Society's Child

Dallas landmark Ambassador Hotel destroyed in massive blaze

RT
Tue, 28 May 2019 12:10 UTC

An enormous fire has engulfed the historic Ambassador Hotel near downtown Dallas with more than 100 firefighters drafted in to battle the blaze.

Dallas Fire-Rescue were called to the raging inferno at approximately 1:30am local time after the five-storey building was engulfed in flames on Monday night.

A huge column of smoke was seen billowing off the building and firefighters reported that several of the floors collapsed.

Comment: Video footage of the fire from local news:

Israeli soldiers deliberately shot Canadian doctor in both legs while he was treating injured Gaza protestors

Tarek Loubani
If Americans Knew
Fri, 25 May 2018 00:00 UTC

© Khalil Hamra/Associated Press
Dr. Tarek Loubani, a physician from London, Ont., was treating gunshot wound patients in Gaza when he became one himself.

Dr. Loubani, a Canadian physician, was in Gaza to treat the wounded in the Great March of Return - and to test a new 3-D printed tourniquet - when he was apparently targeted and shot in both legs. He is among at least 17 paramedics injured; one was killed.

On Monday May 14, while treating patients with gunshot wounds in Gaza during the Great March of Return, Canadian physician Tarek Loubani was shot in both legs by Israeli forces. One medic on his team, Musa Abuhassanin, was killed while attempting to providing care Palestinian protesters. Loubani published an account that noted he and the medical staff were wearing "high visibility clothing" and when they approached injured Palestinians, they did so with their hands raised as to show soldiers they were unarmed medical professionals.

After Loubani was wounded, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for an investigation and issued a statement, "We are appalled that Dr. Tarek Loubani, a Canadian citizen, is among the wounded - along with so many unarmed people, including civilians, members of the media, first responders, and children."

Comment: Israel's war criminals in their own words: "...we're putting snipers up because we want to preserve the values we were educated by."

Outraged US congressman, journalists fall for fake Trump quote by TIME contributor

RT
Mon, 27 May 2019 08:32 UTC

Twitter went into overdrive over a fabricated quote of US President Donald Trump praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The fake quote drew real outrage from Rep. Ted Lieu and other members of the anti-Trump resistance.

The 'quote' was posted by foreign policy expert and TIME magazine contributor Ian Bremmer on Sunday and was quickly picked up by media people and politicians, including Democratic US representative and fervent Trump critic Ted Lieu.

The since-deleted tweet by Bremmer read: "President Donald Trump in Tokyo: 'Kim Jong Un is smarter and would make a better president than Sleepy Joe Biden.'" It was retweeted almost a thousand times before being taken down.

Young couple executed in South Africa amid spike in attacks on white farmers

Sputnik
Mon, 27 May 2019 20:04 UTC

The tragedy comes after South African police arrested a man on suspicion of brutally murdering a female white farmer 250 kilometres from the country's capital. Just days before her tragic death, Annette Kennealy shared an article about skyrocketing attacks on white farmers in South Africa.

A young white couple have been shot and killed in broad daylight by unknown assailants in South Africa after their car ran out of diesel, in what police suspect was a racist attack.

The double murder of 19-year-old Johanco Fleischman and his girlfriend Jessica Kuhn, 23, took place on Sunday near the town of Benoni in Gauteng Province, about 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of the capital Johannesburg.

Comment: See also:

The indictment of Julian Assange under the Espionage Act is a threat to the press and the American people

James Risen
The Intercept
Fri, 24 May 2019 21:01 UTC

© Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Placards left by supporters of Julian Assange outside the Ecuadorian Embassy on Aug. 20, 2012 in London, England.

A true democracy does not allow its government to decide who is a journalist. A nation in which a leader gets to make that decision is on the road to dictatorship.

That is why the new U.S. indictment of Julian Assange is so dangerous to liberty in America.

The Trump administration has charged Assange under the Espionage Act for conspiring to leak classified documents. The indictment, released yesterday, focuses on his alleged efforts to encourage former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to leak classified documents to him and WikiLeaks about a decade ago.

Comment: It is highly unlikely that Assange was working with a foreign intelligence service. Wikileaks have repeatedly said that their source for the DNC emails was not Russian. It's a shame that, despite the Intercept having it right on the Trump-Russia collusion nonsense, still believes in a Russian boogeyman working behind the scenes.

See:

Edinburgh food bank users 'on brink of starvation amid soaring demand'

Anu Shukla
The Independent
Tue, 28 May 2019 10:23 UTC

© The Edinburgh Food Project
A box with basic supplies, which forms part of the pack given to people experiencing an emergency

People in deprived parts of Edinburgh are facing the threat of starvation as supplies at food banks across the city run "critically low", a charity has warned.

The Edinburgh Food Project, which operates seven food bank centres across north, west, central and eastern parts of the Scottish capital, said it needed urgent donations of tinned vegetables, cereal, rice, pasta sauce, coffee, juice and biscuits, among other items.

The charity, part of the Trussell Trust Food Bank network, said it only had enough food for this week, and may not be be able to supply people with complete food parcels beyond that point.

Operations manager Bethany Biggar told The Independent donations of food were not sufficient to meet rising demand.

Comment: It's likely that the appeal will be met by generous donations and the crisis will be averted, but nothing has been done to remedy the dire economic situation UK citizens are facing and so it won't be long before similar issues begin to erupt throughout the country:

Consultant poses as journalist in Monsanto trial

Standard Digital
Sun, 19 May 2019 10:54 UTC

© AFP
The entrance to the Phililip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco, where the Monsanto trial took place in March.

Smiling and affable, the young woman was able to pass herself off as a fellow journalist to reporters including AFP covering a landmark trial in San Francisco on the health risks associated with the weedkiller Roundup.

The relaxed, confident thirtysomething was in fact an employee of Washington-based FTI Consulting, which has a client list that includes Roundup-maker Monsanto and its parent company Bayer.

Her assignment was to take notes on the legal proceedings that unfolded in San Francisco in March, FTI spokesman Matthew Bashalany told AFP.

Comment: Given the number of documented incidents of Monsanto doctoring research, intimidating those promoting negative opinions, attacking and intimidating farmers, journalists and scientists and engaging in many shady espionage-like tactics, is the above really surprising?

Carey Gillam, a Reuters reporter for 17 years, has written extensively about the behind-the-scenes dealings of Monsanto. See a selection of her reporting here:

Worst downturn since 1980s wreaking havoc on American farmers' mental health

Bloomberg
Tue, 28 May 2019 09:44 UTC

The worst agricultural downturn since the 1980s is taking its toll on the emotional well-being of American farmers.

In Kentucky, Montana and Florida, operators at Farm Aid's hotline have seen a doubling of contacts for everything from financial counseling to crisis assistance. In Wisconsin, Dale Meyer has started holding monthly forums in the basement of his Loganville church following the suicide of a fellow parishioner, a farmer who'd fallen on hard times. In Minnesota, rural counselor Ted Matthews says he's getting more and more calls.

"Can you imagine doing your job and having your boss say 'well you know things are bad this year, so not only are we not going to pay you, but you owe us'," Matthews said by telephone. "That's what's happened with farmers.''

Comment: Also see: China-US trade war: Hiatus or busted deal?

Fmr US Army Major: My fellow soldiers died in vain

Danny Sjursen
The American Conservative
Tue, 28 May 2019 09:44 UTC

© Spc. Middleton/U.S. Army National Guard/UPI
A U.S. Army Sgt. carries the American Flag at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, on May 3, 2016.

Sergeant Alex Fuller hailed from the depressed coastal town of New Bedford, Massachusetts. His brothers and sister did stints in prison; he sold drugs himself as a teen, and barely earned a GED.

Then he found a home in the army. He excelled, he loved it, and even made sergeant in record time. Most of all he was my friend. His story didn't end well, of course. On January 25, 2007 his body was shattered by a massive improvised explosive device (IED) in East Baghdad, Iraq. He was 21. His 19-year-old wife was pregnant. His family buried him on Cape Cod. Such is life.

We're expected to honor such sacrifice each Memorial Day. At least that's what tradition holds. But how best to do that? These days, most Americans, and especially their political leaders choose the vapid, simplistic path: "thanking" soldiers, flying flags, sticking yellow ribbons on car bumpers. There's nothing inherently wrong with all this, of course, but let's not pretend it helps anything. Stacy Fuller named Al's daughter after him. My oldest son's name is Alex. Many of us honor him with our memories, recollections, thoughts, and symbols such as memorial bracelets. But it's not enough. It's far from sufficient.

'Capitulation to anti-Semitism': Israel scolds German official over warning about wearing kippahs

RT
Mon, 27 May 2019 16:37 UTC

Israel's President Reuven Rivlin lashed out at Berlin's top anti-Semitism chief for his 'defeatist' attitude towards protecting local Jews against the rise of hate crimes.

The criticism from Tel Aviv was provoked by Felix Klein, who told local media that he "can't recommend Jews to wear kippahs anywhere at any time in Germany."

"Unfortunately, I have to say so," Klein said, lamenting the spike in hate crimes in the country.

Comment: He's damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't.

Israel won't change its treatment of Palestinians just to avoid public (specifically, non-Jewish) outrage.

If Jews are attacked, Israel can blame Germany for not protecting them but they can't take any precautions that violates their religious freedom.

Germany is in a position that it can't win.

Telling the truth? What a fucking joke. Liz Cheney is the spawn of Satan.

tekdude

Why, even Inspector Clouseau could crack this case. His first and most important clue was THE GREAT DECEPTION (CB), from there on out it was an...

Solare

The covid smokescreen is slowly being lifted. This is bad. Really bad. I f the US go for this crap it is just a question of time for Canadians...

Demore

I can see a devious actor impersonating a witless dictator to ridicule and bring down a country. From memory and experience I know that worked...

codis

THE HIGHER LAW I think, for maximum safety and security, all citizens deemed to be of the 'lower type', should have their brains removed and...

nedlud

Society's Child

Dallas landmark Ambassador Hotel destroyed in massive blaze

Israeli soldiers deliberately shot Canadian doctor in both legs while he was treating injured Gaza protestors

Outraged US congressman, journalists fall for fake Trump quote by TIME contributor

Young couple executed in South Africa amid spike in attacks on white farmers

The indictment of Julian Assange under the Espionage Act is a threat to the press and the American people

Edinburgh food bank users 'on brink of starvation amid soaring demand'

Consultant poses as journalist in Monsanto trial

Worst downturn since 1980s wreaking havoc on American farmers' mental health

Fmr US Army Major: My fellow soldiers died in vain

'Capitulation to anti-Semitism': Israel scolds German official over warning about wearing kippahs

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