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5 ways to think yourself well
9/13/2014 9:43:27 AM
- Positive thinking can lower stress, depression and risk of death
- Negative thoughts can be reframed into ones that are more positive
- Negativity is often rooted in fear
- Being in the present moment and expressing gratitude can boost your mood
(CNN) -- There wasn't anything that could bring singer Pharrell Williams down in his hit song "Happy." Turns out he was on to something.
Being happy and optimistic can prolong your life, help you manage stress, lower your risk of death from cardiovascular disease and even help protect you from the common cold, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Not bad at all, especially as thinking positively doesn't cost you a thing.
There's no better time to try it out than on Positive Thinking Day, which is celebrated each September 13. Here are five expert tips to help you think yourself well:
Be aware of your automatic reactions
Take a look at the following word: opportunitynowhere.
What do you see? Opportunity now here or opportunity nowhere?
"You want to understand what is your go-to, natural way of operating in the world," said Dr. Joffrey Suprina, national dean for Argosy University's College of Behavioral Sciences.
Are you the kind of person who spills your morning coffee or trips on the way to work, and suddenly the whole day is ruined? Or do you focus more on the positive aspects and the lessons that can be learned? Maybe you needed a break from caffeine or a reminder to not stare at your smartphone while walking.
Once you become aware of your tendencies, you can start changing your behavior, according to Suprina.
10 life lessons you should unlearn
Catch and reframe your thoughts
Once you catch yourself defaulting to a negative reaction, try to change your perspective and reframe your thoughts into something more positive, Suprina suggests.
A simple question to ask yourself is, "What might be some positives?"
Although it may seem clunky at first, hang in there. Suprina says that it takes about 90 days to change a habit and that celebrating baby steps and small wins is a great way to reinforce your new behavior.
It's just as important to not beat yourself up for having negative thoughts, he explains.
"Positive thinkers don't only see the positive. They realize that the negative exists but that we can choose where to focus."
9 simple steps to happiness
Don't believe everything your mind tells you
"It's a little-known fact that we don't always have to believe what our minds are telling us," explained Bobbi Emel, a California-based psychotherapist and coach. "We become fused with our own inner workings to the extent that they inform how we feel and act."
By observing your negative thoughts instead of judging, believing or acting on them, she says, it becomes easier to let them go.
Say to yourself, "I notice that I'm having this thought or feeling," and allow yourself to put distance between you and your reactions.
Let go of fear
"The bottom of all negativity is fear," explained Terri Cole, a licensed therapist and transformation coach in New York. "Most of the time, it is based in the future. What if this does or doesn't happen?"
The solution, she says, is to be in the present moment and identify a fearful thought as soon as you have it.
"Close your eyes; figure out where you feel that fear. Focus on that spot with your mind and breathe, and visualize the stress going away. Replace a fearful thought with a better thought," Cole suggested.
A basic meditation practice that's as short as 10 minutes a day can make a difference.
"What that will buy you is two seconds of response time," she said. "Instead of believing what your fear is telling you, you don't react."
How meditating may help your brain
Find your mood changers
Sometimes life can be a little challenging; difficult news or a loss can make it hard to stay positive. In these times, Cole recommends using what she calls mood changers.
A mood changer can be as simple as having a photo of a loved one, happy experience or beautiful place on your phone so that when you see it, you'll experience a more positive emotion.
She also suggests starting each day listing three things you are grateful for and ending the day by sharing or thinking about your favorite moment from that day. Even just taking a few minutes to breathe deeply and say "I am so grateful that I'm here now" can help you improve your positivity.
"Every single person reading this article has the power to change their life -- has the power to be happy, be in love, make money. You really have to take responsibility."
Davis Cup: France beat Czechs
9/13/2014 8:50:39 PM
- France book place in Davis Cup final with a 3-0 win over reigning champions
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet win Saturday's doubles rubber in four sets
- Italy still alive in other semi against Switzerland after winning Saturday's doubles match
- Fognini and Bolelli win epic five-setter to make overall score 2-1 to take tie into final day
(CNN) -- France has booked a place in the Davis Cup final after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead over the Czech Republic in their semifinal tie at Roland Garros on Saturday.
Following straight-set victories for Jo-Wifried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet in Friday's singles, the French pair joined forces in the doubles to beat Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych in four sets 6-7 (4/7) 6-4 7-6 (7/5) 6-1.
"It's for sure one of the best moments in our career to play here in a semifinal and to win in the second day," Tsonga said.
"We always kept the fighting spirit and stayed in the match -- we all know the Davis Cup is tough."
Victory over the reigning champions means France advance to the final for the first time since 2010, where they will face either Italy or Switzerland.
The Italian's slim hopes of reaching a first Davis Cup final since 1998 are still alive after a thrilling five-set win in Saturday's doubles rubber over the Swiss in Geneva.
Trailing 2-0 after Friday's singles matches, Italy entrusted their fate to Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini as they took on Stan Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli, who replaced Roger Federer who was rested by team captain Severin Luthi.
The match started brightly for the visitors as Bolelli and Fognini took the opening set 7-5 but the Swiss pair immediately hit back taking the second and third sets to leave Italy staring down the barrel.
But the Italian pair seemed unperturbed by the prospect of defeat, mounting an impressive comeback to square the match at two sets all before carrying the momentum into the decider to eventually win 7-5 3-6 5-7 6-3 6-2.
"I am much happier with my performance today," Fognini said after the marathon four-hour match.
"I served much better than yesterday, I returned much better. It's still going to be very difficult for us but it's a little less difficult than before," he added.
The 27-year-old will have to recover quickly for Sunday's opening reverse singles rubber where he faces 17-time grand slam champion Federer.
Victory for Federer would propel Switzerland to a first final in 22 years and a chance to claim the title for the first time in their history.
Cameron: ISIS killing 'pure evil'
9/14/2014 3:28:19 AM
- An ISIS video shows the killing of David Haines, who was held in Syria for over a year
- Haines, a father of 2 girls, had been working at a refugee camp near the Turkish border
- The killer in the video highlights Britain's alliance with the United States
- British prime minister: "We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers"
(CNN) -- The father of two children went to war-torn Syria to try to help struggling civilians at a refugee camp.
But he ended up a political pawn in the hands of brutal jihadists, becoming the third Western hostage beheaded by ISIS in a matter of weeks.
And once again, the terrorist group is threatening to kill yet another of its high-profile captives.
The gruesome video showing the death of British aid worker David Haines prompted revulsion and condemnation after it was posted Saturday.
"The murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil," British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Twitter.
"We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes," he vowed.
Britain's top security and intelligence officials will hold an emergency meeting Sunday to discuss the crisis as the life of another British man held by ISIS hangs in the balance.
The video of Haines' death shows a masked ISIS militant placing his hand on another captive, whom he identified as Alan Henning, a British citizen.
'Your evil alliance with America'
The Islamist group, which controls large areas of northern Syria and Iraq, previously publicized grisly videos of the beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. It has also brutally slaughtered large numbers of Syrians and Iraqis in the territory it's seized.
In the two previous videos, the killer directed his comments at the United States, which had begun airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq. But the latest one singles out Britain.
"Your evil alliance with America, which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha Dam, will only accelerate your destruction and claim the role of the obedient lap dog," says the killer, who sounds like the man who murdered Foley and Sotloff.
The United States launched airstrikes on ISIS positions near Haditha Dam in western Iraq a week ago and is working to build a coalition of countries to support its efforts to combat the terrorist group.
"Cameron will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinnable war," says the killer, dressed all in black with only his eyes and hands showing. He calls the beheading "a message to the allies of America."
The video is produced very similarly to those that showed the beheadings of Foley and Sotloff.
Like them, Haines appears kneeling beside the executioner in a barren desert landscape, dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit. He had been shown briefly in the earlier video of Sotloff's killing.
Father of two girls
Haines, 44, went to Syria to help organize the delivery of humanitarian aid to a refugee camp in Atmeh, close to the Turkish border. He was abducted near the camp in March 2013.
"David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles," his brother, Mike, said in a statement. "His joy and anticipation for the work he went to do in Syria is for myself and family the most important element of this whole sad affair."
Haines had more than a decade of experience doing aid work, helping victims of conflict in the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East.
He was in Syria as a logistics and security manager for ACTED, a French aid group that was helping provide food, tents and water for tens of thousands of people who had fled to the Atmeh camp amid the vicious civil war.
When he wasn't working in troubled areas, Haines lived in Croatia with his wife Dragana and their 4-year-old daughter.
He grew up in Scotland, and his first marriage was to his childhood sweetheart Louise, according to his brother.
His teenage daughter from that marriage, Bethany, talked about how much she misses her father in comments on a social network, Ask.fm, late last year.
Asked what she wanted at that time, Bethany replied simply, "For my daddy to come home."
U.S. building anti-ISIS coalition
The British government said earlier this month that it had attempted to rescue one of its citizens held by ISIS "some time ago" but had failed. It didn't provide any further details.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who announced last week that U.S. airstrikes would go after ISIS in Syria, condemned "the barbaric murder" of Haines.
"The United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve," he said in a statement late Saturday.
The murderous, meteoric rise of ISIS -- which calls itself the Islamic State -- has caused alarm across the Middle East and beyond.
In his statement, Obama reiterated his intention "to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has spent recent days in the Middle East trying to build support for the U.S. strategy to combat ISIS.
Those efforts are expected to continue Monday in Paris, where France is hosting an international conference on the crisis in Iraq.
British hostage of ISIS was helping displaced Syrians, aid group says
John Kerry seeks Egypt's support for mission to build coalition against ISIS
CNN's Greg Botelho, Atika Shubert, Nic Robertson, Deborah Bloom, Michael Pearson and Phillip Taylor contributed to this report.
Atletico edge Real in Madrid derby
9/13/2014 8:50:25 PM
- Atletico Madrid record league win at Bernabeu for second season running
- Arda Turan scores winner in 2-1 victory over city rivals Real Madrid
- Barcelona maintain 100% start to season with 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao
(CNN) -- They have long played second fiddle to their more illustrious city rivals, but Atletico Madrid took another giant step out of Real Madrid's shadow on Saturday with a 2-1 win at the Bernabeu.
La Liga's reigning champions are proving just as formidable opposition this year as they were last with Diego Simeone's men stealing all three points in Real's backyard for the second successive season.
Tiago gave Atletico the lead in the 10th minute redirecting Koke's corner past Iker Casillas to silence the home crowd before parity was restored from a familiar source 16 minutes later.
Guilherme Siqueira was Cristiano Ronaldo's fall guy on this occasion as the left back stuck out a leg as the Portuguese surged into the penalty area.
The referee pointed to the spot and Ronaldo duly converted sending Miguel Angel Moya the wrong way to tie up the match at 1-1.
Real proceeded to dominate the rest of the half but Atletico weathered the storm with Moya pulling off a notable point-blank save from a Karim Benzema header in the 38th minute.
The deadlock in an evenly contested second half was finally broken by the visitors with 14 minutes remaining when a Raul Garcia dummy left subsitute Turan (who replaced captain Gabi in the 60th minute) to sweep home a low shot into the left corner of Casillas' net.
Real's efforts to salvage something from the game ultimately came to nothing leaving the European champions pondering a second successive league defeat.
"It is a problem," Ancelotti said after the match. "We have to analyse it in the next few days and fix it quickly.
"The first-half was good like (it was against Real Sociedad) and the second-half wasn't. We played with intensity and aggression in the first-half which is what you have to do to beat Atletico, but we didn't do that in the second-half."
For the Italian's opposite number it was another day at the Bernabeu to savor.
"I think it is the first time we have won twice in a row in the league at the Bernabeu and that is very important for our fans and a new group of players," Simeone said.
"We still have difficulties ahead to have the consistency we want, but with the work rate they showed and the play they showed in the second-half I am happy."
Victory lifts Atletico to second in the table with seven points while Real are currently 11th with three points from three matches.
Real begin the defense of their Champions League crown on Tuesday with a home tie against Swiss side FC Basel while Atletico travel to Greece to play Olympiacos.
Barca continue perfect start
Barcelona maintained their 100% start to the new season but left it late to seal all three points against Athletic Bilbao at the Nou Camp earlier on Saturday.
Neymar came off the bench to score a brace in the final 10 minutes of the match to make it three league wins out of three for new manager Luis Enrique.
For the first time in their history, Barcelona played a home match in red and yellow away kit which features the colors of the Catalan flag -- the Senyera -- to mark the 300th anniversary of Catalan National Day which took place on Thursday.
[VIDEO] of the unfurling of the flag before the game to celebrate Catalan National Day http://t.co/d2flLdFnb4 #FCBLive
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 13, 2014 A giant flag was also unfurled in the stadium prior to kick off.
The anniversary, which comes just days before Scotland votes to decide whether to remain part of the UK, has fueled calls from many Catalans for their own referendum on independence to be held.
Both Barca and Bilbao kick off their Champions League campaigns next week. Messi and Co will host Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia on Wednesday while Athletic will entertain Ukraine's champions Shakhtar Donetsk.
Demichelis rescues draw for City
9/13/2014 8:51:33 PM
- English Premier League champions draw against Arsenal at the Emirates
- Aguero gives City the lead before Wilshere and Sanchez hit back for Gunners
- Martin Demichelis 83rd-minute header ensures City steal a point
- Diego Costa scores hat-trick as Chelsea keep 100% record
(CNN) -- A late Martin Demichelis header salvaged a point for Manchester City against Arsenal in an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
New signing Danny Welbeck hit the post early on for Arsenal but it was Sergio Aguero who opened the scoring for the visitors shortly before the half hour mark -- the Argentine striker lifting the ball over Wojciech Szczęsny after some good work down the right from Jesus Navas.
Arsenal, who suffered a humiliating 6-3 loss to Manuel Pellegrini's side at the Etihad Stadium last December, fought back in the second half with two goals in 11 minutes.
First Jack Wilshere scored in the 63rd minute, delicately chipping the ball over goalkeeper Joe Hart after receiving a pass from Aaron Ramsey before Alexis Sanchez netted his second league goal since joining from Barcelona to make it 2-1.
The Chilean striker made the most of a speculative header into the box from Wilshere, side-footing an exquisite volley past Hart from eight yards out.
After suffering a shock 1-0 home defeat to Stoke before the international break, City were in danger of slumping to a second consecutive league loss before Demichelis popped up with an equalizing header from a corner kick in the 83rd minute.
The Sky Blues were perhaps unlucky not to snatch all three points when Aleksandar Kolarov hit the woodwork in the 88th minute and despite six added minutes at the end of the match, neither side could break the deadlock.
The result leaves City with seven points from their opening four games while Arsenal have opened the season with a win and three draws.
Costa impresses again for Chelsea
Chelsea maintained their 100% record this season with another impressive display against Swansea City at Stamford Bridge.
Diego Costa netted his first hat-trick for the Blues as Jose Mourniho's side came from behind to beat Garry Monk's men 4-2.
Swansea, who were the only other side in the league to have won their opening three league matches, took the lead in the 11th minute when John Terry put the ball in the back of his own net.
And that's how it stayed until Costa leveled the scores on the stroke of halftime.
The Spanish international scored two more in the second half before giving way to new signing Loic Remy who came on to score Cheslea's fourth in the 81st minute.
Jonjo Shelvey scored a consolation goal with four minutes remaining but it couldn't stop Chelsea recording a fourth win leaving them top of the table on 12 points. Swansea stay in second with nine points from four matches.
After two draws and a defeat in their opening matches, Everton finally bagged a first league win on Saturday beating struggling West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at the Hawthorns -- Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas netting goals in either half.
Southampton registered their second win of the season beating Newcastle United 4-0 while Tottenham Hotspur drew 2-2 at Sunderland.
Stoke, who beat champions Manchester City a fortnight ago, crashed to a 1-0 defeat against new boys Leicester City.
Read more: European football's most coveted 15-year-old
McIlroy, Horschel chase $10m prize
9/13/2014 8:52:56 PM
- Rory McIlory fires a third round 67 to tie the lead at Tour Championship
- Northern Irishman on nine-under par alongside America's Billy Horschel
- Jim Furyk two shots back on seven under as 29-strong field chase $10m prize
(CNN) -- Rory McIlroy and Billy Horschel are in pole position to pocket the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup $10 million jackpot after finishing the third round tied for the lead at the season finale Tour Championship.
The 27-year-old American and the world No. 1 are two of five players in the 29-strong field who can claim the $10 million prize for topping the FedEx Cup playoff series by winning the season's final event at Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club.
McIlroy began the day two shots behind Horschel but a three-under par 67, compared to the American's 69, ensured the Northern Irishman drew level at nine-under par after 54 holes.
After Friday's heroics, where McIlroy fired a tee shot into a spectator's trouser pocket on his way to a five-under 65, Saturday was shaping up to be equally eventful.
A birdie, bogey, birdie start hinted at another day of high drama and low scoring before things settled down with a run of five pars.
That sequence was broken with a birdie at the ninth followed by a bogey at 10 before an eagle three at the par five 15th saw McIlroy finally reel in his playing partner.
"I haven't really played the par fives well all week ... it was a big turning point as it tied me for the lead," McIlroy told Sky Sports.
An errant tee shot at the par three 18th threatened to take the gloss off another polished display, but the ever-assured McIlroy made a tricky up-and-down from thick, greenside rough look simple.
"I've felt a little weary and in no way have I played my best golf, but I'm tied for the lead and I can't ask for any more," McIlroy said.
Earlier, three front-nine birdies had seen Horschel extend his overnight lead to three shots but two bogeys at 10 and 13, coupled with McIlroy's eagle, saw his advantage disappear.
Jim Furyk is by no means out of contention to win the tournament after a 67 left him two shots adrift of the joint-leaders while Ricky Fowler, England's Justin Rose and Australia's Jason Day are all one shot further back on six under.
Of the remaining three players who can claim the FedEx jackpot with a win on Sunday no matter where other players finish, Chris Kirk, joint-leader with Horschel after round one, is in closest contention.
The Atlanta native is five under after three rounds while Bubba Watson is three-under par. Hunter Mahan, however, will not be banking a $10m check come Monday morning -- the 32-year-old is seven-over par for his three rounds.
Read more: Horschel chooses golf over baby's birth
My cancer worse than your cancer?
9/13/2014 10:47:11 PM
- Geraldine Moriba was diagnosed with a rare cancer at age of 38
- Her film will tell the story of James Ragan, a patient who also had the disease
- James was able to appreciate his short life while enduring seven major surgeries
- Moriba: Why do we wait for a disease to teach us about living well and having compassion?
Editor's note: Geraldine Moriba is a CNN executive producer of program development and vice president of diversity and inclusion. She is also a filmmaker and co-directing the documentary "Until 20," which is raising funds for the film's final production stages on Kickstarter. Follow her on Twitter @GeraldineMoriba. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- I remember the day I rang the bell. When you finish radiation treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, there's a bell in the waiting room that you ring three times, and when you do, the entire room erupts with applause. I remember the immediate rush when it was my turn. I felt the euphoric joy of having survived.
It's an elation that comes along with being alive and knowing that you've made it past chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, with clean margins. I felt deep gratitude for my medical caregivers, my generous friends and my family, especially my family.
That was nine years ago. But still, even now, I have unanswered questions about the disease that almost cut my life short.
At age 38, I was given six months to live. I had sarcoma, a rare cancer that can occur in bone or soft tissue, with no known cause and no cure. My lingering questions about sarcoma fuels my motivation to produce "Until 20," a documentary that follows James Ragan's quest to live his few remaining days of life fully.
When I met James he was about to turn 20. We had both won the sarcoma cancer lottery. My 4-inch tumor was found growing along the radial nerve in my right arm. James's tumor resulted in the removal of about 40% of his left femur and 20% of his tibia. The five-year survival rate for this disease is frighteningly low. According to the National Cancer Institute, the five-year survival rate is about 66%.
For me, after getting to know James the mystery of why I survived and many people do not triggered "survivor's guilt." This is the guilt that can occur when someone survives a traumatic event that others do not, such as accidents, war, natural disasters and even illnesses like cancer. Guilt is a complicated emotion. My cancer fight lasted a year and a half, and now, as far as my doctors know, there no active tumor cells in my body.
I survived. James didn't. After repeated recurrences and seven major surgeries since his diagnosis at age 13, he died in February. We were fortunate enough that James chose to share the final year of his life with us.
James said, "It's all about perspective. I'm constantly told that's what I provide people when they hear my story. I'm told that I give them new perspective on their life."
Like James, I prefer to ask "now that I been marked by this disease, what can I do to make a difference?" I had cancer. I was lucky. Now I look ahead.
"Until 20" is James' story. He should be an inspiration, not just for patients facing incurable diseases, and be seen as someone who encouraged adults and young people to make meaningful, values-based choices with their time and their lives.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly described the location of James Ragan's tumor.
This documentary chronicles James' life after diagnosis, as he grows from a young athlete blindsided by disease into a passionate and caring young man. James shows us that you don't have to live a long life to make a difference.
Sarcoma tumors develop in healthy people with no apparent risk factors. There's little incentive for pharmaceutical companies to find a cure for sarcoma. One percent of all adult cancers in America are sarcoma, and 15% of all childhood cancers are sarcoma. With so few cases, there's little money to be made from research.
I have no patience with "my cancer is worse than your cancer" conversations. Cancer is not a competition. Cancer causes us all pain, and having a rare cancer is exponentially devastating, because there is so little research being done. The only remedy is banding together to create awareness and pushing for research funding.
According to Dr. Ara Vaporciyan at MD Anderson, "one option would be to put in place some rules or some laws that protect drug companies to allow them to invest research dollars. And in some sort of tax reform or some way to encourage them to invest here, to make it worth their while to invest here."
Why do we wait for a disease to teach us about living well and having compassion for others? James changed my life. In his deliberate quest to live a life worth living, he reminded me to live as though my days are numbered and to make every day count. You just need grit, passion and focused purpose. Humor helps, too.
I have to believe that one of the most effective ways to move beyond survivor's guilt is to find purpose in my experience. I've learned lessons I couldn't have learned any other way. What seemed to be my premature death sentence has also become my good fortune. James gave me renewed perspective.
"Am I sad about everything I am going to miss out on in life? Absolutely," said James. "But I am at peace. I've lived a pretty incredible 20 years."
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British P.M.: Murder an "act of pure evil."
9/13/2014 10:50:59 PM
- NEW: Brother: Haines is survived by his wife, 2 children; he once was in the UK air force
- NEW: David Haines found his true calling in humanitarian work, his brother says
- The video characterizes Haines' beheading "a message to the allies of America"
- British PM: "We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers"
(CNN) -- British aid worker David Haines has been executed by ISIS militants, according to a video posted Saturday to a website associated with the group, making him the third Western captive to be killed by the Islamist extremist group in recent weeks.
The ISIS video post showing Haines' beheading called his execution "a message to the allies of America."
It is produced very similarly to the videos that showed the executions of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, the last of which included Haines and the threat that he'd be killed next.
The new video pictures a masked ISIS militant placing his hand on another captive, whom he identified as Alan Henning, a British citizen.
In a tweet, British Prime Minister David Cameron called "the murder of David Haines" an "act of pure evil."
Cameron added, "We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."
Haines offers brief scripted comments on the video, as does the man who kills him.
Directing his remarks at Britain, the executioner -- who sounds like the man who killed Foley and Sotloff -- says, "Your evil alliance with America, which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha dam, will only accelerate your destruction and claim the role of the obedient lap dog.
"Cameron will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinnable war."
Retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona -- an Air Force veteran intelligence officer and CNN military analyst -- surmised that if ISIS planned to dissuade Britain for teaming up with the United States, the group will be disappointed.
"ISIS has just guaranteed British cooperation with the Americans on all phases of what we're going to be doing," Francona said. "... I think this is now a Western fight; it's not just a U.S. fight."
Brother: Haines 'just another bloke' who lived to help others
News of the gruesome killing came the same day that the 44-year-old Haines' family released a brief message to his captors through the British foreign office.
In it, the family says, "We have sent messages to you to which we have not received a reply. We are asking those holding David to make contact with us."
Haines' face became known to the world in the ISIS video, released September 2, in which he looks forward and kneels as a masked ISIS militant stands behind him.
The militant says in that video, "We take this opportunity to warn those governments who've entered this evil alliance of America against the Islamic State to back off and leave our people alone."
British officials said after the video's release that they had sent troops to try to rescue an unidentified British citizen "some time ago," but failed. They released no other details.
Mike Haines, in a statement early Sunday, through the British Foreign Office, noted that his brother leaves behind two children and his wife Dragana. He described his brother as "just another bloke" whose "childhood was centered around our family" and who was "brought up to know right from wrong."
David Haines worked for the Royal Mail, then joined the Royal Air Force. He later worked with the United Nations in the Balkans, where "he helped whoever needed help, regardless of race, creed or religion," according to his brother.
"During this time, David began to decide that humanitarian work was the field he wanted to work in," Mike Haines said. "... David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles."
After working for ScotRail, David Haines went on to get a job as a logistics and security manager for the Paris-based humanitarian Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development.
He was abducted in March 2013 near a refugee camp in Atmeh, Syria, where he was working to arrange for the delivery of humanitarian aid to people staying at the camp. He had previously worked on aid operations for victims of conflict in the Balkans, African and other parts of the Middle East, according to an ACTED spokesman.
"His joy and anticipation for the work he (did) in Syria is, for myself and family, the most important element of this whole sad affair," Mike Haines said. "He was and is loved by all his family and will be missed terribly."
British hostage of ISIS was helping displaced Syrians, aid group says
Obama: U.S. 'stands shoulder-to-shoulder' with Britain
Another hostage has been publicly killed by ISIS. Another one's life has been threatened. And fighters for ISIS -- which calls itself the Islamic State, in a nod to its efforts to establish a vast caliphate in the Middle East under its strict version of Sharia law -- are continuing to kill innocent civilians in Iraq and Syria.
So what's next?
The threat from ISIS has been brewing for some time. Having begun a decade ago as al Qaeda in Iraq -- only to be disowned earlier this year by al Qaeda, the group behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, for its heavy-handed tactics -- ISIS has taken advantage of instability in Syria and Iraq to become one of the most prominent and feared groups in the Middle East.
ISIS, which is also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant or ISIL, managed to become one of the most successful rebel groups working to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It also rampaged through much of Iraq, thwarting seemingly overmatched Iraqi troops and massacring those who did not subscribe to its extreme version of Islam.
It wasn't until last month -- albeit before Foley's killing -- that the American military jumped into the fray.
"It's a bit like trying to predict an earthquake: You can see pressure building up on the fault lines but not knowing when it's going to materialize (or how) quickly it can disintegrate," Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, said Saturday night. "Those things are very hard to predict."
Partnering with the Iraqi military and Kurdish fighters, U.S. warplanes have been striking ISIS targets in Iraq regularly since August 8.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama announced that U.S. airstrikes would go after the extremist group in Syria, and perhaps beyond.
"We will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are," said Obama, who insisted American troops wouldn't fight "on foreign soil," though they will play support roles. "That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven."
The President vowed the United States won't do it alone. To this end, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Egypt on Saturday seeking that country's help in the fight against ISIS.
Britain is one country, at least, that has stepped up -- even before Haines' killing.
That includes providing "urgent military support" at the Iraqi government's request, including heavy machine guns, body armor and nearly half a million rounds of ammunition to Kurdish fighters known as the Peshmerga.
The scale of that support, though, could ramp up now with one Briton executed and Henning's life in limbo.
To this end, 10 Downing Street announced early Sunday that Cameron will convene an emergency meeting of his top security officials to discuss what Britain will do next.
Obama released a statement late Saturday after what he called Haines' "barbaric murder," offering his support for the aid worker's family and his native Britain.
"The United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve," the President said.
"We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world."
John Kerry seeks Egypt's support for mission to build coalition against ISIS
CNN's Nic Robertson, Deborah Bloom, Michael Pearson and Phillip Taylor contributed to this report.
Cameron: ISIS are 'not Muslims, they are monsters.'
9/14/2014 8:32:58 AM
- NEW: "Faulty" to think U.S. response could make ISIS more barbaric, U.S. official says
- Britain won't "shirk our responsibility" in the fight against ISIS, PM Cameron says
- David Haines, a father of two, had been working at a refugee camp near the Turkish border
- His killer in a video of the beheading highlights Britain's alliance with the United States
(CNN) -- The killing of British aid worker David Haines "will not lead Britain to shirk our responsibility" to work with allies to take on ISIS, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday.
Instead, he said, "it must strengthen our resolve."
Speaking a day after the Islamic terror group posted a video showing Haines' beheading -- the latest in a string of such videos -- Cameron vowed to work with the United States to support its "direct military action." He also emphasized that "this is not about British troops on the ground."
"We have to confront this menace," Cameron said. "Step by step we must drive back, dismantle, and ultimately destroy ISIL and what it stands for." Together with allies, he said, "we will do so in a calm, deliberate way but with an iron determination."
The group, which calls itself the Islamic State, is also known as ISIS and ISIL.
"This organization poses a massive threat to the entire Middle East," Cameron said, making a public statement before an emergency meeting of security and intelligence officials.
He listed five points in the British strategy: to work with the Iraqi government and Kurdish regional governments and help them protect minorities being slaughtered by ISIS; to work at the United Nations "to mobilize the broadest possible support" against ISIS; to contribute to U.S.-led military action; to assist in humanitarian efforts; and to "reinforce our formidable counterterrorist effort here at home."
Some British Muslims have joined ISIS, and the militant who killed Haines and two Americans -- James Foley and Steven Sotloff -- may be British.
'Not Muslim, but monsters'
The video of Haines' killing looks very similar to those that showed the beheadings of Foley and Sotloff, and the masked militant sounds like the same man.
"It falls to the government and to each and every one of us to drain this poison from our society and to take on this warped ideology that is radicalizing some of our young people," Cameron said.
"Islam is a religion of peace," Cameron insisted, saying of the ISIS militants, "They are not Muslim, they are monsters."
Britons "need to know that this is a fanatical organization" that plans attacks across Europe and in the UK, Cameron said.
"It was an ISIL fanatic who gunned down four people in a museum in Brussels," he said referring to Mehdi Nemmouche, a Frenchman from Roubaix in northern France, accused of killing four people at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in May.
Nemmouche recently spent a year in Syria and is a radicalized Islamist, the chief prosecutor of Paris said in June. French journalist Nicolas Henin said last month that Nemmouche tortured prisoners he guarded while fighting for ISIS in Syria.
"He did beat me a number of times. I don't know of any bad treatment to any other foreign hostages coming from him specifically but I witnessed him torturing local prisoners."
'Your evil alliance with America'
The video of Haines' death shows a masked ISIS militant placing his hand on another captive, whom he identified as Alan Henning, a British citizen.
The Islamist group, which controls large areas of northern Syria and Iraq, previously publicized grisly videos of the beheadings of American journalists Foley and Sotloff. It has also brutally slaughtered large numbers of Syrians and Iraqis in the territory it's seized.
In the two previous videos, the killer directed his comments at the United States, which had begun airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq. But the latest one singles out Britain.
"Your evil alliance with America, which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha Dam, will only accelerate your destruction and claim the role of the obedient lap dog," says the militant.
The United States launched airstrikes on ISIS positions near Haditha Dam in western Iraq a week ago and is working to build a coalition of countries to support its efforts to combat the terrorist group.
"Cameron will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinnable war," says the killer, dressed all in black with only his eyes and hands showing. He calls the beheading "a message to the allies of America."
Like them, Haines appears kneeling beside the executioner in a barren desert landscape, dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit. He had been shown briefly in the earlier video of Sotloff's killing.
Father of two girls
Haines, 44, went to Syria to help organize the delivery of humanitarian aid to a refugee camp in Atmeh, close to the Turkish border. He was abducted near the camp in March 2013.
"David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles," his brother, Mike, said in a statement. "His joy and anticipation for the work he went to do in Syria is for myself and family the most important element of this whole sad affair."
Haines had more than a decade of experience doing aid work, helping victims of conflict in the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East.
He was in Syria as a logistics and security manager for ACTED, a French aid group that was helping to provide food, tents and water for tens of thousands of people who had fled to the Atmeh camp amid the vicious civil war.
When he wasn't working in troubled areas, Haines lived in Croatia with his wife, Dragana, and their 4-year-old daughter.
He grew up in Scotland, and his first marriage was to his childhood sweetheart Louise, according to his brother.
His teenage daughter from that marriage, Bethany, talked about how much she misses her father in comments on a social network, Ask.fm, late last year.
Asked what she wanted at that time, Bethany replied simply, "For my daddy to come home."
'Warped ideology'
The British government said earlier this month that it had attempted to rescue one of its citizens held by ISIS "some time ago" but had failed. It didn't provide any further details.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who announced last week that U.S. airstrikes would go after ISIS in Syria, condemned "the barbaric murder" of Haines.
"The United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve," he said in a statement late Saturday.
The murderous, meteoric rise of ISIS has caused alarm across the Middle East and beyond.
The Muslim Council of Great Britain issued a statement Sunday condemning Haines' killing "unreservedly."
"David Haines went out to the region to help the people of the region," said Shuja Shafi, the council's secretary general. "That extremists chose to murder him only shows once again the depravity of their warped ideology."
ISIS members "claim to be acting in the name of Islam," Shafi said. "But there is nothing in our faith that condones such behavior."
U.S. building anti-ISIS coalition
In his statement, Obama reiterated his intention "to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has spent recent days in the Middle East trying to build support for the U.S. strategy to combat ISIS.
Those efforts are expected to continue Monday in Paris, where France is hosting an international conference on the crisis in Iraq.
Australia is preparing to deploy as many as 10 planes, most of them combat aircraft, to the United Arab Emirates in response to a U.S. request to contribute to the coalition, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Sunday.
It will also put together a team of special operations personnel who could act as military advisers to Iraqi forces and others fighting ISIS, Abbott said in a statement.
"We are not deploying combat troops but contributing to international efforts to prevent the humanitarian crisis from deepening," he said.
In a Sunday interview, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough declined to say if any members of the emerging coalition would put troops on the ground, but he said that there will be a focus on training Syrian rebels and Iraqi and Kurdish fighters to take on ISIS with coalition backing.
That backing will come in the form of airpower, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance and training, he told CNN's "State of the Union," and it will be especially important to draw Sunni fighters into the battle.
Asked if American involvement could make things worse, given the nature of ISIS threats against the West, McDonough said that with Haines' execution came a reminder that ISIS is inhumane, barbaric and depraved.
"The thought we could make them more so is faulty," he said.
British hostage of ISIS was helping displaced Syrians, aid group says
John Kerry seeks Egypt's support for mission to build coalition against ISIS
CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin, Candy Crowley, Greg Botelho, Atika Shubert, Nic Robertson, Deborah Bloom, Michael Pearson, Bharati Naik and Phillip Taylor contributed to this report.
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