter of all drop outs are Hispanic, followed by blacks. It also found that males are more likely to quit school than females. Researchers say that those who dropped out of school experience a higher poverty rate, higher unemployment rate, lower annual earnings, lower marriage rate and are jailed more frequently.

There is a black-Latino graduation gap in Connecticut schools

Two-thirds of black students, but only half of Hispanics, graduated from Wilbur Cross High School in four years in 2011. At Wilbur Cross, New Haven's largest high school, 48.1% of Hispanic students earned a diploma within four years, compared to 65.4% of black students. The 1,290-student school was 47% Hispanic and 39% black that year. The city's second-biggest high school, James Hillhouse, also showed a significant racial gap: one third (33.8%) of Hispanic students got a diploma within four years, compared to 55.8% of blacks. The same gap persisted at the rest of the city's nine high schools, except Metropolitan Business Academy and High School in the Community (HSC), where Hispanics graduated at a higher rate than blacks, and Sound School, which had too few black students to report that figure. New Haven's numbers reflect a larger trend: In Connecticut, 64% of Hispanics graduated within four years, compared to 71% of blacks and 89% of whites, according to a national database using a new, more accurate four-year cohort measurement for the Class of 2011. Though based on a different calculation, data from the National Center for Education Statistics the Class of 2010 showed a similar gap nationwide: 15.1% of Hispanics dropped out of high school, which was three times the rate of whites and nearly twice the rate of blacks. "We've long known our Latino students are faring worse than our African-American students," both on tests and dropout rates, said Patrick Riccards, CEO of the education watchdog group ConnCAN.

Individuals who gain weight in adulthood as well as those who are overweight in adolescence and adulthood are at increased risk for hypertension, research suggests

Moreover, the risk for hypertension varied across racial/ethnic groups, with Hispanic men having a 2.74-fold increased risk for hypertension, while black men had a 4.36-fold increased risk, and white men had a 6.38-fold increased risk, compared with Hispanic, black, and white men of normal weight. Hispanic women had a 6.46-fold increased risk for hypertension, while white women had a 6.38-fold increased risk, and black women a 4.36-fold increased risk, compared with Hispanic, white, and black women of normal weight. The research shows that black women and Hispanic women were significantly more likely to be overweight in adulthood than white women, at 35% and 27% versus 19% respectively. Hispanic men were more likely to be overweight in adulthood than black men, but there was no significant difference in the prevalence of overweight Hispanic and white men, at 24% and 22%, respectively. Black, Hispanic, and white men who were of normal weight in adolescence but became overweight in adulthood had a systolic blood pressure or SBP that was significantly higher by 4.4, 4.0, and 5.3 mmHg, respectively, than their counterparts who maintained a normal weight across adolescence and adulthood. Significant associations were also noted among black, Hispanic, and white women who became obese in adulthood, at SBPs that were significantly higher by 8.3, 7.9, and 6.5 mmHg than women who maintained a normal weight across adolescence and adulthood, respectively.

Three black teenagers have been arrested for robbing a 22-year-old woman on Christmas night 2012 and raping her for five hours at gunpoint, even after she repeatedly vomited on them

Brehon Rawlings, 19, Kewon Matthews, 17, and Kevin Jones, 17, were outside a bar in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania looking for someone to rob when a woman came outside for a cigarette, police said. While she sat in her Jeep Cherokee and played on her phone as she waited for her boyfriend to join her, the three black teenagers forced their way into her vehicle, brandishing a gun. They made the woman move to the back seat and drove her around Philadelphia for hours, taking it in turns to climb into the back seat to force her to commit sex acts on them, police said. The horrific rapes went ahead even though the woman repeatedly vomited on her captors and begged for them to stop. They stole her Coach purse, a wallet, a car stereo, a phone, a camera, a GPS, a ruby ring, a diamond necklace, a bracelet and her insurance and registration paperwork. As they were going through her items, they learned that she had a two-year-old daughter and threatened to harm the woman or the girl unless she did as they said. The black men then parked the car, threw her keys beneath it and ran, police said. The woman waited for several minutes, grabbed her keys and drove to her boyfriend's house, and they both went to the police station. In a bizarre twist, authorities took less than an hour to track down the black attackers after police were called to an Upper Darby home to respond to a disturbance. A woman had called 911 saying that a teenager staying over at her house with her son was bragging about having a gun. When officers, who knew about the vicious rape, arrived at the home, they spotted the Coach handbag which matched the description of that stolen from the victim. They found four teenagers at the home - the woman's two sons and Kevin Jones, who was staying with the family to attend school. The other teen, Kewon Matthews, said that he was a friend of Jones'. The woman told police that the bag was not hers and they discovered the victim's identification inside. They took her to the home and she identified Jones and Matthews as two of her attackers. Police went on to identify the third suspect as Brehon Rawlings, who was found hiding in the bathtub of his home hours later, police said. Magisterial District Judge John Perfetti arraigned the three black men for 42 criminal charges, including rape, kidnapping, robbery, carjacking and theft. They were all charged as adults. Rawlings was also charged with firearm not to be carried without a license. Bail was set at $500,000 cash for each.

African Caribbean adults in Britain are twice as likely to have a stroke as people of European origin, according to figures published by the British Heart Foundation

In a recent study the charity found that one in four do not realize they are at higher risk of high blood pressure than any ethnic minority in Britain. It also found that more than twice as many are likely to develop diabetes than the general British population. June Davison, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, says that there are specific reasons why African Caribbean communities are more vulnerable. "We definitely think there's a genetic element why this population are at higher risk - but the key things are that this group of people are more likely to have high blood pressure and are much more likely to have diabetes, and these are key risk factors for stroke and heart disease." Traditional Caribbean dishes can contain high amounts of salt and saturated fats. Latest statistics show that more than half of African Caribbean adults (51%) don't know the recommended ideal level for blood pressure, and less than half of those surveyed (46%) know that the recommended maximum daily allowance for salt is one teaspoon.

New York City: A 31-year-old Hispanic woman has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime in connection with the death of a man who was pushed onto the tracks of an elevated subway station in Queens and crushed by an oncoming train

The Latina, Erika Menendez, selected her victim because she believed him to be a Muslim or a Hindu, Richard A. Brown, the Queens district attorney, said. In a statement released by the district attorney’s office, Brown quoted Menendez, “in sum and substance,” as having told the police: “I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I’ve been beating them up.” Menendez conflated the Muslim and Hindu faiths in her comments to the police and in her target for attack, officials said. The victim, Sunando Sen, was born in India and, according to a roommate, was raised Hindu. Sen “was allegedly shoved from behind and had no chance to defend himself,” Brown said. “Beyond that, the hateful remarks allegedly made by the defendant and which precipitated the defendant’s actions should never be tolerated by a civilized society.” If convicted, Menendez faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. By charging her with murder as a hate crime, the possible minimum sentence she faced would be extended to 20 years from 15 years, according to prosecutors. The attack occurred at the 40th Street-Lowery Street station in Sunnyside. Sen, 46, was looking out over the tracks when a Hispanic woman approached him from behind and shoved him onto the tracks. Sen never saw her, the police said. The woman fled the station, running down two flights of stairs and down the street. By the next morning, a brief and grainy black-and-white video of the woman who the police said was behind the attack was being broadcast on news programs. Patrol officers picked up Menendez after someone who had seen the video on television spotted her on a Brooklyn street and called 911, said Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the Police Department. She was taken to Queens and later placed in lineups, according to detectives. Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said that, according to witnesses’ accounts, there had been no contact on the subway platform between the attacker and the victim before the shove. The case was the second in December 2012 involving someone being pushed to death in a train station. In the first case, Ki-Suck Han, 58, of Elmhurst, Queens, died under the Q train at the 49th Street and Seventh Avenue station on December 3, 2012. Naeem Davis, a 30-year-old African-American, has been charged with second-degree murder in that case.

London no longer contains a majority from Britain’s main ethnic group, known in the demographers’ jargon as the “White British”

The proportion of white British Londoners fell so dramatically – from 60% in 2001 to 44.9% in 2011 – not only because of high levels of immigration but also thanks to a mass exodus of white Britons.

A Nigerian immigrant's dream came true when Barack Obama signed into law a rare private bill granting him permanent residency in the Unites States

Victor Chukwueke, who lives in Michigan on an expired visa, came to the United States 11 years ago to undergo treatment for massive face tumors. He graduated from a university in the state, and plans to attend an Ohio medical school that requires him to have permanent residency, also known as a green card. In a rare act, the United States Congress passed a private bill granting him permanent residency and Obama has signed the bill. Private bills - which only apply to one person and mostly focus on immigration - are rarely approved. His is the only one to pass in Congress in two years. Before coming to the United States at age 15, Chukwueke lived in the southeastern Nigeria town of Ovim. He suffers from neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes massive life-threatening tumors on his face. Treated as an outcast because of his deformed face, he was depressed and humiliated, he says. His family abandoned him at an orphanage after taking him to the nation's best facilities for treatment. "I went to a large teaching hospital in Nigeria and the doctor touched my face and said there was nothing they could do," he says. " I cried and begged him to do something. I was so tired of the humiliation." Nuns from the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy rescued him from the orphanage in 2001 and arranged for a Michigan doctor to perform surgery on him. He considers himself lucky to have developed the tumors. "Without them, I would not have met the nun, left Nigeria, arrived in the U.S. and had the miracle to attend medical school," he says. He lives with the nuns in Oak Park, Michigan. They have cared for him since he came to the U.S., where he has undergone seven surgeries, including one that left him blind in the right eye. Inspired by his story, Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Jewish Democrat, sponsored the bill, S. 285. The measure passed the Senate and the House. The number of illegal immigrants in the United States was estimated at 11.5 million in 2011.

Indian authorities have added murder charges for suspects in the brutal gang rape that led to the death of a 23-year-old woman

The suspects already faced rape charges. Six people, including a minor and a bus driver, have been arrested in connection with the rape, which occurred in New Delhi. Throngs of protesters have taken to the streets for days, demanding more protection for women and punishment for those behind the assault. Fearing massive protests following the death, police tightened security in the capital city of New Delhi and barricaded some sites of previous rallies. The woman was airlifted to Singapore after she was treated for injuries in a New Delhi hospital. Singapore doctors said that she died "peacefully" surrounded by her family and Indian Embassy officials. A medical team in Singapore is conducting an autopsy. The woman had been in extremely critical condition since her arrival at the Singapore hospital, and took a turn for the worse, said Dr. Kelvin Loh, chief executive officer at Mount Elizabeth Hospital. "She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain," Loh said. "She was courageous in fighting for her life for so long against the odds, but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome." Authorities have not released the name of the woman, but Indian protesters are calling her Damini, which means "lightning" in Hindi. "Damini" is also a 1993 Bollywood film whose lead female character fights for a housemaid, a victim of sexual assault. India's ambassador to Singapore said her relatives, who are Hindus and live in New Delhi, have asked for privacy. Attackers assaulted the woman and her male companion on a bus on December 16, 2012 robbing them of their belongings before dumping them at the side of a road, police said. The male companion was eventually discharged from a hospital. Reported rape cases in India - where a cultural stigma keeps many victims from reporting the crime - have increased drastically over the past four decades - from 2,487 in 1971 to 24,206 in 2011, according to official figures. New Delhi alone had 572 rapes reported in 2011 and more than 600 in 2012. One such recent case involved a girl, 17, who was gang-raped during the Hindu festival of Diwali on November 13, 2012. A formal case wasn't registered by police until 14 days later. The girl committed suicide by ingesting poison, according to authorities in the Patiala district of Punjab, in northern India. In her suicide note, she blamed her rapists. Three suspects - including a female accomplice - have been arrested. Most women in India have stories of sexual harassment and abuse on public transportation, on the streets and elsewhere, said Seema Sirohi of the Indian Council on Global Relations. "There are a lot of reasons why this happens, but the patriarchal system is one, a lack of policing is another and general treatment of women is not equal to men, even though it may be so under the law," Sirohi said. The Indian government announced plans to "name and shame" convicted rapists by posting their names, images and addresses on official websites.

Fifty-four percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the National Rifle Association, while 38% have an unfavorable opinion

The public’s ratings of the NRA have fluctuated since first measured by Gallup in 1993 — from a low of 42% favorable in 1995 to a high of 60% in 2005. Americans’ distrust in the media hit a new high recently, with 60% saying that they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. Distrust is up from the past few years, when Americans were already more negative about the media than they had been in years prior to 2004.

Israeli and Jewish aid officials are denying an Israeli TV report claiming that Ethiopian immigrant women have been coerced into taking contraceptive shots

The report, which aired on Israeli Educational Television, charged that coercive contraception is behind a 50% decline in the Ethiopian birth rate in Israel over the last decade. Ethiopian women interviewed in the program, called “Vacuum”, said that they were coerced into receiving injections of Depo-Provera, a long-acting birth control drug, both at Jewish-run health clinics in Ethiopia and after their move to Israel. Rachel Mangoli, executive director of the WIZO chapter in Katz Village, told the TV show that she realized something was amiss when during a full year in her Ethiopian program just one Ethiopian baby was born. “I went to the health clinic and I was told that Ethiopian immigrants were given the contraception because they couldn’t be relied upon to take the pills every day,” Mangoli said. In the report, a woman identified as S. said that she was told at the Jewish aid compound in Gondar, Ethiopia, “If you don’t get the shot, we won’t give you a ticket.” She recalled, “I didn’t want to take it. They wanted me to take it. But I didn’t know it was a contraceptive,” she said. “I thought it was an immunization.” Another Ethiopian interviewed for the program, Amawaish Alane, said, “We said we won’t accept the shot. They told us, ‘You won’t immigrate to Israel. You also won’t come into this clinic. You won’t get help and medical treatment.’” “We had no choice,” Alane said. “That’s why we took the shot. We could only get out with their permission.” The TV program says that coercive contraceptive tactics continued once the Ethiopians immigrated to Israel, where health clinics have been administering the contraceptive shots. The shots, which must be taken every three months, normally are given to women who cannot be relied upon to take daily pills, such as the mentally ill, according to health experts cited in the program. The TV show sent a hidden camera into an Israeli health clinic, where an employee told the undercover reporter that Ethiopian women are given the contraceptive shots “because they forget,” “explanations are difficult for them” and “they essentially don’t understand anything.”

Immigrants account for only 6% of the population of Italy, but they commit 40% of rapes in the country

Moroccans commit 6.3% of rapes in Italy. In Rome, immigrants are responsible for 52% of rapes. In Milan the number goes up to 59%. In Milan, 8% of rapes are carried out by Egyptians and 7% by Moroccans. In Bologna, 53% of the rapists were immigrants, of whom 11% were Moroccans.

Child malnutrition rates in India are higher than the average in sub-Saharan Africa

Nearly half of Indian children under age 5 are stunted and underweight for their age permanently impairing their mental and physical development. The family’s situation is just one illustration of what nutritionists call a perfect storm of factors driving India’s malnutrition crisis. Many children are born to teenage, anemic, malnourished mothers; feeding practices are poor; and the environment they live in, a crowded country where 600 million people have no access to toilets, is rife with fecal matter. Fewer than half of Indian children start nursing within their first 24 hours, receiving water rather than the early, antibody-rich breast milk that helps protect against infections, and most spend their first few years subsisting on protein- and vitamin-poor diets of just rice or bread. The fact that economic growth has still not trickled down to the poorest communities and the low status of Indian women are also major factors.

Among blacks, nearly 5 million children, or 54%, live with only their mother

Twelve percent of black families below the poverty line have two parents present, compared with 41% of impoverished Hispanic families and 32% of poor white families. In all but 11 states, most black children do not live with both parents. Black families differ from other racial groups in that the average black single mother has more children, not fewer, than her counterpart with a father present.

Britain will be swamped by TB unless high-risk immigrants are routinely given blood tests, experts warn

A leading doctor has warned that Britain will be swamped by tuberculosis unless new measures to diagnose the disease in immigrants are introduced. The disease, which was rife in Britain until the 1950s, is an increasing and worrying problem in urban areas. Rising immigration has seen a surge in cases in the last 20 years. Under current rules, new immigrants from countries where TB is common are required to have chest X-rays before being allowed into Britain. But doctors argue that this century-old method only spots active TB once it is already destroying the lungs – meaning cases are often diagnosed far too late. Experts recommend that people from the Indian subcontinent and sub-Saharan Africa, where rates are highest, should be given a TB blood test when registering with a GP. Research has found that a fifth of immigrants to Britain from high-risk areas had latent TB – but the current guidelines for screening men around 75% of these cases will be missed, so the real figure may be substantially higher.

In the African nation of Swaziland two-thirds of teenage girls have been victims of sexual assault

In Swaziland women can be arrested for wearing miniskirts and can be sent to jail.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he aims to repatriate tens of thousands of black African illegal migrants and that the inflow into Israel from the Sinai peninsula has been brought to a halt

"Our aim is to repatriate tens of thousands of infiltrators now in Israel to their countries of origin," he said, adding Israel had been in contact with several African governments. "After having been confronted by the threat of hundreds of thousands (of illegal migrants), this month not a single infiltrator has reached cities in Israel," he said, quoted in a government statement. "We have reached this result over the past several months, and next month we will have completed the construction of the fence on the border with the Sinai," facing Egypt, he said. Israel began constructing the fence in late 2010 to stem the influx of thousands of illegal migrants through the porous border, which has also been a major drug and human trafficking route into Israel. "Now we are moving on to the next stage, the repatriation of the infiltrators already here." Interior Minister Eli Yishai had warned in August 2012 that Sudanese illegals who did not leave the country by October 15, 2012 would be detained, held in camps and deported. Israel already began expelling South Sudanese in June 2012, after Yishai ruled that they were no longer at risk in their newly independent homeland. An Israeli court the same month gave the green light for plans to repatriate around 2,000 black illegal migrants from the Ivory Coast. Rising tensions over the growing number of illegal immigrants exploded into violence in May 2012 when a protest in south Tel Aviv turned ugly, with demonstrators smashing African-run shops and property, chanting "Blacks out!"

If you're angry, for the benefit of your health, you need to let it all out, according to a new study that revealed that being hot-tempered and expressing your anger could be a key to enjoying a long and healthy life

Researchers Marcus Mund and Kristin Mitte at the University of Jena in Germany say that the latest findings may explain why the hotheaded Italians and Spanish live almost two years longer than the cool English who keep calm and carry on. They found that exhibiting self-restraint and holding back negative emotions could have serious repercussions for a person's physical and mental well-being. After analyzing more than 6,000 patients, Mund and Mitte found that people who internalized their anxiety suffered from an elevated pulse. Researchers say that over time, raised pulse can result in high blood pressure and increase a person's risk of developing a wide range of conditions from heart disease to cancer, kidney damage and more. The new study reveals that a group of so-called repressors are particularly at risk. "These people are distinguished by the way that they attempt to conceal outward signs of fear, and also by their defensive behavior," Mund said. "They avoid risks and always seek a high level of control over themselves and their surroundings," he explained. "For instance, when exposed to a stressful task they exhibit a higher heart rate and pulse ratio than non-repressors and show other objective signs of stress and anxiety." However, it's not all bad news for those who tend to be calm and collected. Researchers found that while repressors are at risk for developing certain illnesses, they have faster rates of recovering from a range of conditions because they are more disciplined and more motivated to adapt their lifestyles. "Because of their need for control, repressors are very disciplined and more motivated to adapt their lifestyles," Mund explained.

Only 53% of all Americans are hopeful about their lives in 2013; some 44% say that they are more fearful

The assessment about what’s in store for the world is even more grim: a record low 40% report being hopeful about the next year, with 56% saying that they are more fearful. Those personally hopeful numbers are down sharply from four years ago when 63%t said as much in the wake of Obama’s historic first election. The trend is even more striking compared to expectations for 2007, before the national economic bubble burst. In December 2006, nearly three-quarters were more hopeful than fearful about the coming year.

Spending will increase 55% over the next decade, if Barack Obama’s budget plan goes into effect

Obama’s plan would bring spending from $3.62 trillion in 2013 to $5.63 trillion in 2022.

Fifty years ago, Bethlehem’s population was 70% Christian; now estimates run to less than 20%

Islam is eradicating Christianity in the Middle East.

India: A gang-rape victim from Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar, who was again violated by the investigating officer (IO) probing her case, now says that she was also raped by the inspector in charge of the police station where she had lodged her complaint

It is truly amazing the creeps that they have working as police officers in India.

Chuck Hagel and the Jewish Lobby

Once again we see who really rules the United States.

Obama wants to loosen requirements for immigrants to purchase firearms while promising to reduce gun rights for citizens

Apparently Obama believes that everyone has the right to own a gun - except white Americans.

Britain: The overall unemployment rate of black women is 14.3%, compared to 6.8% for white women, while Pakistani and Bangladeshi women stand at 20.5%

Apparently diversity leads to higher rates of unemployment.

A study by a Chicago university sociologist of 1,200 women found that large-breasted women tend to be more intelligent

The study divided the women into five groups ranging from virtually flat-chested to extra-large breasts. The results revealed that the big-breasted women had an overall higher I.Q.—about 10 points—than the lesser endowed members of the study. Women with average-sized breasts also beat out those that were in the smallest size group. Surveys of women about their appearance have shown that about 42% are unhappy with the way they look. For many, their breast size is the first change they'd make. It doesn't seem to matter the social-economic group, educational level, or their careers, their breast size remains the number one issue. A leading research website found that just 17% of 1,650 male respondents thought that the ideal breast size for a woman is below a C cup. A whopping 83% wanted a woman with larger, or significantly larger breasts. The Chicago sociologists believe that their study suggests intelligent men prefer larger-breasted women for reproductive partners because the offspring from the union would be more likely to produce more intelligent children and pass on the genes for large breasts to girls and higher intelligence to both sons and daughters.

The population of the United States has nearly reached 315 million, with immigrants continuing to supply a substantial part of the growth

The United States reached the 300 million mark in 2006, with the enthusiastic approval of the pro-growth and pro-diversity crowds. Even as the number of births in the United States continued to edge lower, about 885,800 immigrants settled in the United States in the most recent year, which ended July 1, 2012. That was about 110,000 more than in the same period a year earlier, according to the census data. In California, long a hub of immigration, new arrivals from other nations added about 132,600 to the state’s population in the most recent year. The gain represented a 14% increase, the same as the nationwide rate of change. The census tally doesn’t differentiate between legal and illegal immigrants.

The new all-time record number of food stamp recipients, 47.7 million (up from 31.6 million when Obama took office) exceeds the combined populations of Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming

I wonder how many people will be on food stamps by the time Obama leaves office?

A black woman has been arrested after threatening to bludgeon elementary school-aged children to death with a shovel at a school bus stop

Simone L. Brooks, 35, has been charged with making terroristic threats, stalking, and harassment in connection with several incidents that occurred at a bus stop on her block. Additionally, Brooks performed a simulated strip tease, before the children while perched on her porch in nothing but a bath towel. She yelled at them during this bit of exhibitionism.

The public’s attitudes toward gun control have shown only modest change in the wake of the recent deadly shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut

Support for gun control remains lower than before Obama took office. In April 2008, 58% said that it was more important to control gun ownership; just 37% prioritized protecting gun rights. Currently, 49% say it is more important to control gun ownership, while 42% say it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns.

Six weeks of weight training can significantly improve blood markers of cardiovascular health in young African-American men

The researchers measured blood markers associated with inflammation, immune response or the remodeling of arteries that normally occur after tissue damage, infection or other types of stress. They found that levels of two of these markers dropped significantly in African-American men but not in white men after six weeks of resistance training. "This suggests that resistance exercise training is more beneficial in young African-American men than in Caucasian men of the same age," said Bo Fernhall, the dean of the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The 14 African-American and 18 white study subjects were matched for body mass index, cardiovascular fitness and age. None had previously been trained in endurance or resistance exercise. African-Americans are known to have higher rates of cardiovascular disease than whites, Fernhall said. In particular, "hypertension, stroke and kidney disease are much, much higher in the African-American population," he said. Some of these problems start young. "Higher blood pressures in African-American children have been shown as young as 8 to 10 years of age," Fernhall said. "So there's obviously something going on that predisposes the African-American population to end stage disease, hypertension and stroke and the more debilitating diseases later on in life." A previous study led by Fernhall and his doctoral student Kevin Heffernan (an author on the new paper as well) found that resistance training reduced levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood of African-American, but not white, men. This protein is a reliable marker of systemic inflammation. Levels of CRP rise after injury or infection, and chronically elevated levels are sometimes associated with heart disease and cancer. The new study looked at other markers that could signal trouble in the arteries: MMPs, which help remodel blood vessels after injury or infection; and 8-isoprostane, a marker of oxidative stress involving chemically charged ions or molecules called reactive oxygen species. Both markers went down in the African-Americans, but not the whites, after resistance training. The researchers were surprised to see that initial levels of MMP-9 were lower in African-Americans before the weight training. "It may be that MMP-9 has a different effect on the vasculature of African-Americans than it does on Caucasians," said Illinois doctoral student Marc Cook, who conducted the new analysis.

Black 13-year-old girl has been charged as an adult in the death of her 2-year-old sister

Tyasia Jackson stabbed Sasha Lamaya Ray multiple times, killing the toddler. Tyasia was babysitting Sasha and her four other young siblings while both parents were at work.

How can government spending go down when a million legal immigrants arrive annually, 85% from the Third World, and most lacking the academic and linguistic abilities or the work skills of Americans?

These immigrants — and, with "immigration reform," 11 million to 12 million illegals, as well — will be eligible for welfare, earned income tax credits, food stamps, rent supplements, Medicaid, Head Start, free schooling K-12 with two or three free meals a day at school, Pell Grants and student loans at graduation, job training and unemployment checks for 99 weeks. Under Bush and Barack Obama both, these programs have exploded. And with 40% of all babies now born to single mothers in America, does anyone really believe that these programs will shrink?

While the mainstream media obsesses over the possibility of gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, a new study puts such incidents, and the idea of anti-Second Amendment legislation, into stark context

Research stemming from FBI data, reveals that over a five year period ranging from 2006 to 2010, mass killings accounted for only a tiny fraction of homicides, less than 1% to be precise. The research found that during that time, there were 156 incidents in which four or more people were killed – the classification of a mass killing. The study notes that guns were not even involved in a third of those incidents. The data also reveals that where guns were involved in mass killings, handguns were the far more likely weapon of choice. Means of death in many of the incidents ranged from fire, to knives or blunt objects. In total, the attacks killed 774 people, including at least 161 young children. These numbers are still tragic, and while any deaths, particularly homicides, and particularly mass homicides, are abhorrent – the figures clearly do not represent an epidemic of violent killing using firearms. To put the figures into context, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention records show that more people died from migraines, falling out of chairs and sunstroke than were murdered by mass killers during this time. Grant Duwe, director of research at the Minnesota Department of Corrections, and an expert in mass murders, said that such incidents have also become less common since the mid-1990s.

A new study suggests that there is a significant correlation between excessive daytime sleepiness and vitamin D, and race plays an important factor

Results show that in patients with normal vitamin D levels, progressively higher levels of daytime sleepiness were correlated inversely with progressively lower levels of vitamin D. Among patients with vitamin D deficiency, sleepiness and vitamin D levels were associated only among black patients. Surprisingly, this correlation was observed in a direct relationship, with higher vitamin D levels associated with a higher level of sleepiness among black patients. "While we found a significant correlation between vitamin D and sleepiness, the relationship appears to be more complex than we had originally thought," said David McCarty, MD, the study's principal investigator. "It's important to now do a follow-up study and look deeper into this correlation." The study involved a consecutive series of 81 sleep clinic patients who complained of sleep problems and nonspecific pain. All patients eventually were diagnosed with a sleep disorder, which in the majority of cases was obstructive sleep apnea. Vitamin D level was measured by blood sampling, and sleepiness was determined using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. According to the authors, this is the first study to demonstrate a significant relationship between sleepiness and vitamin D. They noted that it is logical for race to affect this relationship because increased skin pigmentation is an established risk factor for low vitamin D. The study was not designed to examine causality. However, the authors' previous and current research suggests that suboptimal levels of vitamin D may cause or contribute to excessive daytime sleepiness, either directly or by means of chronic pain.

Why are our hands the shape that they are?

Researchers at the University of Utah have a suggestion: The hand is the shape that it is because it allows us to make a nice fist for fighting that protects key parts of the hand from harm. The proposal was made by student Michael Morgan and biologist David Carrier. The duo tested their hypothesis in a series of experiments in which men pounded punching bags, squeezed pressure sensors or performed one-handed push-ups on top of pressure sensors. From this, the scientists learned that force meted out by the hand is about the same when a bag is punched by a fist versus slapped, but nearly twice as great when you consider that the fist delivers its force to a smaller surface area. The study also found that the knuckle joint of the index finger is rendered stiffer and more stable - transferring force more effectively and protecting the hand - when a tight fist is made. In other words, the fist is a dandy fighting tool.

Detectives are investigating the fatal stabbing of a 25-year-old woman after the black suspect chased her down

Dade City Police responded to calls of a man chasing a woman and stabbing her as she fled east on 21 st Street. Stephanie Ross, an insurance company employee, was delivering paperwork minutes before noon, when she was stabbed. When police arrived, the victim had already been transported to the hospital by a passerby. Officers went to 37020 Coleman Avenue, just east of 21st Ave, where they found 53-year-old African-American Lucious Smith standing in his apartment. He was bleeding and was transported to the hospital. The hospital confirmed that the victim, Ross, received several stab wounds and she was pronounced dead at 1:27 p.m. Once Smith was treated, he was arrested and taken to jail.

A woman riding the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line in Oak Park was attacked by a black man wielding a sock filled with feces

"He had a sock full of his poop on me," the 21-year-old college student said. "It was everywhere; on my face, my hair, my clothes." The victim, requesting anonymity, screamed and tried to follow her attacker, but he escaped. The college student, who came to Oak Park to live with a family and provide in-home child care, was riding an east-bound train from Oak Park to Chicago when she was attacked. "The guy got on with me at [the] Oak Park [station]," she said. "I wasn't really paying attention. ... "Next stop [at Austin], he throws something in my face." Oak Park Police Commander Ladon Reynolds said that officers responded by searching for the man in and around a gas station at Harrison Street, but did not find him. Reynolds said that police retrieved a photo of a "person of interest" matching the description the woman and other witnesses gave. That man was videotaped on the Austin platform. "We have photos of the offender and we’re seeking to identify him," Reynolds said of images obtained from the CTA. "We've reached out to other [police] agencies and have issued a bulletin." The woman, who has a copy of a photo of her black assailant taken by a CTA security camera, described her assailant as an African-American no older than mid-20s, average build, with facial hair above the mouth and on the chin. She said that he wore a hooded sweatshirt and ball cap that partly obscured his face. She expressed utter disgust and outrage. “It was like the biggest degradation I’ve ever [experienced]. I wish he had just hit me,” she said, because she thinks that would have been less traumatic. "The worst part is nobody had anything to wipe my face with," she said. She managed to find some newspapers before paramedics arrived. The paramedics gave her towels and water. "They really aren’t prepared for a situation like that,” she said. The woman and her black assailant never exchanged a word, and she can’t understand his reason for the assault. "I don’t know why he did it," she said, adding, "I’m pretty sure he wouldn't have done that to a guy."

Fewer black women in the United States are being infected with HIV, but the number of young gay and bisexual men infected is rising, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Between 2008 and 2010, the number of newly infected black women dropped 21%, according to the CDC report. Yet despite the decline, they still accounted for 70% of all new HIV cases among women, the federal health agency said. The rate of new infections for black women was 20 times higher than the rate for white women, the CDC said. The number of new infections among young gay and bisexual men increased by 22% during that same two-year period, the CDC said. The report said that nearly two-thirds of new HIV infections in 2010 resulted from men having sex with other men. Young black men who have sex with men account for more new infections than any other subgroup, government health officials said. "Because gay men account for 66% of all new infections, we must increase the focus of our prevention programs for gay men, particularly young and black gay men," said Michael Ruppal, executive director of The AIDS Institute.

India: The hours-long gang rape and near-fatal beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi triggered outrage and anger across the country as Indians demanded action from authorities who have long ignored persistent violence and harassment against women

In the streets and in Parliament, calls rose for stringent and swift punishment against those attacking women, including a proposal to make rapists eligible for the death penalty. As the calls for action grew louder, two more gang rapes were reported, including one in which the 10-year-old victim was killed. Meanwhile, the 23-year-old victim of the first rape lay in critical condition in the hospital with severe internal injuries. Police said that six men raped the woman and savagely beat her and her companion with iron rods on a bus driving around the city — passing through several police checkpoints — before stripping them and dumping them on the side of the road. "I feel it is sick what is happening across the country," said Smitha, a 32-year-old protester who goes by only one name. "It is totally sick, and it needs to stop."

An African-American barber shop patron who fired three times at another customer discussing the Connecticut school shooting has been charged with three felonies

Lester Davis, 57, is facing charges of first-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a weapon. Davis was at the All Cuts Barber Shop with five other people. One of the patrons was discussing the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, and commented that the incident "makes me want to murder the suspect," police said. For unknown reasons, Davis took the comment as a threat and asked, "You want to murder me?" Davis then walked out to his Volkswagen sedan, retrieved a loaded Smith & Wesson 9 mm pistol and fired three times in the customer's direction, police said. Davis said "I'll let you slide," walked out of the barber shop and drove off in his car, police said. According to court records, Davis is a felon, convicted of second-degree homicide and unlawful possession of a weapon in Middlesex County, N.J., in 1975. Records further state that he has been involved in numerous verbal altercations with neighbors, resulting in an order of protection being issued against him. He told police that the gun he used belongs to his wife. Bail in Davis' case is set at $400,000 cash only.

Slavery is still being practiced in Africa and other parts of the Third World

There are likely more slaves in the world today than there have been at any other time in human history. For some quick perspective on that point: Over the entire 350 years of the transatlantic slave trade, 13.5 million people were taken out of Africa, meaning that there are twice as many enslaved right now as there had been in that whole 350-year span.

Only 4% of predominantly black Detroit's eighth-graders scored proficient or above on the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test, sometimes called "The Nation's Report Card"

Thirty-six percent scored basic, and 57% below basic. "Below basic" is when a student is unable to demonstrate even partial mastery of knowledge and skills fundamental for proficient work at their grade level. "Basic" indicates only partial mastery. Unbeknownst to most black parents is the fact that most black students who manage to graduate from high school cannot read and compute any better than whites four years younger and still in junior high school.

A California school district is defending its decision to name a new elementary school after an infamous Hispanic murderer – by calling him a hero and a role model to children

The decision has infuriated many parents and law enforcement officers. The Alisal Union School District in Salinas agreed to name the new school in honor of Tiburcio Vasquez – who was eventually hanged for killing at least two people in the nineteenth century. Superintendent John Ramirez defended the board’s decision saying that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. “Tiburcio Vasquez, along with others, was an individual who was a revolutionary,” Ramirez said. “He was not okay with the oppression.” Vasquez “was probably the most notorious bandit California ever saw,” according to the University of Southern California library. He was 14-years-old when he committed his first crime – stabbing a constable. In 1875 Vasquez was convicted of two murders and subsequently hanged. Other historical records indicate that he may have killed as many as six people – including a law enforcement officer. “He took from the rich and gave to the poor,” Francisco Estrada said. “He was your inspiration of Zorro.” Estrada sat on the naming committee for the new elementary school and said that the convicted murderer was a good man who should be a model to the youth of East Salinas. Ramirez said that Vasquez is a role model to Mexican-Americans. Some local officials said that they have a problem with naming a school after a violent criminal. “You would not name a school Charles Manson Elementary, Ted Bundy Middle School or Bernie Madoff High,” one parent told the school board. “I don’t like the idea of naming the school after a criminal,” councilman Steve McShane said. “There’s a big difference between naming a school after people in our history who have shown leadership and courage – and those disrespectful of common laws and decency.” The incoming mayor of Salinas suggested there were plenty of other people in the community to name the school after – who did not have criminal records. “We’re a city fighting crime,” Mayor Joe Gunter said. “We don’t want to be honoring people who are criminals. We want to honor good people.”

Instability in Egypt, where a newly-elected Islamic government teeters over an angry population, isn't enough to stop Obama from sending more than 20 F-16 fighter jets, as part of a $1 billion foreign aid package

The first four jets are to be delivered to Egypt beginning January 22, 2013 a source at the naval air base in Fort Worth, where the planes have been undergoing testing, said. The North African nation already has a fleet of more than 200 of the planes and the latest shipment merely fulfills an order placed two years ago. But given the uncertainty in Cairo, some critics wonder if it is wise to be sending more top gun planes. “Should an overreaction [by Egypt] spiral into a broader conflict between Egypt and Israel, such a scenario would put U.S. officials in an embarrassing position of having supplied massive amounts of military hardware … to both belligerents,” said Malou Innocent, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute. “Given Washington's fiscal woes, American taxpayers should no longer be Egypt’s major arms supplier.” The U.S. government ordered and paid for the fighter jets for Egypt's military as part of foreign aid for Egypt back in 2010, when Hosni Mubarak ruled. The fighter jets were supposed to be delivered in 2013, and delivery will go ahead as scheduled even though Hosni Mubarak has been removed from power and replaced by Mohamed Morsi, who led the Muslim Brotherhood before becoming Egypt's president. Morsi was democratically elected, but recntly attempted to seize dictatorial powers for himself. After widespread protests and violence in Egypt's capital of Cairo, Morsi backed off from his power grab. But he is pushing through a controversial new constitution for Egypt that would more strictly enforce Islamic Shariah law, and only recently has said that he reserves the right to have the military arrest protesters without charges.

Gunmen shot and killed five women who were administering polio vaccines to children in Pakistan, in a pair of attacks likely intended to strike fear into health workers across the country

The Taliban has been a vocal opponent of the government's UN-backed drive to vaccinate children against polio, claiming that the vaccine is harmful and that the workers administering it are American spies. Four women have been killed in Karachi, in an attack that also critically wounded two male workers. Gunmen on motorcycles also gunned down a 17-year-old girl overseeing an anti-polio campaign near Peshawar. "These incidents are depressing, and may cause difficulties in the anti-polio drive, but people should not lose heart," a senior health official said. The government is "determined to eliminate polio despite all odds and difficult conditions."

The federal government’s system of tracking immigrants’ status is so broken that it gives a green light to one in eight aliens who have been ordered deported, according to an audit that found the government has gone on to approve some of those who slip through for work in sensitive areas of airports and granted them benefits such as Medicaid or food stamps

Some of those aliens who should have been kicked out had serious criminal records, including for assault and extortion, according to the audit by the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general. All told, some 800,000 immigrants are living in the United States who already have been ordered deported but have not yet left — or been removed by the government — from the country. The Homeland Security Department is supposed to maintain an up-to-date list of those deportable aliens so that other government agencies are aware of their status and know that they should be denied benefits. The system is known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, or SAVE. But a random sample of queries to the system found that 12% of the time, the system OKs an immigrant who should have been deported. “The failures in our sample include individuals who applied for unemployment and disability insurance, food stamps, driver’s licenses and other benefits,” the auditors said. “Several individuals had criminal records, including assault with a deadly weapon, extortion, drug convictions and other convictions such as burglary, stalking and child abuse.” Immigrants can be ordered deported for many reasons. Some are illegal immigrants who were never granted admission in the first place, while others are legal immigrants or temporary visa holders who committed crimes that should get them deported. The auditors found one case where someone earned a green card in 1983, was convicted of multiple felonies including extortion and abuse, and was ordered deported in 2003, but whom the SAVE system still green-lighted when the California Department of Health Services checked his status. Another man was convicted of homicide and manslaughter, was ordered deported but was still green-lighted by SAVE when the District of Columbia checked to see if he was eligible for student aid.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has named Rep. Tim Scott to replace outgoing Sen. Jim DeMint, calling him "the right U.S. senator for our state and for our country"

Scott will become the first black U.S. senator from South Carolina. Scott would become the seventh black senator in U.S. history, with the last being Barack Obama and his short-term successor Roland Burris. Scott also becomes the first black Republican senator since Ed Brooke, who served two terms representing Massachusetts in the 1960s and 1970s. Scott was the state's first black Republican since Reconstruction. It always amazes me how the GOP loves to pander to blacks, Jews and Hispanics - groups that will never vote Republican in large numbers. Scott will probably end up costing the Republican party votes as his appointment will sicken many whites who are tired of the GOP's constant pandering to minorities.

Researchers have found that about two out of every five African-American women said that they avoid exercise because of concerns about their hair

"As an African-American woman, I have that problem, and my friends have that problem. So I wondered if my patients had that problem," said Dr. Amy McMichael, a dermatologist at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. McMichael and her colleagues said that hair care can be tedious and costly for African-American women. Rochelle Mosley, who owns Salon 804 in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, said that some of her African-American clients come in once per week to get their hair straightened at a cost of about $40. They may not want to wash their hair more than once a week to keep their hairstyle, and may avoid sweating because of that. To find out if women were putting hair above their health, the researchers surveyed 103 African-American women who came to the dermatology clinic at Wake Forest University in October 2007. They found that more than half of the women were exercising for less than 75 minutes per week, which is less than the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise. That's also less than U.S. women on average, according to a 2007 study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found about half of all U.S. women were exercising close to 150 minutes per week. More than a quarter of the black women in the new study said that they didn't exercise at all. About a third of the black women said that they exercise less than they'd like because of their hair, and half said that they have considered changing their hair for exercise. McMichael and her colleagues found that women who avoided exercise because of their hair were almost three times less likely to meet the recommended physical activity guidelines. Salon 804's Mosley said that she's not surprised by the findings based on her 22 years in business.

The African American jobless rate is about twice that of whites, a disparity that has barely budged since the government began tracking the data in 1972

In the most recent jobs report, the black unemployment rate was 13.2%, while the white rate stood at 6.8%. Even Hispanics — more than a third of whom are foreign born — have lower jobless rates than African Americans despite, on average, having fewer educational credentials. African Americans with at least a bachelor’s degree had a 7.1% jobless rate in 2011, while the white rate was 3.9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Similarly, black workers with only a high school education had a jobless rate of 15.5%, while similarly educated white workers had an unemployment rate of 8.4%. Black workers in computer and mathematical occupations — which job-training officials say are hard to fill — had an 8.1% jobless rate in 2011, while for whites the rate was 4.1%. Among construction workers, who were hard hit by the recession, the black jobless rate was 30.4%, compared with 15.3% for whites. Black workers were hit harder than whites during the recession, in part because workers with less education were more likely to lose work during the downturn. They also have been slower to recover. One in five African Americans is employed by government — as opposed to one in seven whites — a sector that has cut jobs even as other parts of the economy have inched toward recovery. Blacks are also under-represented in industries that have shown some strength during the recovery, including manufacturing and professional and business services, according to the Labor Department. The result has been predictable: Black workers are not only more likely to be unemployed than whites, but they are also more likely to remain jobless for longer periods, wreaking havoc on their financial lives.

Racial minorities spend a larger portion of their incomes than do whites on conspicuous consumption - buying products that suggest high status

A study has found that, overall, blacks had more positive evaluations of high-status products than did whites. But more importantly, blacks who considered their race to be an important part of their identity rated high-status goods higher than did blacks who had lower racial identification. There was no such difference among whites in the study. According to the researchers, because African Americans are seen as lower in status in our society, those who identify more strongly with being black are more likely to compensate by seeking high-status goods.

A sex romp in a public park has helped prosecutors convict a black woman of faking an ankle injury to collect workers’ compensation payments

San Mateo County prosecutors say that 29-year-old Modupe Adunni Martin reported the injury while working as a Sequoia Union High School District janitor in 2009. Martin claimed that she couldn’t walk and needed crutches. District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe says that investigators caught Martin on videotape throwing her crutches into a car and running in high heels at a public park. She then performed oral sex at the park on a boyfriend. Doctors concluded that she couldn’t have done so with an injured ankle. Martin pleaded no contest to fraud and has been sentenced to nine months in jail. She was also ordered to pay more than $79,000 in restitution.

For the first time in history, the average Canadian is wealthier than the average American

I wonder if this has anything to do with wealthier Americans leaving the United States for Canada in order to get away from Obama and his socialist policies?

Over the past four years, prosperity has increased around the globe, while it has remained stagnant in the United States

As a result, the London-based Think Tank Legatum Institute ranked the United States 12th out of 142 countries on its 2012 Prosperity Index, putting the country outside the top ten for the first time. Returning us to prosperity requires an understanding of the causes behind our stagnant well-being. The Legatum Institute finds that a decline in entrepreneurship and economic opportunity, rather than slippage in education, health, safety or personal freedom, is to blame. In particular, the authors say that the fall in prosperity is driven by a decline in the number of US citizens who believe that hard work will get them ahead.

The Household Employment Survey, used by the Federal Government to calculate unemployment rates, reported a 122,000 job loss in the month of November 2012

While the unemployment rate fell to 7.7%, the unemployment rate fell basically because the U.S. labor force shrank by even more than employment — by a whopping 350,000 in November 2012. The labor force participation rate (percent of the working age population working or looking for work) fell to 63.6%. That is among the lowest participation rates in 30 years. Participation rates typically tank when potential job seekers lose confidence in the job market. The overall trend of the Obama years has been disastrous for native-born American workers. From January 2009 to November 2012, foreign-born employment rose 1.579 million, or by 7.3%, while native-born employment fell by 0.538 million, or by 0.5%. Since Obama took office, native-born American job losses are about one-third the immigrant job gains. Put differently, during the Obama Era, an average of one native-born American worker has been displaced per every three foreign-born workers added to the U.S. workforce. Moving the economy to 5% unemployment — a return to the rate that prevailed when the recession began — would require job growth of about 270,000 a month. But as much as one-third of that would be required just to absorb the average monthly increase in legal immigration.

The Federal Reserve predicts that it will take until some time in 2015 to bring the unemployment rate down to 6.5%

David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist for Gluskin Sheff & Associates, thinks even that is optimistic though. If job growth continues at its current pace of 150,000 jobs a month, it could take until 2018, he said. The unemployment rate could fall more quickly if more workers drop out of the labor force. In that case, the Fed would probably not view a falling unemployment rate as a good thing. And getting the unemployment rate back to 6.5% is only a start. It doesn't represent a full recovery. Before the recession, the unemployment rate was 5% in 2007. Every month, the Hamilton Project, an economic research arm of the Brookings Institution, publishes a "jobs gap" calculator that estimates just how long it will take to get back to that level, assuming that the only major job market dropouts are Baby Boomers who are retiring. At the current rate of hiring, the Hamilton Project estimates that it would take until 2025 to get back to a pre-recession job market.

Hanukkah and Jewish violence

The Jews of ancient times were very much like al-Qaeda.

Jewish neocon thinks that Christian Republicans should disappear

Jonah Goldberg feels that the GOP is too Christian.

Black people are known to be at greater risk for high blood pressure, and now a new study suggests that this places them at an even higher risk for stroke

"Blood pressure is a triple threat to African Americans," said study author Dr. George Howard, chair of biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. For starters, they are more likely to have high blood pressure and less likely to have their blood pressure controlled once it is elevated, he explained. "Once it is not controlled, the health impact of increased stroke risk is three times larger for African Americans than whites," he said. "Collectively, these pathways account for most of the 300% increased risk of stroke for African Americans aged 45 to 64." The study included almost 28,000 black and white patients who were followed for more than four years. During this time, there were 715 strokes. Every 10 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) difference in systolic blood pressure was associated with a 24% increased stroke risk among black patients, but only an 8% raised risk among white patients. Systolic pressure is the upper number in a blood pressure reading, and it refers to the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats.

Reports of infections from sexually transmitted diseases are increasing among gay and bisexual men

In 2011, 13,970 primary and secondary syphilis cases were reported. The rate of 4.5 cases per 100,000 was unchanged from 2010. About 72% of cases were among men who have sex with men. Syphilis can lead to paralysis, dementia and death. It also can facilitate the transmission of HIV infection.

The African-American law student who was assassinated on a busy New York City street worked as a drug courier and was assassinated after a large sum of money that he was carrying was confiscated by police in California

Brandon Woodard, 31, flew to New York from his home in Los Angeles to try to smooth things over with his angry bosses. Instead, he was coldly executed in Midtown Manhattan in broad daylight. New York police say that they are closing in on the men responsible for Woodard's death. They have identified the getaway driver and detectives currently searching for him. Woodard had been carrying tens of thousands of dollars that was meant for drug dealers New York. Somehow, the cash was confiscated by police in California and the dealers still wanted their money. Woodard, 31, was the son of wealthy businesswoman and attended top private schools. He has been arrested 20 times - including for robbery and cocaine possession. Woodard grew up in privilege in Los Angeles. His mother, Sandra Wellington owns the once-successful United International Mortgage. Other family members are well-connected lawyers and entrepreneurs. Wellington is married to the ex-boyfriend of former soap star Tonya Pinkins, who claims that the family is involved in criminal business dealings. Woodard attended the private Campbell Hall high school, where he was a star basketball player. He was a member of the exclusive invitation-only Jack and Jill of America society, which caters to upper-class black families. For college, he went to Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, a $55,000-per-year private school. Family members say that he was a second-year law student at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, another private school. Woodard also had a lengthy criminal record - at least 20 arrests. He was arrested several times for stealing from upscale grocery stores - including in 2009 when he was arrested for robbery after struggling with a guard. He also had cocaine arrests. In the summer of 2012, Wellington's company, United International Mortgage, had its lending power revoked by California regulators. The company is also the target of numerous lawsuits alleging fraud and breach of contract.

Inequality has grown in South Africa since the end of apartheid, and the gap between rich and poor is now among the world’s largest

Education is a disgrace: South Africa ranks 132nd out of 144 countries for its primary education and 143rd in science and math. In the Department of Basic Education’s national literacy and numeracy tests in 2011, only 15% of 12-year-olds (sixth graders) scored at or above the minimum proficiency on the language test. In maths just 12% did. Three-quarters of white pupils complete the final year of high school, but only a third of black pupils. The unemployment rate, officially 25%, is probably nearer 40%; half of South Africans under 24 looking for work have none. Of those who have jobs, a third earn less than $2 a day. The unemployment rate among blacks is 29%, compared with 6% for whites. The ruling African National Congress's incompetence and outright corruption are the main causes of South Africa’s sad decline.

Eighteen years after the end of white rule, 43.5% of South Africans rarely or never speak to someone of another race

Little more than a quarter (27.4%) of South Africans interact with a person of another race always or often on ordinary weekdays, while 25.9% do so sometimes. Less than one in five (17.8%) South Africans always or often socialize with people of other races in their homes or in the homes of friends. A further 21.6% do so sometimes, and more than half (56.6%) rarely or never socialize across race lines. In 2012, 41.4% agree that they find the ways and customs of people of other race groups difficult to understand.

Epigenetics – how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches, called epi-marks – appears to be a critical and overlooked factor contributing to the long-standing puzzle of why homosexuality occurs

According to the study, sex-specific epi-marks, which normally do not pass between generations and are thus "erased," can lead to homosexuality when they escape erasure and are transmitted from father to daughter or mother to son. From an evolutionary standpoint, homosexuality is a trait that would not be expected to develop and persist in the face of Darwinian natural selection. Homosexuality is nevertheless common for men and women in most cultures. Previous studies have shown that homosexuality runs in families, leading most researchers to presume a genetic underpinning of sexual preference. However, no major gene for homosexuality has been found despite numerous studies searching for a genetic connection. In the current study, researchers integrated evolutionary theory with recent advances in the molecular regulation of gene expression and androgen-dependent sexual development to produce a biological and mathematical model that delineates the role of epigenetics in homosexuality. Epi-marks constitute an extra layer of information attached to our genes' backbones that regulates their expression. While genes hold the instructions, epi-marks direct how those instructions are carried out – when, where and how much a gene is expressed during development. Epi-marks are usually produced anew each generation, but recent evidence demonstrates that they sometimes carryover between generations and thus can contribute to similarity among relatives, resembling the effect of shared genes. Sex-specific epi-marks produced in early fetal development protect each sex from the substantial natural variation in testosterone that occurs during later fetal development. Sex-specific epi-marks stop girl fetuses from being masculinized when they experience atypically high testosterone, and vice versa for boy fetuses. Different epi-marks protect different sex-specific traits from being masculinized or feminized – some affect the genitals, others sexual identity, and yet others affect sexual partner preference. However, when these epi-marks are transmitted across generations from fathers to daughters or mothers to sons, they may cause reversed effects, such as the feminization of some traits in sons, such as sexual preference, and similarly a partial masculinization of daughters. The study solves the evolutionary riddle of homosexuality, finding that "sexually antagonistic" epi-marks, which normally protect parents from natural variation in sex hormone levels during fetal development, sometimes carryover across generations and cause homosexuality in opposite-sex offspring. The mathematical modeling demonstrates that genes coding for these epi-marks can easily spread in the population because they always increase the fitness of the parent but only rarely escape erasure and reduce fitness in offspring. "Transmission of sexually antagonistic epi-marks between generations is the most plausible evolutionary mechanism of the phenomenon of human homosexuality," said the study's co-author Sergey Gavrilets.

Black actor Harry Belafonte wants Obama to imprison opposition like a “third world dictator”

Previously, Belefonte called President Bush “the greatest terrorist in the world” while praising Marxist tyrant Hugo Chavez.

Hispanic politician employed a Hispanic illegal alien who was also a sex offender

Sen. Robert Menendez employed as an unpaid intern in his Senate office an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender, now under arrest by immigration authorities. The Homeland Security Department instructed federal agents not to arrest him until after Election Day 2012, a U.S. official involved in the case said. A Homeland Security spokesman, Peter Boogaard, said that it was "categorically false" that the department delayed the arrest of Luis Abrahan Sanchez Zavaleta, 18, until after the election. Sanchez, an immigrant from Peru, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in front of his home in New Jersey on December 6, 2012. Sanchez, who entered the country on a now-expired visitor visa from Peru, is facing deportation and remains in custody. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of Sanchez's immigration case. Menendez, D-N.J., who advocates aggressively for pro-immigration policies, was re-elected in November 2012 with 58% of the vote. The prosecutor's office in Hudson County, N.J., said that Sanchez was found to have violated the law in 2010 and subsequently required to register as a sex offender. The exact charge was unclear because Sanchez was prosecuted as a juvenile and those court records are not publicly accessible. The prosecutor's office has confirmed that Sanchez registered as a sex offender, although his name does not appear on the public registry. Authorities in Hudson County notified ICE agents in early October 2012 that they suspected Sanchez was an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender and who may be eligible to be deported. ICE agents in New Jersey notified superiors at the Homeland Security Department because they considered it a potentially high profile arrest, and DHS instructed them not to arrest Sanchez until after the November election, one U.S. official said. ICE officials complained that the delay was inappropriate, but DHS directed them several times not to act, the official said. It was not immediately clear why federal immigration authorities would not have been notified sooner about Sanchez's status. During discussions about when and where to arrest Sanchez, the U.S. reviewed Sanchez's application for permission to stay in the country as part of Barack Obama's policy to allow up to 1.7 million young illegal immigrants avoid deportation and get permission to work for up to two years. As a sex offender, he would not have been eligible. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversees the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, notified Sanchez of that shortly before his arrest, one official said. During the final weeks of President George W. Bush's administration, ICE was criticized for delaying the arrest of Barack Obama's aunt, who had ignored an immigration judge's order to leave the country several years earlier after her asylum claim was denied. She subsequently won the right to stay in the United States after an earlier deportation order. In that case, the Homeland Security Department had imposed an unusual directive days before the 2008 election requiring high-level approval before federal agents nationwide could arrest fugitive immigrants including Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father. The directive from ICE expressed concerns about "negative media or congressional interest," according to a copy of that directive. The department lifted the immigration order weeks later.

Black triplets are all locked up on felony charges

Deshawn and Juronn have been convicted of robbery and conspiracy in connection with the July 2010 theft of money and a cell phone from a Saginaw man. The brothers, remanded to the Saginaw County jail following the jury verdict, each face a maximum of 15 years in custody when they are sentenced in January 2013. If sent to prison, the duo will join their brother Devon as wards of the state. Devon Shivers is locked up until at least February 2042 following his sentencing in 2011 for home invasion, weapons possession, and assault with intent to commit murder. Devon is being held at the Saginaw Correctional Facility. The Shivers triplets turn 22 on January 10, 2013.

Four sex traffickers from Mexico have been charged with sex trafficking, interstate prostitution, human smuggling and money laundering – actions that involved victims as young as 14 years old

Benito Lopez-Perez, 32, and Anastasio Romero-Perez, 39, both of Mexico, were arraigned before U.S. District Court Judge Carol B. Amon in New York on a 25-count indictment following their extradition. A third defendant, Jose Gabino Barrientos-Perez, 51, was extradited from Mexico and arraigned previously, and faced the same charges, according to a press release by the Department of Justice. Yet another defendant, Antonio Lira-Robles, 37, had also been arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn in a separate sex trafficking case.

The average black performance on the SAT test is 200 points lower than that for the average white student and among the black population almost three quarters of children are now born outside of marriage

A white professor has been accused of racism for pointing out the deficiencies of the black family.

In the public schools of predominantly black Detroit only 7% of the eighth graders are grade-level proficient or better in reading

Detroit public-school eighth graders do even worse in math than they do in reading, according to the Department of Education. While only 7% scored highly enough on the department’s National Assessment of Educational Progress test in 2011 to be rated “proficient” or better in reading, only 4% scored highly enough to be rated “proficient” or better in math.

Roma gypsies are descended from dalits or low caste untouchables who left north-west India over 1,000 years ago

The findings lead the researchers to believe that the Roma gypsies began their migration from India as early as the 11th century, after being promised a promotion in caste status to fight in a war in what is now Punjab. Historical studies have also suggested migrations beginning as early as between the 4th and 7th centuries AD. Later moves westwards may have been prompted by the rise of Islam in the Indian sub-continent from which the Hindu Roma sought to flee. The fall of Hindu kingdoms in what is today Pakistan increased the exodus to Europe and North Africa, the research team believes. The findings add further evidence to linguistic studies and Roma folklore. Roma language is related to Sanskrit and even their name is understood to be derived from Doma, which means man. Pronounced with the tongue curling off the roof of the mouth for the d, in Europe Doma became Roma.

The proportion of Protestants in Northern Ireland has fallen below 50% for the first time, census figures have shown, raising the prospect that the growing numbers of Catholics could upset a fragile political balance

The proportion of Protestants fell to 48% from 53% 10 years ago, the results of the 2010 census showed, while the proportion of Catholics increased to 45% from 44%. Demographers have also predicted that Catholics, who are younger and have higher birth rates, could become a majority of voters within a generation. A majority by nationalist parties would represent a setback to Unionists and could undermine the peace. Catholics already have a significant majority in the capital city Belfast, with 136,497 Catholics to 118,856 Protestant. There are just 54,000 more people from a Protestant background than from a Catholic one in Northern Ireland, latest figures from the 2011 census have shown. One of the reasons for the decline in the Protestant population is that it is an older community with higher mortality.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish counselor in a New York Hasidic community has been found guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing a girl over three years while she was in his care

Nechemya Weberman faces up to 117 years in prison after being convicted on 59 counts. The most serious charge, “course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree” carries a maximum sentence of 25 years. In a trial that has upended the insular community of Brooklyn followers of the Satmar branch of Hasidic Jews, the girl accuses Weberman of first abusing her in 2007, when she was 12.

Between 2007 and 2010, the median net worth of U.S. households fell by 47%, reaching its lowest level in more than forty years, adjusted for inflation

This has led to a significant increase in wealth inequality.

One in five young men in British detention centers have been found to be Muslims

According to a report by the chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, one in five young men in youth jails across England and Wales are Muslims, representing a sharp rise from 13% in 2009-10 to 21% in 2011-12. The study also found that the proportion of youth offenders in custody from black and minority ethnic communities has risen to 42%, from 39% in 2010-11. Around 17% of the population of England and Wales is non-white, while it is estimated that about 5% of people in Britain are Muslim.

Study shows that men find women with whom they share certain facial features more attractive

Researchers find that individuals have a tendency to choose potential partners that resemble them or, in other words, are genetically similar to them.

The three states with the highest income inequality - California, Arizona and New Mexico - all share a border with Mexico

Other high-income-inequality states such as New York, Georgia and Illinois all have huge illegal immigrant populations. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, every one of the top five unequal states also is among the top 10 states with high illegal immigrant populations. Take Georgia, where, according to the Department of Homeland Security, the illegal immigrant population doubled between 2000 and 2011. As a result, Georgia now has the eighth-highest per capita illegal immigrant population in the country.

Jewish billionaire wants the GOP to support amnesty for illegal immigrants

Sheldon Adelson is using his vast wealth to buy the Republican party so they can carry out an agenda that is beneficial to him if not to the people of the United States.

Middle Eastern gang violence in Sydney, Australia

Apparently Muslims are as violent in Australia as they are in the Middle East. Who would have guessed it?

A white mother-of-two whose estranged black husband poured industrial-strength Lye over her in a horrific attack that left her so disfigured she's awaiting a face transplant claims that she wouldn't take back what happened to her

The attack by her black husband left her with burns to 80% of her body.

Despite the popular belief among parents that having children shortens their lives, the reverse seems to be true, particularly for women, indicates a large study of childless couples, treated for infertility

The prevalence of mental illness was also halved in couples who became adoptive parents, the study shows. This is not the first time that childlessness has been linked with higher than expected death rates, say the authors. But the link has traditionally been attributed to unhealthy behaviors and poor mental and physical health, and few studies have differentiated between voluntary and involuntary childlessness. Having a child cut the risk of early death, particularly among women, the analysis showed. The early death rate from circulatory disease, cancers, and accidents among childless women was four times as high as that among those who gave birth to their own child, and 50% lower among women who adopted. Similarly, rates of death were around twice as high among men who did not become parents, either biologically or through adoption. Rates of mental illness were similar between couples with and without children of their own, with the exception of those with drug and alcohol problems. But the prevalence of mental illness in couples who adopted kids was around half that of other parents. Taking account of influential factors, such as age, educational attainment, income and underlying illness had only a marginal impact on the findings. "Mindful that association is not [the same thing as] causation, our results suggest that the mortality rates are higher in the childless," write the authors. "Rates of psychiatric illness do not appear to vary with childlessness, but the rate of psychiatric illness in parents who adopt is decreased," they add.

Mexico: Police have found the mutilated bodies of 13 people inside two vehicles abandoned in separate towns of the northern border state of Tamaulipas

Authorities found the cut-up bodies of two women and three men in a potato chip delivery truck abandoned in the parking lot of a supermarket in the town of El Mante, a Tamaulipas state official said. The official said that police also found a threatening message signed by the Gulf drug cartel. An hour later, police found eight bodies in the town of Soto la Marina along with a message alleging that the victims were members of the Gulf cartel. Northeastern Mexico along the border with Texas has been a war zone of shootouts and gruesome mass killings as the Zetas and Gulf drug cartels battle each other in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas - a region that is home to cattle ranches, sorghum fields and the industrial city of Monterrey. The Zetas were hit men for the Gulf cartel until they split in 2010, unleashing their bloody war. In Coahuila, police found the bodies of four men hanging from a highway overpass in the capital city of Saltillo. Coahuila state security spokesman Sergio Sisbeles said that the victims had been tortured and had their feet and hands bound with duct tape. None had been shot and authorities were still trying to determine the cause of death, he said. Police have also found the mutilated bodies of seven men in Torreon, a city in southern Coahuila. Southern Coahuila also is an arena for fighting between the Zetas and the Sinaloa drug cartel.

An illegal immigrant from Mexico, Jorge Mariscal, has received a free kidney transplant

Which means that an American citizen who needed that kidney has been denied it.

The pre-election economy was worse than voters were led to believe, and that the prospects for meaningful improvement under the current Obama regime are bleak at best

Now that the election is over, we are learning that the economy is worse than the media previously led us to believe.

Dutch-born Moroccan and Turkish men are grooming underage girls for prostitution in Amsterdam

More sex crimes in Europe thanks to Muslims.

Increased levels of the hormone aldosterone in young black males correlate with an unhealthy chain of events that starts with retaining too much salt and results in an enlarged heart muscle

Physicians may want to reach for aldosterone inhibitors early in their effort to control blood pressure and reduce cardiovascular risk in young black males. Studies of a cohort of 191 healthy black and white 15- to 19-year-olds showed that only in the black males was higher aldosterone associated with impaired sodium excretion, increased blood pressure and enlargement of the left pumping chamber of the heart. Increased sodium makes the body hold onto more fluid, which increases blood pressure. Unhealthy enlargement of the pumping chamber of the heart, called left ventricular hypertrophy, results from the heart having to work too hard against high blood pressures to push blood and oxygen out to the body. Studies have shown that black males particularly have a problem with blood pressure returning to normal following stress because of an impaired ability to eliminate sodium.

A British woman who was kidnapped and gang raped by three men in Dubai has been prosecuted for drinking without a licence, throwing a spotlight on the United Arab Emirates’ archaic legal system, which does not do enough to protect victims of sexual assault

The woman was raped repeatedly by the three men who filmed the attack after they lured her into their car as she returned from a night out with friends. After reporting her ordeal to the police, the 28-year-old found herself in the dock because she admitted she had been drinking earlier that night. She was fined 1,000 dirhams (£169).

New Zealand, Denmark and Finland are perceived as being the least corrupt countries

Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan are seen as the most corrupt.

By kindergarten, 1 out of 4 African American boys in California is convinced he will fail in school

About 70% of California males under age 25 are of an ethnicity other than white. By fourth grade, about 60% of black and Latino children score below proficient on reading tests, and by eighth grade, about 1 in 4 are chronically absent. A report found that 1 in 6 black males between 15 and 25 were out of school, out of work or incarcerated.

White voters, aged 18-29, overwhelmingly supported Romney

According to Pew Research, 54% of white voters under 30 voted for Romney and only 41% for Obama. That’s the same percentage that Reagan got from the entire white population in 1980. Even white women under 30 slightly favored Romney. Reagan got just 43% of young voters in 1980 – and that was when whites were 88% of the electorate. Only 58% of 2012’s under-30 vote is white, and it’s shrinking daily. Eighty-five percent of legal immigrants since 1968 have come from the Third World and a majority of them are in need of government assistance. Whites are 76% of the electorate over the age of 30 and only 58% of the electorate under 30. In 1980, Hispanics were only 2% of the population. More than half of all babies born to Hispanic women in 2012 are illegitimate. The birthrate of Hispanic women is twice that of the rest of the population, and their unwed birthrate is one and a half times that of blacks. Hispanics are less likely to be married, less likely to go to church, more supportive of gay marriage and less likely to call themselves conservative than other Americans. Nearly 20% of black males under 30 voted for Romney, more than three times what McCain got.

A new survey ranks Detroit as the most dangerous U.S. city to visit for gay travelers

Detroit is described as having a slumping economy, increase in crime, high number of landmark gay bars closing and a severe lack of smart accommodations.

Bangladesh: Four men tied up a 7-year-old boy, bashed his skull, slit his throat, sliced open his belly and cut off his penis

More savagery in South Asia.

A black man has been arraigned after telling police that he killed three women - two of them nearly 20 years ago and the third recently

The arrest of Lucius Crawford of Mount Vernon, New York, has prompted the NYPD to notify authorities on Long Island, where investigators continue to search for a possible serial killer in the deaths of 10 women whose remains were found along beach areas in recent years. Crawford was arrested after officers found the body of 41-year old Tanya Simmons in his bed, according to Mount Vernon Police Commissioner Carl Bell. The African-American suspect was not home at the time officers discovered Simmons. Officers from several police departments went to Crawford's apartment initially to question him about the October 1993 murder of a Bronx woman and the September 1993 murder of a Yonkers woman. Crawford was not home, but police entered the apartment and found the woman's body. Once in custody, Crawford admitted to stabbing and killing Simmons in his apartment, as well as the 1993 murders, according to NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne. Detectives also discovered that Crawford's parole tracking bracelet had been removed and was in his apartment. "We're glad to have this man off the streets," Bell, of the Mount Vernon police, said. "He's harmed so many people over the years, and now it's finally over." Detectives had recently re-activated the Bronx woman's case after DNA evidence linked Crawford to the murder, the NYPD said in a statement. Crawford was already a suspect in the Yonkers cold case. Crawford was charged with second-degree murder in Simmons' death and is being held without bail. He will be charged separately for the 1993 killings. Crawford has an extensive history of violence against women. He was on parole at the time of his arrest after spending 13 years in prison, from 1995 until 2008, for the stabbing of a Westchester woman. Crawford had also been incarcerated from 1977 until 1991 for stabbing as many as five females, aged 14 to 28, over a five-day period in Charleston, South Carolina.

Lincoln worked on plans for facilitating self-deportation of ex-slaves up through his death in April 1865

Lincoln thought that black ex-slaves should move to warmer climes, such as Liberia, Hispaniola, and Central America. In fact, the same morning he issued the Emancipation Proclamation - January 1, 1863 - Lincoln signed a contract establishing a colony for 5,000 black ex-slaves in Haiti.

A Muslim charged with plotting to blow up churches and synagogues in Manhattan has pleaded guilty and faces a decade in prison

Ahmed Ferhani, 27, has admitted to conspiring to attack the biggest synagogue in Manhattan as well as churches to send a message of violence to non-Muslims. Ferhani, who was arrested in May 2011, entered the plea in New York State Supreme Court.

In 1960, Detroit was 76% white - though at the time blacks represented only 24% of the population, they were responsible for 65% of the violence crime in that city

What is Detroit's biggest problem? Too many blacks and not enough whites.

New York City police have arrested the black man who confessed to pushing an Asian man onto the subway tracks and to his death

Naeem Davis, 30, has been arrested and charged with depraved indifference murder and attempted murder. Davis implicated himself in the death of Ki-Suk Han, 58. Han was hit by a southbound "Q" train at the 49th Street station after getting into an altercation with a black man on the subway platform. After falling onto the tracks, Han tried to scramble back onto the platform but was crushed by the oncoming train. Han was a citizen of Korea living in Elmhurst, Queens, with his wife and daughter. Police said that he had come to Midtown to renew his passport.

Both the Democrats and the Republicans have an alarming problem with white middle-class voters

Based on preliminary numbers, on Election Day 2012, about 91.6 million votes were cast by whites, 16.6 million by blacks, 12.7 million by Latinos and 6.3 million by other groups (not all final counts are in yet). Compare this with 2008, when there were 98.6 million white voters, 16.3 million blacks, 11 million Latinos and 5.9 million from other groups. Assuming 7 million white votes were outstanding, the African-American vote probably only increased by about 300,000 votes, or 0.2%, from 2008 to 2012. The Latino vote probably increased by a healthier 1.7 million votes, while the other category increased by about 470,000 votes. Democrats have a problem with middle-class whites showing up in weak numbers, while Republicans have a problem with whites just not showing up. Democrats have a problem with blue-collar workers and Republicans are having a problem with more rural voters like farmers.

Al Qaeda committed truly shocking human rights abuses including crucifixions and the beheading of an accused sorcerer during its 16 months in control of a southern region of Yemen, a report by Amnesty International shows

The London-based charity has also released a video which shows a suspected thief having his hand amputated by the Ansar al-Sharia militia, which seized power of the Abyan governorate in February 2011.

Within the United States, Asians as an ethnic group are perceived as more feminine in comparison to whites, while blacks are perceived as more masculine

Within the heterosexual dating market, men tend to prefer women who personify the feminine ideal while women prefer men who embody masculinity. Men are more attracted to Asian women relative to black women, while women are more attracted to black men relative to Asian men. Even more interesting, the more a man valued femininity the more likely he was attracted to an Asian women and the less likely he was attracted to an black women. The same effect occurred for women, with attraction to masculinity driving the differential attraction to black men and Asian men. among black-white marriages, 73% had a black husband and a white wife, while among Asian-white marriages, 75% had a white husband and an Asian wife. An even more pronounced pattern emerged in Asian-black marriages, in which 86% had a black husband and an Asian wife. In a study in which participants evaluated job candidates, Asians were more likely to be selected for a leadership position that required collaboration and relationship building, traits typically perceived as feminine. Black candidates were more likely to be chosen for positions that required a fiercely competitive approach, typically seen as masculine. The more a sport was perceived to be masculine the greater the relative number of black to Asian athletes who played that sport at the collegiate level, with blacks more likely to participate in the most masculine sports.

The mother of a teenage girl who is accusing a member of an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect of sexual abuse says that she paid her daughter's abuser, Nechemya Weberman, $12,800 for counseling services that the girl's school demanded she receive

The woman testified that her daughter's Brooklyn school told her that she had to send the then 12-year-old girl to see Weberman - who was an unlicensed counselor - otherwise she'd be expelled from school, because she had questioned her teachers about their religion and had worn clothing that wasn't modest enough. Prosecutors say that the girl was molested by Weberman, 54, for years. The case has been a crash course for jurors about the customs and rules in Weberman's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, home to about 250,000 followers and the largest such community outside Israel. His trial has rocked their insular, tight-knit group, not only because of the shocking charges but also because the case is being played out in a public court and its guarded society strongly discourages going to outside authorities. Four men were arrested when they snapped pictures of the plaintiff as she testified, then posted them online. And before the trial began, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes charged other men with trying to bribe the girl to drop the charges. The girl, now 17, testified that she and her family were harassed and shunned for coming forward; her father lost his business and her nieces were kicked out of school. The girl testified for three days about the abuse, detailing that Weberman forced her to perform oral sex and act out porn films. She said that the abuse lasted from 2007 to 2010. "I wanted to die rather than live with myself," the girl testified. "I didn't know how to fight. I was numb." Weberman has pleaded not guilty to 88 charges of sexual abuse and misconduct. The allegations surfaced in 2011 when the girl told a guidance counselor at a different school that she'd been molested. She eventually went to the police.