Researchers are increasingly starting to recognize gut microbiota as one of your unappreciated “organs.”1 It may be even more apt to view your body as a “super organism” composed of symbiotic microorganisms, as proposed in the video above.

Either way, there’s no denying the powerful influence these microorganisms have on both your physical and mental health. This is great news, since this places you in a distinct position of power over your health and well-being. As recently reported by the Institute of Science in Society:2

“The rapidly progressing study of the human microbiota is revealing that humans are not individual self-contained beings, but instead hugely complex super-organisms that blur the distinction between where ‘we’ end and ‘they’ begin.

The human microbiota consists of an estimated 100 trillion cells, at least 10 times the number of human cells, and new research is revealing how this symbiotic relationship determines human health and disease.”

Recent research suggests that many people are deficient in gut bacteria, making it a very important consideration if you’re not feeling in optimal shape, physically or psychologically.

RT - 12/08/13

Ukrainian protesters blocked streets leading to government buildings with barricades, as tens of thousands rallied on Kiev’s Independence Square. The opposition hoped its pro-EU protest would attract 1 million people, calling it “The Million March.”

Nearly 100,000 protesters have gathered on Kiev’s center, according to police estimates. The opposition has claimed nearly 1 million people are taking part in the rally.

Video and more: RT.com

Vatican Bank Scandal — JP Morgan, HSBC
Cease Doing Business with Vatican

More: BenSwann.com

The Washington Post - 12/10/13, By Ashkan Soltani, Andrea Peterson, and Barton Gellman

The National Security Agency is secretly piggybacking on the tools that enable Internet advertisers to track consumers, using "cookies" and location data to pinpoint targets for government hacking and to bolster surveillance.

The City Council in Denver, Colorado voted on Monday to permit residents to smoke marijuana on private property, even if others can see them doing so from the street or sidewalk.

According to ABC 7, the council voted 10-3 to allow pot smoking in front yards and balconies two weeks after a measure had passed banning the practice if the drug could be seen or smelled by other residents. The new measure is final, and also bans the possession of marijuana by anyone younger than 21.

Under the new rules, anyone under 21 who’s found possessing marijuana will be fined $150. A repeat offender will be charged with a $500 fine, while each violation thereafter will carry a $999 penalty.

On January 1, 2014, Colorado and Washington will become the first states in America to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. As Denver continues to debate and develop pot regulations, Councilman Charlie Brown said that modifications would continue to be made even after legalization day arrives.

More on: RT.com

It's the stuff of Disney fairy tales: A fox and a dog stumble upon each other in the woods and become fast friends. That's what happened last summer, when Norwegian photographer Torgeir Berge went out for a walk with his German shepherd Tinni, and they encountered an abandoned baby fox. 

"He was a puppy and probably his mother had died, so he sought help and company, and food," Berit Helberg, who is co-authoring a book with Berge on the unique friendship, told TODAY.com in an email.

Since then the fox, which Berge dubbed Sniffer, has been a regular addition to their walks in the woods, coming around to play with 4-year-old Tinni for a couple of hours on most days. Berge started taking photos of the pair and eventually solicited advice from Helberg, who belonged to the same nature photography group on Facebook, on how to turn his work into a book. Helberg offered to write stories to accompany the pictures, and they hope to bring the friendship to life in a book sometime next year.