|
Duncan MacMartin
Opednews 2015-05-31 11:15:00
Recently we heard that the Australian government plans on destroying and burning protected remnant old growth forests to make electricity and woodchips; and before that we discovered the US government's open secret of founding and supporting ISIL in Syria after failing to gather public support for a war against Assad! Every day we have been watching the Palm-Oil Mafia commit industrial scale ecocide on all our remaining tropical forests in Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Brazil etc; We have all been witness to that blatant event where the USA has instigated a NAZI coup d'etat against the duly elected government of the Ukraine while blaming Russia for destabilising its own front doorstep. For decades now we have watched the Zionists continue to freely torture and commit gradual genocide against the ethnic Palestinian populations with the support and complicity of the USA and its vassals. What, besides their blatant cruelty, ruthlessness, irrationality and affront to our humanity do these events have in common? The answer is that they are all products of classic psychopathic behaviour, or if you like: psychopaths have initiated all these actions; Psychopaths in places of critical decision-making; Psychopaths in high places. At 5% of the population, there are AT LEAST 16 Million psychopaths in the USA alone -- most are, at first, effectively clinically undetectable from the main population. The few, who are incarcerated in institutions, and available as clinical objects of study, represent the "failed" psychopath -- the one who has been "found out" by the system. Most have not only gotten away with their pernicious and predatory tactics on humanity and the planet, but have actually prospered in power, money and position. The true effect of 16 million psychopaths on US society, its structures, dynamics and even its goals appears to be lost in the dense forest of competition, chaos and sophistry that continually surrounds us on a massive scale. But this brings us to my point: It's in fact this "dense forest" of competition, chaos, sophistry and ultimately destruction that is the TRUE EFFECT of the psychopath and provides his "home" environment and his selectively nurturing matrix; in reality, a perverse, self-generating mental ecosystem. Allow me to extrapolate this issue from an even more forthright perspective? ALL of the primary structures, processes and objectives of our societies that have evolved through history have arisen insidiously and opportunistically from the minds of psychopaths and they all overwhelmingly favour and support their behavioural characteristics and tactics. This leaves the non-psychopathic or empathetically developing members of society with few choices: These choices and their dynamics have produced the patterns of behaviour between psychopaths and their host communities for millennia. Fortunately there may be other alternatives. | |
 |
|
Gilbert Doctorow
Russia Insider 2015-06-01 12:46:00
When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and the possibility of German reunification arose, there were forebodings in France and the U.K. that there could be trouble ahead. As President Francois Mitterand reportedly joked with regard to his own misgivings, he liked Germany so much that he wanted there to be two of them. At a minimum, Germany's European allies feared that the new, more powerful Germany would break free of the constraints of the European Economic Community and NATO to define an independent path serving its own interests. There was particular concern that Germany might strike a strategic deal with Russia to secure the peace in Europe without the Americans and at the expense of the West. However, with the encouragement of both Russia and the United States, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl seized the opportunity and proceeded posthaste with reunification while remaining firmly anchored to the other member states of the EEC and NATO. | |
Comment: Washington will do everything it can to prevent the integration of the main block of the 'heartland' with the EU:
| |
|
| Puppet Masters |
|
RT
2015-06-01 20:51:00
Greece plans to sign a document on political support for Gazprom's Turkish Stream project at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, its Energy Minister announced on Monday. The country plans to invest $2 billion in its construction. A memorandum on political support for the gas pipeline project will be prepared by June 18-20, when the International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2015) will be held in Russia's St. Petersburg, Greek Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis announced on Monday. "Right there we will try to sign an agreement, a so-called 'memorandum' on the political support of the said gas pipeline between Greece and Russia," the minister said, as quoted by TASS. Greece "will be proactively drafting a document," the official added. | |
Comment: Some good news for Greece.
| |
|
|
Prof. James Petras
Global Research 2015-05-29 20:02:00
Introduction The highly influential Council on Foreign Relations recently published a Special Report entitled, "Revising US Grand Strategy toward China", (Council on Foreign Relations Press: NY 2015), co-authored by two of its Senior Fellows, Robert Blackwill and Ashley Tellis ('B and T'), which proposes a re-orientation of US policy toward China. The Report a policy for buttressing 'US primacy in Asia' and countering what they describe as "the dangers that China's geo-economic and military power pose to US national interests in Asia and globally". The Report concludes by listing seven recommendations that Washington should follow to re-assert regional primacy. This essay begins by discussing the basic fallacies underpinning the Report, including outdated and dangerous presumptions about US power and presence in Asia today, and the authors' incoherent, contradictory and unrealistic prescriptions. | |
|
|
James North
Mondo Weiss 2015-05-31 19:42:00
The de facto hasbara alliance between the New York Times and the Israeli government just made a blunder, revealing complicity and ineptness on both their parts. Yesterday we jumped on the staggering service that the New York Times had performed for the Israeli government, when the paper published a front-page article saying Israel has solved its water issues — without mentioning that much of that water is taken from Palestinians, whose use of water is highly restricted. Well, it didn't take long for the Israeli Embassy to tweet the image above. Mission accomplished! As we observed recently, the Times has evidently made an editorial decision to be a weapon for Israel in the hasbara wars — "hasbara" is Hebrew for propaganda. And it didn't take long for the New York Times to tweet an image for the story either: of young men in a pool.
Just one problem. That pool is not in Israel. It's in the occupied West Bank, and it's Palestinian. According to the Times's own caption on the Uriel Sinai photo in its slideshow: | ||
|
|
Andrew Korybko
Sputnik 2015-06-01 19:32:00
The US' decision to beef up its military presence in southern Spain indicates that a new strategy towards Africa is well underway. Washington just clinched a deal with Madrid that will see it boosting its military footprint in the south of the country. According to the agreement, up to 2,200 Marines and possibly 40 military aircraft will be deployed within striking distance of all of West Africa, and this massive amount of firepower proves that the US is preparing its forces for engagement all across the continent in the years to come. Its deployment along the African periphery in Spain complements the existing presence it has in Italy and Djibouti, to say nothing of its mobile naval capabilities, and this arrangement may actually be the most 'efficient' of AFRICOM's speculated formations. In the short term, it's predicted that the US' latest moves are in anticipation of an inevitable leadership transition that may soon take place in Algeria, while the constant, long-term interest is in controlling the transit of significant non-Russian gas supplies to the EU. What's at Stake for Spain Spain's collaboration is motivated by financial and political interests, but Madrid's short-sighted thinking may inadvertently destabilize the domestic situation in the country and open it up to terrorist attacks. Interests: Spain's elite has learned a lot by observing their Polish peers, and they realized that they can reap specific benefits by being America's regional doormat. Inviting the US to use the country as a launching pad for neo-colonizing Africa is supposed to raise its prestige in the eyes of American decision makers, who could then lobby their European (specifically German) underlings to lessen the painful austerity measures they've forced upon Spain. If the US could command the EU to enact self-inflicting damage with their anti-Russian sanctions, then there's no question they could also order it to relieve their pressure on Madrid as a political reward to their proxy. Comment: Or perhaps they were blackmailed and bullied. Another benefit that Spain's leaders want to receive from the US is unwavering support against the Catalonian independence movement. Spain wants to scare the US into falling for a 21st-century 'domino theory' in order to anchor its Atlantic ally's unconditional support for the government, arguing that the independence of Catalonia could lead to a chain reaction of similar movements in Spain's other regions that would eventually wipe the once-unified country off the map, and with it, America's new springboard to West Africa. It wouldn't be a surprise if it further embellishes the fear mongering by hinting that the 'Catalonian contagion' could spread throughout the rest of the EU and endanger the US' other bases, too. | |
Comment: Looks like another dose of US 'freedom and democracy' is coming Africa's way. It's not surprising given China's rising influence in the region, and if we take into account the US drive to replace Russia as the main energy supplier for the EU, you've got the US attempting to knock two birds with one stone.
| |
|
|
RT
2015-06-01 19:03:00
The US Senate is poised to pass the USA Freedom Act now that major surveillance powers vested in the USA Patriot Act have expired. The House-passed bill, representing a slightly less intrusive spying law, will come to a vote on Tuesday. The Senate let certain parts of the USA Patriot Act lapse, failing to extend then by the June 1 deadline. Among them is the notorious Section 215, authorizing bulk collection of Americans' telephone data, which a federal court ruled illegal earlier this month. According to government officials, it has been used almost 200 times per year. Other provisions that expired enable the government to conduct "roving wiretaps" of suspects who switch communication devices, or spy on "lone wolf" individuals who are not affiliated with an international terrorism organization. The National Security Agency used Section 215 of the Patriot Act as the basis for collecting vast troves of phone records of Americans, who weren't necessarily under official investigation. It was also used to track financial data and to obtain companies' internet business records. The extent of the mass surveillance program was revealed nearly two years ago by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Now, the Senate will address a so-called reform bill pushed by opponents of the expiring Patriot Act provisions. The USA Freedom Act, passed by the House in a 338-88 vote on May 13. | |
|
|
Ali Hashem
Al-Monitor 2015-05-29 19:07:00
As radical Islamic groups continue to pursue the imposition of their ideologies and grab for power around the Middle East and North Africa, a prominent al-Qaeda ideologue has called on groups working within the framework of the infamous radical group to adopt a new strategy to infiltrate legitimate regimes in the region and build their influence and power from within. The logic is that this approach will allow them to better establish a lasting presence and implement their vision. Abdullah bin Mohammed has written several articles on al-Qaeda's strategies and conducted research on jihad in the region. Among his works is "Strategic Diaries," available online, and "The Strategy of the Regional War in Syria." His Twitter account, "Strategic Affairs," has attracted some 242,000 followers. Comment: Right, it could also prove to be a viable strategy for US regime change operations, since ISIS militants dressed in suits could be roaming around the seats of power of legitimate governments, so we've gotta do something about it. Mohammed, an al-Qaeda member, is the ideologue representing a new path for the movement, not just a different current. Marwan Chehadeh, an expert on islamists groups, told Al-Monitor, "Mohammed is an expert on security and military affairs. I believe he's from the Arabian Peninsula and introduced some new concepts, including political guerrilla wars. Mohammed calls for changing thinking about ruling in Islam. He is against jihadi emirates." Mohammed believes the outcome of the jihadi effort of the last three decades justifies a change in strategy. In his article "Political Guerrilla Wars," he wrote, "The jihadi group's main problem isn't finding a way to fight the international system, as al-Qaeda provided an answer to this issue. The main problem is how to be able to rule under such a system. This needs political guerrilla war." He clarified his thinking, stating, "The military calculations proved to us that an open confrontation with a strong enemy like the US is military suicide. Therefore we had to go a different way in military confrontation, and in politics an open confrontation like declaring a state is also political suicide, as the West has the power to weaken us, pressure our societies and at the end uproot us as they did in Afghanistan and Iraq. Therefore, we have to build a new strategy that can enhance our resilience." | |
Comment: How come it always happens to governments the US wants to overthrow, why haven't the jihadists decided to infiltrate Washington?
| |
|
|
RT
2015-06-01 18:30:00
Controversial provisions of the Patriot Act authorizing government surveillance programs have expired after the Senate failed to vote for an extension. The Senate will reconvene to consider the USA Freedom Act on Monday afternoon. Lawmakers have debated the possibility of extending the authority of Section 215, that authorizes bulk data collection, and other provisions in the extraordinary Sunday afternoon session. The debate started at 4:00 pm local time, eight hours before the expiration deadline.
The National Security Agency used Section 215 of the Patriot Act as the basis for collecting phone records of Americans who were not necessarily under official investigation. It was also used to track financial data and to obtain companies' internet business records. The extent of the mass surveillance program was revealed nearly two years ago by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Two other sections that were not extended included the "lone wolf" provision that allowed targeted surveillance of people suspected to be terrorists, but not part of any group. The "roving wiretap" provision allowed the monitoring of a specific person, irrespective of the devices used. | |
Comment: It must be remembered that, just because the legal authority has expired, does not mean that the NSA or other elements within the U.S. government have stopped spying on American citizens en masse. Those programs can simply go "dark", or undercover, like many other intelligence programs did when they saw the light of day.
| |
|
|
Sputnik
2015-05-29 18:01:00
A pilot program by US Department of Homeland Security which uses facial recognition technology to detect immigration violators at points of entry has privacy advocates concerned. US Homeland Security Begins Testing Facial Recognition Program The program, which US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agents are testing for three months at Washington's Dulles International airport, will use facial recognition technology to spot people using travel documents that don't belong to them, CBS News reports. "We do see people trying to use the legitimate document, but it belonging to someone else, to conceal their identity," Customs and Border Protection Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Wagner told CBS, "and we are vulnerable to that." The technology compares the photo in a passport with the face of the person presenting it, flagging those it believes to be a mismatch for further investigation by agents. As they pass through customs at Dulles, about 250 people per day have their photos taken and stored in a secure database that is not shared with other agencies. | |
|
|
RT
2015-05-30 17:22:00
The National Security Agency has said it will lock down and mothball its archive of US citizens' phone records if its legal authority to go on collecting the metadata expires as it is due to this Sunday. The political and legal dispute will come to a head on Sunday when the Republican controlled Senate will seek a resolution before the law authorizing the controversial NSA spying program expires at 11:59pm. The debate has pitted the Obama administration's national security team against those who say the surveillance program, which was revealed to the American public by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013, infringes civil liberties and the US Constitution. The hours leading up to midnight will see a jump in activity at US phone companies and at the NSA as engineers take down servers, monitoring software and hardware from the main optic cables of telephone data traffic, according to several senior officials, the LA Times reports.
| ||
|
|
Chen Yue
Xinhua 2015-05-29 15:57:00
The United States' attempts to stir trouble in the South China Sea and denigrate China raise doubts on whether the self-proclaimed global peacekeeper is really so keen on quiet waters. Speaking on his way to Singapore to attend the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security forum, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday called for an end to island-building in the South China Sea, urging China and other countries involved to stop militarizing disputes and find a peaceful solution in their competing claims to sovereignty in the area. Though the land being reclaimed by China is within its sovereign territory, the move is "out of step" with the regional consensus, Carter said. Beijing has repeatedly asserted that China's work on the islands mostly serves civil purposes as well as meeting the needs of military defense. This is not the first time the United States has made a fuss over a legitimate sovereign issue within China's territory. Washington has never missed an opportunity to talk about the "China threat" when it comes to the South China Sea disputes between countries including China, the Philippines and Vietnam. It tries to pit other countries in the region against China. | |
Comment: The US is no policeman of the world, unless you define the police as a bunch of trigger-happy tyrants on steroids.
| |
|
|
Sputnik News
2015-06-01 14:18:00
Europe is on alert: while European businessmen continue to lose money and market share due to the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by Brussels under intense pressure from the US, Washington has quietly stepped up its business with Russia. Europe has found itself in jeopardy. While its businessmen continue to lose money due to the anti-Russian sanctions the EU was compelled to launch amid intense pressure from Washington, the US seems to be boosting its business with Russia. Trade turnover between the EU and Russia shrank by almost ten percent in the first two months of 2015 year-on-year, while Russian statistics shows that trade between the US and Russia spiked by approximately 6 percent, states German weekly magazine Der Spiegel. | |
|
|
Constantin Gurdgiev
True Economics 2015-06-01 12:39:00
An interesting and far-reaching article on Ukraine's attempts to restructure some of its debts via Bloomberg. In the nutshell, Ukraine needs to restructure its debt per IMF three targets for debt 'sustainability':
| |
|
|
RT
2015-05-31 12:27:00
The Department of Justice has confirmed that a US court committee approved proposed rules that would allow judges to grant warrants to search computers "remotely" in multiple jurisdictions, even when investigators do not know exactly where a device is. According to the current rules judges can grant warrants for "remote searches" only under their own jurisdictions, with several exceptions allowed under the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41. But back in February a little known body the Advisory Committee on Rules of Criminal Procedure proposed the changes at the request of the Department of Justice. The committee approved the proposed amendment, DOJ confirmed on Friday. The change in the law would allow US government agencies to get a warrant to conduct remote searches of electronic storage media if its location has been "concealed through technological means," widely expanding the Federal Bureau of Investigation's reach when it comes to targeting suspected cybercriminals. The DOJ claims the proposed change in the law is minor and was long overdue. "With the rise of techniques that make it easy for criminals without any technical skill to hide their true locations, lawfully authorized remote access has become increasingly important to protect people from predators and solve serious crimes," wrote agency spokesman Peter Carr in an email to VentureBeat in February. | |
|
This is a letter from Greek PM Alexis Tsipras in today's Le Monde: On 25th of last January, the Greek people made a courageous decision. They dared to challenge the one-way street of the Memorandum's tough austerity, and to seek a new agreement. A new agreement that will keep the country in the Euro, with a viable economic program, without the mistakes of the past. The Greek people paid a high price for these mistakes; over the past five years the unemployment rate climbed to 28% (60% for young people), average income decreased by 40%, while according to Eurostat's data, Greece became the EU country with the highest index of social inequality. And the worst result: Despite badly damaging the social fabric, this Program failed to invigorate the competitiveness of the Greek economy. Public debt soared from 124% to 180% of GDP, and despite the heavy sacrifices of the people, the Greek economy remains trapped in continuous uncertainty caused by unattainable fiscal balance targets that further the vicious cycle of austerity and recession. The new Greek government's main goal during these last four months has been to put an end to this vicious cycle, an end to this uncertainty. | |
|
|
Phillip Inman
The Guardian 2015-05-28 22:33:00
Austria's central bank plans to repatriate £3.5bn of its gold reserves currently stored in Britain - amounting to 80% of its entire stocks - after auditors warned against the risks of keeping a majority in a foreign country. The Austrian National Bank will spend the next five years flying gold bars back to Vienna to raise its own stocks to half the total of 280 tonnes. The move echoes Germany's plan in 2013 to repatriate all of its gold stocked in France as well as some of the reserves held in the United States, to ensure at least 50% was kept on German soil by 2020. | |
Comment: Another country added to the list of repatriating their gold. Could mean they are preparing for something big to happen.
| |
|
| Society's Child |
|
Robert Reich
Alternet 2015-05-31 00:00:00
Corporations aren't people, despite what the Supreme Court says, and they don't need or deserve handouts. When corporations get special handouts from the government - subsidies and tax breaks - it costs you. It means you have to pay more in taxes to make up for these hidden expenses. And government has less money for good schools and roads, Medicare and national defense, and everything else you need. You might call these special corporate handouts "corporate welfare," but at least welfare goes to real people in need. In the big picture, corporate handouts are costing tens of billions of dollars a year. Some estimates put it over $100 billion - which means it's costing you money that would otherwise go to better schools or roads, or lower taxes. Conservatives have made a game of obscuring where federal spending actually goes. In reality, only about 12 percent of federal spending goes to individuals and families, most in dire need. An increasing portion goes to corporate welfare. Other examples: The oil, gas, and coal industries get billions in their own special tax breaks. Big Agribusiness gets farm subsides. Big Pharma gets their own subsidy in the form of a ban on government using its bargaining power under Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. And hedge-fund and private-equity managers get a special tax loophole that treats their income as capital gains, at a lower tax rate than ordinary income. | |
Comment: Nice idea, but the likelihood of our government ever making any real attempt to end these subsidies is practically non-existent. Wealthy corporations represent the 'power behind the throne' in government. Their control through campaign donations, lobbying and the revolving door between government jobs and industry insures that no one who values their career is likely to step too far out of line. The end game is to accrue as much from the public sector as possible to feed the coffers of the wealthy elites, most of whom are psychopathic, and as such have no concern for the welfare of the masses.
| |
|
|
Sputnik
2015-05-29 18:24:00
A commercial aircraft en route to New York's LaGuardia Airport narrowly avoided a mid-air collision with a drone on Friday morning, according to Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) official. Shuttle America flight 2708 was travelling from Washington, DC and nearing its destination when it encountered an unmanned aerial vehicle. The pilot had to swerve upwards over Brooklyn's Prospect Park to avoid a collision. The plane later landed safely, and FAA officials have released a statement saying they will launch an investigation into the incident. "The flight crew of Shuttle America Flight 2708 reported climbing 200 feet to avoid an unmanned aircraft while on final approach to LaGuardia Airport at 11AM today," The FAA said in a statement. "The crew...reported that the unmanned aircraft was operating in the vicinity of Prospect Park at Brooklyn at an altitude of 2,700 feet. The FAA will investigate." The Joint Terrorism Task Force is also investigating the incident. | |
|
|
Shante Wooten and M. David)
Counter Current News 2015-05-18 17:45:00
Many have said it for years, but now the Federal Bureau of Investigation is claiming that police departments have been deliberately infiltrated by racist, white supremacist organizations. The claim comes after what the FBI says has been nearly a decade of federal law enforcement's confirmed and documented acts of infiltration by white supremacist groups into American police departments. The FBI warning first came back on October 2006, but it fell on largely deaf ears. Now, the report entitled "White supremacist infiltration of law enforcement" is being revisited by many experts in fighting back against organized hate group terrorism. In the 2006 report, the FBI found that federal court determined that members of a Los Angeles sheriffs department had organized a Neo Nazi gang. The officers involved did not keep their racist ideas to themselves either, as the FBI found that these same officers "habitually terrorized" the African American community. | |
Comment: It's best to be cautious before falling over ourselves to congratulate the FBI for being correct in their analysis. It's not just white power groups that have led to racist police departments, but also the military-like training that police have been given and their access to military-grade weapons. Certainly if the federal government were concerned with the treatment of minorities, they could have done a lot more than just warn the public about the proliferation of racist police.
| |
|
|
Ali Abunimah
Electronic Intifada 2015-05-28 17:28:00
The multinational telecom company Orange is trying to distance itself from its Israeli affiliate as it faces mounting pressure from a boycott called against its Egyptian subsidiary Mobinil. But BDS Egypt, the organizers of the Mobinil boycott, have rejected company statements as "shameless deception" and an effort to mislead the Egyptian public. The campaign has affirmed that the boycott of Mobinil will continue until Orange ends its contract with its Israeli affiliate Partner Communications over the latter's complicity in human rights abuses and war crimes against Palestinians. Mobinil, with at least 33 million customers in Egypt, is 99 percent owned by Orange, making Egypt one of the France-based multinational's largest markets. Meanwhile, French activists piled on the pressure, holding a rally Wednesday outside the Paris venue where Orange held its annual shareholders meeting. | |
|
|
Russia Beyond the Headlines
2015-06-01 16:22:00
The conflict in southeastern Ukraine has taken 6,417 lives, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights announced on June 1. At least 15,962 people were wounded in the conflict zone between April 2014 and May 30 2015. The UN noted that the actual figures could be higher than officially recorded. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported in mid-April that 6,116 people had been killed and 15,474 wounded in the conflict zone. | |
Comment: Given that these figures are from the United Nations, we can expect the actual death toll from the US backed Nazi death squads in Kiev to be much higher. In fact, earlier this year German intelligence estimated the number of Ukrainians killed to be closer to 50,000.
| |
|
|
Julian Friese
Sott.net 2015-06-01 17:43:00
The following compilation is a continuation of these earlier headline lists of aircraft accidents from late March and April. Where some headline reports have more informative explanations and extra information, extracts are shown and highlighted, particularly those incidents involving smoke detection or mechanical failure. There are links to all the reports. As you will soon see, there has been no let up in these kinds of incidents, in fact, they appear to be increasing quite dramatically of late, with 155 occurring over the 31 days of May, an average of 5 per day. It's very likely some reports have been missed. Not included in the above total, but listed anyway, are a number of scarey videos showing some near misses and dodgy landings. God forbid, but looking at all these incidents one could be forgiven for perhaps getting a foreboding sense that it's only a matter of time before another major tragedy involving a large commercial airliner occurs. Anyway, strap yourself in for a bumpy ride. May 1 Hawaiian Airlines flight makes emergency landing: Plane shuts down engine in mid-flight emergency Plane forced to land in Salinas field, California Pilot hurt after small plane crashes in Ravenna Township, Michigan Plane crashes at Duxford Imperial War Museum
Vehicle Incident in USA on Friday, 01 May, 2015 at 03:22 (03:22 AM) UTC: Air Force says some crew members treated after fire on jet: May 2 Plane makes emergency landing at Aberdeen airport Virgin flight to Florida forced to turn around and make emergency landing in Manchester after crew smell burning on the flight deck Official: Two critical after plane crash in Orange County, Texas
Small plane crashes east of Moriarty, New Mexico
Pilot escapes injury in hair-raising landing in Michigan May 3 Elk County Plane Crash, Pennsylvania
Missing Aircraft Found Crashed Near Village
Pilot killed in Penn Yan plane crash, New York
Flight from Alaska to Seattle makes emergency landing at Vancouver airport: Pilot Safe After Emergency Landing in Fort Worth, Texas | |||||||
|
|
Lizzie Dearden
The Independent, UK 2015-06-01 15:03:00
A two-year-old boy with breathing difficulties has been taken away from his parents partly because a health visitor found that they smoked too much. The child will be placed for adoption after a judge ruled that the risk to his health was "far too high" at a family court hearing in Hull. Judge Louise Pemberton said she was "afraid" that he had been harmed and that his parents' had fallen well below "good enough". "I am afraid that all of these matters lead me to an unavoidable and difficult conclusion that the risks to (the little boy) in being placed with his parents are far too high," she said in a written judgement. "Adoption really is the only option now available to (the little boy), in my view, nothing else will do...I want him to know that in my judgment his parents loved him very much and tried very hard but they were simply not able to meet his needs."According to new research, parents who smoke are plunging nearly half a million children into poverty A health visitor had voiced concerns about the child's "smoky house", which she said was the worst she had seen in her 10-year career. Julie Allen told the court that she found it difficult to breathe in the home and that the boy had been prescribed an inhaler the month before her visit because of breathing problems. | |
|
|
RT
2015-05-31 12:21:00
At least 385 people ranging in age from 16 to 83 have died at the hands of police across the US this year, The Washington Post revealed. One in six victims were unarmed, mostly black or Hispanic, and officers were charged in less than 1% of cases. Using a variety of sources, including police reports, local news and one-to-one interviews the publication discovered that the daily officer-involved killing rate across the US since the beginning of 2015 stands at 2.6. This number stands contrary to the FBI statistics over the past decade that recorded 400 fatal police shootings a year, or an average of 1.1 deaths a day. "These shootings are grossly underreported," Jim Bueermann, president of the Washington-based Police Foundation, told the paper. "We are never going to reduce the number of police shootings if we don't begin to accurately track this information." In more than 80 percent of the cases the victims were armed at the time of the incident many of which started as minor incidents before escalating into violence. Gun assaults on police topped the list with 221 cases, followed by knives and blades with 68 cases. However, roughly one in six victims were unarmed and could hardly pose any threat to officers. In 13 cases civilians were killed by cops after mistaking toy weapons for the real thing. The publication discovered that two thirds of the unarmed people killed by police were either African American or Hispanic. The overall count for both armed and unarmed victims split in half between Caucasians and different minority groups. | |
Comment: These numbers are under-reported and as the 'kill first' trend continues, the numbers will likely surpass 2014:
| |
|
|
Kali Holloway
Alternet 2015-05-31 23:53:00
As if to prove there are new depths to be plumbed in the world of reality television (because who knew?), CBS just debuted The Briefcase, a show which takes poverty porn, class anxiety, emotional manipulation and exploitation and packages them all neatly into a pretty despicable hour of primetime television. Kicking off each episode with the question, "What would you do with $101,000?" the show then deep-dives into a competition that asks two unwitting, financially strapped families to choose between two no-win options: being financially solvent yet appearing heartless and greedy, or drowning in debt yet having audiences recognize them as selfless and giving. It's hard to imagine a network executive didn't get the idea for this show from the "Button, Button" episode of the Twilight Zone. The Briefcase focuses on two "middle-class" families—a questionable but highly American take on the phrase, since both are debt saddled, with one primary breadwinner, and essentially living on the edge of financial ruin. Both are told they'll be participating in a documentary about money. Instead, a producer from the show unexpectedly comes to their house with a suitcase full of cold, hard cash: $101,000 to be exact. That could be a life-changing - and in the case of families so near the financial cliff, nearly life-saving - sum of money. But this being reality TV, instead of just giving them the cash, there's a major catch. | |
Comment: Priming? Interesting that this show would debut just as a financial collapse is waiting in the wings.
| |
|
|
Anthony Gucciardi
Natural Society 2015-05-31 01:01:00
How do you sell fast food to a nation? Apparently by creat |
[Message clipped] View entire message
