Society's ChildS


Footprints

Joe Rogan's $100M message to YouTube: 'Stop censoring us, Big Tech!'

JoeRogan
© Getty Images/Michael S. SchwartzJoe Rogan has received a $100m deal from Spotify.
The comedian's landmark shift away from the Google-owned streaming service could signal the start of a wave of creators moving away from the site - as it bafflingly attempts to pander to legacy media.

If you know podcasts, you know Joe Rogan. The American comedian has been producing his Joe Rogan Experience for more than a decade. He began just recording himself and his fellow comics shooting the breeze and smoking some weed before and after gigs.

Fast forward ten years and he has one of the biggest talk shows on the planet with presidential candidates, Hollywood megastars and billionaires queuing up to join him in the studio. The show has such enormous sway that it even managed to affect the price of Tesla stocks after Elon Musk took a toke on a joint during an interview.

In view of all this, it is perhaps not surprising that Spotify have just wooed the former Fear Factor presenter away from YouTube after writing him a cheque for a rumoured $100 million. That is proper, box office megabucks. To put it into context, that is more than Dr Phil, Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Ellen DeGeneres and Ryan Seacrest were valued at last year by Forbes Magazine in their top five list of "World's Highest Paid Hosts".

Comment: See also: Joe Rogan just blew up the death star


Attention

US Secret Service: State unemployment insurance programs hit with 'massive fraud'

BFranklin and mask
© depositphotos.com
A well-organized Nigerian crime ring is exploiting the COVID-19 crisis by committing large-scale fraud against multiple state unemployment insurance programs, with potential losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a new alert issued by the U.S. Secret Service.

A memo seen by KrebsOnSecurity that the Secret Service circulated to field offices around the United States on Thursday says the ring has been filing unemployment claims in different states using Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information (PII) belonging to identity theft victims, and that "a substantial amount of the fraudulent benefits submitted have used PII from first responders, government personnel and school employees."

The Secret Service warned:
"It is assumed the fraud ring behind this possesses a substantial PII database to submit the volume of applications observed thus far. The primary state targeted so far is Washington, although there is also evidence of attacks in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Wyoming and Florida."
The Secret Service said the fraud network is believed to consist of hundred of "mules," a term used to describe willing or unwitting individuals who are recruited to help launder the proceeds of fraudulent financial transactions.
"In the state of Washington, individuals residing out-of-state are receiving multiple ACH deposits from the State of Washington Unemployment Benefits Program, all in different individuals' names with no connection to the account holder."
The Service's memo suggests the crime ring is operating in much the same way as crooks who specialize in filing fraudulent income tax refund requests with the states and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a perennial problem that costs the states and the U.S. Treasury hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each year.

Comment: It's bad enough Uncle Sam joined the global pandemic club causing societal and economic devastation for Americans to unprecedented levels and years of ramifications. Now a potentially preventable financial scam is going viral. Buck up America...or bucks out!


Fire

Netherlands: Emergency services battle fire at abandoned nuclear plant, residents urged to lock windows, doors

Netherlands Nuke facility
© Twitter/Omroep GelderlandNuclear facility fire
Dozens of firefighters have been deployed to tackle a blaze at a disused nuclear facility in Dodewaard in the Netherlands. Police have asked the public to stay away and lock all doors and windows to avoid exposure to the fumes.

The fire broke out shortly before noon local time on Thursday in Dodewaard, which is roughly 100 km from Amsterdam. Eyewitness video from the scene shows fire crews battling the blaze on the roof.


Pistol

Active shooter 'neutralized' at Corpus Christi naval base - 3rd such incident at US Navy base in 6 months - UPDATE: Shooter named as Adam Alsahli

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi
© U.S. Marine CorpsNaval security forces responded to the shooter around 6:15 a.m. at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
Security forces "neutralized" an active shooter this morning at a Texas naval installation, the Navy announced.

One naval security force member was injured. A Navy statement said the sailor was in "good condition" and is expected to be released Thursday.

Naval security forces responded to the shooter around 6:15 a.m. at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, the Navy said in a statement. Authorities have locked down the installation while first responders process the scene.

"NCIS is en route, and state and local law enforcement are on scene," according to the statement, referring to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Comment: Update 23 May 2020

The FBI have named the 'suspect' - if you can call a dead gunman that - as Adam Alsahli, born in Syria.

Another Muslim attacks another US naval base??

Anyway, he was 20 years old, had no criminal record, and was a student at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi. However, his social media accounts allegedly reveal an interest in radical jihadi-porn.

Still no official word on the 'second suspect at large' - and there probably won't ever be one.

Alsahli was apparently racing his car towards the naval base's north entrance when he shot at a guard, wounding her, before she managed to raise a barrier that blocked his entrance. Naval military police then riddled him with bullets.


NPC

Civil war raging among the 'Russia disinformation' crowd: How RT-watchers fell out over not hating RT enough

Russia Today Moscow office
© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev / FileRussia Today's Moscow office
Though awash with cash, the Western 'Russian disinformation' racket is at the mercy of the political winds. Thus, its gatekeepers need to ensure the officials who manage the money tree don't realise the emperor has no clothes.

You may remember a report last month from British academics revealing how "claims by the EU's diplomatic service that RT is spreading fake news about the coronavirus pandemic were misleading and based on bad methodology." It came after many mainstream US/UK media outlets uncritically parroted allegations from East StratCom - and its 'EUvsDisinfo' information war wing - that "Russian pro-Kremlin media" was conducting a "significant disinformation campaign" to stoke "confusion, panic and fear" in the West and "aggravate the coronavirus pandemic crisis."

"The extent of EUvsDisinfo's misrepresentation of Russian Covid-19 media coverage is troubling," wrote the report's authors, Stephen Hutchings and Vera Tolz, professors of Russian Studies at the University of Manchester. They noted how "there is little evidence of systematic disinformation in RT's Covid-19 reporting. Despite some deficient practices much of the output was factual, consisting of aggregated Western news agencies reports."


Comment: Right, except that 'factual' in this context means untrue. RT has largely parroted the same complete BS about Corona-1984 as every other MSM outlet. Which renders the accusations against the Russian govt of 'spreading disinfo' re the 'plague' all the more absurd.


Pistol

Arizona man accused of shooting at family, threatening teen girls at recreation area

Jacob Trey Valentino
© Maricopa County Sheriff's Office
A Scottsdale man is facing more than two dozen felony charges after he allegedly shot at several people and threatened others, including some teens, at Needle Rock Beach in the Tonto National Forest earlier this week. According to court documents, people at the recreation area "were able to subdue" Jacob Trey Valentino and "restrain him" until deputies got there.

It happened Monday, May 18. According to the probable cause for arrest statement, Valentino, 26, was fishing along the Verde River when he fired a Glock 42 handgun at a family that was nearby. Two kids younger than 15 and five who are older than 15 were part of that group. As the family ran to the parking area, Valentino, still armed, headed the same direction and got into his car.

Comment: See this similar story, also in Arizona, happening just days apart: Arizona shooting at entertainment district leaves 3 people injured, suspect tells police he felt 'bullied'


Pistol

Arizona shooting at entertainment district leaves 3 people injured, suspect tells police he felt 'bullied'

Armando Hernandez Westgate
© MCSO
A man who opened fire at Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale Wednesday night, injuring three people, told police he went to the shopping center to target victims "because he was bullied and wanted respect."

Police said at a Thursday briefing that a 19-year-old man who was shot and taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries remains in critical condition.

A 16-year-old girl was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, and a 30-year-old woman was also hurt.

The suspect, identified by police as 20-year-old Armando Hernandez Jr., was arrested at the scene and reportedly admitted to detectives that he had gone to Westgate "intending to harm 10 people."

See video of his initial appearance in front of a judge in the player below.


Corona

Best of the Web: Tucker Carlson on New York Post calling for end to lockdown

New York Post cover May 21, 2020
New York Post cover for May 21, 2020
New York Post columnist David Marcus called out the risks of keeping New York City locked-down.


Comment: It's good to see the Controllers getting some pushback from national elites, but unfortunately it seems that nothing will convince them to change course.


Eye 1

Facebook further restricts PragerU's page, limits the reach of its posts after disputed fact-check

pragerU facebook restrictions fake news
© PragerU
Facebook's fact checkers have been accused of bias and using the feature as a censorship tool.

Over the last couple of months, Facebook's fact checkers have made a series of controversial and erroneous decisions which have resulted in genuine posts being hidden behind a "False Information" notice.

And now, another disputed Facebook fact check has resulted in digital education platform PragerU having its Facebook page restricted and the reach of its posts reduced.

Facebook claims it is restricting PragerU's page for "repeated sharing of false news."

Comment: The Facebook "fact-checkers" are fast losing credibility:

PragerU seems to have come in for special treatment lately on social media. Their stance on climate change and conservative political views seem to be the problem:


Heart - Black

Death by lockdown: Nursing home deaths account for 70% of Ohio's overall total

elderly man
Nursing home residents continue to make up the vast majority of coronavirus-related deaths in Ohio, according to new Department of Health statistics.

At least 1,246 residents of Ohio's long-term care facilities have died as of Wednesday from the virus, or about 70% of the total COVID-19 deaths statewide, the data show.

As nursing home fatalities continue to rise, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has promised a plan to ramp up testing in long-term care facilities, including the deployment of 14 teams of Ohio National Guard members to assist with the testing.

The nursing home death toll includes 877 reported since mid-April in facilities identified in 38 counties. Those are on top of the deaths of 369 residents who died earlier when Ohio recorded only whether an individual had been in a nursing home.