A&S in the News – September 23-29

Investigators said they killed for ISIS. But were they different from ‘regular’ mass killers?
Washington Post – Sept. 23

Dahir Adan, a former Apollo High School honor student, walked into a mall here last Saturday and stabbed 10 people before an off-duty police officer shot him dead. The Islamic State hailed him as one of its soldiers. The FBI has hesitated to describe Adan’s rampage as an ideologically inspired terrorist attack and Thursday night called on witnesses – ideally with videos – to come forward … “The attackers themselves act and feel like victims,” said Adam Lankford, a criminologist at the University of Alabama. “Various words are used. Persecution. Discrimination. Bullying. Humiliation. Mistreatment. The sense that someone else is picking on me and is out to get me.”

New anglophone group to make pitch for Quebec sovereignty
Canada.com – Sept. 24

Anglophone sovereignists of Quebec, unite. A Nova-Scotia born anglophone Parti Québécois member has launched a pro-sovereignty group — Anglophones for Quebec Independence. Describing itself as a “non-partisan group,” AQI unveiled its plan to promote separation on Friday at the headquarters of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, a nationalist group … Drouin said she has been a member of the PQ since 1998 and moved to Quebec in 2001. She founded a sovereignist group at McGill University while she was a student there between 2002 and 2005. She lives in Quebec but is an associate English professor at the University of Alabama. The university’s website says Drouin is on a “research leave in Montreal.”

UA professor suggests hand gestures will play role in presidential debate, election
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Sept. 26

It is amazing how much a person can convey through “non-verbal” communication. Sometimes a raised brow, a hand gesture, can say more than words. Every move will be scrutinized during Monday night’s presidential debate. Professors at the University of Alabama believe those gestures could actually help people decide who will get their vote. UA Assistant Professor, Dr. Tony Buhr has been working with the university’s political science department since the 2012 election. The focus then was on a candidate’s disfluency, or how many times a candidate said “uh or “um. Now, they are directing their attention to non-verbal communication. “A lot of people intuitively make a decision about who they’re going to vote for or who they trust, then they justify that after the fact,” UA Assistant Professor, Dr. Tony Buhr said.

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