Sloth Attack; Dead End; Mapping an Ancient Battle; Amazon's Minute of Human Interaction; The Spy Base Theory; Threats to Shoot; Afghan's Going AWOL; and Jailed Disturbing Inner Peace

Society

[OPINION] America’s ‘quiet catastrophe’: Millions of idle men washingtonpost

After 88 consecutive months of the economic expansion that began in June 2009, a smaller percentage of American males in the prime working years (ages 25 to 54) are working than were working near the end of the Great Depression illinois.edu in 1940, when the unemployment rate was above 14 percent. If the labor-force participation rate were as high today as it was as recently as 2000, nearly 10 million more Americans would have jobs.

Death

Humans Won't Ever Live Far Beyond 115 Years theatlantic

For years, people have been saying that the first human who will live to 150 has already been born. That’s unlikely, say Jan Vijg, Xiao Dong, and Brandon Milholland, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine einstein.yu.edu. After looking at demographic data from the last century, they think that human lifespan has a hard ceiling at around 115 years. A few rare individuals like Calment may surpass that limit, if only slightly, but on average, our species will not.

Archeology

Roman bullets tell story of 1,800-year-old attack on Scottish fort foxnews

So many sling bullets and other Roman missiles have now been found at Burnswark Hill roman-britain.co.uk that archaeologists think the raid was staged as a warning to anyone who resisted Roman rule: an act of "exemplary violence" designed to terrorize the Scottish tribes into submission, the researchers said.

Automation

Amazon packages ship with less than :60 in human hands cnn v

Russia

Inside Russian 'spy base' in the Balkans sfgate

Some Western NGOs and military analysts say the Russians have created a thinly disguised military base that is eavesdropping on American military interests in the Balkans. While Serbia is still close to Russia, its neighbors are increasingly distrustful of Moscow's intentions and presence, especially ex-Soviet bloc states like Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, which suffered under iron-fist communist rule for decades after World War II.

War

Russia warns it will shoot down alliance jets over Syria if US launches air strikes against Assad telegraph.co.uk

“I remind US 'strategists' that air cover for the Russian military bases in Tartus and Hmeymim includes S-400 and S-300 anti aircraft missile systems, the range of which may come as a surprise to any unidentified flying objects,” [Major General Igor Konashenkov] added.

Military

Dozens of Afghan troops AWOL from military training in U.S. reuters

Since September alone, eight Afghan troops have left military bases without authorization, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump told Reuters. He said the total number of Afghan troops who have gone missing since January 2015 is 44, a number that has not previously been disclosed.

Also see Dozens of Afghan troops training in US have vanished from military bases foxnews

Crime

Myanmar Gives Tourist Who Pulled Plug on Buddhist Chants 3 Months in Prison nytimes

The tourist, Klaas Haijtema, 30, was found guilty of causing a disturbance to an assembly engaged in religious worship. He had been staying at a hostel in Mandalay on Sept. 23 when a nearby Buddhist center began broadcasting the recitations of religious devotees.

Other...

Painting that hung on Prince Charles's wall for 25 years finally gives up its secret telegraph.co.uk