A very good morning aspirants welcome to the weekly the Indian Express Newspaper Analysis brought to you by Shankar IAS Academy. So in this video we have chosen some of the news articles very relevant for the UPSC exam from the Indian Express and we have presented to you in the UPSC perspective. So give your feedbacks in the comment, displayed here or the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. So without much delay let us get into the news article discussion. Look at this article from the economic page. This article talks about open market operation OMO of RBI. See RBI has recently announced OMO in order to maintain liquidity in the system. Usually OMO will allow interest rates to rise in order to keep inflation under control. So here OMO does not worry to sacrifice economic growth, consumer spending and employment for the sake of keeping inflation under control. This is the reason why this sudden announcement of OMO has surprised the market. This is the crux of the news article given here. In this context let us understand about OMO and its impacts on the market. Before that we shall learn some of the basics about inflation. What is inflation? As you all know inflation is a general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy. Which means that when the general price level rises each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently inflation corresponds to a reduction in the purchasing power of money. The two main indicators of inflation in India are the wholesale price index WPI and the consumer price index CPI. Now also remember this inflation is not always too bad for the economy. A more rate level of inflation is always necessary to maintain price stability by preventing deflation. It also helps in increasing wages for employees leading to improved standard of living for workers and it also supports consumer spending. More rate inflation also means that there is demand for goods and services in the economy so the businesses will rise their prices, earn higher profits and invest more than usual. For these reasons more rate inflation is necessary but too much inflation will have an impact on the common man. So government generally try to keep inflation within an optimal range that promotes growth without drastically reducing the purchasing power of the currency. There are many methods used to control inflation. I have displayed here you can pause the video and go through it. Now coming to OMO, OMO is a monetary policy measure taken by the RBI to control the liquidity in the system. To conduct an open market operation the RBI enters the financial markets and either buys or sells government securities like treasury bills, bonds or notes to commercial banks financial institutions or the public. Now let's briefly discuss about the process involved in the OMO operation. If the RBI's goal is to expand the money supply and boost demand the policy is expansionary. Here the RBI buys securities and injects money into the banking system. That is the RBI will buy the bonds that has been already listed by banks by buying it RBI indirectly provides money to the bank. This increases the reserve of the bank and puts downward pressure on interest rates. So lower interest rates can encourage borrowings and spendings stimulating economic activity. While this type of OMO lowers interest rates after some period of time if RBI's goal is to contract the money supply and decrease demand the policy becomes contractionary in nature. During this time RBI sells securities and removes money from the banking system. That is RBI now it will list its own bonds or government securities and it will make the bank to buy those bonds from the RBI. So this reduces the reserves of bank and to put downward pressure on interest rates. Higher interest rates can discourage borrowing and spending which can help control inflation or cool down an overheated economy. So these are the two ways how government controls liquidity using OMO. See historically the October to May period is observed to have high cash withdrawals due to festival and wedding seasons. This generally tends to reduce the durable liquidity in the banking system. So to keep liquidity under control this measure has been announced recently by the RBI. Hope you could get a clear picture now talking about the impacts of the OMO. The OMO directly impacts the money supply in the economy. Buying securities increase the money supply while selling securities reduces it. Secondly central banks like RBI use OMOs to influence short term interest rate in the inter-bank lending market. So by adjusting the supply of money in the banking system central banks can guide interest rates towards their target level. For example if a central bank wants to lower interest rates to stimulate borrowing and investment it will conduct expansionary OMOs. Thirdly OMOs provide central banks with flexibility and precision in implementing monetary policy. They can be used frequently and adjusted as needed to respond to changing economic conditions. Fourthly OMO are typically conducted openly under announced to the public contributing to the transparency of a central bank's actions and intentions. Finally central banks can choose the maturity and duration of the securities they buy or sell. This will allow them to target specific segments of the yield curve. For example short term securities for example treasury bills will impact short term interest rates while long term securities for example bonds influence long term rates. So these are all some of the important points that I have to remember about OMO. A very potential preliminary question topic. So have a clarity regarding this with this learnt points. Now let us move on to the next news article. Now we take a look at this article from Monday's newspaper. The article conveys the story of Vasili Archipau and how it is relevant in today's world. We all know that October 2nd is the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. The day is also observed as the United Nations International Day of Non-violence. So instead of simply remembering Mahatma Gandhi's birthday as a tradition in order to celebrate courage especially in a world that often glorifies aggression it's more valuable to remember a single act of bravery that saved the world for the time being. In that sense Vasili Archipau who was a Soviet naval officer is a great example. You can quote this example in your ethics and essay papers. So let me start with the story of Vasili Archipau. See Archipau was commander of a Soviet Flotilla and executive officer of the diesel powered submarine B-59 which was submerged near Cuba in October 1962. Here Flotilla is nothing but a small fleet of ships. 1962 was the time of the Cuban missile crisis where both the US and Soviet Union were at the peak of their Cold War. The Cuban missile crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the US and Soviet Union concerning American ballistic deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. So the confrontation between both the countries started in October 16, 1962 and it just lasted for 13 days till October 28, 1962. Initially US has deployed ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey. So in retaliation Soviet deployed ballistic missile in Cuba. Now the situation would have developed into a full-fledged nuclear war between the US and Soviet Union leading to Third World War. But courageously it was prevented by one man's decision. The man is none other than Mr. Vasili Archipau. See what happened was on October 27, US Navy destroyers detected the presence of Soviet submarines and began dropping depth charges to force the Soviet submarines to surface. Their depth charges is nothing but an anti-submarine weapon which is dropped from a ship or aircraft near a target. This weapon descends to a predetermined depth where it explodes. This explosion causes powerful and destructive hydraulic shocks that can damage the submarines. So US Navy, they wanted the Soviet submarines to surface above the sea. So for that reason US dropped depth charges on Soviet submarines. But by then the Soviet submarines had gone for many days without radio contact with Moscow. So some of the Soviet naval officers they interpreted the dropping of depth charges as a signal that war has broke out between US and USSR. So the captain of B-59 insisted that it was time for them to launch a nuclear torpedo. I hope you all know what is a nuclear torpedo. Fortunately Soviet naval protocol required that three officers on board that ship had to authorize a nuclear launch. So two of the designated officers were in favor of firing the nuclear weapon. And it was Archipau as chief of staff of the brigade who refused to go along. He did not vote to fire the nuclear weapon. Mr. Archipau who had a reputation for being courageous finally persuaded the captain of the submarine to surface and await orders from Moscow on October 28, 1969. That is the day after the incident happened both Washington and Moscow backed down and the missile crisis ended. So B-59 peacefully sailed back to Soviet Union. Just imagine what would have happened if Archipau voted in favor of firing the nuclear weapon. The world that we live in today would have undergone multiple changes. In 2002 the then director of the US National Security Archive called Archipau the man who saved the world. Now this story highlights two vital truth. Firstly, violence and non-violence are not binary opposites but it is a spectrum within which most people are in constant motion. That is Mr. Archipau even though he is more courageous and he is a person who would vote for the firing of the nuclear torpedo he itself resisted to choose violence. This is the meaning of the first truth. Secondly, courage and clearsightedness of a single individual can sometimes make a hugely significant difference particularly when that individual is empowered within the state structure. So here again the decision of Archipau has actually saved the world. Here Archipau had the choice to choose and he chose non-violence. So the story of Archipau is relevant even today because in many societies a large number of people display an enthusiasm for answering violence with stronger violence. A lot of war happening around us is a very big example for this. All of them know that violence is not the solution and violence will leave the original problem unsolved but still people choose violence because people fear that an outright rejection of violence will make them weak and vulnerable. Non-violence in today's world is seen as a self-defeating doctrine but actually non-violence has the power to transform opponents through love and compassion. So in that line Archipau's story shows us the importance of self resistance even when we have the means for violent action and how it's not a weakness but a strength. Remember there might be a risk in choosing resistance but it is always better than the potential harm caused by aggressive actions. So we should honour those who like Archipau chose self resistance over aggression in their Archipau moments. They contribute to our progress as a species towards a more peaceful and compassionate world. This is a very strong message that you have to recall in the United Nations International Day of Non-violence. So make note of this example and use it in your main sensor. So with this points now let us move to the next news article discussion. Now look at this article from Monday's newspaper. This news article talks about the Ken Betua River linkage project. Suddenly it is in news because of the upcoming state assembly election of Madhya Pradesh. Due to elections the state government is fastening the implementation of the project. So in this news article discussion let us understand the basics of this Ken Betua Link project. See the Ken Betua Link project KBLP is the river interlinking project that aims to transfer surplus water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to Betua in Uttar Pradesh to irrigate the drought prawn Bundelkhand region. Bundelkhand region spread across the districts of two states mainly Jhansi, Banda, Lalitpur and Mahoba districts of UP and Tigamgarh, Panna and Chhatrapur districts of MP. The project involves building a 77 meter tall and a 2 kilometer wide Daudan Dam and a 230 kilometer canal. Remember Ken Betua is one of the 30 river interlinking projects conceived across the country. Talking about the significance of the project, see the project will not only accelerate the water conservation by construction of a multi-purpose dam but will also produce 103 mega watts of hydropower and it will supply drinking water to 62 lakh people. Now these advantages are also associated with concerns. Let us see them one by one. Firstly, the project passes through critical tiger habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve. Because of this reason the project is stuck in for the approval from national green tribunal, NGT and other higher authorities. Secondly, there is a huge economic cost attached with the project implementation and maintenance and it is further rising due to delays in project implementation. Thirdly, reconstruction and rehabilitation cost due to displacement resulting from the implementation of the project will improve social cost as well. There are also concerns that the project will endanger the water security of Panna. Apart from this there are significant legal problems with the approval granted to KBLP. For example, approval by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife to the Ken Betwa Link project has not been proved to be necessary for the improvement and better management of the wildlife therein as provided in section 35 clause 6 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. So these are all some of the important points that you have to remember about Ken Betwa River Linkage Project. See if UPSC is going to ask question in this particular area UPSC might ask about the origin and the draining states of Ken and Betwa rivers. In mains UPSC might ask about the impacts or the positives and negatives of interlinking of rivers. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this article 10th October is observed as the World Mental Health Day to rise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. See mental health is actually everything it encompasses a individual's emotion and cognitive state as well as their ability to manage stress relate to others make decisions and handle life's challenges. Also remember good mental health doesn't mean the absence of mental health issues rather it implies the ability to cope with lives ups and downs efficiently. Some of the characteristics of positive mental health includes emotional well-being that is the ability to experience a range of emotions managing them and expressing them appropriately. Secondly resilience that is the capacity to bounce back from adversity and stress adopt to change and maintain a sense of balance and well-being. Thirdly the ability to build and maintain healthy fulfilled relationships with others. Fourthly the skill to manage life's challenges and stressors in a constructive manner that is having an effective coping strategy. Then having a positive self-esteem and self-confidence and a self-assurance in one's ability and self-worth. These are some of the characteristics of positive mental health. Apart from this a positive mental health have the character and ability to understand and empathize with others and show kindness and concern. A positive mental health will also help in balancing the demand of work personal life and leisure time to prevent excessive stress. So this is the reason why I said mental health is everything. So on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day many articles related to mental health appeared in the newspaper. So in this news article discussion let us understand the determinants of mental health and the steps taken by the government to prevent mental health. See learning these concepts will enhance your understanding of ethical concepts and emotional intelligence. So now let's start with the determinants of mental health. Remember multiple individual, social and structural determinants combine to protect or undermine our mental health. For example, individual psychological and biological factors like emotional skill, subject use and genetics can make people more vulnerable to mental health problems. Secondly, exposure to unfavorable social, economical, geopolitical and environmental circumstances. This includes poverty, violence, inequality and environmental deprivation. All these increases people's risk of experiencing mental health conditions. Thirdly, risk can manifest themselves at all stages of life, but those that occur during developmentally sensitive periods, especially early childhood or particularly detrimental. For example, harsh parenting and physical punishments is known to undermine child health and bullying is a leading risk factor for mental health conditions. Finally, an individual's social and emotional skills and attributes as well as positive social interactions, quality education, decent work, safe neighborhood and community cohesion, all these can enhance mental health of an individual. So these are all some of the determinants of the mental health. Now let's move on to the initiatives of the Indian government to ensure the mental health of the people is taken care. Firstly, the National Mental Health Program has been launched by the Indian government to address the huge burden of mental disorder and shortage of qualified professionals in the field of mental health. The program was re-strategized in 2003 to include two schemes, that is modernization of state mental hospitals and upgradation of psychiatric wings of medical colleges or general hospitals. Secondly, District Mental Health Program DMHP of 1996 was also launched to provide community mental health services at the primary health care level. Thirdly, the Mental Health Care Act 2017 guarantees every affected person access to mental health care and treatment from services run or funded by the government. It has also significantly reduced the scope for the use of Section 309 IPC and made the attempt to commit suicide punishable only as an exception. Apart from this, in 2020, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched a 24 by 7 toll free helpline, Kiran, to provide support to people facing anxiety, stress, depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health concerns. There is also an initiative called Mano Darpan Initiative. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education aimed to provide psychological support to students, family members and teachers for their mental health and well-being during the times of COVID-19 pandemic. That is also a mobile app called MANAS, M-A-N-A-S. In 2021, the government of India launched the MANAS. The expansion of the mobile app is Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System. This app promotes mental well-being across age groups. MANAS was endorsed as a national program by the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council as well. So these are all some of the important points that I have to remember about mental health. This year in UPSSGS paper one, there was a question related to suicidal deaths among Indian youth. So in future also, there might be questions related to mental health. So that is why we chose this article to be discussed today. Okay. So these learnt points and all that is moved on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this article. Recently IMF has raised India's GDP forecast for the current financial year by 20 basis points to 6.3 percentage. See IMF has done this mainly due to the strong conception pattern during April to June quarters. This is the crux of the article given here. In this context, let us quickly go through some of the important facts about IMF. See the International Monetary Fund or IMF works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 190 member countries. It does so by supporting economic policies that promote financial stability and monetary cooperation. It was established in 1944 and now the IMF is governed by and accountable to those 190 countries that make up its near global membership. Then when we take the institutional setup of IMF, see it has a board of governors. It consists of one governor and one alternative governor for each member countries. Each member country appoints its two governors and the board of governors is advised by two ministerial committee, the International Monetary and Financial Committee, IMFC and the Development Committee. So what does the IMF actually do? See IMF has three critical missions. First one is furthering international monetary cooperation. Second is encouraging the expansion of trade and economic growth and third is discouraging policies that would harm prosperity. So to fulfill these missions, IMF member countries work collaboratively with each other and with other international bodies. So how does IMF work? See firstly the IMF gives policy advice. Here the IMF monitors economic and financial developments and advises countries. Secondly the IMF provide financial assistance that is loan and other financial assistance to member countries especially for countries experiencing actual or potential balance of payments problems. Thirdly the IMF provides for capacity development that is by providing technical assistance and training to help governments to implement sound economic policies. Apart from this as part of its World Economic and Financial Surveys, the IMF publishes flagship reports on multilateral surveillance twice a year. They include World Economic Outload, WEO, Global Financial Stability Report, GFSR and Financial Monitor FM. Now let's quickly see about specific information regarding IMF and India. See India is a founding member of the IMF. IMF has provided several loans to India at many critical situations and after the creation of the special drawing rights which was created in the year 1969, the assistance that India can obtain from IMF has been increased. Here special drawing rights or SDR is nothing but an international reserve asset created to supplement its member countries official reserves. Okay the value of SDR is based on a basket of five currencies. The five currencies include US dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen and the British pound sterling. Remember India has occupied a special place in the board of directors of the fund. So India had played a credible role in determining the policies of the fund. This has also increased the prestige of India in the international circles. So these are all some of the important facts that you have to remember about IMF. So these learned points and now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this article. This article talks about Claudia Gordon. She is a Harvard University professor who has won the Nobel economic prize for her research that helps explain why women have disadvantageous outcomes in terms of occupation and wages even when they are just as qualified as men. Her research expose that the labour market are not gender neutral and not working efficiently to choose the best person for the job. Remember Professor Claudia Gordon is only the third woman to have won the prize for economics and the first to do it solo. So in this news article discussion let us understand some of the findings of her research. See initially Gordon tracked US data for over more than three decades. Her focus was on the big picture questions of how women's labour force participation LFP and gender wage gaps have evolved historically. While tracking it she found a U shaped relationship between economic development and women's LFP instead of an upward trend. In other words she exhibited that the economic growth in various periods did not result in a reduction in gender inequalities in the labour market. She found that countries at low levels of economic development have relatively higher levels of female LFP as women are engaged in agriculture that do us unpaid workers on family forms. As income increases due to industrialization and introduction of new technologies women withdraw from paid work and went back into the home. This was mainly because industrialization had made it harder for married women to work from home since they would not be able to balance the demands of their family. Even though Gordon's research held that unmarried women were employed in manufacturing during the industrial era the overall female force in the labour market declined. Remember this does not mean that their working hours varied. Even though they left their jobs women had to work for longer hours so only their labour force participation declined but not their working hours. So as countries developed and women's education rises further women moved back into paid work. Again social stigma, legislation and other institutional barriers limited their influence. Now another pivotal factor was the introduction of birth control pills. This created conditions for women to plan their careers better. Now even if the pills influenced educational and career choices this did not translate to the disappearance of the earnings gap between men and women. So what is the factor that led to this menace? See the only factor playing here is occupational segregation where women work in stereotypically female jobs that are lower paying. Let me explain this. According to Gordon gender wage gaps at entry level are not significant. But going up the occupational ladder she highlights the phenomenon of greedy jobs which have massive wage premiums but in turn require long working hours, networking late night meetings and travel. So in a family of two working parents with kids only one parent would be able to afford to work this way. The other would be on the mummy track that is continuing in less demanding jobs which would allow them to take care of kids school, homework, sports, music lessons and doctor visits. Here the issue is the mummy track parent does not literally have to be the mother but most often the mother is in the mummy track. So this creates a large pay gap between men and women because the men is in the greedy job and the woman is on mummy track. So according to Gordon several factors have historically influenced and still influencing the supply and demand for female labour. These includes opportunities for combining paid work and a family, decisions and expectations related to pursuing education and raising children, then technical innovation, laws and norms and the structural transformation in an economy. She also highlights the issue in this unequal paradigm here both men and women they lose. While men are able to have a family and step up because women step back in terms of their jobs but both are deprived. While men forgo time with their family and women often forgo their career. So through this research, Gordon made it clear that the labour market work very differently for men and women and the solution here lies in the future where women have a career as well as a spouse who wants what they want. For example, men sometimes can be the mummy track parent and support the female counterpart to achieve her dream. This could turn the U trend upward. Now let's quickly see how the findings of Claudia Gordon are applicable to India. See India's female labour force participation has fallen over the past two decades as the jobs moved from form to construction, manufacturing and services. The state of working India report by Asim Premji University shows a U shaped pattern for urban married working women in India too. Women's chance of going out to work falls as their husbands pay rises but increases again as the figure crosses 40,000 rupees per month. The gender pay gap is also very huge with women earning just 76% of what men does. So in this context, India should focus on higher education investments. And since family life is shaping the wage gaps, raising the age of marriage could also be a solution. So these are all some of the very important points that you have to remember about the findings of Claudia Gordon. You can use it as a case study or an example in your main sensor or you can use it in your essay as well. Okay, so with this we shall wind up and we'll be meeting on another session. If you like the video, don't forget to like, subscribe and share it with your friends. So thank you so much for listening.


presented by Dupont, the story of Walter Reed, the fight against Yellow Fever, starring in the role of Walter Reed, the distinguished radio actor John McIntyre. Makers of Better Things for Better Living through Chemistry present the cavalcade of America dedicated to those men and women in every walk of life who have shaped the destiny of America in the past and to the youth of today who will shape the destiny of America in the future. Havana, the year 1900, focal point of a scourge that had spread its tentacles westward around the gulf to New Orleans and on through Texas to Veracruz, northward from Florida to the Chesapeake and south and east as far as a gul could fly over the islands to the southern continent. Its name was Yellow Fever and no man knew how it had come there or how it would pass away but one fact was certain. In Havana it made a permanent home. Through the narrow old world streets, through the low-lying misted jungle, through the warm uplands outside Camaros and the salt marshes streaking the shore, its deadly pace was the same and it struck where it would, the young and the old, the healthy and the infern and men and women crouched like bundles of rags in corners of a great city, half savage in fear and an illness awaiting with certain and hideous death that stocked in the night without reason or pity, Yellow Fever. One night in the fall of 1900, lights blazed outside Camaros in one building of the darkened American Army barracks, the Camp Hospital. In the bunkhouse below, all was quiet. The men were sleeping. What's the act? Hey. Oh, Skeet has been following me all night. Hey, there he is. He's after you now. Get him. Will you guys be quiet? Yeah, what's the idea of keeping us awake? Oh, he wasn't asleep anyway. Who says I wasn't? Well, keep quiet, that's all I'm asking. Yeah, quiet. Who do you guys think you are? Well, I'm the guy that's gonna ram your bridgework down your throat in one minute flat.  If I'm out of that pocket, put him up. Oh, did you think I wouldn't?  I'll take care of you later. Well, start something. Go ahead, start something. Go on, Rolf, let him have it. Not so fast. Yeah, there's more we didn't come from. Now, get up and take it. But somebody had enough. Oh, it's all the racket about. Well, sir, the mosquitoes was farther than a couple of us. Mosquitoes.  I know you've awakened the fever patients up in the hospital. Mosquito is not much excuse for that, is it? Is it? No, sir. Now, who started this? Well, I guess I did, sir. Very well. Private Emmett, you will report first thing in the morning for extra duty. Yes, sir. As you were, man. Sergeant. Yes, sir. What's the matter with this man? I caught a chill, sir. I didn't feel so good after a mess. Sergeant, get that man, carry his car to the hospital right away. Yes, sir. Hey, Smith. Yeah.  All right. Well, there's another one down with it. Yeah, he was fine yesterday, all day. Pretty soon, there won't be enough left to get up a game of polka. Oh, I'm getting some sleep. Hey, Darcy Glim, will you? Yeah. Yeah. Dr. Gorgas, Dr. Reed is outside. Shall I show him in? Yes, yes. Show him in at once. This way, doctor. Come in, doctor. I came straight from the boat, Dr. Gorgas. Well, it's good to see you, Reed. And I want to tell you I'm mighty glad Washington finally appointed a commission to help us out. Well, I think we've got the right man, doctor. Mazziere, Nagrimonti, and Carroll. I, uh, things are pretty bad, I take it. Yes, Dr. Reed, they are. How do you account for the spread of the epidemic? I wish to heaven I could account for it. Look at these stacks of files, new cases reported just today. Soon as we finish cleaning up a neighborhood, it strikes again. Now there's trouble with the natives. They think our sanitary squads are causing the epidemic. These reports don't seem to indicate the sanitary measures are helping much. We do what we can. But it's a big problem, especially in the slum areas. Now, you will have to see for yourself. Yes, I know. But aren't the better section suffering even worse? How do you account for that? Many of the natives have survived yellow fever and are immune. The better section you refer to is largely American and foreign population. Of course, there are other possible explanations. There's the theory of immune carriers like typhoid carriers. And there's old Dr. Finley's mosquito theory. Yes, I was interested in that. Well, you'd better put it out of your mind. It's nothing but a very clever exercise and inductive logic. He hasn't one shred of scientific proof. Neither had Pasteur at the beginning. Well, I can assure you Finley is no Pasteur. You'll get nowhere following impractical theories, Dr. Reed. You may be right, Dr. Gorgas, but sometimes we have to take chances. Perhaps it may be necessary to experiment with human beings. Oh, no, no. That mistake has been made before. They tried it with vaccine in India and Africa. Look what happened there. Naturally, the vaccine was obviously wrong. It seems to me that points definitely to infection via the bloodstream. Well, Finley argues that in favor of his mosquito theory. But it's a shot in the dark. We're all shooting in the dark, doctor. Have you noticed that farther north, say, in Philadelphia, yellow fever epidemics invariably end with freezing weather? All right. But couldn't that still mean that other insects, not only mosquitoes, could carry yellow fever too? No, Dr. Reed, I'm afraid we'd better stick to methods we know. Fumigate, burn the clothing. Enforce the strictest methods of wholesale sanitation. There's no reason why that work can't be continued, Dr. Gorgas. Yes, but I can't do it alone. Dr. LaSaire has already deserted me for laboratory work. And we have no time for that. This is an emergency. Yes, you're right, doctor. This is an emergency. So there's no better time for laboratory work. Good day, sir. My name is Walter Reed, Dr. Finley. I just arrived from the state's Yellow Fever Commission. Oh, welcome to my house, Dr. Reed. Come in. Come in. Thank you. This is my laboratory through here, Dr. Reed. Oh, yes. I'm interested in your mosquito theory of yellow fever, Dr. Finley. Alas, that is incomplete. There is little I can show you. Here. Here's my best specimen at present. A female stegomaya. Hmm. Infectious? Badly. What do you propose to do with this mosquito, Dr. Finley? I do not know. For years, I have studied the habits of stegomaya mosquito. It is now necessary only to prove that the bite of this mosquito is the only cause of yellow fever. Unfortunately, I do not know where to go from here. The next step would be to let the mosquitoes sting me. But I have had yellow fever and I am immune. So it is still theory. People only laugh at it. I don't laugh at it, Dr. Finley. Oh, then perhaps, perhaps you are the man I have been waiting for, Dr. Reed. I may be. I don't know. You are not yet convinced. But you will be. I am certain of it. I, Dr. Reed, I am old. Too discouraged for the bold and courageous action that must be taken. I am going to give you this, Dr. Reed. It is my legacy to you. I, I hardly know what to say, Dr. Finley. Don't say anything. It is a curious gift. Mosquito eggs. You, Dr. Reed, you must carry on. Go many steps further than I have been able to. And perhaps someday, there will be people who will not laugh, but will hear you and listen. Goodbye, my friend. Thank you, Dr. Finley. Goodbye. I'll try to get some rest. Oh, I can't stand it. Nurse. Yes. Yes. What is it? Cleveland. Goodbye, Dolly. Hey, Major. Guard duty, sir. Oh, yes. Here, here, let me fix your pillow. Let's try to get some rest now. Oh. Sure, I must wake up the barracks.  No. Doctor. Yes, nurse. You better look at this patient. Delirious. All morning. He's falling into a coma. Let's see the chart. Yes, doctor. Is this Private Emmett's bed nurse? Yes, Dr. Reed. Good morning, Dr. Reed. Morning. Just looking at this fellow's chart. Curious case, Dr. Gorgas. I've just been down to headquarters checking up on this man. Usual symptoms. Pretty routine case, Dr. Not quite routine, Dr. Gorgas. This soldier comes from the barracks. He got in a fight over there one night and was court-martialed and sentenced to guard duty. He hasn't been near contamination at all since he was under strict discipline and hadn't been near the hospital or any of the infected areas for over three weeks. That's curious. In fact, I'm convinced. It's quite obvious that he couldn't possibly have caught yellow fever by contagion. Dr. Gorgas. Oh, Dr. Gorgas. Yes, Dr. Joseon. Front office reports a serious shortage of bedding. We can't go on burning to use linen. We'll have to sterilize it. No, we'll get some more somewhere. We can't take any more chances. But the procedure hasn't shown any results. We can't take any chances. Very well, Dr. Dr. Lazare. Yes, Dr. Reed. Do you agree with Dr. Gorgas that direct contagion is spreading this epidemic? Well, frankly, I don't. What does Carol think? He agrees with me. Then there are three of us. Dr. Lazare, I'm going to ask a favor of you. Go and fetch Carol and meet me at my laboratory in half an hour. Gentlemen, I believe you're familiar with Dr. Finley's theory that the bite of the female stegomia mosquito is the means and the only means of transmitting yellow fever. Yes, Dr. I confess I was skeptical myself at first. Now, I think there's something to it. So do I. And I, Dr. Reed. But what have we got to do now is to prove it. Gentlemen, I have here three test tubes containing stegomia mosquitoes. They were hatched from eggs Dr. Finley gave me and have bitten yellow fever patients. I propose that we allow ourselves to be bitten by them. Dr. Reed. Yes, Dr. Lazare. I don't think you should take part in this experiment. Why not? Because you have to go to Washington to make your report. And on that report may hinge the government's further aid in helping us down here. We're going to need that badly, Dr. Reed. Well, there's right. The two of us can do it. Record the findings and check on each other while you're away. No. No, I want to be in on this too. Perhaps we'd better postpone it. Dr. Reed, we might as well be realistic about this. You know there's no time to lose in fighting this yellow fever. You leave it to Carol and myself and when you come back we'll have saved time. And in the end that means lives. Lives. It's the best way, Dr. Reed. We're all concerned. Very well, gentlemen. I'm leaving tonight. You'll receive written instructions in the morning. Goodbye and good luck. All right, Lazare. No use delaying, is there? No. Ready? Inside of the wrist. Wasn't much to that. Now it's my turn. All right, Carol, go ahead. Are you ready? I'm ready. Tell me what happened, Carol. Well, I hardly know how to tell you. So much has happened while you were gone. Well, suppose you start at the beginning. You both followed out the instructions. To the latter. Then we waited. Bazaar showed no effects. On the second day I developed symptoms. Respirations increased slightly. Pulse was faster, temperature 102, nausea, and all the rest. I was pretty sick, but in 13 days I recovered completely. And, Lazare? No symptoms whatsoever. Respiration, pulse, temperature, normal. Nothing happened as a result of his bite. There must be a period of time when that stegomaya mosquito was not infectious. Now we've got to find out when it is. But go on about, Lazare. Well, five days after I recovered, he developed yellow fever. A week later, as you know, he was dead. That delay is what makes it baffling. You'll see it again later. Well, he was, Reed, accidentally. He recalled later that it was a stegomaya. Now we're sure of the type. Yes, you're right, Carol. But there ought to be a way we can experiment on a large scale and control it from beginning to end. An experiment that would take days. An experiment using not one, but a number of volunteers. Now, wait, Reed. You're asking to experiment with human lives. Lazare's dead already. Where could we get the venture? He's dead. But his death was far from useless. For he's put us on the right track, Carol. If we only follow it up, I'll see General Wood. If I can get his permission, I'll ask for volunteers. Because we can't stop now. We must go on. As commanding officer of the United States Expeditionary Force in Cuba, I hereby authorize Major Walter Reed to call for volunteers for the practice of any medical experiment and the construction of a quarantine camp under his command to be known as Camp Lazare, Leonard Wood General. Men, 17 of you here have volunteered blindly for something that may be more than any human being should be asked to do. Major Reed, we don't know what your plans are, but I think all of us want to clear this thing up as much as you do. Sure, Major. There's only one way to do that. Double quick. Thank you, ma'am. But you're entitled to know what you're up against so that you may withdraw if you wish. Now, no man can say with any certainty that this experiment will succeed. But you and I know that horror and death have descended upon us and were helpless, absolutely helpless. A mile-and-a-half outside of Camados, outside the radius of the infection, we've constructed a building at Camp Lazare. The building is divided in half with mosquito netting. In half of it, one group of you will live for some days a normal existence, but under the strictest quarantine. In the other half, the rest of you will submit to the bites by infected mosquitoes. You know what that means. Well, Major, I guess we're all ready to go through with it. Men, if the work at Camp Lazare sheds one ray of light into the darkness of this plague that surrounds us, you will have the gratitude of the whole human race. Needless to say, whatever the outcome, your government will reward you in a more practical way. I've seen to that. Major Eden, we want you to understand one thing. What's that? We're not doing this for money. Gentlemen, I salute you. Camp Lazare, a collection of supply tents and makeshift frame buildings on a dry windswept knoll above Kamados, looking more like a construction camp for a road gang than an experimental laboratory. But within the unpainted board walls of one structure, human life and deadly plague dwell side by side, companions separated by a flimsy net, one group sharing the same roof, breathing the same air, and with those on one side asleep or awake, dreading the fever of those on the other. At the end of ten watchful days, it was a pale and haggard water reed who entered the shack to check again the results of his experiment. Hello, boys. Hello, Doc. You know how to go, this? Yes, indeed. Well, how do you feel? We feel fine, Doc. Not so much fun looking through that wire there and seeing what's happened to those other posts. How much longer do you intend to keep this up, Dr. B? Until you agree to believe your own eyes, Dr. Gorgas. Listen, boys, I think we're about finished with this. Don't feel too badly about the boys in there. First of all, I think they'll recover. And when they do, they're all in line for decoration or heroism in line of duty. I wish you'd go in and tell them that, Doc. It'll make them feel better, I think. I'm going to, right now. Dr. Gorgas, I'll wait here for you, Doc. Thank you, Doc. There's a chart, Dr. B. Thank you, nurse. Hmm. Fisher shows improvement. Which one is he? Over there, Dr. He's feeling pretty home sick. Maybe you could cheer him up. Hello, soldier. Hi, Doc. What's up? The experiment was successful, son. How do you feel today? Better, I think. I'm glad you figured it all out, Doc.   No, you can't fight the fever. Very good, Doc. We won't have to fight you over fever anymore. You've licked it. And what you've done is far, far braver than soldiers who fight on the field of battle. And that's the kind of honor you're going to have when you get well, all of it. I... I've got a sweetheart in Atlanta, Doc. She'd be right proud to hear that if somebody had write her a letter for me. Nurse, do you think you could find time for that letter? Indeed I will, Doctor. And when you get well, you'll have a good long leave for your honeymoon. Thanks, Doc. You're... You're all right. So long, boy. So long, Doc. Charts all show improvement, Doctor Gorgas. Well, that's some satisfaction, but... What if you do lose some of these men? They'll know it was worth it. We've licked yellow fever. We know what causes it. A mosquito. A mosquito, yes. But you still haven't proved that contamination doesn't cause the disease, too. And I'll do that, too. Well, how may I ask?   None of them will come down with yellow fever. The dreadful responsibility you're taking, Reed. You're risking your entire future in the army, in medicine, even as a free citizen of the United States. I'm not risking anything. You'll see, I'm right. If one of those men does die from yellow fever in that shack, I'll resign my post. And you may indict me for manslaughter. Fellas, it's New Year's. Happy New Year to you, Doc.  This is the beginning of the 20th century. The 20th century? Gosh! And you mean we're really getting out of here for good? Of course. Don't you want to come out? Boy, of course! There's one thing before you go down to celebrate, boys. Doctor Gorgas wants to look you over. Well, Reed, it won't be necessary. You've proved your case. Well, thanks, boys. And congratulations. Your courage is something the world will never forget. Well, see you later, Doc. Happy New Year. Come on, boys. Well, Doctor Reed, I give you my New Year resolution. To destroy every yellow Jack mosquito in Cuba. May the first decades of this new century see yellow fever wiped off the face of the earth. Doctor Gorgas, the work you'll do here will be remembered in history. It was you who showed the way, Reed. You had the courage to take heroic risks. I wonder if any of us, even Lezare, who gave his life, or those boys who would have given theirs would claim credit for what's happened here. I like to think there's a force greater than any of us. Call it what you like. The inspiration, awareness, or the principle of human knowledge. And the most we, as men of science, can hope to do is to keep the torch aflame and hand it intact to those who will be young when we are old. A mysterious enemy came by night and brought death from the unknown. But science sought out that enemy and found it in a tiny, buzzing creature. Man's knowledge won. And in this triumph of man's intellect, it is Walter Reed who stands as a leader in the Cavalcade of America. And now our story from the Wonder World of Chemistry. Tonight is the last program in our fifth series of Cavalcade of America broadcasts. We hope to return again on the fall with a new series and with new stories for you from the Wonder World of Chemistry. For DuPont laboratories never cease in their efforts to make old products better and to create more new products for everyday needs. In the chemist's mind, nothing is ever finished, nothing is ever perfect. Research work will continue on even as new product as nylon in an effort to find additional ways to make further use of this newest triumph of science. Research work continues on neoprene, seeking ways to make this man-made rubber even lower in price. And refrigerants, such as freon, plastics, such as lusite, will likewise continue to receive the chemist's increasing study. One new product from DuPont laboratories until next fall is a new non-evaporating antifreeze. This new product, perfected by DuPont's forward-looking research, will be named Xerox. Even now it is being manufactured and shipped for use in freezing weather. It isn't optimism that is keeping men and scientists at work making Xerox now, but a sure realization that it will be needed in the coming fall and winter. With similar forward thinking, our laboratories are likewise working on new paints and finishes, lower cost fertilizers, better dye stuff. For the needs that justify the research that brought these products to their present state of development, will continue to justify the research that will make them better and better. And eventually, there's the hope of every research scientist that his way of solving problems may become the common heritage of all people. And it may be that in the final analysis, the greatest gifts of science are not only the material products, but the adoption by mankind of the scientist's way of life, his common reasoning approach to the problems which inevitably surround. And now the Cavalcade of America's historian, Dr. Frank Monaghan of Yale University. The Cavalcade of America is the greatest epic march in the history of the world. The upward surge of millions of men and women in search of freedom, opportunity, and human happiness. Millions have come to these shores of a new world to find the precious things denied them in the old. Their successful quest and their defense of life, liberty, and happiness is the dynamic motif of a great chronicle. And today America stands as a nation of greatest achievement in education, science, industry, and general well-being. The high courage, the intelligence, the goodwill, the deep faith of millions of men and women, obscure and great, have made this nation what it is. Cavalcade has presented dramatic episodes of history, their struggles, and their victories. History has made us great and so we shall remain if we keep faith with that glorious tradition. It is history, said Robert E. Lee that teaches us to hope. When visiting the world fair this summer by all means stopping at the DuPont exhibit where some hint of what is to come is given by demonstrations of what chemistry has accomplished in the past. There a friendly staff will be especially happy to welcome you as a Cavalcade listener and answer any questions you may have about products referred to on these broadcasts. And so with confidence in what the future can hold for us we say goodbye and good luck until fall. Meanwhile we will continue our unceasing program of making better things for better living through chemistry. This is the National Broadcasting Company. Thank you.


And this is how I start the new day. I just finished up the last video from yesterday And now I'm on my way to the gym again today. Like I said yesterday, it's gonna be a back day and Leg day, so it's basically it's a bag day because you'll be begging for the gains Got a couple things in the mail today one of which is this baby over there in at the corner Here right there. I'm super excited about it. I have to try it within the next couple days Right now. It's just loading. I want to do more research and then I'll do a video about it But first before I go to the gym this needs to go you guys see it. Yeah, it has to go right now Perfect I think I'm good Oh I'm 25 again That looks so young As I was saying today is gonna be a hybrid. I'm gonna do back and legs at the same time The benefit of that is that you have big muscle groups a lot of energy will be burned His workout was pretty intense although it looks like it's you know nothing because it's four exercises of five sets five sets each But it's deadlifts and deadlifts is a compound movement Which means multiple muscle groups need to work together to actually, you know do the entire movement So it costs a lot of energy and I felt that today because I didn't eat enough and that's another point I will talk about that probably tomorrow.  I'm just gonna work with my EMS from compacts. I just arrived today So I want to test it out and yeah as soon as I know more about it as soon as I get more information and just you know I really want to test it out before I talk about it because you can read a lot about products But you have to try them otherwise you will never know so this is what I'm going to do today or tonight I'm gonna spend some hours just testing it reading into it Um and then within the next couple days I don't want to promise anything but within the next couple days I will definitely make a video about it and let you guys know what I think So yeah, that's it for today


This paper examines the phenomenon of T cell exhaustion, Tx, in ovarian cancer patients. It uses single cell RNA sequencing to identify genetic markers associated with Tx, as well as to explore differences in clinical outcomes between patients with different levels of Tx. The authors find that patients with lower levels of Tx have better survival rates, higher tumor mutational loads, and more immune cell infiltration than those with higher levels of Tx. Additionally, they show that certain genes related to Tx are differentially expressed in patients with different levels of Tx. This research provides important insights into how Tx affects ovarian cancer patients and could help inform future treatments. This article was authored by Kamyayuan, Songyun Zhao, Bichinyi, and others.


ITU members connect the world with 193 member states and more than 700 members from regulators, universities, research and development institutions, international and regional organizations and leading companies from the telecoms, internet, broadcast, satellite, software, IT industries and more. ITU members come from every corner of the globe. The Americas, Africa, Western Europe, and Northern Asia and Asia and Australasia, open, connected, global. This is ITU.


This study examined the impact of sex and age on the development of cardiovascular disease in stroke prone, spontaneously hypertensive rats, SHRSBs. It found that males were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than females and that age was also a factor in the development of cardiovascular disease. Additionally, males showed greater levels of renal and cardiac fibrosis, as well as cellulose in essence when compared to females. This suggests that sex plays a significant role in the development of cardiovascular disease and that age can exacerbate the effects of sex on the development of cardiovascular disease. This article was authored by Anisa Ansari, Sarah L. Walton, and Kate M. Denton.


Ever find yourself with a base or brand color that you need to make a darker or lighter version? Oh, it's so annoying. Except not anymore with CSS relative color syntax. Check out this gooey snippet. To darken any color, and in this case, this indigo hex color, you just need to subtract 25 from the lightness channel. I'm gonna use OKLCH because that lightness channel is very reliable for tasks like lightning and darkening. And look, all I do is perform a calc on the L channel and I get this nice, richer dark color. Well, if I wanna lighten it, I'm just gonna add 25. And that's it. As it becomes really handy is if you go to change these colors, like if I change indigo to a different color, look at these really nice, lighter, and darker versions I get and all these different hues. So cool. Love this syntax. See you on the next gooey snippet.


with fear as I saw the man pause on the other side of the street. Look both ways, then calmly began crossing toward me. Every move he made was precise and deliberate. I knew that when he got to me something horrible was going to happen, and it was only with great effort that I managed to maintain my composure. Just then another man walked up to me from the other direction. He was in his late 20s or early 30s, wearing jeans, sneakers, a baseball cap, and a hooded sweatshirt from a local university. He touched me on the shoulder and I immediately felt calmer. He said, Don't worry, you're all right. We have everything under control. I glanced back at the man in the suit and he paused in the middle of the street. It's amazing that he wasn't run over. The sweatshirt man turned away from me to face the man in the suit. It was clear to me that this was a showdown. After a moment the man in the suit sneered at us in frustration, it seemed, and then turned around and walked away. The sweatshirt man turned back to me with a reassuring smile, had in my shoulder, and walked on. Were the Black-eyed kids hunted by another group of sinister beings with white eyes? That's what we were talking about there just a couple of minutes ago in all the comments. So who are the W.E.K., the White-eyed kids? What are they? How do they relate to the B.E.K.? There are now several stories on the internet about White-eyed kids and people. Is this simply a twist in an old and tested formula, in addition to the urban myth, or are these W.E.P. somehow related to the B.E.K.? One answer postulated by some observers is that the eye color may be an indication of demonic rank. Black eyes are said to indicate the worker or common demons, while white eyes signify a sort of superior demon or boss demon, if you will. What do you mention in the comments? Certainly, the W.E.K. seem much more powerful than the B.E.K., though sharing all the same features except the white eyes. Some of the reports of White-eyed kids that I have read in my research seem to suggest that the W.E.K. are more adept at mind control and exhibit other phenomena like levitation, for example. In some of my experiences with W.E.K., the kids had superhuman strength despite being small and innocent looking. These children mostly have white or blonde hair and are usually around 9 to 16 years of age. Most of the reports apparently originate in rural areas and noticeably from around Native American sites. No one knows much about the W.E.K., though, and we'll need to watch and see how the story unfolds. The Black-eyed people encounter stories have been called a modern urban legend, yet I continue to find evidence to suggest that Black-eyed people have been with us for millennia in various guises of humanity's boogeymen. These people largely exist in the shadows of our subconscious, and yet from time to time they emerge in daylight. Is it our fear of the unknown, the darkness that exists on the edge of sleep or death populated by monsters and demons that haunt us so? Here's another submitted experience sent in to us that suggests that this might well be so. This took place several years ago when I was staying with a friend of mine and her family in Maine. Her parents had a summer place out there and would go with them quite often. We were in my friend's bedroom when I saw something walk past the window. This was a second floor bedroom, so I was quite shocked to see something go past a window so high up. I didn't get much of a look at it, but I know it was completely white, pale even. After that I tried to tell myself I hadn't seen anything. My friend didn't seem to be bothered by it, so we both spent the afternoon reading and talking together. The next day we were outside and I'd forgotten about the bedroom incident. We were in the garden when I felt quite strange, sick to my stomach. I wanted to go inside straight away. My friend wanted to stay outside, but she gave in and we went back to her bedroom. I was looking out the window when I saw him.  He waved at me and I saw his eyes. They were completely black. After the wave he lifted the hat off his head and beckoned me to come to him. I stood completely still and did nothing. He stood there for a few seconds and then just faded away, still smiling. I didn't see him again, but I knew he was bad news. The way he waved at me was creepy. A few years later I asked my friend about that incident and she didn't seem to remember anything about it. She said that she had never seen any such man in that area. Their neighbors were all families. There were a few older people in the area. I had no idea who he was or what he wanted. Submitted by Louise Stillman, Florida. This is truly the stuff of nightmares.  So what did Louise see? What did the man want? And why did he have black eyes? Commonly nightmares are more terrifying because they happen in broad daylight with people all around. And yet no one else seems to notice. The object of the nightmare is seen only by us and everyone else carries on oblivious to our increasing sense of horror, like in this account. A few weeks ago I was walking down the street to get my car out of the garage when I noticed a homeless man sitting on a bench-like thing outside the garage. I'd never seen him before as he wasn't a regular on that block. There are a few homeless people in my area, so he was very noticeable. As I passed by he looked up at me and caught my eye. Please spare some change. Anything you can spare will help me, he said. I was thinking about offering him some change, but then realized that all I had was some change buried in my handbag somewhere. I kept walking, pretending not to hear the man. I felt a pang of remorse as I passed him, but continued. He continued to beg, and then I sauntered away from him, and he said, Please spare some change. Please, Makayla. I turned around as most people would, hearing their name called, and I was met with this homeless man's strange, sinister stare. I was shocked that the man knew my name, being that I was not wearing anything that would identify me and that I'd never met him before.  When I looked back at him, I saw that his eyes were black, bottomless, almost hypnotic.  His stare was truly frightening. It was evil, but it was powerful, and I felt as though I had hands running up and down my back. I truly felt that he was not a person. He was a creature and didn't do everything about me. He continued to stare at me, and he stopped begging as other people passed by. I was so unbelievably frightened and speechless. I have no idea what it was or who it was and why it called my name. I've never seen that man again on the street that I don't ever want to. It's broad daylight and seemingly just an innocent encounter with a homeless person. However, the experience takes on this different order of menace altogether. What her name is used by this total stranger who has pitch black eyes is a nightmarish experience. Also, notice the fear and sense of evil when the black eyes are revealed. This powerful and irrational fear is a key component of all black-eyed people encounters.  This happened on October 19, 2006, at around one PM or so. I usually parked my car at a park for my lunch as a lot of people did that day. I parked on a side of the park where there were no cars near me, only a truck facing my car from the opposite side. I had an uneasy feeling about the truck and had to move the car to another spot. As I sat in my car eating lunch, a man walks past my car toward the pond path and then he appears to be in the front of my car hood.  It seemed as if he could read my mind as he turned to glare at me with a sinister look. His eyes were all black. I thought I was seeing things. I had to go to work then. On the way back, a utility truck backed into my car and I was wrecked. I never went back to that area again, submitted by Patty. Notice how the encounter is linked with bad luck just moments after she has an accident and her car is wrecked. The nine-marriage quality that goes with encounters with these black-eyed kids magnifies when it involves the black-eyed kids instead of the black-eyed people. These pale-faced black-eyed kids are often described as robotic, motionless, and insistent. They always want to be let in. This next encounter is a good example and has a lot of aspects typical of a B.E.K. encounter more than just a modern legend. There is just a problem. The story takes place long before the modern urban legend took off. I was around 12 when this incident took place. I didn't know anything about black-eyed kids until a few years ago when I started reading reports on the internet about these strange people. My story is a little different to those other encounters. I was sitting in my mom's car waiting for her to return. She was inside Walmart and I had elected to wait in the car with my book. A young boy had walked past the car a few times and I hadn't really taken that much notice of him. The fourth or fifth time that the boy went past, I think he noticed me as he came over to the car and stared at me. I tried to ignore him and read my book, but he started whispering, Let me in. I knew the front doors were locked and I quickly checked the doors at the back. My side was unlocked, but the side the boy was on was locked. I locked my side. The boy kept pleading to be left in. He then went quiet and stared at me for a few minutes before walking away. I want to talk about the eyes.  There was no other color to be seen, just pure blackness. He didn't blink. He didn't win or show any emotion. His face was stony white. When he spoke, I seemed to hear the words in my head more than through my ears. When he tapped on the window, it was slow and methodical. He did not seem to be in any danger or need my help. He was not panicking. He was almost like he was a robot under the control of someone or something else. The weirdest thing about this encounter was that my mother returned to the car a few minutes later and complained that some woman had approached her and had asked her for the keys to her car. She said my mother had blocked her in and this woman wanted to move her car. My mom knew she hadn't. The strange woman then became quite insistent and my mother was forced to ask a security guard to help her. To my knowledge, our incidents had taken place at the same time. She also told me that the woman's eyes were strange, not completely black but almost submitted by Yanni Imbrugian. So were these two incidents related? I think so. But how did the two seemingly unconnected people manage to communicate so effectively over such a distance? Keep in mind this happened in the 1970s before the micro technology of today, were they under the control of another person or were they able to communicate telepathically? What's going on in an encounter like this one? The scene seems even more terrifying. It takes place in a parking lot of Walmart surrounded by people and traffic. Strangely enough, a lot of B.E.K. stories seem to take place at Walmart. It's as if they walk among us, beside us, waiting for their moment to approach us and for our own personal nightmare to begin. That moment can occur at any time, any context. Imagine setting off for a routine showing of real estate only to find that today was your turn to meet them. Of course, most B.E.K. stories take place at night or more accurately in the early hours when small children should be at home and in bed sleeping. Things take on an even more sinister and frightening aspect after dark when no one's around and we're alone in near silence. The typical B.E.K. story is the one in which a quiet knock disturbs the peace of the night. A young child or children are on the doorsteps and their very presence causes an unexplained fear. They ask to come in, to enter. They look vulnerable and alone and it's difficult to handle the conflict between the need to care for a young child and the rising fear that you're feeling. Until that is, you see the black, soulless eyes staring at you. Then that fear finds its fury as you slam the door and retreat into the safety of your own home. Like in this encounter. I usually go to sleep at night, spending time reading books, watching TV, or listening to music. A few nights ago, after listening to music for a long time, I became sleepy and removed my headphones. I clearly remember checking the time and it was around 3 am. I was simply lying down, trying to sleep and that's when I heard a sound. Concentrating further, I realized that it was a knocking sound and probably made by a little child. As gentle as it was, it seemed to reverberate through the house as though it were coming through a giant speaker. I checked the other rooms in our house and my family was all sound asleep. I also checked the neighborhood for lights and I couldn't find any. I was really confused and went to the dining room from where the sound was loudest. I noticed that the sound was coming from outside. I went to the door and I could see the shape of a small child standing outside on our porch. I felt sick. I opened the door and a small child stood there. I turned on the porch lights and I could see that he was dressed in black. I asked him what he wanted and he just stared at me. He had completely black eyes. I closed the door and the knocking started again. I became really confused this time and went to my room. As soon as I entered my room, the knocking sound stopped abruptly. I decided to let it go and get some sleep. I closed my door and climbed into my bed when I heard a heart knock on my bedroom door.  This thud made the glass rattle and shake. I thought the window was going to break. Somehow, I don't know how. I fell asleep. I have no idea how that happened. I just remember the window shaking and then waking up the following morning. When I woke up in the morning, I tried to dismiss the experiences as my imagination. When I told my dad about this, he asked me to lock my door at night and get to sleep earlier. I thought it was all over, but from that day, I feel a presence with me in my room every night. I never tried to communicate with me or scare me, but I could always feel it with me at night when I am alone in my room. This experience left Sheila with a lasting presence and fear that would not go away. You have to wonder if in fact she did let them in and simply doesn't remember doing so. There is no doubt several forces are at work when the BEK call and despite the fear and the feeling of great danger, the hypnotic effect of the quiet, compelling voice can cause people to do things that perhaps they otherwise would not do. Those who had an encounter with the BEK, they often remark on their strange behavior and language. They do not act as small children might. They use old-fashioned words and language and are often dressed strangely. They may have stepped out of another era or dimension or, as I have said earlier, from the edge of our reality. Their very presence strikes an irrational fear reaction, a terrifying fear of losing one's humanity or indeed one's soul. There is also a hint of the ill effects of the encounter in terms of headaches and so on. However, it is what appears to be an ability to see the future on the part of the BEK that is creepy. I am sure that story is coming up in just a minute. I have debated doing this one, but I think I will. I will go ahead and share this. I shared this for Halloween and people seem to like it. Before we come back and share some of your comments and share that story, I will share this with you. Fox to me, even though she has lycathropy. My werewolf girlfriend and me. Every month she has her womanly change. But instead of getting grumpy, she suffers from the mange. Need to buy her furs. The best in the world is already hers. Her manicures are out of my price range. She's my werewolf girlfriend. He was love at first bite. My werewolf girlfriend. She's only dangerous at night. She's still a fox to me. Even though she has lycathropy girlfriend. Very dangerous when we fight. It's really strange when we kiss good night. To be the leader, I need more hands allergic to silver. So I buy her gold. I know she's healthy when her nose is cold. While love will never fail when she starts to wag her tail. She's my werewolf girlfriend. He was love at first bites. And she's only dangerous at nights. She's still a fox to me. Even though she has lycathropy girlfriend. Welcome back weirdos. Hope you liked that. Okay, let's take a look at some of your comments that have been coming in. Magnus says, wow, an original song about werewolves by Darren Marlar. Thank you. Yeah, actually, I assured that during the Halloween live scream. And people seem to really like it. I did upload that by itself as a separate YouTube video. If you want to find it, just look for werewolf girlfriend by Darren Marlar on YouTube. You can find it if you want to listen to it again or share it with your friends or or whatever. Let's see here. Mark says, huh, so yes, some guy named call would love. I have no idea who call is, but okay. Nicole says, this just became a must in my library. I can't get enough Darren. So I don't know about that. But thank you, Nicole. I appreciate it. I got to figure out how to put that on Spotify. If you got if anybody knows how to do stuff on Spotify, maybe you can tell me how to do that. Let's see here. Say what their other stuff is there. Oh, there's one that werewolf song is the best and funniest song I've heard, even though it's the second time I've heard it. So you were listening then during the Halloween live scream. All right. Summer says, I love your werewolf song, but reminds me of an ex boyfriend who was convinced he was a werewolf. Needless to say, he had stopped taking his meds. You actually dated a guy that thought he was a real werewolf. Wow. I'm glad. I'm glad it says ex boyfriend there. Yeah. Okay, let's see here. I think that's enough for those. You guys are doing a lot of talking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Nicole says that she wants more stories from David Pointer. I fall asleep listening to the 12 rules. Oh, creepypastas. All right. Let me look. I'll see if I can find some David Pointer stuff. All right. I remember, Mark says, I remember my dad telling my sis and I about the white-eyed ghost turns out if the white-eyed ghost didn't let the man in this in the Tory sleep, you would be the ghost with two white eyes. Okay. Whatever. Okay. So I think that's it there. Yes. You can never have enough too much cowbell. All right. Cute. Okay. You guys just keep going back and forth between yourselves. You do that. Okay. All right. Well, I'm just about to wrap things up here, but I do want to share that one last story. And this is not, of course, the last story. There's still a lot more left to go in this book if you only want to hear the entire book in my voice. I did narrate the audio version. There's a link in the video description also in the show notes or just look on Amazon or Audible and you can find it. It's The Chilling True Terror of the Black-Eyed Kids by G. Michael Vasey. Give it a look. It's a great book all the way through.  So we're about to go into one last story about the B.E.K. and this is this one has a little bit of a twist. Well, you'll see why. This took place in Arizona in the mid-1980s. One late evening, I woke up to loud knocks on the front door of my house. My husband was fast asleep and I didn't want to go down and open the door. It wasn't normal for us to have late night visitors. So I did wonder if it was an accident of some type. I looked out that window and I couldn't see anything. It was pitch black outside. I woke my husband and asked him to go down and find out what was happening. He was not very happy, but he got up, put his robe on, and went downstairs. I watched from the landing as he opened the door. Two children were standing there. Both looked young and both looked like they were frozen. I know there was a boy and a girl. My husband asked them if they had been in an accident. They nodded. He asked them if their parents were with them. They shook their heads. Our parents are coming for us, one of them said. My husband was still half asleep and started closing the door. Let us in, one of them said. Let us in. I watched as my husband opened the door and they walked in. It was obviously not in control of his own body. He doesn't take orders, but he did that night. I could see that both children looked like they were eight years old. I went downstairs and asked them if they would like to sit down. We went through to the kitchen and they sat. Our dog went crazy.  He would not stop barking. Looking back now, he knew what those kids were. I tried to make small talk with the kids, but they didn't say anything. My husband said nothing. It was then that he started to complain about stomach pains. He said he felt as though he had been stuck with a sword. I tried to help him. The kids didn't move. I left the room and when I came back, my husband had passed out. The kids couldn't be found. I called 911 and asked for an ambulance. I didn't even think about the kids until the next day. My husband was taken to a hospital and needed to have immediate surgery to remove his appendix. The doctor said he had a rumbling appendix and would have died. I am sure they meant ruptured appendix. A rumbling appendix and would have died if he had ignored it. The thing is, he had never had any issue with his appendix before that night. Who were those kids? Why did they want to hurt us? I know they caused my husband's issues, and I want to know why. Cindy Mankiewicz, Arizona You can find the Weird Darkness podcast. I upload it seven days a week. You can find that at WeirdDarkness.com. If you go there, you will find all the different apps you can listen on. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find all of my social media, listen to free audiobooks that I have narrated, visit the store for Weird Darkness t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, phone cases, and more merchandise. You can sign up for monthly contests, find other podcasts that I host, and find the Hope in the Darkness page if you or somebody you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, you can click on Tell Your Story, which I will then use in a future episode. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. Fireside Frights and Weird Darkness are productions and trademarks of Marlar House Productions. Copyright 2023. Now that we are coming out of the dark, I will leave you with a little light. Isaiah 5 verse 20. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. And a final thought from C.S. Lewis. Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward. I am Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me for Friday Frights in the Weird Darkness.