Facebook App Lets You Add Enemies Online

 

Forget friending. A new Facebook app allows users of the social network to identify and share people, places and things as “enemies” for all to see. The app, called EnemyGraph, lets you list anything with a Facebook presence — ranging from “friends,” to foods, to products, movies or books — as an enemy. Since the app launched March 15, it’s seemed to appeal especially to users with a liberal bent. Some of its most-selected nemeses so far include Rick Santorum, Westboro Baptist Church and Fox News. The app was developed by a professor and two students at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dean Terry, who directs the school’s emerging media program, helped conceptualize the project, while graduate student Bradley Griffith and undergraduate Harrison Massey built the app. Griffith said EnemyGraph has so far accumulated some 400 users. But more importantly, its creators say, press coverage has helped meet the team’s goal of sparking a larger conversation about the nature of social media and Facebook in particular. “One thing that has always struck me is the enforced niceness culture,” Terry told Mashable. “We wanted to give people a chance to express dissonance as well. We’re using the word enemy about as accurately as Facebook uses the word friend.” But the app has utility beyond simply sparking a philosophical debate, Terry adds. Researchers and marketers have long gathered information on social media users based on what they support, but at the expense of possibly overlooking another valuable data source. “You can actually learn a lot about people by what they’re upset about and what they don’t like,” Terry says. “And the second thing is that if you and I both don’t like something, that actually creates a social bond that hasn’t been explored in social media at all, except with Kony and some big examples like that.” Terry and Griffith teamed up last year to create Undetweetable, a service allowing Twitter users’ deleted tweets to be uncovered posthumously. That project gained some attention as well but Twitter quickly forced it to shut down. Terry wouldn’t be surprised if EnemyGraph meets a similar fate from Facebook. “My guess is it goes against their social philosophy and purpose,” he says. “It is a critique of their social philosophy for sure.” Do you like the EnemyGraph idea? Let us know in the comments.

socially disruptive narcissists More Facebook Friends You Have, the More Unhappy You Are

 

A  study has discovered a direct link between the number of friends you have on Facebook and how much of a “socially disruptive narcissist” you are—giving us one more reason to tone down our Facebook addictions. Researchers at Western Illinois studied 294 college students and found that those with more friends on Facebook tended to score higher on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory questionnaire. They tended to respond more aggressively to comments, change their profile pictures more often, and updated their news feeds more regularly than others. This may not be all that surprising, but it does provide a bit of motivation to re-evaluate what Facebook does for you, if you fit into one of these categories (and if not, at least you can stop feeling bad about not having very many Facebook friends—it’s probably a good thing). None of this is to say Facebook is inherently bad, of course. It’s still a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, especially after you’ve fixed all of its annoyances—you might just want to dial back on all the photo tagging. While you’re at it, you can also move some of those friends to your Acquaintances list using Facebook’s new tool, which will hide them from your news feed more often.

A Nation 'Addicted' To Statins...

Dear Reader,

In the UK alone, more than 7 million people are taking cholesterol-lowering statins. This is extremely worrying when you consider the damage these over-prescribed drugs can inflict, with side effects ranging from liver dysfunction and acute renal failure to fatigue and extreme muscle weakness (myopathy).

Slowly tearing us apart

Even more concerning are the side effects that crop up after long-term use, which are often not linked to statins. For example, one study monitored the symptoms of 40 asthma patients for a year. 20 of these patients started statins at the outset of the study, while the remaining 20 did not.

The results showed that those patients on statins used their rescue inhaler medications 72 per cent more often than they had at the start of the study, compared to a 9 per cent increase in those who were not taking statins. The researchers also reported that patients taking statins had to get up more frequently at night because of their asthma and also had worse symptoms during the day...

Worsening asthma symptoms is just the beginning. More recent research has linked statins with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, depression, Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Still, doctors are very quick to reach for their prescription pads and push these drugs. There appears to be an unofficial (but widely practiced) 'statins for all' approach... especially if you are aged 50 and over.

Luckily, some mainstreamers are slowly catching on to what we've been saying for nearly a decade. In 2011, research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine drew attention to the fact that there is inadequate medical data available that proves the benefits of statins, and that many studies fail to acknowledge the most commonly reported adverse effects of statins.

The fact remains (and your doctor may still deny this) that in total, statins cause serious damage in about 4.4 per cent of those taking them, in comparison to the 2.7 per cent statin users benefiting from them... and it looks as if this message is finally getting through to medical authorities.

A case in point is simvastatin or Zocor. After being on the market for almost 3 decades and causing havoc and distress with its horrendous side effects, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally issued a warning about the use of this drug... saying that even the approved dosage can harm or even kill you!

Yep! Kill you!

All well and good

It's all fair and well and good that the FDA flagged this warning, but what's the point if doctors continue to prescribe these drugs left, right and centre?

Professor Sarah Harper, director of Oxford University's institute of population ageing, recently said that the UK's "love affair" with prescription medicine, shows how people choose to pop pills rather than follow a healthy lifestyle.

She cited the widespread use of statin drugs to 'help' protect against heart disease and lower cholesterol, instead of eating healthily, quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake and taking regular exercise.

By all means, I applaud Prof Harper for pushing the message that living a healthy life plays a big part in preventing disease, but why blame patients for being a bunch of pill poppers when doctors hand out drugs with reckless abandon... and recommend taking preventative drugs to ever younger age groups. So in fact, the white coats should be labelled as Big Pharma's drug pushers, because they're part of the problem... especially considering that so many people put their entire trust in their doctor and would never dream of questioning their advice. Most people take what they say as gospel.

Then there's the media, inundating Joe Public with inflammatory headlines like: 'Statins could help fight breast cancer' or 'Statins can prevent infections like pneumonia'... Not to mention their reporting on botch studies showing the 'unintended benefits' of statins, like their potential to prevent pneumonia, combat diabetes, reduce the risk of oesophageal cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer — all of these so-called benefits are of course not yet proven, and highly unlikely. Still, they reach the front pages!

So, yes we might have turned into a pill popping public, but it's the mainstream and the media that have created this monster all with the help and backing of the puppet master: Big Pharma. Because as you and I know all too well, it's all about the money. 

Not Fade Away: 50 years of the Rolling Stones in 50 fascinating photographs

They have rocked the world for 50 years and the Mirror’s photographers have captured all the ups and downs

Start us up: The five all together in 1964

On Thursday July 12, 1962 six young lads took to the stage of the Marquee Club and a legend was born.

They have rocked the world for 50 years and the Mirror’s photographers have captured all the ups and downs.

So when the Rolling Stones decided to release a book to mark the milestone, they knew where to come to find the best images.

The Rolling Stones: 50 is crammed with amazing snaps hand-picked by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, many from our extensive archive.

“This is our story of 50 fantastic years,” the rock ’n’ rollers said of the official book yesterday.

“We started out as a blues band playing the clubs and more recently we’ve filled the largest stadiums in the world with the kind of show that none of us could have imagined all those years ago.

“Curated by us, it features the very best photographs and ephemera from and beyond our archives.”

 

Iconic: The logo for the Rolling Stones 50 book 

 

The photographic autobiography features images selected by the band accompanied by their own words.

The photographers include Gered Mankowitz, Jean-Marie Périer, Dezo Hoffman, Michael Cooper, Terry O’Neill, Bent Rej and Philip Townsend – the photographer for their first ever shoot.

Across 352 pages, The Rolling Stones: 50 features 700 Illustrations, 300 of which are in colour.

The book is published by Thames & Hudson and will be available from all bookshops on July 12, for £29.95, but can be pre-ordered now.

Click here for the Amazon page and here for more information on the Thames & Hudsonwebsite.

To whet your appetite, we've selected 50 great photos from our archive, some of which will feature in the book.

 

 

 

Any brown sugar in that tea? Mick in September 1964MirrorpixGimme shelter: Keith Richards pictured in September 1964MirrorpixSuits you: Keith Richards on 4 June 1964 when they were taken shopping by their managerMirrorpixTime is on my side: Taking a breather in the shopMirrorpixStreet buying men: Rolling Stones attract a crowd going shoppingMirrorpixEngland's newest hitmakers: Group photo of the Stones in 1964MirrorpixStreet driving man: Mick at Tettenhall Magistrates Court, Staffordshire where he was found guilty of 3 motoring offences on 26 November 1964MirrorpixYou can't always get what you want: Mick leaving the courtMirrorpixThe Mad Mod Ball: Bill Wyman, Keith, Charlie Watts, Mick and Brian Jones. 8 September 1964MirrorpixPlay with fire: Bill on stageMirrorpixTime is on our side: Youthful Mick, Charlie, Brian, Keith and Bill on Juke Box Jury in 1964MirrorpixMick talking to manager Andrew Oldham after refusing to go on a revolving stage at The London Palladium ShowMirrorpixJohn Lennon and Yoko Ono among the guest celebrities at the Rolling Stones Rock 'n' Roll Circus in 1968MirrorpixWe go wild: Food fight at launch for Beggar's Banquet at The Gore Hotel, 5 December 1968MirrorpixAll down the line: More Stones drama captured in this undated photoMirrorpixLook sharp: The NME Poll Winners Concert at Empire Pool, Wembley, 11 April 1965MirrorpixWe wanna be your men: Stones with presents from fansMirrorpixSparks will fly: The Stones arrive in Manchester from London in August 1964MirrorpixSolid rock: Stars in their sunglassesMirrorpixHappy: The band share a giggleMirrorpixFan-tastic: Posing with (left) Kathryn Brennan, 14, and Judy Brennan, 15 at their hotel prior to their concert in Manchester on 28 September 1966MirrorpixCome on: On stage at their free concert in London's Hyde Park on 5 July 1969MirrorpixJumpin' Jacket Flash: Undated photo of Mick in a fur coatMirrorpixYou better move on: The Stones on a park bench in 1967MirropixBetween the buttons: Undated photo of band in studioMirrorpixFlashpoint: Bill stares at the cameraMirrorpixSatisfaction: Mick and Keith enjoy a drink in a London pub after a night in the cells for drug offences in 1967MirrorpixBack stage: Stones in concert at the Belle Vue theatre in August 1964MirrorpixWhat a shame: Love You Live album launch in 1977 with no KeithMirrorpixOnly rock'n'roll but I like it: Smiles after appearing on Sunday Night at the London Palladium on 22 January 1967MirrorpixThe Rolling Stones pictured in Green Park London for a press conference 11th January 1967Mirrorpix

 

 

Thinking man's rock star: Keith in Redlands, West Sussex 31 July 1973MirrorpixYou got us rocking: At Knebworth on 22 August 1976MirrorpixBill Wyman and Keith RichardsSent to Coventry Theatre: Charlie, Mick and his girlfriend Bianca De Macias arrive 6 March 1971MirrorpixHot stuff: Mick's amazing studded outfit from the 1970sMirrorpixWild horses: Keith appeared in Aylesbury courthouse on a charge of possessing LSD and cocaine on 11 January 1977Alisdair MacDonald / MirrorpixThrough the past, darkly: Shaded Mick talking about his recent tour of the States on 2 August 1972MirrorpixA bigger bang: Mick and Ronnie at London's 100 Club at a surprise gig for invited fans in 1982Rock and a hard place: At the Alamo in Texas on 4 June 1975MirrorpixRocking on: The Stones in the 1970sMirrorpixThey're a rainbow: Undated colour photo of the StonesStar me up: Mick in American apparelGet off my cloud: At Wembley Stadium in July 1995Mike Allen / MirrorpixLicky fingers: Ronnie in June 1999 at Murrayfield Stadium in EdinburghPhil Spencer / MirrorpixShine a light: Ronnie and Mick at the Isle of Wight festival 10 June 2007Adam Sorenson / Daily MirrorOld gods: Keith and Ronnie at the Isle of Wight festivalExile on Isle of Wight: Keith rocking at the festivalMirrorpix