Free Thought Project – by Matt Agorist

Cedar Rapids, IA — The Cedar Rapids police department was slapped with a lawsuit this week by the mother of a 13-year-old boy who was mauled by a police K-9 as he slept in the backyard. According to the lawsuit, the boy was wrongly accused of being involved in a car theft when he was attacked by the K-9 and arrested “simply by virtue of his race and appearance.”

The attack unfolded on August 12, 2020 and was captured on police body camera. The boy’s mother, Tonya Marie Adams filed an open records request in November to get the video and it was released this week. Continue reading “Cops Accuse Innocent Sleeping 13yo Boy of Stealing a Car, Force K-9 to Maul Him”

RT

Over 150 people have been injured, some critically, and at least 44 have died in a stampede at the crowded Lag B’Omer bonfire festival in northern Israel, local media reported, citing emergency services.

Emergency response teams said six of the injured are in critical condition and 18 are in serious condition after the incident at Mount Meron. Continue reading “At least 44 killed, 150+ injured in STAMPEDE at crowded bonfire festival in Israel”

KTVZ 21

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Maggie Williams, a junior on the Summit High School track team, broke a school record in the 800-meter last Thursday. Her moment of glory has been somewhat overshadowed a by moment of concern – Williams passed out as she stumbled her way across the finish line. She and her coach say the mask is to blame, and now the Oregon Health Authority is updating its guidelines.

Williams ran the 800-meter race in 2:08:45, which beat the previous school record of 2:10:54 set in 2019. Continue reading “State revises mask mandate for outdoor athletics after Summit HS runner collapses at finish line”

New Scientist – by Scott Nuismer and James Bull

A FAMOUS quote often attributed to Benjamin Franklin is “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. The world is now discovering the cost of its pound of cure for covid-19. But what would an ounce of prevention look like?

For infectious diseases that originate in wild animals, like covid-19, SARS, MERS and Ebola, one solution is to prevent the transmission to humans in the first place. To achieve this, an important first step is to change our behaviour to reduce contact with the wildlife species that harbour such diseases. Continue reading “We now have the technology to develop vaccines that spread themselves”