Category Archives: Uncategorized

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#FirstImpressions … Can You #Trust Them?

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“How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?” – Albert Einstein

(The following excerpt taken from The Once-Over by Carlin Flora recently appeared on psychology today.com on March 18, 2013. To view it in its entirety please click on the link below.)

Bill and Hillary Clinton often tell the story of how they met: They locked eyes across Yale’s law library, until Hillary broke the silent flirtation and marched straight over to Bill. “Look, if you’re going to keep staring at me, and I’m going to keep staring back, we might as well be introduced. I’m Hillary Rodham. What’s your name?” Bill has said he couldn’t remember his own name. It was quite a first impression, one so powerful that it sparked a few chapters of U.S. history.

Initial encounters are emotionally concentrated events that can overwhelm us—even convince us that the room is spinning. We walk away from them with a first impression that is like a Polaroid picture—a head-to-toe image that develops instantly and never entirely fades. Often, that snapshot captures important elements of the truth.

Consider one study in which untrained subjects were shown 20- to 32-second videotaped segments of job applicants greeting interviewers. The subjects then rated the applicants on attributes such as self-assurance and likability. Surprisingly, their assessments were very close to those of trained interviewers who spent at least 20 minutes with each applicant. What semblance of a person—one with a distinct appearance, history and complex personality—could have been captured in such a fleeting moment?

 The answer lies in part in how the brain takes first-impression Polaroids—creating a composite of all the signals given off by a new experience. Psychologists agree that snap judgments are a holistic phenomenon in which clues (mellifluous voice, Rolex watch, soggy handshake, hunched shoulders) hit us all at once and form an impression larger than their sum.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201303/the-power-firsts/the-once-over

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“Save Our #Girls!” #Rape Of 5-Year Old Sparks Protests In #India

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“I just want to sleep. A coma would be nice. Or amnesia. Anything, just to get rid of this, these thoughts, whispers in my mind. Did he rape my head, too?”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak

(The following excerpt from Rape Of Five-Year Old Sparks Protests In India’s Capital by Devidutta Tripathy and Frank Jack Daniel originally appeared on thesudburystar.com on April 20, 2013. To view it in its entirety please click on link below.)

New Delhi - Angry crowds demonstrated in India’s capital on Saturday after a five-year-old girl was allegedly raped, tortured and kept in captivity for 40 hours, reviving memories of last December’s brutal assault on a woman that shook the country.

Police arrested a man they accuse of the attack from the eastern state of Bihar, and brought him back to New Delhi for interrogation. Doctors say the girl suffered severe injuries and bruising, including to her neck and genitalia.

Protests that began on Friday grew more intense after video footage showed a policeman slapping a woman protester, and following reports that investigators had offered the victim’s family 2,000 rupees ($37) not to file a case.

It was the second case of alleged rape in 48 hours to trigger protests and heavy-handed policing, after hundreds of people fought police in the city of Aligarh, 135 km (83 miles) from Delhi on Thursday. One policeman was filmed hitting an old woman hard with a club in the protest.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/04/19/rape-of-5-year-old-sparks-protest-in-indias-capital

 

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How Monsanto Controls our #Food, Poisons our Land and Influences our #Government #GMO

shutterstock_107308046“Forty percent of the crops grown in the United States contain their genes. They produce the world’s top selling herbicide. Several of their factories are now toxic Superfund sites. They spend millions lobbying the government each year. It’s time we take a closer look at who’s controlling our food, poisoning our land, and influencing all three branches of government.“

http://www.alternet.org/food/how-monsanto-went-selling-aspirin-controlling-our-food-supply

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8 Deadly Myths About Stress

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“Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it.”

- Lily Tomlin

(The following excerpt from 8 Deadly Myths About Stress by Andrew Bernstein originally appeared on psychologytoday.com. on May 25, 2010. To view it in its entirety please click on the link below.)

There are many myths about stress preventing us from living longer, happier, and healthier lives. Here are eight of the most common:

1.  Stress comes from your circumstances.

2. Stress is a motivator.

3. Some stress is good for you.

4. Without stress in your life you would just sit around and drool.

5. The best way to deal with stress is to exercise, breathe, and relax.

6. Stress is a choice.

7. Stress is inevitable.

8. Stress is not a big deal.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-myth-stress/201005/8-deadly-myths-about-stress

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Unmarried #Women Desperately Struggling In Our Failed #Economy

  • 68 percent had to scale back purchases at the grocery store due to rising prices.
  • 40 percent reported the loss of a job.
  • 39 percent experienced reduced wages, hours or benefits at work.
  • 39 percent had to move in with a family member or take someone in to save money.
  • 33 percent lost health insurance coverage.
  • 23 percent fell behind on mortgage payments or experienced a home foreclosure.
  • And 23 percent experienced reduced unemployment, infant care and/or child care benefits.

http://www.alternet.org/unmarried-women-are-desperately-struggling-our-failed-economy

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