Society's ChildS


Attention

Michigan college to track students at all times

Albion College
© Twitter
A Michigan college is requiring students to download a phone application that tracks their location and private health data at all times in an attempt to protect them from the coronavirus.

Albion College, located in Albion, Mich., is one of the first schools in the country to tackle contact tracing. The school is working to create a "COVID-bubble" on campus, and asking students stay within the school's 4.5-mile perimeter for the entire semester; if a student leaves campus, the app will notify the administration, and the student could be temporarily suspended.

The move comes as universities grapple with how to reopen safely amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Several schools including Harvard University have shut down their campuses entirely, while the University of California system will provide the majority of classes online with a selection of hybrid options. Other schools, such as Boston University, are resuming in-person learning with masks and social distancing guidelines alongside virtual learning supplements for those who don't feel comfortable returning.

Albion's reopening plan has sparked blowback from students and parents who are expressing concern about what they view as an invasion of privacy. A father of an Albion student said that he is upset that he must choose between keeping his daughter home from school or signing off on a university-sanctioned "invasion of privacy."

Arrow Down

Chinese academic disciplined after criticising Xi and Communist Party

Cai Xia
© Twitter pic/chauchiwingCai Xia had argued that replacing Xi would be the first step to saving the party from itself.
A retired Chinese professor who called President Xi Jinping a "mafia boss" and the ruling Communist Party a "political zombie" has been disciplined, according to her former employer, the latest such critic to face punishment in recent months.

Cai Xia, who had taught democratic politics at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party before retiring, is the third prominent figure in recent months to be disciplined after criticising the party and its leader.

The school, which trains rising officials destined for promotion, announced on Monday that it had rescinded Cai's Communist Party membership and retirement benefits for making remarks that "had serious political problems and damaged the country's reputation".

The notice on the school's website did not specify the remarks.

Eagle

Snowden sees 'bend in the arc of history' as 'only the worst people' are speaking against a possible pardon from Trump

Edward Snowden
© Reuters / Fabrizio BenschFILE PHOTO: Edward Snowden speaks via video link as he takes part in a discussion about his book "Permanent Record" with German journalist Holger Stark in Berlin.
Exiled US whistleblower Edward Snowden is sensing a shift in the political winds in his favor, as news that President Donald Trump will consider pardoning him elicited opposition from "only the worst people in the country."

"Imagine my surprise to find only the worst people in the country willing to speak against a pardon this time around," Snowden said Monday on Twitter. "How far we've come!"


Mail

Presidential election: A big push for mail-in voting will lead to chaos, allegations of fraud and worse

sign holders PO
© Getty Images/Tommaso BoddiSign holders support the post office and mail-in voting
Citing Covid-19, the Democrats want ballots to be sent in by post. The problem is that the mailing service can't be trusted - especially when the postal unions support Joe Biden.

It's understandable that many people are worried about the upcoming American election. It's not as if that doesn't come around every four years, but the political games this time are further complicated by a pandemic.

As such, there has been a push towards using mail-in ballots for the election. This has brought about a lot of discussion - not just about worries of corrupt practice, but of blatant partisanship. For the uninitiated, the United States Postal Service union has endorsed Joe Biden for president.

However, potential voter fraud - as alleged in this case in New Jersey - is only part of the scenario. It is certainly a possibility, but there are more prevalent problems we see within modern society that render the possible practice of a mail-in election as something completely idiotic. Especially once you consider all of the past mistakes that have been made by the postal service and in the shipping of ballots.

Comment: There is more than enough examples, in past incidents involving mail-in ballots, ballot harvesting and rigged voter systems, to guarantee this year's endeavor will be a colossal disaster.

See also:


Target

US jobless claims fall below 1M, but remain high

chart silhouettes
© InformNNY.com
The number of laid-off workers applying for unemployment aid fell below 1 million last week for the first time since the viral pandemic intensified five months ago, yet still remains at a high level. The pandemic keeps forcing layoffs just as the expiration of a $600-a-week federal jobless benefit has deepened the hardships for many.

The number of weekly applications declined to 963,000, the second straight drop, from 1.2 million the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The decline signaled that layoffs are slowing, though the latest figure still far exceeds the pre-pandemic weekly record of just under 700,000.

The pandemic, the shutdowns that are meant to fight it and the reluctance or inability of many people to shop, travel or eat out are continuing to weaken the economy and force companies to cut staff. Twenty-three states have paused or reversed their business re-openings. In a hopeful sign, the rate of new confirmed viral cases has declined in the past couple of weeks, though it remains far above the rates that prevailed during May and June.

All told, fewer people are continuing to receive state jobless aid. That figure dropped last week to 15.5 million, from 16.1 million the previous week, reflecting the fact that some employers are hiring or re-hiring.

Comment: When the world stopped, bills and expenses didn't.


TV

BBC grilled for interviewing 'Polish neo-Nazi' about Belarus protests

Riot police detain a protester, Minsk
© AFP / Siarhei LeskiecFILE PHOTO: Riot police detain a protester after polls closed in the presidential election, in Minsk on August 9, 2020
In its coverage of the Belarus protests, the BBC spoke to a Polish photojournalist who was detained and allegedly tortured by police. However, it didn't mention that he is a notable extreme right figure, with links to neo-Nazis.

As protests in the Belarusian capital of Minsk after the controversial re-election of Alexander Lukashenko were marked with violence last week, Witold Dobrowolski was one of several thousand arrested. Detained for three days, Dobrowolski was released on Thursday after being brutally beaten and "tortured" by his captors in what he called a "gulag."

Battered and bruised, Dobrowolski told his story to the BBC, in a video segment that described him as a "photojournalist." However, there seems to be a few details that the BBC neglected to mention.

Comment: See also:


Star of David

Gaza's only power plant forced to shut amid tensions with Israel

gaza power plant
© Agence France-PresseIsrael's halting of fuel imports into the Gaza Strip is the latest punitive measure over a wave of airborne fire bombs from the Palestinian territory
Israel halts fuel imports into the Gaza Strip causing major disruptions to essential services in the enclave

The besieged Gaza Strip's only power plant shut down on Tuesday due to a shortage of fuel, less than a week after Israel suspended shipments and closed the Kerem Shalom crossing.

The move comes amid rising tensions and Israeli air strikes against the enclave for the seventh day in a row.

Last Wednesday, Israel imposed restrictions on the Palestinian enclave, in what it said was a response to the launching of incendiary balloons that caused bush fires in southern Israel.

Roses

Russian major general killed, two servicemen injured in roadside bomb attack in Syria

Russian soldiers
© AFP / Delil SOULEIMANFILE PHOTO Russian soldiers reposition in the town of Derouna Arha near the Syrian border with Turkey on June 16, 2020.
A senior Russian military adviser with the rank of major general has been killed in an attack in Syria's eastern Deir ez-Zor province, the Defense Ministry has confirmed. Two more Russian servicemen were injured in the incident.

A Russian military column was struck by a blast on Tuesday while en route from the Deir ez-Zor area, where the military had carried out humanitarian operations. A roadside improvised explosive device was detonated near the convoy, severely injuring a major general.

Pistol

Three officers shot in Texas house call turned hostage situation - UPDATE: Hostages freed

cedar park police shot hostage texas
© CNNThree police officers were shot in an Austin suburb Sunday.
Three officers were shot Sunday in a Texas suburb after a suspect barricaded himself inside a home and took multiple hostages, police wrote on Twitter.

Cedar Park Police responded to a home call on Sunday after a woman said her son "had kicked in the door and was acting very aggressive," the department said in a press conference Sunday, according to CNN. All three of the officers who had been shot have been admitted to hospitals and are in stable condition, a Tweet from assistant police chief Mike Harmon detailed.

Comment: Local station KXAN reports the standoff is over:
Joseph Desean Taylor hostage texas
© Cedar Park Police DepartmentJoseph Desean Taylor mug shot from September 2019
Joseph Desean Taylor, 26, surrendered Monday morning after barricading himself in his home, along with his sister, brother and mother in an ordeal that started when officers arrived at the home for a disturbance. Taylor is accused of shooting Cedar Park officers Jaqueline Quiles, Cris Hester and Nik Anderson shortly after the trio responded to the call, and then Taylor allegedly took his family members hostage in an ordeal that later ended peacefully.

Law enforcement mentioned in press briefings Monday officers had responded to the home and incidents with the suspect before, and arrest documents show Taylor was arrested in 2019 after a third-degree felony family violence crime.



X

Town Hall senior columnist banned from Twitter after criticizing Biden

Jack Dorsey Marina Medvin
Marina Medvin is a journalist. She expressed an opinion on a candidate in the upcoming election. Twitter called this "abuse and harassment."
Marina Medvin, senior columnist at Town Hall, caught a seven-day Twitter ban for criticizing the presidential contender in this year's election, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Medvin is a journalist. She expressed an opinion on a candidate in the upcoming election. Twitter called this "abuse and harassment."

Medvin commented on an article from the Catholic News Agency, which discussed the fact that Biden counts his Catholic faith, the Pope, and nuns among his inspiration. This is as per a video put out by the Democratic National Committee on August 9.