The Raw Story

Monday, 25 May 2015

139 graves, signs of torture found in Malaysia human trafficking camps

© Reuters / Damir Sagolj

Forensic policemen carry body bags with human remains found at the site of human trafficking camps in the jungle close the Thailand border after they brought them to a police camp near Wang Kelian in northern Malaysia May 25, 2015

A total of 139 graves have been found in Malaysia in more than two dozen human trafficking camps believed to have been used by gangs smuggling migrants across the Thai border. Signs of torture were also discovered, the nation's police chief said Monday.

"It's a very sad scene...to us even one is serious and we have found 139," Malaysia's inspector general of police, Khalid Abu Bakar, told reporters in the northern state of Perlis. We are working closely with our counterparts in Thailand. We will find the people who did this."

Describing the conditions at the 28 abandoned camps scattered along a 50 km (30 mile) stretch of the Thai border, Khalid said authorities were "shocked by the cruelty." He added that signs of torture were also discovered, but declined to elaborate.

Photos of the camp show basic wooden huts built in forest clearings. Khalid said bullet casings were found in the vicinity, and metal chains were found near some graves.

The first decomposed body was brought down to a police camp set up at the foot of the mountains where the camps were found on Monday evening. Delivery of the corpse took nearly five hours, due to the rough terrain.

"The body was only bones and little bit of clothing on it," said Rizani Che Ismail, the officer in charge of the Padang Besar police department, as quoted by Reuters. He added that the cause of death was not immediately known.

Trafficking crackdown

The jungles of northern Malaysia and southern Thailand have been a major route for smugglers bringing people to Southeast Asia by boat from Myanmar. Most of them are Rohingya Muslims, who say they are fleeing persecution. Others are from Bangladesh.

Khalid said one of the grave sites was just 100 meters or so from where 26 bodies were exhumed from a grave in Thailand's Songkhla province in early May. That discovery helped trigger a regional crisis, prompting Bangkok to launch a month-long crackdown on the camps - and leading traffickers to abandon thousands of migrants in boats in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.

Traffickers ferry thousands of Rohingya Muslims through southern Thailand each year. In recent years, it has become common for them to be held in remote camps along the border with Malaysia, until a ransom is paid for their freedom. According to Reuters investigations, those ransoms range from US$1,200 to $1,800.

Bangkok said on Monday that there are no more human trafficking camps left in southern Thailand following the crackdown.

Earlier this month, Thailand stated that more than 50 police officers had been transferred as a result of human trafficking investigations. Malaysian police also stated that two officers were among 10 people arrested this year in similar probes.

Migrants at sea

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday that some 3,500 migrants are still stranded on overloaded vessels with shrinking supplies.

Thailand has said it will not allow the boats to land, though Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Monday that the Thai navy will help those in medical need.

Meanwhile, Malaysia and Indonesia have said they will allow those still at sea to come ashore temporarily, and have ordered their navies to rescue people found adrift.

Most of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims are stateless, living in apartheid-like conditions. Almost 140,000 were displaced in deadly clashes with majority Buddhists in 2012. They have been denied citizenship and complain of discrimination by the state. Myanmar has denied discriminating against the group.

A volcano in the Galapagos Islands erupted for the first time in more than 30 years on Monday, spilling streams of bright orange lava and raising fears for the world's only colony of pink iguanas.

The Galapagos National Park warned on Twitter that Isabela Island, where Wolf Volcano erupted at dawn, holds "the world's only population" of the critically endangered , also known as the Galapagos rosy iguana.

But the park later said the iguanas' habitat on the volcano's northwest side appeared to be out of danger.

The iguanas, "which share the habitat with yellow iguanas and giant tortoises, are situated on the northwest flank, which raises hopes that they will not be affected," it said in a statement.

The fiery streams of lava that trickled down the volcano on Monday morning were on the opposite side, officials said.

A tourist boat passing by the uninhabited area informed authorities the 1,707-metre (5,600-foot) volcano was erupting.

Park officials then flew over the zone to assess the impact of the eruption.

Pictures released by the park show bright lava streaming down the volcano as a puff of smoke rises into the air and tongues of fire dart from the crater.

"The eruption generated a very large column of smoke that rose more than six miles into the air, and later drifted toward the southwest part of the volcano," said Sandro Vaca of Ecuador's Geophysics Institute.

"However, there has been no effect on residents."

The island's inhabitants live in Puerto Villamil, some 70 miles (117km) south of the volcano.

Mr Vaca said the volcano's activity could continue for several days, potentially causing further lava flows.

Park officials said the eruption posed no danger to tourists, and operations in the key tourism sector continued as normal in the area.

But environmentalists voiced concern over the pink iguanas, which were discovered in 1986 and established as a separate species after an analysis of their genetic makeup determined they were distinct from their cousins, the Galapagos land iguanas.

The iguanas are pink with charcoal stripes, and are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Wolf Volcano last erupted in 1982.

Isabela Island is the largest in the Galapagos, the Ecuadoran archipelago made famous by Charles Darwin's studies of its breathtaking biodiversity, which was crucial in his development of the theory of evolution by natural selection.

The chain of 13 islands and 17 islets, which sits about 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador, is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world.

Isabela island, which strides the equator, also has four other volcanoes: Darwin, Alcedo, Cerro Azul and Sierra Negra.

Unesco, which has declared the Galapagos a World Heritage Site, has warned the islands' environment is in danger from increased tourism and the introduction of invasive species.
Source: Agence France-Presse

© Photo: (c) alengo
Once computer engineers have worked out how to make a circuit board as complex as the human mind we will be able to download ourselves onto computers.

Humans could download their brain on to a computer and live forever inside a machine, a Cambridge neuroscientist has claimed.

Dr Hannah Critchlow said that if a computer could be built to recreate the 100 trillion connections in the brain their it would be possible to exist inside a programme.

Dr Critchlow, who spoke at the Hay Festival on 'busting brain myths' said that although the brain was enormously complex, it worked like a large circuit board and scientists were beginning to understand the function of each part.

Asked if it would be possible one day to download consciousness onto a machine, she said: "If you had a computer that could make those 100 trillion circuit connections then that circuit is what makes us us, and so, yes, it would be possible.

"People could probably live inside a machine. Potentially, I think it is definitely a possibility.

Dr Critchlow also said it was a myth that humans only used 10 per cent of their brains, and said that the fallacy had been fostered by Alibert Einstein who said he had discovered the Theory of Relativity because his brain was working at a higher level than most people's.

The case of American railroad foreman Phineas Gage also helped perpetuate the myth after a blasting accident left a metal pole embedded deeply in his skull.

The pole at first appeared to have done little damage, with Gage able to carry on life much as usual and allowing him to come to the conclusion that large parts of the brain were not needed.

Dr Crtichlow said that, contrary to popular belief, the brain was actually 'ticking-over' all the time but only ramped up power to certain areas when they were needed to stop humans 'blowing a fuse.'

"After a year of so it became clear that Phinas Gage has suffered serious damage, but by then this myth had gained momentum, " she said.

"The brain weight is about 1.5 kg, and two per cent of the body and yet it is greed and takes about 20 per cent of all energy consumption.

"We are about 100 billion nerve cells and the most complicated circuit board you could imaging, Those resources use electricity.

"If you were using all of you brain all of the time you would effectively blow a fuse. Your brain has evolved to do a low level ticking-over.

"And when you want to do a particular thing it will ramp up to power that, All of the brain is in a low gear all of the time even when you're asleep. MRS scans have also shown that blood and oxygen increase in those parts of the brain at the same time."

However, Dr Critchlow said there was some evidence to show that the myth that left handed people were really more creative was actually true

Recent studies have shown that stimulating the right hemisphere of the brain (which is more active in left handed people, and is linked to creativity) improves creative thought.

It is possible to now buy on the internet hats which include electrodes to stimulate the area for around £50.

"Who knows in the future we might see schoolchildren wearing them in art classes," she said.

Wealthy humans are likely become cyborgs within 200 years as they gradually merge with technology like computers and smart phones, a historian has claimed.

Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the amalgamation of man and machine will be the 'biggest evolution in biology' since the emergence of life four billion years ago.

Prof Harari, who has written a landmark book charting the history of humanity, said mankind would evolve to become like gods with the power over death, and be as different from humans of today as we are from chimpanzees.

He argued that humans as a race were driven by dissatisfaction and that we would not be able to resist the temptation to 'upgrade' ourselves, whether by genetic engineering or technology.

"We are programmed to be dissatisfied, " said Prof Harari. "Even when humans gain pleasure and achievements it is not enough. They want more and more.

"I think it is likely in the next 200 years or so will upgrade themselves into some idea of a divine being, either through biological manipulation or genetic engineering of by the creation of cyborgs, part organic part non-organic.

"It will be the greatest evolution in biology since the appearance of life. Nothing really has changed in four billion years biologically speaking. But we will be as different from today's humans as chimps are now from us."

However he warned that the 'cyborg' technology would be restricted to the wealthiest in society, widening the gap between rich and poor in society. In the future the rich may be able to live forever while the poor would die out.

Prof Harari said humans had become such a dominant species because of our ability to invent 'fictions' which held society together, such as religion, money and the idea of fundamental human rights, which have no basis in nature.

"God is extremely important because without religious myth you can't create society . Religion is the most important invention of humans. As long as humans believed they relied more and more on these gods they were controllable.

"But what we see in the last few centuries is humans becoming more powerful and they no longer need the crutches of the Gods. Now we are saying we do not need God just technology.

"The most interesting place in the world from a religious perspective is not the Middle East, it's Silicon Valley where they are developing a techno-religion. They believe even death is just a technological problem to be solved.

"What enables humans to cooperate flexibly, and exist in large societies is our imagination. With religion it's easy to understand. You can't convince a chimpanzee to give you a banana with the promise it will get 20 more bananas in chimpanzee heaven. It won't do it. But humans will.

"Most legal systems are based on human rights but it is all in our imagination. Money is the most successful story ever. You have the master storytellers, the bankers, the finance ministers telling you that money is worth something. It isn't. Try giving money to a chimp. It's worthless."

Prof Harari most recent book is entitled which was originally published in Hebrew under the title has been translated in to more than 30 languages.

© AFP Photo / STR
This photo taken on May 16, 2015 shows the NetDragon Websoft headquarters building with the iconic circular contours and tubular features of the USS Enterprise, from the US television and film series Star Trek, in Fuzhou, in eastern China's Fujian province.

An eccentric Chinese millionaire and apparently one of the biggest fans of the legendary franchise has built his company HQs in the shape of the , where the series' characters explored new worlds in death-defying journeys.

The is located in the city of Fuzhou, Fujian province, south-eastern China. It has circular contours and tubular features like its twin from the franchise.

The spacecraft was built by Liu Dejian, the head of Netdragon Websoft Inc, a Chinese company that develops massive multiplayer online games and makes mobile applications, China's People's Daily newspaper reported as cited by . Liu currently takes 320th place on the list of China's wealthiest businessmen, according to Forbes.

The paper says that "an informed source" at NetDragon confirmed that the building is also called

[embedded content]

It took Liu four years - presumably since October 2010 until October 2014 - and $160 million to build his 260-meter long, 100-meter wide, six-floor 'spacy' brainchild.

Liu bought the USS Enterprise copyright from , the US broadcaster that produced Star Trek. In fact, this is the only officially licensed Star Trek building on Earth.

"That was their first time dealing with an issue like this and at first they thought that it was a joke," said the company in an email to the .

"They realized somebody in China actually did want to work out a building modeled on the USS Enterprise only after we sent the relevant legal documents."

Star Trek fans may now see that the structure, a fantastic homage to the Star Trek franchise, is really neat and looks like its famous twin.

Following our exposure of the plunge in Lake Mead water levels post Friday's earthquake, officials were quick to point out that the drop was "due to erroneous meter readings" - which in itself is odd given we have not seen such an aberration before in the measurements. The data today shows a super surge in the Lake Mead water level - which, even more mysteriously, indicates from pre-earthquake to now, the Lake has risen by the most in a 3-day-period in years (as long as we have found history). How was this level 'manufactured' you ask? Simple - discharge flows from the Hoover Dam were curtailed dramatically.

Yesterday we noted the plunge in Lake Mead water levels...

Officials said - do not worry, the readings are faulty...

Lake Mead's elevation has NOT dropped to 1,068 feet. Some inaccurate data was posted online. We are at 1,077 feet. http://t.co/a0YUo9iD0P— Lake Mead (@LakeMeadNRA) May 24, 2015

The biggest 3-day net surge in water levels (0.7 feet from Thursday to Sunday) on recent record...

How was this miracle achieved (given the general lack of precipitation)? Were discharge levels curtailed drastically?

Nope - nothing odd here at all...

So what exactly is going at Lake Mead?

Kindness and generosity elevates all our morals

Acts of kindness can spread surprisingly easily between people — just by observing someone else being generous.

They activate parts of the brain involved in motivating action and of social engagement, a new study finds.

In turn we are also more likely to 'pay it forward'.

Scientists call this the 'moral elevation' effect.

The first evidence from the lab of this effect was found in 2010.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Harvard demonstrated moral elevation by having people playing a simple 'giving' game in the lab.

When people gave selflessly to others, researchers could see this act of kindness spreading from person to person.

One act of kindness was ultimately tripled in value by people subsequently giving more and more.

Dr James Fowler, one of the study's authors, said:

"Though the multiplier in the real world may be higher or lower than what we've found in the lab, personally it's very exciting to learn that kindness spreads to people I don't know or have never met.

We have direct experience of giving and seeing people's immediate reactions, but we don't typically see how our generosity cascades through the social network to affect the lives of dozens or maybe hundreds of other people."

Now neuroscience has given us an insight into what is happening in the brain when we see an act of kindness.

Researchers scanned people's brains while they watched videos showing heroic acts of kindness.

They found that areas of the brain involved in arousal and those involved in social engagement were activated at the same time.

Professor Nicholas Christakis, one of the 2010 study's authors, said:

"Our work over the past few years, examining the function of human social networks and their genetic origins, has led us to conclude that there is a deep and fundamental connection between social networks and goodness.

The flow of good and desirable properties like ideas, love and kindness is required for human social networks to endure, and, in turn, networks are required for such properties to spread.

Humans form social networks because the benefits of a connected life outweigh the costs."

The original study was published in and the latest study was published in the journal (Fowler et al., 2010; Piper et al., 2015).

The Raw Story

Focused on providing independent journalism.

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Monday, 25 May 2015

139 graves, signs of torture found in Malaysia human trafficking camps

Galapagos volcano erupts for first time in 30 years

Humans could download brains on to a computer and live forever

Humans 'will become God-like cyborgs within 200 years'

Trekky dream: Chinese millionaire erects $160 million Starship Enterprise HQ

Lake Mead water level drops drastically after earthquake

Acts of kindness spread easily in social networks just by observing people's generosity

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