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Mon, 08 Nov 2021
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Jet1

Russia unveils its new 20-ton sixth generation drone fighter

Russian 6th Generation Stealth Drone
Russian defense industry sources have recently unveiled a massive, 20-ton stealth drone fighter to be flight-tested later this year - will be the prototype for their sixth-generation jet, according to TASS, a Russian state-owned media outlet.

According to the defense official, the sixth generation jet program "has not yet taken full shape, its main features are already known."
"First of all, it should be unmanned and capable of performing any combat task in an autonomous regime. In this sense, the stealth drone will become the prototype of the sixth generation fighter jet,' the source said, adding that the drone will be able to "take off, fulfill its objectives and return to the airfield."

"However, it will not receive the function of decision-making regarding the use of weapons - this will be decided by a human," he said.

Moon

Recent survey shows most Russians believe NASA's lunar missions were fake

Astronauts on the moom
© NASA/Reuters
Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, deploys a scientific research package on the surface of the moon .
Over a half of all Russians believe that US astronauts have never been on the Moon and that the US authorities and NASA covered up this fact by forging proof of moon landings, a new poll shows.

In the recent survey titled "Science and society: authority and trust" experts of the Russian state-run public opinion research center VTSIOM wrote that 57 percent of Russians currently think that the US claims of successful manned Moon missions are lies and that the documented proof of these missions was forged. Only 24 percent of respondents said that they believed that the manned Moon missions were real.

Researchers also specified that 65 percent of those who think that the US authorities are lying about the moon landings have secondary education.

Doberman

Academic journal duped by author of viral 'dog rape culture' article

beagles dog park
The author of the viral academic article on "rape culture" at Portland dog parks appears to have misled the journal about her credentials, Campus Reform has learned.

Helen Wilson submitted her study, "Human reactions to rape culture and queer performativity at urban dog parks in Portland, Oregon" to the Journal of Feminist Geography in 2017, claiming to the editors that she holds a "doctorate in feminist studies."

According to the article, Wilson not only has a PhD in Feminist Studies, but also served as the lead researcher of the Portland Ungendering Research (PUR) Initiative, the website for which was notably published four days after Wilson submitted her research to the journal.

After reaching out to each of the four academic institutions in the United States that offers a PhD program in Feminist Studies, however, Campus Reform discovered that none could confirm that Helen Wilson had ever earned a PhD from their program.

Comment: The Journal of Feminist Geography sure sounds like an upstanding scientific journal.


Cross

Pope Francis adviser decries Matteo Salvini's proposal to display crucifixes in all public places

Matteo Salvini
© Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
Italy’s far-right leader Matteo Salvini often brandishes a rosary during public speeches.
A close adviser to Pope Francis has strongly condemned a proposal by Italy's far-right League party to make it obligatory for crucifixes to be displayed in all public spaces, including ports, schools, embassies and prisons.

The bill, introduced for debate in parliament earlier this week, would include fines of up to €1,000 (£890) for failing to comply.

In a tweet that went viral on Wednesday, Reverend Antonio Spadaro, the editor of the Jesuit magazine La Civiltà Cattolica, wrote that the crucifix should never be used as a political symbol and said politicians should keep their hands off.

"The cross is a sign of protest against sin, violence, injustice and death. It is NEVER a sign of identity. It screams of love to the enemy and unconditional welcome. It is an embrace from God without defences," he said.

Heart - Black

US refuses to allow IOC to export sports equipment to N. Korea

gym equipment
© Ricardo Moraes / Reuters
The US has blocked a request by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the United Nations Security Council Committee to exclude sports equipment from the list of items prohibited for export to North Korea.

"The United States was the only one to object against approving the IOC president's request by the UN Security Council Committee," TASS reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.

IOC head Thomas Bach initiated the request, asking the UN Security Council Committee to allow export of sports gear to the country, which has been under sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear program and missile tests.

Star of David

Israeli cartoonist fired for depicting Netanyahu as pig from Orwell's Animal Farm

Benjamin Netanyahu
© Gali Tibbon/Reuters
An Israeli cartoonist has been fired for depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others as pigs from George Orwell's Animal Farm. He had worked for the magazine for three decades.

Jerusalem Report cartoonist Avi Katz drew Netanyahu and other members of the Likud party as pigs, with a quote added from Orwell's novel, "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others."

The drawing parodied a photograph of politicians taking a selfie after passing the controversial Jewish Nation-State Law, which defines Israel as a state of Jewish people, promotes illegal settlements and has been slammed by human rights organizations, described as racist and likened to an apartheid law.

Stock Down

Facebook loses $119bln in market value in single biggest day loss

facebook
© Eric Thayer / Reuters
Facebook shares have fallen 19 percent, wiping $119 billion off the social media giant's value. The one-day percentage drop, the biggest ever for any US traded company, comes after it forecast months of lower profit margins.

Facebook shares closed at $176.26 on Thursday, down from $217.50 the day before.

"We expect our revenue-growth rates to decline by high-single-digit percentages from prior quarters sequentially in both Q3 and Q4," Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said on the investor conference call that sent the stock tumbling. The company's sales and user growth numbers for the second quarter fell short of analysts' projections.

Comment: Facebook is learning how the public thinks about it openly promoting liberal biased news sites and being in bed with US intelligence services in sharing its data.


Heart - Black

Cop charged with aggravated battery for kicking pregnant woman while off-duty

miami cops
© MiamiBeachPD / Instagram
A North Miami Beach Police officer has been charged with aggravated battery and relieved of her duty, after an apparent revenge assault against a woman who was eight months pregnant.

On Wednesday afternoon, officers responding to street violence went on to arrest their fellow colleague, 26-year-old Ambar Pacheco. She was witnessed kicking a pregnant woman, Evoni Murray, in her stomach near Espanola Way and Washington Avenue shortly after 8:30 pm local time. Pacheco was off-duty and not in uniform when the alleged incident unfolded.

Pacheco, who joined the police force less than a year ago, did not deny the attack on a "visibly pregnant" 27-year-old woman, but said she was forced to retaliate after Murray's boyfriend, Joseph Predelus Jr., punched the police officer's sister, Mikaela, in the face. "I saw red and beat the sh**t out of her," Pacheco told the responding officers, the arrest report says.

Health

Knife attack by 17yo Palestinian in West Bank settlement leaves 1 dead and 2 injured

israel police
© www.idf.il
One person has been killed and two injured in the latest stabbing attack, this time carried out by a 17-year-old Palestinian, who entered an Israeli settlement in the West Bank for his attack and who was killed during the act.

The attack by the young Palestinian, who was later identified as Muhammad Tareq Yusuf, happened on Thursday around 9:00 pm local time. He climbed over the perimeter fence in the West Bank settlement of Adam, located between Jerusalem and Ramallah, and stabbed three people before being gunned down, local media reported.

Magen David Adom, 31, who was critically injured in the altercation, later succumbed to his wounds at the Jerusalem Hadassah Medical Center. Another victim, a 58-year-old man, remains in serious condition. The third man, who shot the attacker, suffered light injuries and was treated at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

People 2

DNA-testing company 23andMe partners with GlaxoSmithKline, giving Big Pharma access to its over 5mln users' genetic data

23andme
© 23andme / Instagram
A major DNA-testing Silicon Valley company is partnering with a British pharmaceutical giant, saying its database of over five million hereditary material samples will help develop new medical treatments.

The $300 million four-year collaboration project between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and 23andMe genomics company will allow the London-based pharmaceutical to use over five million DNA samples from the genetic-phenotypic database of the Mountain View firm.

"The goal of the collaboration is to gather insights and discover novel drug targets driving disease progression and develop therapies for serious unmet medical needs based on those discoveries," 23andMe said in a statement.

Noting "commercialization expertise of GSK," as well as the company's capabilities to research and develop new drugs, 23andMe expressed hope that their database will be used "across a broad range of diseases and modalities, including small molecule, biopharmaceuticals and cell and gene therapies."