|
Elliot Overton
Sott.net 2015-10-29 18:08:00
A recent report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) titled 'Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat' has garnered a significant amount of media attention the world over in the past few days. As usual, the mainstream media didn't hesitate to take the opportunity to ramp up fear among the masses with sensationalist headlines like 'Processed meats do cause cancer - WHO' (BBC), 'If meat causes cancer, What can we eat?' (CNN), and 'Hot dogs, bacon and other processed meats cause cancer' (Washington Post). These types of definitive statements, however, have not been limited to sensationalist media headlines, with even the World Health Organization itself making such claims on social media:
Sufficient evidence in humans shows that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal #cancer https://t.co/Cg72nm9elq— WHO (@WHO)October 26, 2015
| |
 |
| No new articles. |
| Puppet Masters |
|
Ryan Grenoble
Huffington Post 2015-10-29 11:58:00
A big win for Edward Snowden came with the narrowest of margins. By a vote of 285 to 281, Members of European Parliament (MEP) passed a resolution Thursday calling for EU member states to drop criminal charges against the former NSA contractor and protect him from extradition. In June of this year, the White House rejected the idea of dropping charges filed against Snowden under the Espionage Act. The former CIA contractor fled the U.S. in 2013 and resides in Moscow. "The fact is that Mr Snowden committed very serious crimes, and the U.S. government and the Department of Justice believe that he should face them," Obama administration spokesman Josh Earnest told the Guardian at the time. "That's why we believe that Mr Snowden should return to the United States, where he will face due process and have the opportunity to make that case in a court of law." Snowden faces the possibility of extradition to the U.S. should he enter any of the EU's 28 member countries. At the time of his departure, Snowden applied for -- and was denied -- asylum in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. The FBI pursued him relentlessly, even notifying Scandinavian countries in advance of their intent to extradite him should he leave Moscow via a connecting flight through any of their countries. The new EU proposition specifically asks countries to "drop any criminal charges against Edward Snowden, grant him protection and consequently prevent extradition or rendition by third parties, in recognition of his status as whistle-blower and international human rights defender." Snowden called the vote a "game-changer" on Twitter, adding, "This is not a blow against the US Government, but an open hand extended by friends. It is a chance to move forward." | |
Comment: This is welcomed news. Bravo to the EU.
| |
|
|
Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post 2015-10-29 18:53:00
Hillary's track record with Libya is poor to say the least. While Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was ultimately responsible for providing security at the US embassy where the attacks and killing of Ambassador Chris Stevens took place. Considering the outcome, it would be safe to say that Clinton was a failure in her duties at the very least. That is, if we assume the best and give her the benefit of the doubt. However, while much has been made about the scandal in Benghazi and the death of US Ambassador Chris Stevens there, the real story behind the attacks should make Clinton appear much more than an incompetent derelict. In fact, Clinton was anything but incompetent in the Benghazi scandal. Chris Stevens was merely a casualty in a much broader campaign of arming terrorists in Libya and later transferring those terrorists as well as the arms themselves into Syria via Turkey. The fact that the United States has armed, trained, funded, and directed terrorists in Libya and Syria is beyond question. It is also a fact that the State Department has played a key role in that regard. | |
|
|
RT
2015-10-28 18:13:00
RT's Lizzie Phelan and her crew report from Palmyra in direct sight of Islamic State militants, who are holding positions among the ruins of the world heritage site. With the terrorists weakened by Russian airstrikes, the Syrian Army is preparing for an offensive to retake Palmyra. The important UNESCO world heritage site has been under the control of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) since May. RT's crew are the first among international TV journalists to report from the area, with IS fighters visible on a nearby hill.
The historic area has been ravaged by Islamic State and it is where the extremists brutally kill their prisoners to terrorize their opponents. This week in Palmyra they tried out a new execution method: they tied three prisoners - Syrian Army soldiers - to columns that were part of the historic structure, and blew them up, the army told RT. Every day, positions of Syrian soldiers in Palmyra are targeted by IS militant sniper fire, artillery and mortars. This is being exclusively filmed by RT. | ||
|
|
RT
2015-10-29 17:25:00
Red Cross personnel on the ground in Syria have not reported any 'airstrikes' allegedly delivered by Russian jets on civilian targets including hospitals, the medical charity's top executive told RT. Since Moscow started its air campaign in Syria on September 30, Western media have been publishing reports that Russian jets are targeting civilians. Last week, Russia was accused of bombing a number of hospitals in Syria, an allegation flatly denied by the Russian Defense Ministry. Dominik Stillhart, director of operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has people on the ground in Syria, told RT he is unaware of any such incidents. "We've seen these reports as well, but in the absence of any firsthand information coming from our teams on the ground, I can neither confirm, nor deny these allegations," Stillhart said, stressing that international humanitarian law "fully applies to the airstrikes undertaken by [anyone] in Syria, including Russia.
"In addition to providing large scale humanitarian assistance, our teams on the ground are also monitoring the conduct of hostilities and use of force, and in case we have concerns, we will share them directly, in a bilateral and confidential dialogue with the relevant party," the Red Cross executive said. Stillhart revealed his organization had two employees at the medical facility bombed by US forces in Kunduz, saying the Red Cross "is still shocked" by the tragic attack, "even more so, because hospitals, medical facilities and health staff are protected by international humanitarian law." "There are investigations that [are] currently going on and we're anxious to see the results of these investigations," Stillhart said. Despite security measures taken to protect health facilities and medical workers operating in zones of conflicts, "the only way to guarantee better protection [for] health facilities, health and humanitarian workers is to fully respect international humanitarian law," Dominik Stillhart said. The smear campaign against Russian military operating in Syria began last week, with media outlets citing reports from the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) foundation based in Canfield, Ohio. | ||
|
|
RT
2015-10-29 21:25:00
The Iraqi government never asked for and does not need any US involvement in ground operations against Islamic State terrorists. The eye-opening statement came only a day after the Pentagon promised its partner more ground support if it was required. "This is an Iraqi affair and the government did not ask the US Department of Defense to be involved in direct operations," spokesman Sa'ad al-Hadithi told NBC News. "We have enough soldiers on the ground." Hadithi made it clear that any involvement of US forces that stretches beyond their "train and advise" mission must be cleared with Baghdad - as mandated under international law. Thus far Iraq has only cleared a US air campaign over its territory against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). For now, Hadithi stressed, Iraq only needs US support in "arming and training [Iraqi] forces." Around 3,300 US troops are involved in the mission in Iraq. | |
Comment: The difference between Russia and the US is striking. Russia refuses to intervene without an official request from the Iraqi government, which is in accordance with international law. The US announces it will put troops on the ground in Iraq "if necessary" regardless of whether Iraq has asked for help. It should be clear which country has respect for the laws governing nations and which does not.
| |
|
|
PressTV
2015-10-29 17:09:00
China has arrested two Japanese nationals over "spying," an official says, following the detention of two other Japanese individuals on similar charges earlier this year. The official at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, whose name was not mentioned in reports, made the announcement on Thursday. According to Japan's Yomiurinewspaper, one of the detainees is a woman, who was arrested in the city of Shanghai in June. In late September, Tokyo confirmed that two Japanese had been detained in China since May, adding that the country is trying to secure their release. Back then, reports did say a third Japanese had also been held but it was not officially confirmed. Back in 2010, Chinese authorities temporarily detained four Japanese nationals on suspicion of entering a military zone and taking photos without permission. The recent detentions come as ties between Beijing and Tokyo are at their lowest ebb over issues such as a chain of disputed islands in the East China Sea and Japan's approach to its wartime crimes. China lays claims to the islands, which are currently controlled by Japan. Beijing also accuses the Japanese PM of not being apologetic enough for his country's World War II aggression. | |
|
|
Alexander Winning
A Ukrainian Eurobond held by Russia and due for redemption in December is "official" debt, and for that reason Russia is not taking part in restructuring talks Ukraine has held with private creditors, Russia's finance minister said on Wednesday. Anton Siluanov told journalists that Moscow would take legal measures if Kiev did not repay the debt on time.CNBC 2015-10-29 17:01:00
Russia's longstanding position is that the $3 billion Ukrainian Eurobond should be classified as official intergovernmental debt and is therefore subject to different rules than for sovereign debt owned by private firms."Ukraine's debt to Russia which is due to be redeemed in December of this year cannot be treated as a debt before private creditors, the debt has another status, it is official" Siluanov said. "The Ukrainian authorities have been repeatedly informed by the Russian side that Russia expects repayment of the debt fully and on time," he said. Ukraine insists it will not pay the debt in full or offer better repayment terms than those offered to other creditors in restructuring talks. Efforts to restructure Ukraine's debt are seen as crucial to shore up its war-torn economy, following a conflict between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east. A deal would allow Kiev to plug a $15 billion funding gap under an International Monetary Fund-led $40 billion bailout programme. The IMF has not yet decided whether it views the Eurobond held by Russia and issued when pro-Russian former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich was still in power as official debt. Moscow bought the bond from Kiev in December 2013 as part of a plan to rescue Yanukovich in the face of street opposition to his rule. He fled two months later as protests widened, opening a rift between Moscow and the new pro-European leaders who followed him. Via Reuters | |
Comment: With the IMF agreeing to make its next loan to Ukraine, even though the country is in financial default, it will be interesting to see Russia's next move. They have threatened legal action.
Just as predicted: IMF to change lending rules for Ukraine | |
|
|
PressTV
2015-10-29 16:52:00
At least 13 people have been killed in Saudi military attacks on a bus carrying the employees of a private company in Yemen's southwestern Ta'izz Province. The bus was hit on the road linking the city of Ta'izz with the capital, Sana'a, on Thursday. Fourteen people were also wounded in the attack. Saudi fighter jets have also targeted a mosque and a house in the Saqayn district of the northwestern province of Sa'ada. Warplanes also carried out three airstrikes on Kitaf district of the same province. Earlier in the day, Riyadh launched a series of airstrikes on the Sirwah district of Ma'rib Province. The attacks come two days after Saudi Arabia bombarded a hospital in the Heedan district of Sa'ada, run by medical charity group Doctors Without Borders (MSF).Yemen has been under Saudi airstrikes on a daily basis since March 26 when Riyadh launched a ferocious military campaign against the impoverished nation. | |
|
|
RT
2015-10-29 16:38:00
The International Monetary Fund will go ahead with the promised $17.5 billion loan to Ukraine even if Kiev defaults on its $3 billion debt to Russia due in December, reports The Wall Street Journal. Current IMF policy forbids it loaning to countries that default on other governments. In 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin and then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich agreed Moscow would buy $15 billion in Ukrainian Eurobonds. After the first $3 billion, Russia decided not to buy the remaining $12 billion following the Maidan events, which resulted in the overthrow of Yanukovich's government. Changing IMF's arrears policy would help "to avoid an outcome where Russia could hold the fund program hostage," Douglas Rediker, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former US representative on the IMF's board toldthe WSJ. Comment: Which is exactly what Ukraine was hoping for. So rules are rules unless Russia is involved Yatsenyuk threatens moratorium on $3bn debt to Russia - Ukraine bluffing? | |
Comment: Russia is in the right here. The bonds were issued by the Ukrainian government, not a private consortium.
| |
|
|
PressTV
2015-10-29 16:13:00
The United States has used a Christian non-governmental organization (NGO) as a front for an espionage program to spy on North Korea, a new report reveals. In 2004, the Pentagon launched a secret program to gather intelligence from inside the East Asian country that has long been a source of great concern to Washington, The Intercept reported. "We had nothing inside North Korea," one former military official familiar with US efforts in the country told the Intercept. "Zero." However, a Christian charity organization called the Humanitarian International Services Group, or HISG, was able to finally make way into North Korea through offering much-needed humanitarian aid to Pyongyang. According to the NGO's documents, HISG was established by three friends shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. Under the leadership of Kay Hiramine, the organization set out to provide disaster relief and sustainable development in poor and war-torn countries around the world. The espionage program was the brainchild of Lieutenant General William "Jerry" Boykin, a senior US Defense Department intelligence official during the George W. Bush administration. Boykin who was an evangelical Christian, obsessed with finding new and unorthodox ways to penetrate North Korea. | |
Comment: Humanitarian aid is a often used cover for more nefarious activities from the West. It provides a suitable "mask of sanity" to conduct covert operations. As the article notes, those involved and working are often unsuspecting of the actual activities for which they are being used. Countries like Russia and China have been demonized for not allowing such organizations into their countries, but as can be seen these policies are made with good reason.
| |
|
|
RT
2015-10-29 15:46:00
The US would not be keen to pursue a trade deal with Britain if it were to leave the European Union, one American official has said. It marks the first public acknowledgement by the US of a stance on the upcoming referendum. Prime Minister David Cameron will call an in/out referendum before the end of 2017 after he has attempted to renegotiate the terms of the UK's relationship with the EU. But comments from US official Michael Froman made on Wednesday suggest the UK's trade relationship with the US would be put under strain if Britain decides to leave the bloc. The comments challenge a key pledge among those in the 'out' campaign, who say Britain would prosper on its own by securing free trade agreements with partners like the US. | |
Comment: So both the US and China want to keep the EU intact for trade purposes. It seems China just wants easier access to the EU market rather than dealing with each individual country. However the US may have the TTIP in mind for keeping Britain in the EU.
| |
|
|
Sputnik
2015-10-29 13:31:00
Over 16,000 purported terrorists who are either "confirmed" or "reportedly" dead are included in various US 'terror' lists, a recently-leaked US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document marked "for official use only" reveals. According to an assessment that was prepared by the DHS's Office of Intelligence and Analysis in August 2015, US agencies can't properly trace or detect suspected terrorists. This is due to the breakdown of the so-called "watchlist" system which the US government had implemented, the popular whistleblower website The Intercept, which obtained that document, reported. "A significant number of 'dead' and 'reportedly dead' KSTs [known or suspected terrorists] cannot be placed on the No Fly List, because of insufficient biographic information needed to deny boarding to them," The Intercept quoted the Office of Intelligence and Analysis as saying. | |
|
|
Wikileaks
Fort Russ 2015-10-28 14:49:00
M: Let him come in! M: Sit down, David! Everything should be done on time, as we discussed. You understand the importance of everything! Wait a second, I will turn on anti-surveillance. McCain confirmed the plan, everything is in place so you know. We got cover from the US Senate. In Syria, Russians must be hit, or else if Russians and Americans fundamentally agree, they will really dump Ukraine. Donbass is on conservation, project Transnistria is suspended. If it goes on, we are done! We should speed things up in Syria! Have you prepared our guys?
K: Yes, everything is done. Today, they fly to Antalya and then go to Syria. They received good training and will tear everything with their spirit. These are our Kistintsy (Georgian Chechens living in the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia), tough guys. Ramzan Machelikashvili was appointed a commander, all four obey him. They shoot from all weapons, they are anti-aircraft professionals. They are waiting for specific instructions. M. Give Ramzan this phone number and cell phone. Upon arrival it is necessary to send a message, there is Warren's man from the CIA, he will greet and take the guys. Turks are warned and will let them through. In short, this agent of Steve Warren knows everything and speaks Russian. After, Ramzan should give him this phone. M. Yes, yes, will turn it off. K. It's all clear, but what about equipment and weapons? | ||
Comment: SOTT can't vouch for the veracity of this leak, but it would fit in with what we've seen from the western imperialist powers. Especially when we consider the shenanigans surrounding MH17. It would seem that that plane was shot down solely to blame Russia, perhaps they're planning to try the same trick twice. Psychopaths are notorious for their lack of creativity.
| ||
|
|
Sputnik
2015-10-29 13:11:00
Commenting on the ongoing Congressional investigation into the Benghazi attacks, Cato Institute senior fellow Benjamin H. Friedman suggested that the hearings are drawing attention away from the real scandal behind America's role in the war in Libya, which is the ease with which the Obama administration was able to pursue the use of military force. In his analysis, published in The National Interest Wednesday, Friedman noted that the use of the investigation "as a [Clinton presidential] campaign kickball distracts us from the fact that it was a tragic result of a foolish war, one which Secretary Clinton championed." Scrutinizing Congressional Republicans' initiative to launch over half-a-dozen probes into Clinton's actions, the analyst pointed out that "if a tenth of the scrutiny Congress devoted to Benghazi went to the administration's case for bombing Libya in 2011, that case would collapse. The flaws in the case were clear then, and Libya's postwar disintegration, of which Benghazi's chaos was symptomatic, just makes them clearer." | |
Comment: It's clear that the horrific atrocities committed by the U.S. are not on the West's radar at all - especially not in Congress. Fortunately Russia has stepped in to fill this huge gap and has made significant progress in restoring sanity in international relations. Also see:
| |
|
|
Xinhua
2015-10-28 15:38:00
Preparations are going smoothly for the the New Development Bank (NDB) for BRICS countries, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), officials said Wednesday. The NDB, initiated by BRICS members -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- is expected to approve its first loans next April, said NDB vice president Vladimir Kazbekov at a seminar in Beijing. The bank has already received loan applications and is hoping to issue its first loan to an energy-efficient project, Kazbekov said, noting that the bank plans to increase its staff to 100 from more than 20. | |
Comment: Slowly but surely, China and Russia are building an alternative world to the Western Hegemony.
| |
|
| Society's Child |
|
RT
2015-10-29 20:30:00
Strong blasts have rocked the town of Svatovo in Lugansk region, southeastern Ukraine, after an ammunition storage facility caught fire Thursday evening, causing mass panic in the area. At least one person was reportedly killed. Around 300 square meters of warehouses are reportedly on fire, a local official said, adding that over 3.5 tons of ammunition were being stored on site. | |
Comment: How anyone thought that building an ammunition warehouse that close to a residential area was a good idea is a complete mystery, although the government of Ukraine has shown that it doesn't always have the best interests of its people at heart.
| |
|
|
Ylenia Gostoli
Al Jazeera 2015-10-28 10:41:00
Like the rest of occupied East Jerusalem, the neighbourhood is mired in neglect and has become a scene of regular clashes between Palestinian youth and Israeli security forces.Those who come to Oz arrive in military vehicles, handcuffed and blindfolded. According to prisoner support group Addameer, at least 876 Palestinians, including 133 children, have been arrested since October 1 across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Israel. According to figures collected by the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan, at least 60 children were arrested in Jerusalem during the first two weeks of unrest. | |
Comment: Palestinian children are the heart-wrenching and unfortunate victims of a pathological ideology, jaded by acts and deeds so despicable it defies comprehension. But comprehend we must in order to rip off the mask of evil and expose it for what it truly is.
| |
|
|
Travis Gettys
Raw Story 2015-10-29 19:20:00
A transit police officer who was accused of attacking a teenager who has autism has been fired. The mother of 17-year-old Marcus Abrams said the boy was standing Aug. 31 near the tracks at a light rail station in St. Paul when police approached him, reported KARE-TV. The officers, identified as Peter Buzicky and Richard Wegner, approached Abrams and some friends after one of the boys briefly stepped on the light rail tracks. Abrams, who has Asperger's syndrome and wears specially magnified glasses because he is legally blind, was wearing headphones and couldn't hear Wegner's order to place his hands behind his back. Police suspected Abrams, who was returning home with friends after working at the Minnesota State Fair, was intoxicated or using drugs. Wegner grabbed his wrist and the teen backed up, so the officer grabbed the boy by his vest. | |
|
|
Eric Owens
The Daily Caller 2015-10-27 18:26:00
Officials in a public school district about 50 miles north of San Francisco have found a new and exciting way to coddle kids. Under a new policy, students will be able to earn passing grades with scores of just 20 percent — and a solid C for doing absolutely nothing at all. The lax, taxpayer-funded Cotati-Rohnert Park school district's new grading system is called the equal interval scale, reports The Press Democrat, a newspaper out of nearby Santa Rosa. The Cotati-Rohnert Park grade scale deviates from the traditional, well-established A-through-F scale by distributing grades in 20-percent increments from 0 to 100 percent, and by only giving grades of F for students with scores below 20 percent. | |
Comment: More proof that modern education is only tasked with churning out obedient debt slaves who are unable to use their brains in any way that matters. What difference do grades make when the entire system is designed for mis-education?
| |
|
|
Justin Gardner
The Free Thought Project 2015-10-27 18:24:00
Hundreds of emails obtained by the Daily Beast reveal the twisted mind of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice and his circle of colleagues who take delight in misogyny and racism. Justice J. Michael Eakin communicated with state and federal officials using a private "John Smith" email account. Emails include suggesting that a battered wife treat her wounds by "keeping her mouth shut," a joke about a man using a Taser to rape a woman, jokes about kids being molested by pedophiles, and numerous racial slurs. "An email Eakin received from defense attorney Terry McGowan links to a video titled "Craziest White Man," which shows a man picking up Latino day-laborers, who he then takes to immigration services. Afterward, the man in the video comments on the need to "cull the herd, make sure they don't overpopulate." Much of the correspondence was received by prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office in Harrisburg as well as by various county Common Pleas Court judges and district attorneys. It included a set of "motivational posters," which feature a woman mock-fellating a beer bottle above the slogan, "True Love: Sometimes you know it the instant you see it across the bar" and one of a topless woman which reads: "Dear Abby: I'm an 18 year old girl from Arkansas and I'm still a virgin. Do you think my brothers are gay?" | |
|
|
Tobias Salinger
New York Daily News 2015-10-28 18:02:00
A Texas woman took revenge on her slain brother's ex-girlfriend by rounding up a crew that abducted and drugged her, police said. Mercedes Salazar, 32, was arrested early Sunday in the kidnapping of a 25-year-old woman who was found screaming for her life at a home on San Antonio's West Side last month, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. Deputies rescued the victim Sept. 9 when one of three other accomplices who have already been arrested fell asleep and the woman managed to contact her mom, officials in the sheriff's office said. The group led by the longtime offender Salazar - whose brother was murdered in August - held the victim captive for three days inside the house in a subdivision near Lackland Air Force Base, Bexar County Sheriff's spokesman James Keith told KENS-TV. | |
|
|
RT
2015-10-29 17:48:00
A brawl at Florin High School, Sacramento led to the arrest of three students. Three school officials were injured during the fight, including the principal, who was body slammed into the ground by a student. "It was like chaos," Marquice Wong, a sophomore at the school told local KCRA. "There were students everywhere fighting. I (saw) school officials getting hurt." Some of the fight, which occurred on Monday, was caught on video and posted to Facebook and YouTube. When the fight broke out, it drew a school resource police officer, a school official and Principal Don Ross. The video shows students gathered around as officials try to break up the fight. There is much screaming and what sounds like punches being exchanged. After trying to restrain a tall student in a blue sweater, Principal Ross was body slammed to the ground. Ross quickly gets back up and grabs the student from fighting again, puts him a hold and draws him to the back of the room, where another officer joins him. | |
|
|
Martin Smith
Frontline 2015-10-29 17:37:00
For weeks, the world's eyes have been fixed on the tens of thousands of refugees fleeing war-torn Syria for Europe. But what is life like for those left behind? Correspondent Martin Smith goes "Inside Assad's Syria" to report from government-controlled areas as war rages, with on-the-ground reporting and firsthand accounts from Syrians caught in the crisis.
| ||
Comment: A reader from Fort Russ comments:
Indeed. Smith tries his hardest to portray Assad and his government in the worst light possible, but the actual people he interviews suggest things are not so simple. That is the real value of this documentary: what Syrians themselves think. In the process, PBS ends up broadcasting a little bit of truth: the 'peaceful protests' were not so peaceful, and the 'protesters' shot first. The Syrian government offers amnesty to rebels who choose to stop fighting. Whatever one thinks of Assad, Syria needs the existing infrastructure and institutions in order to survive, and the only alternatives are the scumbag jihadis and a woefully inexperienced and inept 'opposition'.
| ||
|
|
Travis Gettys
Raw Story 2015-10-29 10:35:00
A retired police officer who gunned down a married father who threw popcorn at him will use Florida's "stand your ground" law as his defense when he goes on trial for murder. The lawyer for Curtis Reeves confirmed that the retired Tampa police captain would use the controversial law to claim self-defense in the fatal Jan. 13, 2014, shooting, reported theTampa Bay Times. The 73-year-old Reeves was charged with second-degree murder after he shot 43-year-old Chad Oulson to death because he refused to stop sending a text message to his 2-year-old daughter's day care provider. The former police officer fatally shot Oulson once in the chest, and the man's wife, Nicole, who was sitting next to him during the matinee showing of "Lone Survivor," was grazed by a bullet — which prompted an additional charge of aggravated battery. "Just to think that in the blink of an eye, my whole world just got shattered into a million pieces, and now I'm left trying to pick them all up and putting them back together," Nicole Oulson said after her husband's slaying. Reeves' attorney has maintained all along that video recorded inside the Wesley Chapel movie theater will show that Oulson attacked the older man first — causing Reeves to fear for his life. Defendants must show they had a "reasonable belief" that they were threatened before using force — even if no such threat actually existed. | |
Comment: It's nice to see some common sense coming from law enforcement in the whole 'popcorn is a weapon' defense.
| |
|
|
RT
2015-10-29 17:34:00
A graphic video secretly recorded by an animal rights activist inside a Tyson Foods plant has led to two firings after it showed workers punching chickens and ripping their heads off. The footage could instigate legal proceedings against the fast food chicken supplier. In September, a Mercy for Animals activist went undercover to accept a job with Tyson Foods at its plant in Carthage, Mississippi, then filmed coworkers abusing chickens in a variety of violent acts, including bashing chickens with their fists or by throwing them against equipment. Among other abuses, the domesticated birds, called broiler chickens, had their heads manually ripped off while they were still alive and conscious. "We do not believe the behavior shown in this video by the two team members we have now terminated is representative of the actions of the thousands of workers we employ across the country," Tyson wrote in a public statement. "Ongoing and systemic" is how affidavits filed by Mercy for Animals described the maltreatment at the slaughterhouse, which processes 2.5 million chickens a week. | |
Comment: So on top of filling their chicken with poisonous anti-biotics and feeding them GMO foods, Tyson is literally torturing their chickens before they are killed. Anyone with a conscience and a desire to eat healthy foods should refuse to eat anything with the Tyson name on it.
| |
|
|
RT
2015-10-29 17:23:00
An airplane has caught fire at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood international airport in Florida. All the passengers appear to have been safely evacuated to the terminal building, as emergency crews battled flames on the port-side engine of the Dynamic Airways Boeing 767-200, with the registration N251MY.
| |
|
|
John Vibes
True Activist 2015-10-28 00:00:00
Ten activists were arrested this weekend for attempting to help the homeless in the city of Denver by building tiny houses in a park. The houses were also immediately destroyed just after the arrests were made. The activists belong to a group called Denver Homeless Out Loud, released a statementafter the arrests which read: | |
Comment: Makes you want to cry: What local, state and federal funds and resources should be allocated towards - serving those most in need - gets destroyed, and those creative enough and caring enough to work on this project get punished for exercising their creativity and expressions of conscience. And, of course, the homeless are still left in the cold. Welcome to Amerika.
| |
|
|
RT
2015-10-29 12:13:00
"Yes, I can confirm, the demand in Austria for weapons is growing. My revenue doubled in September. And in October it has doubled again, and we are still in October," a gun shop owner told RT. Obtaining a firearms purchase license in Austria involves passing special courses concerning basic handling and knowledge of weapons. The gun shop owner confirmed toRT that the number of people taking the gun handling courses has increased tremendously. "In the past, I had one appointment a week for 'weapon license training' with one or two people. Now I have a fixed second event, with 6 to 10 people attending," the gun dealer said. "Most of the people who came to me in the last week for a consultation or to buy a weapon, are telling me, and I always ask them, that the reason for buying is the 'current situation' in Austria," the man told RT. The "current situation" in this context is the influx of refugees entering Austria. | |
Comment: Arming themselves against unarmed refugees is an accident waiting to happen.
| |
|
|
Megha Rajagopalan, Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina
Reuters 2015-10-29 11:45:00
China will ease family planning restrictions to allow all couples to have two children after decades of the strict one-child policy, the ruling Communist Party said on Thursday, a move aimed at alleviating demographic restraints on the economy. The policy is a major liberalisation of the country's family planning restrictions, already eased in late 2013 when Beijing said it would allow more families to have two children providing the parents met certain conditions. A growing number of scholars had urged the government to reform the rules, introduced in the late 1970s to prevent population growth spiralling out of control, but now regarded as outdated and responsible for shrinking China's labour pool. For the first time in decades the working age population fell in 2012, and China could be the first country in the world to get old before it gets rich. | |
Comment: It's good to see China moving in the right direction on the family planning restrictions but it took the economy to send the message.
| |
|
|
TeleSur TV
2015-10-28 02:39:00
A Cuban girl is being deprived of urgently needed cancer treatment due to the United States' blockade, doctors said Wednesday. Seven-year-old Noemi Bernardez underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor in September, and is now undergoing further treatment including radiation therapy. However, her doctors say the likelihood Bernardez will survive is low without access to a specialized drug made in the United States, Temozolomida. | |
Comment: The US has a long history of acting hostile towards countries when it doesn't agree with a given country's government. Such behavior obviously harms innocent people, more often than not bringing about the early and unnecessary death of the victims.
| |
|
| Secret History |
|
David Keys
The Independent 2015-10-29 00:00:00
Academics fear that the 6,300-year-old settlement could be severely damaged by a new road tunnel Archaeologists have discovered the oldest prehistoric building ever found in the Stonehenge landscape - but fear a new road tunnel could severely damage the site. Dating from around 6,300 years ago - at least 1,300 years before Stonehenge - it was built immediately adjacent to a sacred Stone Age spring. Academics have dubbed it an "eco" house because the base of a fallen tree was used as one of the walls. The building is important as it appears to have been constructed by indigenous Mesolithic hunter-gatherers at the time when the very first semi-agricultural European-originating Neolithic settlers w |
[Message clipped] View entire message
