Facebook hits back at claims it is 'destroying society' and fuels 'isolation'

Facebook has hit back against scientific researchers and tech industry insiders who have said the social media network is 'destroying society'.

Facebook said that social media can be good for people’s well-being if they use the technology in a way that is active, such as messaging with friends, rather than passive, such as scrolling through a feed of other people’s posts.

It was the second time this week that Facebook had published such a rebuttal, signaling a new willingness to defend a business model that translates users’ attention into advertising revenue.

Mark Zuckerberg says technology could be a solution for America's broken school system

• In a letter posted to Facebook, Zuckerberg outlined his "lessons on philanthropy" in 2017.
• Zuckerberg asserted that technology is part of the solution to improving education in the US. He wants to build tools that empower teachers.
• Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have sold more than $900 million worth of Facebook shares this year to fund programs that bolster schools.

In a letter posted to Facebook on Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg reflected on what he and wife Priscilla Chan have learned about philanthropy in 2017. One of his biggest takeaways was that improving education will be among the biggest challenges that the next generation faces.
Zuckerberg thinks he has a fix for a broken school system: more technology.

I'm a therapist, and I always tell clients it's okay to live a 'good enough' life — here are my 5 top tips

It's important to remember that sometimes life is out of your control, but how you handle life's challenges isn't.
Taking care of your mind and body will pay off in the long run.
Focus on the moment rather than the past.
Create a life that means something or leaves something behind.


There's no such thing as a free exit.

A young woman I'd worked with for three years was ready to leave therapy. She was calm, happy and about to step out of the room into the Rest of Her Life. I was excited for her, but I'd miss her. That's the thing about being a psychologist: just because you want people to live happily without you doesn't mean you enjoy it.

"So it's over," she said. "This is where you say something wise and illuminating that will sustain me all the rest of my days."

"What if what I say is not Good Enough?"

She grinned at the reference to her perfectionist standards, something we'd worked hard on. But she wasn't finished with me. "If you say goodbye and good luck, I'll slap you. I've spent a lot of time and money here and I expect the best you've got."

She hugged me then which some psychologists frown on but I let clients create their own ending: if they want to hug, I do too. And I promised when I got home that night I would write her some parting words, tips for life, boiled all the way down.

So here it is, my version of all that really matters.

Anthony Joshua lights up Christmas for children as world champion takes time out of training to make surprise visit

Anthony Joshua has made plenty of people happy with his fighting exploits this year - but the world heavyweight champion showed his softer side in the build-up to Christmas.

Joshua and Jaguar teamed up with the NSPCC to promoter their ‘Light up Christmas for Children’ campaign and to encourage the public to share their #LightsOn selfie and make a donation to the charity.

The 2012 Olympic champion's festively-wrapped prototype Jaguar was packed with gifts as he surprised children at Boole House in Coventry with a unique lights switch-on.

A Russian billionaire's £360 million superyacht 'Sailing Yacht A' has been spotted docked at the Port of Gibraltar

Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko's £360 million ($480 million) "Sailing Yacht A," one of the largest private sailing yachts in the world, has been spotted docked at the Port of Gibraltar. The yacht underwent final tests at the port in May before it was handed over to its owner.
The 142.8-metre vessel boasts 300 ft masts that are taller than Big Ben, and counts eight decks (connected by a series of lifts), a free-floating spiral staircase, a huge swimming pool on the top deck, and an underwater observation pod among its stunning features. France's Philippe Starck is behind the design.

Colombia's main gang declares unilateral ceasefire

Colombia's biggest criminal gang has declared a unilateral ceasefire to help "bring about peace".
The gang, known as the Gulf Clan or Los Urabeños, said it would stop "offensive military actions from 13 December".
The truce comes three months after the gang's leader said it would surrender and he would hand himself in. A framework is still being worked on.
Police have warned that criminal gangs such as the Gulf Clan are the biggest risk to security in Colombia.
Battle for control
The Gulf Clan is estimated to have about 1,500 active members. It controls many of the routes used to smuggle drugs from Colombia to the US and as far away as Russia.

World's largest passenger plane in Christmas stunt over Germany

skilled pilot embraced the Christmas spirit with a festive stunt while flying over Germany and Denmark.

Flying the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, the pilot drew the outline of a Christmas tree - complete with decorations - in the sky on 13 December.

An outline of the flight path at 40,000ft was shared by Flightradar24, a site which tracks air traffic in real time, after the plane took off from Hamburg for the five-hour flight.

A spokesperson for Airbus explained it was a normal internal test flight before the delivery of a new aircraft, adding: “There are hundreds of these flights every year.

Eggs’ versatility – Christmas season eggy fries

The egg is synonymous with potential. But let’s not get bogged down in symbolism.

Even for the most practical-minded cook, the egg is a marvel of possibility: Scramble it. Poach it. Boil it. Fry it. Beat a couple into an omelet. Whip several into a soufflé. The choices nearly overwhelm.

But for my time and money, which is to say scant, I prefer the binder approach: Take whatever you’ve got on hand, and throw it in a pan with some eggs – which bring the ingredients together into something greater than the sum of its parts. For something savory, grab leftover vegetables and cheese. For a sweet take, stale bread and fruit. Or skirt the boundary with bread, apples, brie and pancetta. Master the basic concepts involved in making a frittata and baked French toast (aka strata), and you’ll have a potent strategy for dealing with both the time crunch of weeknight meals and making leftovers palatable.


These dishes became a regular part of our family’s weeknight dinner rotation many years ago when I was looking for a way to make use of care packages sent by my grandfather-in-law. He was a masterful and prolific Italian American cook, and so he would periodically ship us boxes lined with ice packs and filled with freezer bags of sausage ground by a neighborhood butcher according to my grandpa-in-law’s specifications; jars of stuffed peppers mummified in bubble wrap; zip-close bags packed full of spicy broccoli rabe; and, just in case it wasn’t sold in the Midwest, Special K cereal.

My first attempts at making a frittata were born of rabe-induced guilt – the sheer quantity of it required something more than a simple reheat – and these first attempts were disasters: burned on the bottom, runny in the middle. Or, worse, scattered all over the kitchen floor after a failed flip. I had not yet learned two essential lessons.

Ky. lawmaker accused of assault dies in apparent suicide

Dan Johnson, a Republican state lawmaker in Kentucky who defiantly denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in the basement of his home, died in an apparent suicide Wednesday night, the county coroner said. He was 57.
Bullitt County Coroner Dave Billings said Johnson died of a single gunshot wound on Greenwell Ford Road in Mount Washington, Kentucky. Billings said Johnson stopped his car at the end of a bridge in a secluded area, then got out and walked to the front of the car. He said an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning.
"I would say it is probably suicide," he said.
Johnson was elected to the state legislature in 2016, part of a wave of Republican victories that gave the GOP control of the Kentucky House of Representatives for the first time in nearly 100 years. He won his election despite Republican leaders urging him to drop out of the race after local media reported on some of his Facebook posts comparing Barack and Michelle Obama to monkeys.

Narco sub filled with 3,800 pounds of cocaine intercepted by U.S. Coast Guard

A vessel harboring 3,800 pounds of cocaine tied to drug cartels was recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard near Panama on Nov. 13, according to a release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The drugs were found in a self-propelled, semi-submersible vessel, which is a low-profile vessel designed to navigate lower in the water to avoid detection.
The vessel was intercepted by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter near Corpus Christi. The unidentified three-person crew was arrested and will face charges in the U.S.

Fuji star, KWAM1's daughter dies at 34

One of the daughters of Fuji music act, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall aka KWAM1, Wasilat Olaronke Marshall, has died. A family member confirmed to AOB that she died in Canada after a brief illness. She was 34 years old

The Truth about Courage

Lots of people think being courageous is about throwing yourself into a larger-than-life mission, transcending the limits of your humanity to perform superhuman feats of strength or intellect.

But the most important kind of courage isn’t found in extraordinary situations. It’s found in ordinary ones – the everyday moments that slip by without us even noticing.

The moment you resist grabbing a candy bar in the checkout aisle…

Tyson Fury wants to reclaim world titles and challenges Anthony Joshua

Britain's Tyson Fury has vowed to regain world titles "which are rightfully mine" after being given the green light to resume his career.

Fury tested positive for a banned steroid in February 2015, but accepted a backdated two-year ban on Tuesday.

Pending the return of his licence, Fury, 29, wants to fight compatriot Anthony Joshua - the IBF and WBA heavyweight world champion.

"Where you at boy? I'm coming for you," he wrote on Twitter.

Fury's win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 was his last bout before a legal battle with UK Anti-Doping (Ukad).

In October 2016, he gave up his WBO and WBA titles to focus on mental health problems and the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) suspended his licence "pending further investigation into anti-doping and medical issues".

What Causes Body Odor and How Can I Treat It?

What is bromhidrosis?
Bromhidrosis is foul-smelling body odor related to your sweat.

Perspiration itself actually has no odor. It’s only when sweat encounters bacteria on the skin that a smell can emerge. Other than body odor (BO), bromhidrosis is also known by other clinical terms, including osmidrosis and bromidrosis.

Bromhidrosis can often be treated or prevented through changes to your hygiene habits, though there are medical treatment options as well.

CAUSES
Causes
You have two types of sweat glands: apocrine and eccrine. Bromhidrosis is usually related to secretions by apocrine glands. But both types of sweat glands can lead to abnormal body odor.

Apocrine glands are located primarily in the underarm, groin, and breast areas. Sweat from the apocrine glands tends to be thicker than that produced by the eccrine glands. Apocrine sweat also contains chemicals called pheromones, which are hormones meant to have an effect on others. People and animals release pheromones to attract a mate, for example.

9 Ways to Stop Sweating

Sweating is the body’s way of regulating its temperature. When we’re hot, we sweat. That moisture then evaporates and cools us down. Sweating is a completely natural part of everyday life.

Still, some people may find sweating undesirable in certain social situations, particularly if their sweat is leaving noticeable damp patches or stains. In these situations, there are some strategies that can help to reduce the amount that you sweat.

ANTIPERSPIRANT

Apply antiperspirant before bed
Antiperspirants work by blocking the sweat ducts so that the sweat can’t reach the surface of our skin. The sweat is still produced by the gland, but can’t reach the surface.

Deodorants don’t prevent sweating but instead aim to mask the smell that’s produced by bacteria when we sweat. Sometimes antiperspirants contain deodorant. The majority of antiperspirants you can purchase at the drugstore are made up of metallic salts called aluminum chloride.