Category Archives: Post Human

Human, Transhuman, Post/Human, Superhuman
A set I did for Edinburgh Bright Club about my research into superhero comics and the history of posthumanism. More detail (but less jokes) at my blog here: ...

By: Scott Jeffery

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Human, Transhuman, Post/Human, Superhuman - Video

Pyongyang, March 5 (KCNA) -- The United States is a criminal state violating human rights everywhere in the world.

The "war on terrorism", expanded to Pakistan after Afghanistan and Iraq by the U.S. for 10-odd years, has led to slaughters of innocent civilians.

In Afghanistan, the "war" has claimed more than 3 000 lives on a yearly average in recent years.

In five years from March 2003 when the U.S. invaded Iraq, at least 1 205 000 Iraqis were killed and one million missing, nearly half of them being children.

The U.S. has slaughtered many civilians by drone strikes in Pakistan.

The war of genocide by GIs has gone in company with heinous atrocities, arousing a great wrath among the world people.

In January 2012, a video was posted on an Internet website to show four U.S. marines urinating toward three dead Afghani prisoners with vulgar remarks. And in March a GI shot to death 16 civilians including sleeping women and children in houses. Among the GIs are criminals who were keeping some 4 000 photographs on their murderous deeds as a boast.

The U.S. has conducted maltreatment, torture and vivisection against the prisoners in its secret jails abroad, in wanton violation of international law on human rights and humanitarianism.

As exposed at the 64th UN General Assembly in 2009 and other international meetings and by American media, including Washington Post and New York Times, the U.S. has employed all sorts of tortures in overseas prisons such as forced feeding, electric drill torture and sexual torture prohibited by international law.

A Turkish-German, released from the Guantanamo prison, told in an interview with the newspaper Berliner Zeitung about the facts of living-body test by the GIs he had experienced in prison for more than four years.

Read this article:
News Analysis on U.S. Human Rights Abuses in Other Countries

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Mar-2014

Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer aem1@psu.edu 814-865-9481 Penn State

Child abuse is a reliable predictor of post-traumatic stress disorder, but not all maltreated children suffer from it, according to Chad Shenk, assistant professor of human development and family studies, Penn State, who examined why some maltreated children develop PTSD and some do not.

Shenk and his research team found that adolescent girls who experienced maltreatment in the past year and were willing to talk about their painful experiences and their thoughts and emotions, were less likely to have PTSD symptoms one year later. Those who tried to avoid painful thoughts and emotions were significantly more likely to exhibit PTSD symptoms down the road. The researchers report their results in the current issue of Development and Psychopathology.

"Avoidance is something we all do," said Shenk. "Sometimes it is easier not to think about something. But when we rely on avoidance as a coping strategythat is when there may be negative consequences."

Approximately 40 percent of maltreated children develop PTSD at some point in their lives. Shenk sought to identify the factors that kept the remaining 60 percent from experiencing the disorder.

"Children and adolescents react very differently to abuse, and we don't yet know who is going to develop PTSD and who won't," said Shenk. "What factors explain who will develop PTSD and who will not? This study attempted to identify those causal pathways to PTSD."

One theory holds that PTSD is caused by dysregulation in multiple neurobiological processes, including cortisol deficiencies or heightened suppression of respiratory sinus arrhythmia -- each of which affects how individuals can remain calm during a time of stress.

There are also psychological theories, which include experiential avoidance, the tendency to avoid negative feelings like fear, sadness or shame. Shenk's study tested these theories by creating one statistical model that included them all to see which factors best accounted for PTSD symptoms.

See the rest here:
Experiential avoidance increases PTSD risk following child maltreatment

Not everyone is totally thrilled with the casting of Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle) as Johnny Storm AKA the Human Torch in Twentieth Century Foxs upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, but Jordan himself doesnt seem too bothered by the backlash. When ambushed by reporters on his way into a club and asked for his thoughts on the matter, Jordan just smiled and responded, Theyre still going to go see it anyway. Hes definitely got the attitude down already.

Canonically speaking, the Marvel movies all take place in alternate universes and therefore any changes between the page and the screen are explained in the same way as the differences between, for example, Earth-616 and the Ultimates universe. Comic books have a long history of playing with continuity and retconning characters, so if anything this is in keeping with the traditions of the medium. As the first comic book ever published under Marvels name, Fantastic Four debuted three years before the Civil Rights Act was passed and as such the team members were white more or less by default. Now that more fifty years have passed, the idea of a black Human Torch should theoretically be a lot less controversial.

Weve already covered the reason why the decision to cast Jordan as the Human Torch makes sense from a business standpoint, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier star Anthony Mackie has also spoken out in defense of the casting. (For those unfamiliar, in the Cap sequel Mackie plays Sam Wilson AKA Falcon, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who is equipped with a pair of mechanical wings.)

In an interview with ComicBook.com Mackie admits that he was never into comic books as a kid (he preferred baseball), and that while he was emotional and overjoyed to be offered a role in the Marvel franchise, he finds the fans insistence on movies being identical to the source material a little baffling:

Its crazy how much they know, and if you deter from that, its like Well, thats not authentic. You know its not real. Its made-up, so we can change it. No, no, thats not right. No, hes real. Alright.

The distinction between real people and comic book characters is an important one, though you wouldnt think so by the number of comic book fans who insist that Michael B. Jordan playing Johnny Storm is analogous to a white actor playing Martin Luther King. When asked for his opinion on Jordans casting and the subsequent backlash, Mackie first confirmed that Jordan is definitely locked for the role, and then explained that an adaptation of such a fantastical story should be open to creative freedom on the part of the filmmaker.

Michael B. Jordan is a very good friend of mine. Ive known him since he was a teenager, and Im so happy, for more than anybody else for him to be getting the accolades hes getting, because he deserves it I think with these type of movies, everything else aside, you need a good actor. Michael B. Jordan is a good actor, black or white. So what you have to realize is, and go back and forth and just say, Superman cant fly, Batman aint real, the Human Torch dont really set himself on fire and fly around the room, so he can look like whatever they want him to look like. You just have to allow yourself to see him that way. And if you cant do that, that says something about you.

Fantastic Four co-creator Stan Lee has previously commented on the issue of characters having a different race in the movie versions. When Donald Glovers fans were lobbying for him to be cast as the next Spider-Man, Lee said in an interview with MTV:

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Anthony Mackie Talks The Falcon & Defends Human Torch Casting

There are no cliffhangers or surprises in the Almost Human season 1 finale, yet J.H. Wymans futuristic drama continues to deliver thoroughly enjoyable, episodic adventures to the end. The question now: Is it enough to garner a season 2?

In this weeks finale, Straw Man, written by co-executive producers Alison Schapker and Graham Roland, Kennex (Karl Urban) and Dorian (Michael Ealy) stumble upon a string of murders which copy that of a serial killer Kennexs father put away. As Kennex digs further into his fathers case files, he finds out that an innocent man may have been wrongly put behind bars. Elsewhere, Dorian receives a performance evaluation one which could lead to him being decommissioned.

Chances are, unless youve been following the episodic descriptions of the series week-to-week, its highly unlikely you would have intuited that this is the season 1 finale. This unfortunate conundrum, as well as the overall absence of any actual thru story-arc, continues to weigh the series down, making it impossible for the franchise to stand on its own. Though the mysterious death of Kennexs father is, if anything, a starting point.

There is, or was, a proverbial enemy within the police precinct and Kennexs father paid the price for digging too deep. Kennex himself searches for answers and finds them, which leads to his father being exonerated for the crimes hes been accused of committing. Any of this seasons futuristic tales could have been used to serve this purpose, as Kennexs father (like girlfriend) is barely mentioned, and one could make the case that many of the series previous tales would have been better suited to do so.

The story at hand is, as always, fascinating to watch unfold, yet the conclusion is exceedingly simple and far less poignant than most of the cases weve seen along the way. Like audiences have been doing from the beginning, it now feels as if producers are finding it exceedingly difficult to explain why the series should continue on, and their haphazard attempt at presenting a tale which is directly connected to its lead actor serves to only reveal other issues.

Urbans weakness has finally been revealed: emotions. Give him a gun, badge and reason to fight the good fight and Urban can deliver a performance which turns other 8pm series into a joke. Force him to emote, however, as this finale does, and machismo sets in, preventing him from being able to realistically immerse himself in the emotions the scenes require of him.

Even so, Urban and Ealy, together, are a force to be reckoned with, and the supporting characters are able to make up for some of the heart thats missing in the series. Whether or not its enough for them to receive a second-chance season 2, so to speak, is still too early to tell.

Read more from the original source:
Almost Human Season 1 Finale Review: The End?

[This is a review ofBeing HumanSeason 4 Episode 8. There will be SPOILERS.]

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Now that we know that Being Human is coming to an end following this season, the six remaining episodes have taken on a new level of importance while this seasons previous seven must be viewed with a new perspective. Combined, these chapters mark the last creative gasps of the series and a payoff for fans who have shown fidelity through Being Humans four seasons.

Sallys use of magic, first Donnas and then her own, has been turning into a funnel cloud since last season. Despite her big heart, Sally is reckless and dangerous and that finally seemed to really sink in, not because someone laid it out for her as Donna previously has but because she saw that by striving for better, she made everything so much worse because she is an unnatural thing.

Before that revelation, though, we are treated to a few interesting new realities as Sally jumps into her past self (and gets stuck there), fights back against Danny, and quickly meddles with the order of things. A calamitous decision that is born from Sallys big-hearted intervention into Aidans backslide and his eventual, and regrettable, nosh on the red-headed nurse from the pilot episode; something that leads to Sally tell Aidan about their shared future.

To Aidan (played with wonderful vulnerability by Sam Witwer in this episode), who is struggling to embrace his human side (his characters stated and occasionally abandoned flight plan throughout the shows run), Sallys boasts seem to give hope. Aidan is looking up from a dark wells bottom at the start of Being Human and Sally is telling him that he will see the light again. That faith is enough to push Aidan into bringing Josh into the fold, nearly re-creating the living arrangement at the heart of the show, save for Sallys beating heart, which breaks when it turns out that Danny is fated to be a killer, taking out his aggression on Sallys friend Bridget.

That Sally doesnt do more to avenge Bridgets death is shocking, but she is pre-occupied by her now romantic relationship with Aidan. This version of the timeline is all about Sallys reward as Meaghan Raths character almost drunkenly flits about, changing things because she can. To Sally, she can have her cake and eat it too Aidan for her and Nora for Josh but when things break bad costing Josh the destiny with Nora that Sally teases, he begins to slowly question whether her presence and her blueprint for their lives is a positive force.

Link:
Being Human: Rewind, Rewind

Heres a cheery image: the first pic from Tom Sixs third film in the Human Centipede series: Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence])The shock here may be that the image doesnt even feature a hint of humans sewn together end-to-end. And while the jail setting doesnt look all that inviting, its a lot better than pretty much anything seen in the second film.

As you can see from the shot, the star of the original film, Dieter Laser, returns for this one, and Laurence R. Harvey, star of the second, is on board as well. The full shot is below.

Heres the image:

Six talked to EWand explained,

THC Part 3 will be totally different from Parts 1 and 2 and certainly not as gross.But it will be the most controversial one politically-wise. It will have a lot of self-mockery and will be the most darkly comical of the three. Parts 1 and 2 have a very European feel. Part 3 is very American with the highest budget, a big movie score, widescreen, and an XXL human centipede. Its set in an American maximum security prison in the middle of the desert. Plot-wise I wont share details yet but if you let your imagination run wild you might get ideas.

Six also explained that the role played byEric Roberts is an ahole governor, and that this film, the directors first shot in the US, will hopefully be the first in a string of American productions.

The director also proclaimed that, yes, this film will feature the longest centipede of the series, with 500 unfortunate people included. And it was all practical, and probably a giant pain in the, er, ass to do. The chain was achieved, he says,by having a lot of brave American extras and doing it the megalomanic way like they did inSpartacus. F CGI-created things.

Huh. Dont remember a human centipede in Spartacus. Maybe Ill have to watch that again.

Link:
Human Centipede 3 First Look

Last year was the worst for human rights since at least 2008, says an annual report from Chinese Human Rights Defenders. The signature Chinese Dream of the new leadership has instead become a nightmare, they say.

The Chinese governments assault on activists last year indicates just how far authorities under the rule of President Xi Jinping are willing to go to suppress an increasingly active and emboldened civil society, said Renee Xia, the international director of CHRD.

Defining new developments in 2013, when Xi Jinpings regime took office, as well as ongoing rights concerns, CHRD points to a major crackdown on civil and human rights across the board.

The assault on the New Citizens Movement and asset disclosure advocates targeted peaceful assemblies; new laws concerning rumors targeted bloggers and signaled increased criminalization of speech in the media and online; the widespread physical violence against human rights lawyers served to deny legal counsel to rights advocates, the report charges.

Dozens of human rights activists interviewed for the report pointed out that 2013 was the worst year for human rights since the crackdowns around the Olympics in 2008. Specifically, the report states: The number of activists detained last year was greater than any since crackdowns in 1999; the number of criminal detentions of human rights defenders trebled that of 2012; over 220 activists were detained, with dozens formally arrested and tried or awaiting trial; there were over three times more enforced disappearances than in 2012.

Despite the highly publicized abolishment of Re-education Through Labor, CHRD identifies notes that other extrajudicial detention methods have sprung up, including increased use of black jails.

Although Xi Jinping, the Party leader, pledged to purge corruption from the Communist Party at all levels, activists who requested that high-ranking officials declare their personal wealth were hastily detained. Activists considered to be leaders of the asset disclosure movement were charged with gathering a crowd to disrupt order of a public place and other terms that disguise the political nature of the arrests.

Rights defenders involved in the New Citizens Movement, a loose-knit group seeking political, legal, and social reforms, were detained, tried and issued harsh sentences. Most notably, the respected law professor Xu Zhiyong was tried on those charges and sentenced to four years of imprisonment.

The regime made it clear in a 2013 internal memo, Document No. 9, that discussion of Western ideals, including universal values, democracy, and human rights would not be tolerated. An assault was launched on activists advocating rule of law, constitutional democracy, and freedom of the press.

Political persecution and suppression in ethnic minority regions increased, as did harsher security measures and intensified violence in Tibet and Xinjiang, the report said.

Originally posted here:
China Dream Became Nightmare for Rights in China, Report Says

Crysis 2 Let`s Play-Post Human Warrior difficulty-Without using Armor and Cloak-#12
Crysis 2 von Crytek -- Herausgeber : Electronic Arts -- Musik : Hans Zimmer.

By: DerKuselKopp

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Crysis 2 Let`s Play-Post Human Warrior difficulty-Without using Armor and Cloak-#12 - Video

Crysis 2 Let`s Play-Post Human Warrior difficulty-Without using Armor and Cloak-#11
Crysis 2 von Crytek -- Herausgeber : Electronic Arts -- Musik : Hans Zimmer.

By: DerKuselKopp

See original here:
Crysis 2 Let`s Play-Post Human Warrior difficulty-Without using Armor and Cloak-#11 - Video