Society's ChildS


Attention

EU state legalizes deportation of Russians

Riga, Latvia
© Getty Images / Arseni Kukk; 500pxRiga, Latvia
Moscow has described the decision by Latvia as "inhumane"

Russian citizens holding permanent residence status in Latvia may be legally deported if they fail to pass a language exam, Riga's Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday.

Moscow's embassy in Riga responded by branding the decision "inhumane and ruthless," warning that it will threaten thousands of Russians living in the Baltic country, whose average age is over 70.

The law, originally introduced to the Saeima, Latvia's parliament, in September 2022, required all permanent residents to pass a Latvian language test before September 1 2023, or face deportation. The deadline was later extended by two years.

Comment: See also:
Given that the EU wants Ukraine to strike 'Russia's heart' - Lavrov, what happens in Latvia is what one can expect from a EU/NATO country these days, see also:
'Fear and suspicion': An EU state deports thousands of native-born Russian-speakers as the West turns a blind eye
'I'm an agent of peace' - MEP accused of spying


Water

Majority of plastics cannot be recycled and producers know this, report claims

plastic waste
The Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) released a report on Thursday which details how the plastics industry has evolved its marketing pitch in order to circumvent public backlash and potential regulation.

According to a report by the CCI, despite their knowledge that recycling plastics is not technically or economically practical, petrochemical companies have continued to push "fraudulent" marketing and public outreach campaigns to convince consumers otherwise. Doing so, the report says, has stalled legislative and regulatory action that could have addressed plastic waste and pollution long ago.

"Fossil fuel and other petrochemical companies have used the false promise of plastic recycling to exponentially increase virgin plastic production over the last six decades, creating and perpetuating the global plastic waste crisis and imposing significant costs on communities that are left to pay for the consequences," the CCI wrote.

More than 99% of plastics are produced from fossil fuels, the report continues. Though there are thousands of different types of plastic, the majority of these cannot be "recycled". And despite efforts to convince consumers otherwise, the recycling rate in the US for plastics in 2021 was estimated to be only 5% to 6%.

Tsunami

Water - The Abundant Scarcity

Water
© Yamada Taro
"Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink...."

These are the lines from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The speaker, a sailor on a stranded ship, is surrounded by salt water that he cannot drink.

Water is like Peace - it is all around us, but we do not grasp it. We let it go to waste. We let it be polluted, privatized, made scarce so that it becomes a market product. Yet water is a public good. It belongs to everyone. It has been given to us by our generous Mother Earth. Water cannot be scarce, as the total amount of water within the realm of planet earth is always the same - it remains constant.

The chances for Peace are similar. They are in public domain. They are a moral good. Peace is free, no cost. Everybody can grasp it - and work on Peace. Dedicate himself to Peace. Fight for Peace. Pray for Peace. Meditate for Peace. Unlike water - peace cannot be privatized.

We must keep it that way, and make again Water like Peace - a public good, not to be privatized EVER!

On 28 July 2010, The United Nations General Assembly, through Resolution 64/292, explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realization of all human rights.

Water's availability may vary from location to location. But water's huge quantity remains unchanged throughout the billions of years of our blue Planet's life.

Water is Life. Peace is Life. Water and Peace are interdependent.

Understanding this connection is understanding why water is an abundant scarcity.

However, nothing can be taken for granted, even if it is believed to be secured by a UN Resolution. We, the People, must defend this right, we must nurture it so it becomes from a seed a right engrained into our collective consciousness.

Comment: One need only add the word 'water' in the search bar to realize just a fraction of what is done to pollute it, capture it, dam it (for IMF political purposes), while controlling its ownership and creating often unsaid wars over it (peace or lack thereof, a constant).

Then there are water treaties, first/second/third user rights that trickle down to no rights at all (think Turkey, down through Iraq and of all the mighty rivers and tributaries controlled by dams).

What Israel itself has done to the Palestine people for decades, in terms of restricting and over harvesting aquifers that would result in salinization, is nothing but pathologically cruel. In 2024, as is now a reality, cruelty know no bounds.


Bad Guys

Cyberattack at German factory; explosion, blackout, derailment hit different US rail networks

The Hacker
© UnknownProduction at five plants of German battery maker Varta has been disrupted by a cyberattack, possibly a ransomware attack.
Germany-based battery manufacturer Varta revealed on February 13 that production at five of its plants had been disrupted as a result of a cyberattack.

The attack was detected on February 12 and forced the company to shut down IT systems and disconnect them from the internet, which caused disruption to production, as well as to administrative processes.

"The extent of the actual damage cannot be determined at this time," Varta said. "In accordance with the emergency plan for such situations, the necessary precautionary measures were implemented immediately."

Comment: See: Predatory Sparrow: The terrorist attacks of an Israel-linked hacker group

The following reports are particularly notable due to their similarity with the soaring number of explosions and fires around the world, and more so because they happened within just the last few days:

Power outage hits Boston transit system during morning rush hour:
"The outage at North Station was unexpected, and it is one of the MBTA's primary power feeds," the MBTA said in a statement.

"As a safety precaution, protective systems opened related circuit breakers, temporarily discontinuing power flow. We apologize for the inconvenience and disruption during the morning commute."
Explosion causes smoke to fill Washington DC's Eastern market station:
9 patients evaluated for injuries in scary incident just 1.5 miles from White House.


As of now, officials believe that an insulator under a railcar had caught fire.
Gas tanker train derails in New Jersey:
Tanker train derails in N.J. No spills or injuries reported.

None of the tankers leaked following the derailment on the Conrail Garden State Secondary line.

The cause of the derailment is being investigated.
Meanwhile over in Iceland, there was a huge fire and multiple explosons at a tyre workshop:
"There were a lot of explosions here earlier and we didn't know exactly what was going on.

People were gathering at the premises, so we wanted to close it down," said Friðjón Ingi, commissioner of the Police yesterday.

He said he did not know what caused the explosions but said they did not go far beyond the building.
A selection of the other, similar incidents in just the last month or so:


Star of David

'Elite' IDF brigade 'too scared' to go back into Gaza

haaretz headline givti brigade gaza
Haaretz February 15, 2024 article detailing the IDF Givati Brigade's refusal to return to Gaza, which is blocked from Google Translate.
Givati Brigade refuses to return to service, reports Israeli newspaper Image blurred intentionally

Soldiers of an 'elite' Israeli military brigade have refused to go back into Gaza, according to Israeli paper Haaretz, in an article that appears to be set not to allow Google to translate it.

So heavy have been the Givati Brigade's losses to Hamas's guerilla tactics, that the group of troops are 'too scared' to return to service in Israel's genocide of Palestinian civilians.

Comment: The IDF is finding out what's it's like to confront a determined, resourceful opponent, as opposed to beating up old ladies and little kids.




Footprints

Doctors forced to abandon patients as Israel raids another Gaza hospital

military guys
© Dylan Martinez/Reuters
An IDF spokesperson also claimed that Hamas militants are "likely hiding behind injured civilians" in the facility.

Israeli forces on Thursday raided the biggest hospital still functioning in southern Gaza in an effort to retrieve the bodies of hostages which may be in the complex, a military spokesperson said.

The operation at Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attempted to evacuate thousands of displaced people who had sought refuge at the facility. Military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the raid was executed after Israel received "credible intelligence from a number of sources" that Hamas had held hostages at the hospital and that the remains of some captives could still be inside.

He added that IDF troops launched a "precise and limited operation" inside the hospital, claiming that "Hamas terrorists are likely hiding behind injured civilians inside Nasser hospital right now." Hamas has denied the allegations. Sharon Alony Cunio, one of the 250 people abducted from Israel during Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attacks, claimed after being released that she and other captives had been held in Nasser.

Brick Wall

Polish farmers plan 'complete blockade' of Ukraine border on Feb. 20

STOP sign
© Kacper Pempel/ReutersA Polish farmer promotes protest over price pressures, taxes and green regulations
Poznan, Poland • February 9, 2024
Polish farmers plan a total blockade of all border crossings with Ukraine on Feb. 20, a trade union said on Tuesday, escalating their month-long strike that began last week in protest against EU policies.

Farmers across Europe have been protesting against constraints placed on them by EU measures to tackle climate change, as well as rising costs and what they say is unfair competition from abroad, particularly Ukraine.

In Poland, farmers have been particularly vocal about the impact of cheap food imports from Ukraine. They began a 30-day strike last Friday that has seen them block roads across the country as well as border crossings with Ukraine.

The Solidarity farmers' union, in a statement, said:
"On Feb. 20, as part of the 30-day general strike of farmers, we announce that all protest activities will be focused on a complete blockade of all border crossings between Poland and Ukraine and protests in the field. Not only border crossings will be blocked, but also communication hubs and access roads to transshipment railway stations and sea ports."
truckers
© bne IntelliNewsTruckers at the Polish-Ukrainian border

Comment: Pressure is rising on the border in several ways:
The protest will be against the "uncontrolled inflow of goods from Ukraine" that is causing "problems with the profitability of agricultural production, processing and other industries in our country," Solidarity RI, a farming trade union said in a statement.

Polish farmers are also unhappy with the EU's Green Deal policy, which, they say, imposes too strict measures to protect the environment and climate.

Farmer protests have been underway intermittently along the Polish-Ukrainian border since November.

In the latest round last weekend, protesters at the Dorohusk-Jahodyn border crossing spilled grain from three Ukraine trucks on the ground, causing friction with the Ukrainian side.

Polish agriculture ministry apologised to Ukraine, saying that spilling grain was not the "right form of protest," but it was understandable.

Poland's Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski said in a comment:
"[Polish farmers] are in a very difficult economic situation. At the beginning of spring, they have no money to buy fertilisers and plant protection products. It is hard not to understand their desperation. The government is considering further restrictions and tax measures to curtail Ukrainian imports."
Farmer protests are expected to last until March 8.

They are putting Poland's government in a precarious position ahead of local elections in April in which the ruling coalition will seek to expand power in many rural communities that have so far been under the control of the opposition's Law and Justice (PiS) party.

The blockades on Ukrainian imports have already caused severe damage to Ukrainian farmers and businesses, the country's central bank said earlier this month.



Dollar

Climate agenda set to push food prices even higher, analysts say

meats
© Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesSafeway store shopper • San Francisco, California
As inflation remains stubbornly high, farmers throughout the Western world are warning that cost increases from the net zero movement will drive food prices still higher, while simultaneously putting many smaller farmers out of business.

January inflation numbers showed that prices increased by 3.1 percent over what they were a year ago, indicating that the fight against inflation, while progressing, has not been won.

Overall, prices have surged by nearly 18 percent since January 2021 when President Joe Biden took office.

Americans are struggling in an economy in which, by official statistics, nearly one-fifth of the value of their dollars has evaporated in three years — though many will say the cost of food and other essentials has become more expensive than what the official numbers state.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which tracks food prices, offers an optimistic assessment of the coming year. After having gone up 9.9 percent in 2022, the USDA states, "[food] prices grew more slowly in 2023," increasing by only 5.8 percent.

"Food prices are expected to continue to decelerate in 2024," the USDA projects.

While some predict that the worst is behind us, analysts of the U.S. farming industry say there is another round of price inflation in the works, which will come from the Biden administration's "whole of government" effort to reduce global temperatures.

A recent report by the Buckeye Institute attempts to quantify the cost of Bidenomics to farmers.

Oil Pipeline

EU bought almost €30bn worth of Russian energy last year - media

Working men gas pipe
© Global Look Press / Zhao Jialin
Despite bans and extensive sanctions, the bloc has continued to import oil, petroleum products and natural gas from Moscow

Russia supplied just over €29 billion ($31.2 billion) worth of energy to the EU last year, according to data from the bloc's statistics office, Eurostat, as cited by the Russian business daily RBK.

This figure represents a threefold drop compared with the previous year, when the EU purchased over €90 billion worth of Russian energy.

The bloc continues to import Russian oil, petroleum products, and natural gas. Though Brussels banned purchasing oil and petroleum products from Russia, temporary exemptions were provided for the import of Russian seaborne oil by Bulgaria and for use of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, Russian pipeline gas and LNG were not affected by the restrictions.

Comment: Sanctions on the one hand, but then buying the sanctioned goods in a roundabout way on the other is not only expensive, but also incredibly stupid and calls into question the credibility of the decision-makers. Not only that, but it could also backfire for the EU. And Russia doesn't give a damn about the sanctions. Some buy less, others buy more. It all depends on the right negotiations.

See also:


Bizarro Earth

Record number of teenage first-time offenders in The Netherlands

Firefighters use a water hose
© AP Photo/Lewis JolyFILE: Firefighters use a water hose on a burnt car in Nanterre, outside Paris, France, Saturday, July 1, 2023.
In 2022, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) disclosed that more than 17,000 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 were implicated in criminal activities, as reported by NL Times. Among them, 11,000 were facing legal repercussions for the first time, marking a historical high. The majority of these first-time offenders were boys, constituting three-quarters of the total.

According to CBS, there has been a noticeable rise in the proportion of young individuals getting involved in criminal behavior for the first time in recent years. In 2022, 83 percent of the 4,000-plus girls suspected of crimes were first-time offenders, a significant increase from 72 percent in 2014. Similarly, 60 percent of the nearly 13,000 boys suspected of crimes in 2022 were first-time offenders, up from 53 percent in 2014.

Comment: Whilst soaring poverty will be a significant contributing factor, data from Sweden shows that another point to consider is how weaponised mass migration factors in here; notably that data is absent from the report above. And with both of these aggravating factors worsening, it's likely that crime will too: