Helen Keller was a radical socialist. She observed that cases of blindness were more prevalent in lower classes and thus felt that blindness was a result of social injustice.

Helen Keller is an inspiring person.

After being born with both her sight and hearing, she lost both before turning 2 years old.

That didn’t stop her, as she was the first dead and blind person to earn a bachelor’s degree. She went on to be a much desired public speaker, writer and political activist.

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What popular history tends to leave out, however, is the fact that she was a radical socialist. She believed that blindness was more prolific among the lower class because of working conditions and the greed of the employers.

On top of poor working conditions, she cites prostitution as an indirect cause of blindness among the middle class as well, as the STD syphilis can cause it.

Keller’s motivation in her own words:

“I was appointed on a commission to investigate the conditions of the blind. For the first time I, who had thought blindness a misfortune beyond human control, found that too much of it was traceable to wrong industrial conditions, often caused by the selfishness and greed of employers. And the social evil contributed its share. I found that poverty drove women to a life of shame that ended in blindness.”

Many in the United States were paranoid about socialism and so this piece of information about Helen Keller is often overlooked in popular history. People weren’t happy about it at the time, either.

At least one columnist, a writer for the ‘Brooklyn Eagle,’ who had graciously complimented Keller before knowing of her political allegiance wrote that her "mistakes sprung out of the manifest limitations of her development.”

Keller’s response was nothing short of brilliant:

“At that time the compliments he paid me were so generous that I blush to remember them. But now that I have come out for socialism he reminds me and the public that I am blind and deaf and especially liable to error. I must have shrunk in intelligence during the years since I met him. ... Oh, ridiculous Brooklyn Eagle! Socially blind and deaf, it defends an intolerable system, a system that is the cause of much of the physical blindness and deafness which we are trying to prevent.”

(Source)

China Food Safety: Shanghai Husi Food Firm Pulls All Products, OSI Group Says

(Reuters) -- The parent company of a scandal-hit Chinese food supplier said it is withdrawing all products made by the subsidiary.

Shanghai Husi Food Co. Ltd., owned by the privately held OSI Group LLC based in Aurora, Ill., is at the center of a major food-safety scandal, which has spread from China to Hong Kong to Japan, over allegations it mixed fresh and expired meat.

In a statement posted on its website late Saturday, OSI Group said it would “withdraw from the marketplace” all products made by Shanghai Husi and that it was conducting an internal investigation into current and former senior management.

It vowed to take “swift and decisive action,” including legal measures against those responsible for the scandal, and said a new management team would be brought to China.

Regulators in Shanghai said on Saturday that Husi had forged production dates on smoked beef patties and then sold them after they expired.

OSI Group said it would fully cooperate with Chinese regulators.

Chinese police have detained five people in connection with the investigation.

The scandal -- dragging in global food brands such as the McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE:MCD), the Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) and KFC-parent Yum Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM) -- was triggered by a television report last week showing staff at Shanghai Husi using long-expired meat. The report also alleged the firm forged production dates.

Food safety has been a big concern for Chinese consumers after dairy products tainted with the industrial chemical melamine sickened many thousands and led to the deaths of six infants in 2008.

(Reporting by Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Richard Borsuk.)

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NYPD Officer Apparently Stomps On Head Of Handcuffed Suspect Jahmiel Cuffee In Arrest Video

In the cell phone video, witnesses can be heard yelling in anger and screaming in shock as they witness NYPD officer Joel Edouard appear to stomp Jahmiel Cuffee in the head while the suspect was lying on the ground in handcuffs. Gary D.

Officials say NYPD Officer Joel Edouard has been placed on modified assignment on Friday after cell phone video was released showing him apparently stomping on a suspect's head. The video surfaced just days after Eric Garner died while being arrested by New York City police in Brooklyn.

According to the New York Daily News,  police sources say Jahmiel Cuffee wasbeing apprehended by Edouard, 36, and several other officers around 8 p.m. on Wednesday after police allegedly saw the 32-year-old roll a marijuana joint on the street.

In the video, Cuffee can be seen struggling with the officers as they attempt to force him to the ground. In the background, onlookers can be heard saying the man had done nothing wrong and asking why the officers were arresting him. Once on the ground, one officer can be seen placing his hands close to Cuffee’s neck as Edouard straddles his body in an attempt to subdue him. Cuffee continues to struggle with the officers, at one point screaming, “Help me!”

A female onlooker can be seen walking up to Cuffee's side. She then attempts to tell him to calm down as one of the officers appears to instruct Cuffee  to “stop resisting.” A third officer then walks into the frame and tells the woman to back up as Edouard and the officers maneuver Cuffee onto his stomach. “Help me!” Cuffee can be heard yelling several more times, though he looks to stop struggling under the weight of the three officers. 

Officer Edouard can be seen walking away from Cuffee, who is still being held on the ground by the officers. He then returns and appears to kick Cuffee in the head while the man is being held to the ground with his face angled down toward the pavement. 

In the video, witnesses can be heard yelling in anger and screaming in shock as they witness the officer’s actions.  

“What is wrong with this officer?” one man said. “Look at your officer! You see that?”

Cuffee was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for injuries to his neck and head. He was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and pot possession, officials said. On Friday, officials said that Edouard had been reassigned to desk duty and turned over his gun and shield.

Wednesday’s incident is the latest in a string of arrests that have raised concerns about NYPD officer’s use of excessive force when attempting to subdue suspects. Last week, 43-year-old Eric Garner died while being arrested by NYPD officers. He was placed in a chokehold by Officer Daniel Pantaleo during the arrest and became unresponsive as he was being forced to the ground.  

That arrest was also captured on the cell phone of a witness at the scene. Pantaleo has been put on desk duty and the NYPD has launched an investigation into the incident.

On Friday, Garner’s widow, Esaw Garner, met with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and two federal prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office.  During the meeting, she requested that the Justice Department launch a civil rights investigation into her husband’s death. 

Lenovo Enters Smart Glass Market To Compete Against Google Glass

Lenovo is the most identified Chinese brand by Americans. Facebook

Chinese computer giant Lenovo recently unveiled its latest prototype device that could rival Google Glass in form and function. The still unnamed device looks almost identical to Google Glass yet hopes to better Google’s smart eyewear by featuring a separate battery pack that can be worn around the user’s neck. This would offer benefits over the Google Glass’ shorter battery life, BBC reported.

The device was one of many that Lenovo had on display at the event to showcase its larger NBD platform. NBD (meaning “New Bench” in Chinese) is a platform for connecting smart devices and has been at the centre of Lenovo’s mission to create products outside its main line of PCs and smartphones, a report by TechRadar said.

Lenovo overtook HP as the world’s largest PC seller in 2013.

The PC maker now wants to use the NBD platform to work with hardware partners in expanding its line of products to include smart glasses, wireless routers and air purifiers.

The company said it needed help from other technology companies to realize its dream of a future of “Internet of things” on the NBD platform and hopes to encourage other companies to make devices on the same platform.

"Right now there are too many kinds of devices you can develop for the Internet of things. It's too rich. Not one company can do it all," said Chen Xudong, Lenovo's senior vice president told PC World magazine, the BBC reported.

The “Internet of things” is the concept of connecting all the devices around us -- our smart phones, TVs, fridges, etc. -- to the Internet. This will lead to “connected homes,” where household appliances can be controlled by smartphone applications, and “smart” household appliances will react to their surroundings, like a heater turning on when it senses your presence at home.

Currently, the biggest challenge to the growth of “the Internet of things” is the complete lack of compatibility faced by users when using connected devices made by different companies. Today’s connected devices use different platforms and standards and aren’t able to connect or “talk to each other.”

Lenovo attempts to solve this problem with the NBD system. Other than its own smart glasses, Lenovo is also is working on another device with Vuzix. NBD has also caught the attention of a German electronics manufacturer to produce Luftmed, an affordable, smartphone-controlled air purifier.

Products developed on the NBD platform will be sold in China first, after which Lenovo may bring the devices to other parts of the world .

Apple and Google are also investing in the "Internet of things." Google recently purchased Nest, a smart thermostat device, while Apple announced HomeKit, a platform for developers to write software programs to help users control household appliances.

TransAsia Crash Survivors Crawled From Wreckage, Borrowed Cell Phones

Rescue workers and firefighters search through the wreckage where Transasia Airways flight GE222 crashed the night before near the airport at Magong on the Penghu island chain on July 24, 2014. Taiwan's TransAsia Airways said on July 24 that 48 people were killed and 10 survived when one of its turboprop passenger planes crashed after an aborted landing during stormy weather. SAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images

After a week of deadly plane crashes that killed 298 people on flight MH17 and 116 passengers on Air Algerie AH 5017, the TransAsia Airways flight that crashed in Taiwan on Wednesday was different -- it had survivors. Though 48 people died during a failed landing attempt on the resort island of Penghu, 10 passengers managed to get out alive, using cellphones to communicate with loved ones soon after.

One woman, 34-year old Hung Yu-ting, managed to crawl out of the wreckage and get in touch with her family within minutes of the crash.

Workers remove the wreckage of a TransAsia Airways turboprop plane that crashed, on Taiwan's offshore island Penghu July 25, 2014. Taiwan authorities launched an investigation on Thursday into the crash in which 48 people were killed with the weather expected to be a factor in the inquiry. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang  Reuters

“She called me on the phone to say the plane had crashed and exploded but that she had already crawled out and I should come right away to get her,” her father Hung Chang-ming, who lives just a few hundred yards from the crash site, told the Associated Press. Though she was gone by the time he got there, he helped others put out fires and save other survivors.

“My daughter called me,” the mother of a different survivor said, according to RawStory. “She said ‘mum, my plane crashed.’ She said she climbed out and borrowed a phone from others.”

One local resident, Avi Putri, heard the crash and soon saw flames about 100 feet away. At first, she thought it was an electrical fire, until four Taiwanese passengers knocked on her door asking to use a phone, according to a Bloombergreport.

A worker cuts apart the wreckage of a TransAsia Airways turboprop plane that crashed, on Taiwan's offshore island Penghu July 25, 2014. Taiwan authorities launched an investigation on Thursday into the crash in which 48 people were killed with the weather expected to be a factor in the inquiry.  Reuters

Flight GE222, an ATR-72 turboprop carrying 54 passengers and four crewmembers left from the Taiwan’s southern city of Kaohsiung nearly two hours late, a delay due to bad weather from Typhoon Matmo. Though the storm had reportedly gone out to sea by the time it reached the airport on Penghu, a resort island, the pilots requested a second approach when landing, according toTaiwan’s aviation authorities.

Soon after, the plane crashed in a village near the airport’s runway, destroying some houses and catching fire. One local told Apple Daily Newspaper he heard a loud crash and soon realized the plane had crashed next to his home, damaging his house. Within minutes he smelled gasoline and saw survivors with blood on their faces.

All four crewmembers and 44 passengers died in the crash.

TransAsia Airways said it would compensate each survivor with $6,670 (200,000 Taiwan dollars) and send $33,000 (1 million Taiwan dollars) to families of each victim. 

Portraits of passengers who died in a TransAsia Airways plane crash are displayed inside a funeral parlor on Taiwan's offshore island of Penghu, July 24, 2014. Taiwan authorities launched an investigation on Thursday into the crash of a TransAsia Airways turboprop plane in which 48 people were killed with the weather expected to be a factor in the inquiry. Reuters

Malaysia Airlines Calls On Companies, IATA, For Better Flight Warnings Above Conflict Areas

Malaysia Airlines has called on the international community to create a method to help carriers know which areas are unsafe to fly. The call comes a little over a week after flight MH17 was shot down, likely by Russian separatists, over Ukraine, killing all passengers and crew on board.

“This tragedy has taught us that despite following the guidelines and advice set out by the governing bodies, the skies above certain territories are simply not safe,” Hugh Dunleavy, an executive vice president at Malaysia Airlines, wrote in The Telegraph on Sunday.

“It could have been any one of several well-known airlines operating in the same flight corridor that day,” he wrote.
Indeed, an Air India flight carrying 126 people was flying just 90 seconds behind MH17 that day.

Singapore Airlines SQ351 (B777) and Air India AI113 (B787) were about 25 km from #MH17 when it disappeared.

8:45 PM - 17 Jul 2014

“The fact that a civilian aircraft was shot out of the sky over what was designated a safe flight corridor is proof that we have to take a much closer look and redefine what we consider safe flight corridors,” he wrote.

The Federal Aviation Administration, a U.S. agency that regulates air transportation, initially had issued a warning to planes flying over the region. However, it exempted aircraft flying higher than 32,000 feet. Flight MH17 was flying at roughly 33,000 feet when it was shot down, likely by a missile capable of hitting targets much higher.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that it “believed that the airspace that the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions.”

After the incident, carriers such as Air France, Lufthansa and Russian airline Transaero began avoiding the area and other conflict zones.

Many airlines have now announced that they will stop flying over conflict area in Ukraine.

7:16 PM - 17 Jul 2014

“Against the backdrop of areas with increasingly volatile political situations, such as Ukraine and Gaza, we as an industry must act now to create a system of approval that guarantees safe air passage for all commercial airlines,” Dunleavy wrote, asking that airlines work together with organizations such as IATA to review their current methods and set stricter standards.

“We have to act together as an industry,” he wrote. 

President Obama’s Birthday Gifts To Prince William, Kate Middleton’s Son, Prince George, Revealed

It appears Barack Obama has a soft spot for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s son, Prince George.

While the U.S. President did not attend the young prince’s star-studded birthday bash at Kensington Palace on July 22, E! News reports that Obama reportedly sent the future king of England a one-of-a-kind gift following his birth last summer.

“The U.S. President sent Prince William and Kate Middleton a custom-made rocking horse for their adorable little boy,” E! News reported Friday.

The toy horse, complete with a saddle and toy polo mallet (Perhaps an ode to his father, Prince William’s love for the sport) was made from a branch of an oak tree formerly of White House’s South Lawn.

ABC News reports that Obama, 52, and his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, 50,also gifted the young prince with a blue alpaca wool baby blanket following his arrival at the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London.

Unfortunately for Prince George, the items are now on display in the state Rooms of Buckingham Palace as one of the 150 historical items included in its new summer exhibition, “Royal Childhood.” The collection, which focuses on the childhoods of 25 British royal family members over a 250-year period, also features never-before-seen photos and videos, toys and other artifacts.

“Royal Childhood” is open now through Sep. 28.

On Tuesday, Britain’s royal family celebrated Prince George’s first birthdayinside the walls of Kensington Palace. People magazine reports that guests of nobility included Prince George’s uncle, Prince Harry, Zara and Mike Phillips, and a brief, 50-minute visit from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince George’s grandparents on Prince William’s side, Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla, did not attend the celebration due to previous work-related obligations in Scotland.

College Football Playoff Structure: Rules, Schedule And Format For The 2014 Season

After years of tireless debate and perpetual controversy, college football begins the 2014 season with a new system in place to determine the national champion with a first-ever playoff format. After 16 seasons, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has been abolished and now the four best schools in the nation will compete for the national title.

For years, sports fans and members of the media have called for a college football playoff system to be put into place to replace the computer selection methods of the BCS. As a candidate during the 2008 campaign, President Obama even voiced his frustration with the BCS system, and his administration looked into the legality of the system in 2010.

Under the BCS, computers and polls determined the top two teams in the nation before bowl games were played. Without any type of playoff, there was often heated debate about teams that weren’t given a chance to play for the title. There were consistent wranglings from pundits and fans over one program's strength of schedule and win-loss record at home and on the road over another's. The debates prompted calls for change from the NCAA, which remained stubborn to keeping BCS system. The NCAA finally caved in June 2012 when they announced the four-team playoff, but only after years of outcry about the obvious flaws. 

In 2003, LSU and USC were named split champions. Both teams ended the regular season with one loss, but the Trojans were not chosen to play in the national championship game. After LSU won the BCS title game and USC won the Rose Bowl, USC was voted the country’s top team by the Associated Press, while the computer gave the honors to the Tigers. The following year saw a similar controversy, as undefeated Auburn wasn’t given a chance to play for the national title. USC and Oklahoma, who also went 12-0, faced off for the championship, relegating Auburn to the Sugar Bowl.

In 2014, all three undefeated teams would be given the opportunity to make the playoffs and compete for the title. The new system isn’t perfect, and there’s almost certain to be a debate about which teams deserve to make the postseason, but it should be a vast improvement from a system that faced constant scrutiny.

How do teams make the College Football Playoff?

The College Football Playoff is much smaller than the NCAA basketball tournament, which sees 68 teams make the field, or the NFL playoffs, which allows 12 teams to compete for a title. Only four teams will be selected to the new playoff system.

A selection committee will determine a top 25 during each week of the season, and the list will be released every Tuesday, beginning on Oct. 28. Once all the conference champions have been determined, the top four teams will reach the playoffs.

The committee is made up of 13 people. It includes athletic directors, two former coaches, a former sportswriter and a former conference commissioner. Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and ex-NFL quarterback Archie Manning also make up the group. They will use a subjective voting system, which in addition to overall win-loss record, will focus on strength of schedule, head-to-head results, common opponent results and league championship wins.

How does the playoff system work?

In the semifinals, the No.1 seed will face the No.4 seed, and the No.2 seed will take on the No.3 seed. The two winners will go on to face off in the national championship game, guaranteeing one true champion.

If the playoff system had been in place last season, Florida State and Auburn might not have ever met in the final contest. The top-ranked Seminoles would have taken on Michigan State in the semifinals, while Auburn would have played Alabama. There won’t be any limit regarding the number of teams from one conference that can be in the top four, so it’s conceivable that the playoffs could have multiple rematches from the regular season.

What happens to the bowl games?

Just like any other year, the bowl games will continue in 2014. Each year, two bowls games will be used to host the semifinals. This season, the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will get the honors. In the next two seasons, the Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl will also get the chance to host a semifinal matchup.

Both semifinal games will always be played on the same day. This season, the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl are scheduled for New Year’s Day, and the 2015 National Championship Game will be held on Monday, Jan. 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The next two national title games will be held in Glendale and Tampa Bay, respectively. A triple-header will be scheduled on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, featuring the top six bowl games.

Israeli Women Strip On 'Standing With IDF' Facebook Page as Part Of Larger Propaganda Effort

While the Israel Defense Forces batter the Gaza Strip with missile attacks and ground battles, another arm of the military is waging a war online -- using social media in an attempt to win the hearts and minds of an often hostile or indifferent international community.

Along with boasting 335,000 Twitter followers and posting frequent YouTube videos of Israeli military action, the IDF has turned its Facebook page into a haven for supporters from across the world. Dramatic images of Israeli soldiers and Gaza rocket launchers have attracted thousands of likes and comments (“You are the real hero in this world Israel” and “Pray for Israel,” for instance), but the social media activity is part of a much larger global propaganda campaign.

In naming its military operations, the IDF draws on the shared political and cultural values that Israelis have in common (using a page from the American playbook, with the Department of Defense not choosing “Operation Iraqi Freedom” or “Operation Enduring Freedom” by accident). And the names selected by the IDF have different meanings in English and Hebrew.

Operation Protective Edge, to English-speakers, conveys a sense of self-preservation, a message reiterated when world leaders like President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscore Israeli’s right to defend itself. But “Operation Protective Edge,” to Israelis, means “strong cliff,” a reference to nature that also has Biblical connotations for the Hebrew-speaking Israeli population. Operation Pillar of Defense (2012), translates to “pillar of clouds” (another Biblical reference) and Operation Cast Lead (December 2008-January 2009) is meant to remind Israelis of a children’s song about Hanukkah lead, according to Dr. Dalia Gavriely-Nuri from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

“I think that using terms from natural resources removes the responsibility of leaders. Nobody is responsible when you are sitting on a volcano, for example, or when you are taking part in a military operation,” she told Slate’s podcast, The Gist. “I think this is kind of a psychological process.”

The concerted government effort, which works to combat an overwhelming stream of pro-Palestinian propaganda on Twitter, also relies on a team of dozens of Israeli university students who are given scholarships and grant money if they agree to comb the Internet on the government’s behalf, patrolling for anti-Israeli sentiment.

If the number of imitators is any indication, it’s clear that the campaign has been a success. The IDF has a single verified Facebook page, although the social media conversation around the conflict has spawned dozens of community pages on both sides.

One crowd-sourced Facebook page, “Standing With IDF,” for instance, features images uploaded by dozens of young women who strip down to their underwear to write supportive messages for Israeli troops on themselves. Created Wednesday night, the page had attracted thousands of likes within 24 hours, with creator Gavriel Beyo explaining that he was motivated to start the page by a sincere concern over the welfare of military personnel in Gaza.  

“We have two bountiful resources in Israel that are impossible to compete with, Israeli minds and the most beautiful women in the world,” he wrote. “Remember what you’re fighting for and what is waiting for you back home.”

Similarly, the more family-friendly community page “Girls Love IDF” features hundreds of pictures from toddlers to grandparents holding signs advertising messages like “Thank you IDF, we love you.”

It’s easy why so many Israelis have been inspired to post messages of support, with the videos the IDF posts on YouTube often taking on a cinematic quality. Attached below is a short video on the life of paratrooper Louis Miller, just one entry in the “IDF Stories” series: