Is Salt Bad For You?

We like debunking widely spread myths. We also like confirming things people believe to be myths. With some topics however, the answer lies somewhere in between. Where does salt lie? Many food products are “sodium free” and advertised as healthier. Is there any truth to this? Is salt really that bad for you? Let’s find out.

What Is Salt?
Salt is a mineral that is mostly composed of sodium chloride. It is widely regarded as one of the oldest food seasonings humans have used and has also been used for other purposes through early human history. In addition to giving more flavor to food, it has been used in food preservation, religious rituals and even as currency. Some of the oldest mines discovered by archeologists have been salt mines. The oldest in China, dating all the way back to 6000 BC.

So Is Salt Bad For You?
The problem with myths, is that they tend to speak in absolutes. The media and news channels use sensationalist journalism to catch a viewers attention and do a shoddy job on reporting the actual facts. This is the case with salt.

is salt good for you?While there is some evidence to support the claim that large amounts of salt can negatively effect a persons health (anything in excess is bad for a persons health), there have been studies that show too little salt intake is much, much worse.

What Are The Colors You See When You Shut Your Eyes?

Sometimes, when you shut your eyes tightly or are in a pitch black room, your eyes decide it’s time for a light show. Random, psychedelic-like patterns and flashes of color will dance around your field of vision like it’s 1969. While you can appreciate the entertainment, in the back of your mind you wonder what is causing the phenomena.

Are these flashes and patterns of light and colors indicative of a health problem? Are they something that can be treated or cured? Or are they completely normal? Today we’re going to crash the party in your eyes and find out what’s going on.

Light Need Not Apply
One common misconception about a human’s vision is that our eyes require light (photons) to be stimulated. Even in the absence of photons, the neurons in our visual system are always active. The thalamus (part of the brain responsible for relaying sensory signals), your visual cortex, and your retina are in an “always on” state – even while you sleep. The neurons in these visual systems are continuously relaying signals and information.

This continuous activity is sometimes referred to as background activity. It’s this background activity that is responsible for your trippy visuals and interesting patterns in the absence of light. The technical term for this phenomena is a “Phosphene“.

Artificial gills for humans could become a reality

Breathing underwater, without the help of voluminous equipment, seems as unrealistic as flying overseas must have before the first non-stop transatlantic flight.
Designer Jun Kamei's interest in the designs found in nature has led him to create Amphibio, a 3D-printed accessory that works as a gill and may one day provide humans with an alternative way to breathe underwater.

Royal College of Art graduate Kamei, in partnership with RCA-IIS Tokyo Design Lab, was inspired to create a lightweight underwater respiratory device because of predicted rises in sea levels.
"I was looking at how the future of our urban environment will change with global warming, and got deeply interested by figures of water level rise," said Kamei.

Samsung Unveils A New Ball Shaped Personal Assistant

At the 2020 CES at Las Vegas, Samsung unveiled its latest gadget, a tennis ball-shaped robot, Ballie. Nah, you are getting it wrong, it isn’t meant for the sports complex, but right inside your house as a personal assistant! Ballie has been equipped with an in-built camera and a hi-fi machine learning technology that knows how to keep its master happy. Whether you need an exercise partner to keep your crunches count right, or someone to guard your pet dog when you’re not around, Ballie can do it all.


Samsung’s latest personal assistant bot – Ballie
Samsung’s prime focus for the year 2020 rotates around artificial intelligence and the 5G experience and Ballie have been incorporated with both. It can turn the lights on or can keep a check on your room’s temperature for your sound sleep. Annoyed with your morning alarm, it can even turn it off for you. Ballie can work just the way you want to as it has a mobile user interface for you to customize your bot.

Parents of Madonna's new 'boyfriend' give consent to relationship despite 36-year age gap

The parents of Madonna’s reported new 25-year-old boyfriend have spoken out about the relationship, saying “love doesn’t have an age range when you’re consenting adults”.

The 61-year-old singer and dancer Ahlamalik Williams were spotted embracing on a balcony in Miami last week. However, there has been no confirmation that the pair are an item.

But this now appears to be the case after Williams’ parents have gone public to give their consent.
Drue and Laurie Williams, who say they are fans of Madonna’s music, have no issue with the couple’s 36-year age gap.

Speaking of meeting the Queen of Pop, Mr Williams, 59, told The Mirror: “She told us she is so much in love with him and that we didn’t have anything to worry about as she was going to take care of him.

“We know there’s a huge age gap between the two – 36 years. Madonna is two years older than me.

“I asked him how he feels about her and he says he has never been happier.”

13 people shot at house party in Chicago

A shooting at a house party early Sunday on Chicago's South Side wounded 13 people, four of them critically, Chicago police said.

The shooting stemmed from a dispute at a house party that was “given in memorial of a subject slain in April,” Chief of Patrol Fred Waller said. He said shots were first fired just after 12:30 a.m.

The victims range in age between 16 and 48 and suffered “different and various gunshot wounds to their bodies.”

Two people are being questioned, Waller said. One of them was arrested with a weapon, he said, while the other was wounded. Waller said police recovered a revolver.

Waller described three different shooting scenes at the residential location in the city's Englewood neighborhood. The shooting started inside, and then more shots were fired as people began spilling out of the house. He said shots were also fired at a third place in the vicinity.

He described the shooting as an “isolated incident.”

Boy, 14, Sought in Killing of Barnard Student

Nine days after a Barnard student was killed during a mugging in a park, New York City police Friday were carrying out an extensive manhunt for a 14-year-old boy who detectives believed may have been the one who stabbed her with a knife.

“We are working tirelessly,” the New York Police Department’s chief of detectives, Rodney Harrison, said at a news conference. “We are looking for one more individual and the investigation is still ongoing.”

The police said the 14-year-old had been identified by another boy involved in the robbery as the one who delivered fatal stab blows to Tessa Majors, an 18-year-old freshman at Barnard College.

Majors, a musician and aspiring journalist who had moved to New York this year for college, was passing through Morningside Park on the way home when she was attacked by at least three young teenagers, police said. Her killing stunned the city and evoked a bygone era when violent robberies and murders were commonplace.

On Friday night, in an unusual move, police distributed a photo of the wanted teenager on social media and asked the public for help in finding him. Minutes later, an official police Twitter account said the teenager was wanted in connection with the stabbing in Morningside Park.

Tech trends 2020: New spacecraft and bendy screens

If your ambition is to fly into space - and you've got plenty of spare cash - then 2020 could be an exciting year.

If space travel is not really your thing, but you would like a much bigger screen on your mobile phone, then 2020 might also have some tech for you.

But if you think there are already too many phones out there and the technology industry needs to be less wasteful, well some tech companies might catch up with your thinking.

Here's a little taster of what might be coming in the next twelve months.

Crewed space missions
2020 is going to be a "pivotal year" for space travel, according to Guy Norris, a senior editor at Aviation Week & Space Technology.

Since Nasa retired the Space Shuttle in 2011, the US has relied on Russian spacecraft to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

That could all change in 2020 when, if all goes to plan, two US-built spacecraft should start carrying crew.

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, which can carry up to seven astronauts into orbit, is due for its first test flight today before the first manned flight, likely to be in 2020.

Meanwhile the SpaceX Dragon capsule will go through some final tests in early 2020, and if they all go well then it too would be ready for a crewed mission.

Claudine Auger: French actress known for James Bond role dies aged 78

French actress Claudine Auger, best known for her role alongside Sean Connery in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, has died at the age of 78.

She died on Wednesday in Paris following a long period of illness, her agency Time Art said.

Auger started out as a model, representing France and coming first runner-up in Miss World in 1958.

But she quickly developed a talent for acting, and landed roles including one in the 1962 film The Iron Mask.

A few years later in 1965, she shot to global stardom as Domino in Thunderball, the fourth film in the Bond franchise.

She was the first female co-star to the James Bond character, known as a "Bond girl", to be from France.

It was later revealed that the production team had rewritten the character for Auger. Domino was initially supposed to be Italian, but she became French.

A$AP Rocky has finally come out to address his alleged sex tape leak.

A$AP Rocky has finally come out to address his alleged sex tape leak.
On Thursday, December 19, an explicit video allegedly showing the Harlem rapper having sex with a white woman surfaced on Pornhub. The face of the man in the tape wasn't visible, but fans linked the man to A$AP Rocky because of the similarities between the tattoos of the man in the video.
Last night, the rapper took to his Twitter account to address the sex tape leak, saying he doesn’t know that man in the video.

He wrote: “MY PENIS AND I WOKE UP 2 THE ALARMING DISTURBANCE OF A VIDEO CLIP 2DAY,” he tweeted. “

AS HIS DEFENSE ATTORNEY WE’RE PREPARED 2 DENY ANY SLOW STROKES OR LACK OF KILLIN THE PUSSY .A LONG LIST OF SATISFIED WOMEN CAN ATTEST TOO. BUT THE REAL PUNCHLINE IS SEEING PPL WHO NEVER F**KED HIM RATE HIM.”

An impeached Trump tries looking ahead, but uncertainty threatens Senate vindication

After being impeached, President Donald Trump is hoping to move quickly to a vigorous defense in the Senate and is distressed the trial he hopes will vindicate him might be delayed.

"What are they doing?" Trump asked a top Republican ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, upon learning Thursday morning that House Democrats may withhold sending articles of impeachment to the Senate until they feel assured there will be a fair trial.
"I said, 'Mr. President, I don't know,'" Graham told reporters before traveling to the White House to discuss the matter further with Trump.
The uncertainty threw a wrench into long-laid plans by the White House to mount an effort at exoneration once the impeachment proceedings move across Capitol Hill to the upper chamber. Trump and his aides have long eyed a Senate trial as the venue for eventual vindication in the saga, viewing the Republican-led chamber as a lock to acquit the President.
One possible avenue for Trump is looking back, to Barack Obama, with a suggestion -- supported possibly with Justice Department legal opinions -- that the former president should have been impeached for blocking congressional Republicans from fully investigating the "Fast and Furious" gun-running scandal.

Trump was spending the day at the White House, with two holiday receptions listed on his public calendar. He returned to a frigid Washington late Wednesday after a bitter and disjointed "Merry Christmas" rally in Michigan where he learned of the impeachment vote from a placard held aloft by a campaign aide.

The 'worst' airlines for long and short-haul flights named by Which?

American Airlines and British Airways have been rated among the worst airlines for long-haul flights, according to a survey of travelers by a consumer watchdog.
The UK flag carrier was criticized for the "quality of its food and drink, the comfort of its seats and value for money for its short-haul and long haul services," in the annual report by Which? Travel.
More than 6,500 travelers were asked about customer service, boarding and cabin environment as part of the survey.
American Airlines was named the worst long-haul airline, with a score of 48%.
"American Airlines takes customer feedback very seriously, and we were disappointed to see the findings of the Which? survey, based on the experiences of 53 customers," a spokesman for the airline told CNN.
"However, we recognize there is always room for improvement and we will continue to strive to deliver an excellent service that cares for our customers on life's journey."

CAUTION PARTY ABUJA Dec 8th 2019 - Get Tickets

ABUJA!! are you ready. We are counting down to the Caution party happening live, on the 8th of December at Tobix Recreation Graden.

GUESS WHAT!!! Its a bring all you can party. From drinks to food to games. BRING ALL YOU CAN till 6p.m.

Regular N2, 000. VIP N5, 000. Table N500, 000.

Featuring surprised guest from the old and new school. Powered by Hennessy and Genesis Cinemas.

For more enquiries contact 07010070010

Tickets available QuickTeller.Com
https://events.quickteller.com/eve…/1965-Caution-Party-Abuja

And all Genesis Cinemas.

Caution Party, Abuja. 8th December. DON'T MISS OUT!!!

Anthony Joshua lands in Saudi Arabia ahead of his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr

Anthony Joshua has landed in Saudi Arabia ahead of his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr., which will take place on Saturday, December 7, 2019, in Diriyah.

The British-Nigerian boxer will be looking to regain his IBF, WBA and WBO titles after losing them in a shock defeat to Ruiz Jr back in June at Madison Square Garden. The Mexican boxer defeated Joshua in the seventh-round to hand British/Nigerian boxer his first professional loss.
Sports authorities in Saudi Arabia are said to have tabled almost $100million (£83million) for the match to be held there.

#6THAFRIMA Full List of Winners: Awilo Longomba and 2face Idibia receive 'Legendary Awards'

Winners have emerged at the 6th All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA held on Saturday, November 23, 2019, at the Eko Convention Centre of Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.

Winners were announced in the 36 categories of the awards ceremony, which comprise the Continental and Regional categories.

Also, the 6th AFRIMA Legendary awards were announced; a recognition of individuals who have impacted positively to the world using their craft in the music, arts and culture industry. This years’ Legendary awards recipients are international Congolese music veteran, Awilo Longomba; and Nigerian music icon, 2Baba.

See the full list of winners below:

19 persons feared dead after a small plane crashed in Congo

17 passengers and two crew members are feared dead after a small aircraft they were onboard, crashed into a densely populated area of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo this morning November 24th.

The plane, operated by the company Busy Bee, crashed during takeoff for a flight to the city of Beni, a government official said in a statement. The number of fatalities is not yet clear.
The Dornier plane was en route to Beni, 350 kilometres north of Goma (220 miles), when it went down.
“There were 17 passengers on board and two crew members. It took off around 9-9.10 am (0700 GMT),” Busy Bee airline staff member Heritier Said Mamadou said

'Angels caught me': Boy thrown from mall balcony walking normally, family friend says

A 5-year-old boy who was thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America in Minnesota is walking normally again seven months after the attack.

That's according to an update posted Friday by family friend Noah Hanneman on a GoFundMe page which has raised more than $1 million for the boy and his family.

The boy, identified by the page and in court as Landen, fell about 40 feet on April 12 after he was grabbed at random by Emmanuel Aranda.

Aranda has since pleaded guilty to attempted premeditated first-degree murder and been sentenced to 19 years in prison. He told investigators he went to the mall “looking for someone to kill.”

But after a lengthy hospitalization and multiple physical therapies, the boy is beginning to return to a normal life, according to Hanneman.

College student Kennesaw State PG Kamiyah Street arrested on multiple murder charges in Atlanta

Kennesaw State starting point guard Kamiyah Street was arrested this week in Atlanta on multiple murder charges, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Street was arrested on Thursday on eight counts, per the report, including murder, three counts of felony murder, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Her arrest stems from the July 16 death of 21-year-old Nashiem Hubbard-Etienne, whose body was found in the parking garage of an apartment complex just south of downtown Atlanta. Hubbard-Etienne was “the victim of a targeted shooting,” an Atlanta police spokesman told the Journal-Constitution.

The homicide investigation is still ongoing.

Chilean singer Mon Laferte shows her bare breasts as she goes topless on the Latin Grammys red carpet (+18 photos/video)

Chilean singer Mon Laferte went topless on the Latin Grammys red carpet which held last night and this move is making her trend across various social media platforms.
The Latin Grammy ceremony held on Thursday, November 14 in Las Vegas, United States.
Arriving the event, Chilean singer Mon Laferte made sure she drew the attention of the international press with a daring action. She had on a black dress which she pulled off her shoulders to expose her bare breats.

On her naked chest, were written words which translates in English to mean: "In Chile they torture, rape and kill."

How do you feel about Instagram's plan to start hiding the likes on posts starting today

From today, Instagram will start a trial that hides the number of likes on the posts of users in the US. This has already been tested in Australia, Canada, Japan and a handful of other territories. If it works in the US, the change is expected to be rolled out globally, with users of Instagram all over the world having their number of likes hidden from their viewers.

 According to Instagram, the decision to hide your number of likes from others is so that users can "focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get." Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said hiding the "like" feature will help people's well-being and health.

London to get 'world's first' infinity pool with 360-degree views

 

For thrill-seeking swimmers, the chance to take a death-defying dip might not be far away. Plans to build a rooftop infinity pool -- with 360-degree views of the London skyline -- are in motion. The designs for the 600,000-liter pool and 55-story building, named Infinity London, have been unveiled by Compass Pools.
 The designers claim the concept is a world-first, describing the structure as "the only building in the world to incorporate a 360-degree infinity pool." The pool will be made from cast acrylic and will feature transparent sides and floors, so visitors below will be able to see swimmers splashing around above them. To keep views pristine, there are no stairs on the outside of the pool or the building -- instead, a spiral staircase that rotates and rises through the water provides access for swimmers.

British tech billionaire Mike Lynch faces US extradition over Autonomy fraud claims

 US charges against Mike Lynch involve wire and securities fraud conspiracy, and carry a prison term. The British billionaire who founded scandal-hit software company Autonomy faces an extradition battle after American authorities formally requested he be forced to face fraud charges in a US court. Mike Lynch is subject to an extradition request filed by the Department of Justice in September, an American government lawyer revealed in a hearing this week.

 Mr Lynch, 54, is accused of 17 counts of wire and securities fraud conspiracy over the £7.1bn sale of Autonomy to Hewlett Packard (HP) in 2011 - charges that would mean decades in prison if he is convicted. The State Department is now reviewing the extradition request before passing it to the Home Office, at which point Mr Lynch would be arrested and would have to decide whether to fight extradition proceedings. He was first charged a year ago but has yet to appear in the US to enter a plea as he defends himself in a $5bn (£3.9bn) civil fraud trial in the English courts.

 Less than a year after HP bought Cambridge-based data analysis firm Autonomy, HP wrote off almost all of the company's value - and accused Mr Lynch and other former company management of vastly inflating what it was worth. Mr Lynch denies fraud and claims HP destroyed the company he had built. His lawyers have called the US charges a “travesty of justice” and say the dispute belongs in the English courts. Robert Leach, a lawyer for the US attorney’s office for Northern California, this week told a San Francisco court that an extradition request was first made on Sept 10.

3 Ways To Make Your Business SEO Friendly

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3 Ways To Make Your Business

SEO Friendly

SEO is a word used so often, that many people don’t know what it actually means.

Many business people think of it more as a buzzword. SEO is an important tool any business can use to grow their business.

The digital world is growing, and using SEO properly can increase visits, engagement, and sales!

Many businesses almost never make any change to make their site more SEO friendly.

SEO plays such a huge world in our ever-increasing digital world. Sites with poor SEO are looked over, and lose your company money!

What is SEO?

According to Moz, “ SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.”

So how can your business use SEO?

If a site is SEO optimized, it will lead to an increase in the amount of traffic, quality of traffic, and lead to more clients! For sites with improved SEO you can earn more money!

Making your site more SEO friendly can be a big undertaking. These 3 simple changes are a great way to make your  site more SEO friendly, and are easy!

Children were told to ‘build the wall’ at White House Halloween party

A Halloween party on Oct. 25 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building featured candy, paper airplanes and — concerning for some attendees — a station where children were encouraged to help “Build the Wall” with their own personalized bricks.

Photos of the children’s mural with the paper wall were provided to Yahoo News.

The party, which took place inside the office building used by White House staff, included the families of executive-branch employees and VIP guests inside and outside government. Even though many of the attendees were members of President Trump’s administration, not everyone thought the Halloween game was a treat.

“Horrified. We were horrified,” said a person who was there and requested anonymity to avoid professional retaliation.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building stands across from the White House and houses a large portion of the West Wing support staff and is home to the vice president’s ceremonial office. The “Build the Wall” mural was on the first floor, outside the speechwriter’s office and next to the office of digital strategy and featured red paper bricks, each bearing the name of a child.

Large letters on the display spelled out “Build the Wall.” Kids dressed as superheroes and ninjas were given brick-colored paper cards and told to write their name with a marker and tape them to the wall. Alongside the paper wall were signs including one that read “America First,” a slogan often used by President Trump that had been criticized because it was previously employed by the Ku Klux Klan.

Earlier in the week offices inside the EEOB had been instructed to put together kid-friendly displays for trick-or-treaters. The displays were supposed to be interactive and inspiring, and all were supposed to address the party’s theme: “When I grow up I want to be…”

Photos posted on social media show Vice President Mike Pence was present for the Halloween party at the EEOB. However, a spokesperson for the vice president said he did not go beyond his office, which is on the second floor.

The U.S. Military is Sending Thousands of Troops and Even B-1 Bombers into Saudi Arabia (To Counter Iran)

On October 6, around fifty U.S. commandos in northeastern Syria tasked with hunting down ISIS forces were withdrawn from territory near the Turkish border controlled by the Kurdish-Arab SDF faction.

The U.S. withdrawal was a prerequisite for a Turkish attack against the SDF which subsequently took place. The remaining hundreds of U.S. forces elsewhere in northeastern Syria were endangered in the crossfire and had to be withdrawn a few days later.

The U.S. withdrawal was post-hoc justified on the basis that they were no longer needed in the Middle East and it was time to “bring the troops home.”

But in the weeks since, the United States has deployed over 3,000 more troops to the Middle East—including hundreds of National Guardsmen in Syria, and thousands of soldiers and airmen deployed to Saudi Arabia.

While a companion article looks at the deployment of a mechanized battalion to defend an oil field in southeastern Syria, this second part looks at the rapid buildup of U.S. forces in the wealthy Kingdom in response to intensifying clashes with Iran following the United State’s withdrawal from a nuclear deal with Tehran.

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