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Cow

Best of the Web: When vegan influencers quit being vegan, the backlash can be brutal

Cassidy Dawn Graves
VICE
Thu, 29 Aug 2019 13:00 UTC
rawvana vegan
© VICE Staff
Popular YouTubers like Rawvana and Bonny Rebecca gave up veganism to save their health. But the fallout from their fans has been immense.

Last March, vegan YouTuber Yovana Mendoza posted a video on her channel, Rawvana, that rocked her followers to their cores.

"I definitely did not feel ready to talk about this," Mendoza told the camera, her expression solemn.

She had garnered nearly two million subscribers for her raw vegan diet content, but had recently been spotted with a plate of fish and called out for her ostensible hypocrisy. In the video, which has since been made private, she explained that while six years of raw veganism "elevated [her] consciousness," recently, her health had begun to suffer. She lost her period, she was "basically anemic," and she was riddled with digestive issues. Eventually, she said, she couldn't take it anymore, and started eating fish and eggs to alleviate her ailments.

Comment: See also:

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Light Saber

Best of the Web: 'BRICS was created as a tool of attack': Pepe Escobar interviews former Brazilian president Lula

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:13 UTC
Hu Jintao
© Dida Sampaio /Agencia EstadoFormer Brazilian leader Lula holds hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao, left, at the BRICS summit in Brasilia on April 15, 2010. Lula wishes his country had a strategic partnership with Beijing.
Curitiba, Brazil In a wide-ranging, two-hour-plus, exclusive interview from a prison room in Curitiba in southern Brazil, former Brazilian president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva re-emerged for the first time, after more than 500 days in jail, and sent a clear message to the world.

Amid the 24/7 media frenzy of scripted sound bites and "fake news", it's virtually impossible to find a present or former head of state anywhere, in a conversation with journalists, willing to speak deep from his soul, to comment on all current political developments and relish telling stories about the corridors of power. And all that while still in prison.

The first part of this mini-series focused on the Amazon. Here, we will focus on Brazil's relationship with BRICS and Beijing. BRICS is the grouping of major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India and China - that formed in 2006 and then included South Africa in their annual meetings from 2010.


Comment: Pepe Escobar interviews jailed former president of Brazil Lula


Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's show from 2016 for some background: Behind the Headlines: The Empire Strikes Back: BRICS under attack with coup in Brazil

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NPC

Best of the Web: CNN openly backing Hong Kong protesters? Outlet publishes handy 'what to wear' guide for activists

Danielle Ryan
RT
Wed, 28 Aug 2019 17:08 UTC
hong kong protesters
© Reuters / Edgar Su
Violent demonstrations in Hong Kong have entered their 12th week, but for any would-be protesters who have not yet taken to the streets, CNN recently published a handy how-to guide.

The CNN guide instructs budding protesters on exactly "what to wear" if they want to stay safe, just like the "seasoned pros" who have been pounding the pavements for weeks already.

The provocative protesters' manual is a clear indication that Western media is not merely providing informative news coverage of the anti-China protests, but actively backing and supporting a violent uprising abroad.

CNN's list of must-have protest gear includes goggles ("obscures identity from surveillance cameras"), black T-shirts ("makes it harder for authorities to identify an individual"), gas masks (also "obscures identity") and gloves (to protect hands when "creating barriers against police").
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Bulb

Best of the Web: 'We're living the end of Western hegemony': Macron urges to stop pushing Russia away from Europe


RT
Mon, 26 Aug 2019 22:47 UTC
macron
© Yoan Valat / Pool / Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that it would be a "strategic mistake" for Western nations not to change their attitude toward Moscow.

"We are living the end of Western hegemony," Macron told diplomats on Tuesday, after hosting the G7 meeting in the city of Biarritz on France's Atlantic coast over the weekend. He named the rise of Beijing and Moscow as signs of a shift on the world scene.
Pushing Russia away from Europe is a profound strategic mistake.
"We're either pushing Russia into isolation, which increases tensions, or to ally itself with other major powers like China, which would not be in our interest," Macron said, calling for the "rethinking" of relations with Moscow. Otherwise, Europe will be stuck with "frozen conflicts" and will remain "a theater for strategic struggle between the US and Russia," he stressed.
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Whistle

Best of the Web: The Chinese perspective: Biased media distorts Hong Kong law enforcement narrative

Chen Qingqing
Global Times
Mon, 26 Aug 2019 21:24 UTC
riots Hong Kong
Shades of EuroMaidan: A nice young Hong Kong man lobs the police some freedom and democracy he bought on Amazon from the US of A
While pro-West media agencies in Hong Kong and others condemned the police brutality when officers pulled their guns Sunday, more internet users urged biased media to depict the entire story and cease misleading the public.

Around 10:00 pm, after clashes between police and protesters in Tsuen Wan, protesters chased police officers along Sha Tsui Road. A video obtained by the Global Times revealed black-clad protesters attacking police officers with batons, sticks, and umbrellas.

Surrounded by protesters, riot police retreated while some journalists covered for the protesters just as they've done since the demonstrations started months ago. Authorities arrived to disperse the crowds at Yeung Uk and Tsing Tsuen roads, which were illegally occupied by violent protesters, who still threw petrol bombs at the police and slashed passersby with knives.

Fires, bricks, and tear gas have damaged the neighborhood, disrupting the daily lives of residents in the area.

Comment: This is China's 'Maidan' moment.

Russia's response in March 2014 was world-changing.

What will China do?

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Ice Cube

Best of the Web: Powerful storm hits Madrid, Spain - Cars swept away by rivers of hail. In August


RT
Mon, 26 Aug 2019 20:42 UTC
madrid hail storm
Madrid is under a torrential downpour of rain and hail as floods sweep over the city's streets, washing away cars and anything else in their path. The storms were captured in incredible footage.

The immense storm passed over Madrid on Monday afternoon, with footage emerging from the city's Arganda district detailing its destructive power. Cars, trash cans and benches, among other debris, could be seen swept up in the flash floods.


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Jet1

Best of the Web: Israel is now more visible in the geopolitical mix

Steve Brown
The Duran
Mon, 26 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
Israeli air force
Take it as given that Israel tends to operate behind the scenes and would prefer to influence affairs covertly rather than overtly, so when Israel admits to resuming air strikes vs Syria and Iraq that's worth a look.

Israel has resumed air strikes on Syria and Iraq, claiming to strike Iranian military emplacements in both countries. Perhaps significantly, the Israeli strikes have resumed just subsequent to serious setbacks for terrorist militias in Idlib and Hama; where Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Ahrar al Sham, al Nusra, the NLF, and many other terrorist groups are based and backed by the US, Turkey, and Israel.

One basis for hope to end foreign adventurism in Syria was the liberation of Khan Sheikhoun, which cut a major terrorist supply route between Hama and Idlib. Considering the Syrian forces in that region, it would be logical for the IAF to strike there, however the New York Times reported Israeli bombing in the vicinity of al Aqraba which is in southern Damascus (and unlikely to have been a real target) while the IAF report says that Dama near As-Suwayda was hit. Most likely, neither report is accurate.

Where Israel truly bombed is anyone's guess since the normally reliable liveua conflict map shows just the one Israeli report for August 25th with no verifiable evidence, an unusual occurrence in itself. Only the New York Times and Israeli press are reporting the specifics of the attack, and those sources are generally doubtful. Reports this author has seen indicate that Israel bombed a corridor north of Hama used by Syrian security force reinforcements at a time when the Syrian air force and its allies were relatively inactive.

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Stormtrooper

Best of the Web: Policing for profit: How civil asset forfeiture has perverted American law enforcement


ammo.com
Sat, 24 Aug 2019 09:00 UTC
civil asset forfeiture 1
Picture this: You're driving home from the casino and you've absolutely cleaned up - to the tune of $50,000. You see a police car pull up behind you, but you can't figure out why. Not only have you not broken any laws, you're not even speeding. But the police officer doesn't appear to be interested in charging you with a crime. Instead, he takes your gambling winnings, warns you not to say anything to anyone unless you want to be charged as a drug kingpin, then drives off into the sunset.

This actually happened to Tan Nguyen, and his story is far from unique. It's called civil asset forfeiture and it's a multi-billion dollar piggybank for state, local and federal police departments to fund all sorts of pet projects.

With its origins in the British fight against piracy on the open seas, civil asset forfeiture is nothing new. During Prohibition, police officers often seized goods, cash and equipment from bootleggers in a similar manner to today. However, contemporary civil asset forfeiture begins right where you'd think that it would: The War on Drugs.

In 1986, as First Lady Nancy Reagan encouraged America's youth to "Just Say No," the Justice Department started the Asset Forfeiture Fund. This sparked a boom in civil asset forfeiture that's now become self-reinforcing, as the criminalization of American life and asset forfeiture have continued to feed each other.

In sum, asset forfeiture creates a motivation to draft more laws by the legislature, while more laws create greater opportunities for seizure by law enforcement. This perverse incentive structure is having devastating consequences: In 2014 alone, law enforcement took more stuff from American citizens than burglars did.

The current state of civil asset forfeiture in the United States is one of almost naked tyranny. Don't believe us? Read on.

Comment: See also:

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Fire

Best of the Web: Amazon burning? Well maybe not so much

Catte Black
OffGuardian
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 00:01 UTC
amazon rain forest fire
One of many misattributed photos doing the rounds. This is from another fire entirely.
Statistics indicate this is an average year for wildfires, so why the above-average hysteria?

Today on Twitter OffG stepped into the current panic-inferno and thick forest of screaming hashtags that is the "Amazon Forest Fire Crisis." The results were thought-provoking.

The mainstream media message is very simple. There are "record" numbers of forest fires currently in the Amazon basin. It's mostly Bolsonaro's fault. The G7 - soon to be assembling - needs to act. (Business Insider and The Guardian are also both very keen we send money to some rainforest charities)

Comment: One thing not mentioned in the above article is the sheer number of mainstream media outlets blaming the Amazon fires on you, because... wait for it... you eat too much meat!

amazon fires eating meat
This fits in nicely with the overall Green New Deal agenda. How convenient.

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Star of David

Best of the Web: Israel opens new front against Lebanon, with two drones hitting Hezbollah targets in Beirut - Zionist entity now bombing 4 ME countries UPDATES


RFE/RL
Sun, 25 Aug 2019 08:14 UTC
israeli drones
File photo: Israeli drones dropping tear gas against Palestinian protesters last year
Lebanon's military says two Israeli drones hit Hizballah's stronghold in south Beirut, while the Iran-backed Shi'ite movement says one of the aircraft damaged its media center.

The two aircraft violated Lebanese airspace at dawn over the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, an army statement said on August 25, adding: "The first fell while the second exploded in the air causing material damage."

Prime Minister Saad Hariri called it a "blatant attack on Lebanon's sovereignty" and said this "new aggression" represents a threat to regional stability.

A Hizballah spokesman, Mohamed Afif, said that one of the two drones was rigged with explosives and "exploded causing huge damage to the media center. Hizballah did not shoot down any drone," Afif said.

Israeli officials did not comment on the incident, which came hours after Israel said it had struck Iranian forces in neighboring Syria to prevent a pending attack "using killer drones."

Comment: From RT 25/8/2019: Lebanese PM accuses Israel of 'open attack' on sovereignty
Israeli drone flights were "an open attack on Lebanese sovereignty" and an assault on UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, Hariri said on Sunday.

Hariri called the drone incursion a "threat to regional stability and an attempt to increase tensions."

He said there's a heavy presence of planes in the airspace over Beirut and its suburbs, adding he will consult with Lebanese President Michel Aoun on what could be done to repel the "new aggression."

Separately, Israeli combat aircraft have reportedly flown mock sorties over the Lebanese city of Sidon. Local media described warplanes flying at low altitude over the country's third largest city, which lies about 40km south of Beirut.
From Sputnik, 25/8/2019: Israeli fighter jets fly over Lebanon after drones crash in Beirut
A group of Israeli fighter jets have conducted an flyover of Beirut and southern Lebanon following a mysterious crash of alleged Israeli drones in the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital, an informed source at the Beirut International Airport said on Sunday.

"Four Israeli Air Force aircraft invaded Lebanese airspace. We saw them flying over Beirut and southern Lebanon. Having made a number of maneuvers, they left Lebanese airspace", the source said.
From Sputnik, 25/8/2019: Nasrallah denounces Israeli drone attack in Beirut, vows to confront such incidents in future
Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, said on Sunday that the Israeli drone attack is the first dangerous incident and breach of rules between the two countries since August 2006. He went on to say that one of the drones that crashed over the Lebanese capital was on a "suicide mission".

While Nasrallah stated that Hezbollah didn't down the two crashed drones on the night between 24 and 25 August, he vowed that the movement would "do everything to prevent" such attacks in the future, saying that the time when Israel could bomb Lebanon "is over". The Hezbollah leader warned the Israeli military stationed at the country's border with Lebanon of an imminent response to the drone attack.

Nasrallah said in his statement that the group had entered a new phase in its conflict with Israel, vowing to retaliate for the deaths of two Hezbollah members in an IAF strike in Syria that took place on the same night.
Nasrallah also called "The latest Israeli development very, very, very dangerous," in a televised speech.

Things are finally opening up in the Middle East. Israel is now directly engaged in airstrikes against Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and - possibly very soon - Yemen. If it starts serious bombing in Lebanon, and Hezbollah - armed to the teeth this time around - fights back, it's curtains for the modern incarnation of Judea.

The Israeli govt justifies its utterly insane belligerence by saying 'the Iranians are everywhere'. But calling everyone it hates 'Iranians' is the Israeli equivalent of Western leaders calling all dissenting opinion 'Russian trolls'.

What's actually happening is that the largest (population-wise) countries in the region are coordinating their military actions to encircle and eventually contain Israel. This is their (belated) pushback against the Neocons' Yinon plan to 'balkanize' the region.

Israel - blinded by pathological hatred - doesn't see that its wild, preemptive actions are just tightening the noose around its neck...

UPDATE 26 Aug 2019

From RT, 26/8/2019: Israel strikes Palestinian group in Lebanon after punishing Hamas for Gaza rocket fire
Israeli air strikes targeted the headquarters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Lebanon's Bekaa region, local media report. Earlier the IDF struck several targets in Gaza, in retaliation to rocket fire.

"Three Israeli air strikes targeted the Lebanese-Syria border east of Zahle... explosions were heard in several parts of the Bekaa valley," An-Nahar news channel said as unverified footage of the strike apparently targeting the PFLP office spread across social media. The strikes seem to be limited as the PFLP said initial reports indicate no casualties.

The alleged raid on the Lebanon-Syria border area follows a confirmed Israeli attack against Hamas targets in Gaza Strip that targeted a military compound and the militant group battalion commander's office. Earlier, Tel Aviv accused the organization of firing three rockets into Israel, two of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

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