Society's ChildS


Smoking

It's official, smoking ban on Montreal terraces begins this May

Michael D'Alimonte
MTL Blog
Sat, 09 Apr 2016 14:32 UTC
no smoking sign
© Pisit Koolplukpol / shutterstock
Summer certainly won't be as enjoyable for the cigarette-smokers of Montreal (which is almost everyone) as the smoking ban on terrasses is officially coming into effect quite soon. And with this current weather, it looks like smokers might only have one or two days to enjoy a smoke and a drink in the sun before it becomes illegal.

Announced on the Association des restaurateurs du Québec website, smoking anything on a terrasse (cigarette, vap, joint) in Montreal will be banned as of May 26th, 2016.

Some may have thought that in a city with such a strong smoking culture, that this would never happen, but alas, it is has.

Shouts of "this totally sucks" rang out in our office when everyone was reminded of the smoking ban announced last year, and no doubt many of you will feel the same.

Sorry, smokers, but it is a lost battle.

For non-smokers like myself, we can't help but be mildly happy that having to deal with second-hand smoke while enjoying a pint on a terrasse will be a thing of the past, but I doubt you really want to hear that. Sorry not sorry.

Comment: The author should keep in mind the words of Martin Niemöller before he goes celebrating this restriction on civil liberties:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
See also:

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Red Flag

Genetic sexual attraction: Now the powers that be are trying to normalize incest

Piper McGowin
The Daily Sheeple
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 14:44 UTC
ben ford, kim west
Not normal and never will be.
Our modern politically correct society is trying to normalize (as in "make okay") all sorts of behaviors that have never been normal and are simply not okay.

For more on that, consider this argument from a gay man on why he does not want to share a bathroom with a trangendered man (a man that used to be a woman) even though laws are being passed everywhere to force everyone to accept the phenomenon as "normal":
I'm gay. I know a man when I see one. A woman who cuts off her breasts and grows a throat beard is not a man, she is a woman with a psychological disorder, known as gender disphoria. And I do not want to share a locker room or a shower with a woman. And YES, sorry libs, gender dysphoria is a mental disorder. That is the only reason insurance will cover the surgery - as treatment for a mental problem.

Comment: For more on the on the degradation of sexual mores see: Mummy, why is Daddy wearing a dress? Daddy, why does Mummy have a moustache?

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Handcuffs

Cop arrests jogger after she refuses to follow arbitrary order

Samer Kalaf
Fittish.DeadSpin.com
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 13:15 UTC
Jogger Arreseted
© MLive
MLive has dashcam footage of a Michigan woman who was arrested on Jan. 2 after she ignored a cop who stopped her and asked her to run on the sidewalk. There's a lot of yelling.

Vera Pecaj, a 40-year-old teacher from Brighton, was jogging in Green Oak Township when Officer Michael Jain pulled up next to her in his vehicle and asked her to move from the road onto the sidewalk. According to Jain's report, Pecaj ignored him. More, from MLive:
Jain crossed Rickett Road and then turned left onto Mission Road to wait for Pecaj, his report states. When he held up his hand to signal her to stop, he said, she repeatedly refused.

When she finally did —after Jain informed her she needed to stop or she'd go to jail — Pecaj refused to give her name and yelled she had done nothing wrong. Pecaj turned away to keep running, and Jain grabbed her arm.

"Don't f****** touch me," Pecaj yelled, according to Jain's report.
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Fireball

Artificial meteor shower planned for the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo


The Journal, Ireland
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 07:49 UTC
2020 Olympics Logo
© Eugene Hoshiko/AP/Press Association ImagesJapan won't host the Games for another four years but planning is well under way.
A man-made meteor shower as the center-piece of the opening ceremony is just one of the ways Tokyo is gearing up to produce the most high-tech Olympic Games to date in 2020.

According to the people at Futurism the budget for the Games is likely to come in at close to $18 billion with the event itself driving a host of new tech builds including automated taxis and that artificial meteor shower.

It will be provided by a Japanese astronomy start-up called Ale who plan to release a micro-satellite into space that will shoot out thousands of little spheres that will burn up and glow on on re-entry like a real meteorite shower.

Another innovation for 2020 is a plan by Panasonic to work on an instant translation device.

While there are 206 countries sending athletes to the Games, the device — which they hope can be worn around the next — will translate Japanese into 10 of the most widely spoken languages.

The same company is also planning an app that allows visitors to scan Japanese signs and translate them instantly.

It's not unusual for Japan to use the Olympics to showcase tech developments.

During the 1964 Games in Tokyo, they introduced the Shinkansen Bullet Trains. By 2020, the next-generation will have a top speed of 600 kph, just a bit faster than Usain Bolt.

Read the other innovations they have planned here.
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Stock Down

Americans spend more on taxes than food, clothing and housing - combined


Sputnik
Sat, 09 Apr 2016 03:24 UTC
taxes
The annual report from The Tax Foundation, an advocacy group, has found that Americans spend more on taxes than they do on their food, clothing and housing -- combined.

According to their findings, Americans will pay $3.3 trillion in federal taxes and $1.6 trillion in state and local taxes, totalling nearly $5.0 trillion, or approximately 31% of the nation's income.

"This year, Americans will work the longest to pay federal, state, and local individual income taxes (46 days). Payroll taxes will take 26 days to pay, followed by sales and excise taxes (15 days), corporate income taxes (nine days), and property taxes (11 days). The remaining seven days are spent paying estate and inheritance taxes, customs duties, and other taxes," the report stated.

Tax Freedom Day is when the nation has collectively earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year. This year, Tax Freedom Day falls on April 24th, or 114 days into the year (excluding Leap Day, which is earlier than last year). The Tax Foundation reports that this is due to slightly lower projected federal tax collections, expressed as a share of the U.S. economy.

Comment: Further reading: 'Taxation is theft' meme goes viral

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Camera

Russian photographer captured images and stories of people who decided to escape from social life and live alone in wild nature


Return to Now
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 18:53 UTC
hermit
A Russian photographer has captured the images and stories of people who find a life of isolation in the wilderness preferable to the madness of society. The story of his work is making its way around the internet again this month.
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Fire

Large fire breaks out at LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston, officials issue shelter in place order for area

Dale Lezon
Chron.com
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 20:16 UTC
chemical fire refinery Houston
© Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle Large chemical fire in the 1200 block of Lawndale Friday, April 8, 2016, in Houston.
A large fire broke out Friday morning at a LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston, sparking a shelter in place order for much of the area.

The blaze started at about 10 a.m. at Houston Refining in a coker unit that's part of the refining process, said LyondellBasell spokesman Scott Buchman. The facility is located at at 12000 Lawndale near N. Allen Genoa.

The fire was declared under control and tapped out at noon, according to the Houston Fire Department.

There were no known injuries, Buchman said. HFD officials said all employees were accounted for.

No toxins were detected in air safety tests, Buchman said.

Houston Fire Department officials said a cleaning fluid and heavy fuel were burning. It's is not known what sparked the blaze, but the company has begun an investigation into the cause.
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House

Home reduced to rubble after gas explosion in Birmingham, UK

Annie Gouk
The Guardian, UK
Wed, 06 Apr 2016 11:53 UTC
Ladywood house explosion
© West Midlands Fire Service/PA
A man has been rushed to hospital with serious injuries and three people have been left homeless after a gas explosion in a house in Birmingham.

The West Midlands fire service was called to the two-storey house in Wiggin Street, Ladywood, at about 12.20pm on Wednesday for what was initially reported as a house fire. When they arrived at the home it had been almost completely demolished, in what was later confirmed as a gas explosion.

Police on the scene reported that the roof of the house had been blown up and the rest of the house was "basically rubble". Neighbouring properties were also badly damaged in the blast.

Two casualties were confirmed by the West Midlands ambulance service. One man, who was believed to be in the property at the time of the explosion, made his own way to Birmingham City hospital, where he was treated for serious burn injuries.

The extent of his burns were so serious he was taken by ambulance to the major trauma centre at Queen Elizabeth hospital in Selly Oak, where he was being treated by specialists.

A woman who was also believed to be in the property when the incident occurred managed to escape from the wreckage and was attended at the scene by ambulance staff. She was discharged without serious injury.

Three houses were affected by the blast, and three people have been left homeless and in need of emergency accommodation.
Ladywood house explosion
© West Midlands Fire Service/PA
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Stormtrooper

Two lawsuits filed against US government for terror watchlist, citing "bigoted and misguided" process


RT
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 20:51 UTC
muslim praying
© Andrew Burton / Reuters
A seven-month-old baby is among 15 American Muslims named in two lawsuits being brought against the US government by the Council of American-Islamic Relations for placing the plaintiffs on the so-called terror watch list without due process.

"The terrorism watch lists are premised on the false notion that the government can somehow accurately predict whether an innocent American citizen will commit a crime in the future based on religious affiliation or First Amendment activities," said Lena Masri, legal director for the Council of American-Islamic Relations, Michigan, in a statement released on Tuesday.

"Our lawsuits challenge the wrongful designation of thousands upon thousands of American Muslims as known or suspected terrorists without due process," she added.

The complaint, filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, on behalf of 18 plaintiffs, argues that the secret federal watch list consolidated on the government's Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB), includes the names of American citizens "based on mere guesses, hunches, and conjecture, and even simply based on matters of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion," and violates their constitutional rights.
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V

Protesters continue to demand UK PM David Cameron close tax loopholes or resign


RT
Fri, 08 Apr 2016 20:30 UTC
uk protests
© Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters
With echoes of the movement that toppled Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, UK PM David Cameron must make tax avoidance impossible under British law or resign from office, activists are demanding.

A protest outside 10 Downing Street is scheduled for Saturday, along with a spate of smaller regional demonstrations across the country.

This comes after Cameron admitted on Thursday night to having held shares in his late-father's offshore investment fund, Blairmore Holdings, which avoided paying tax in the UK. He claims to have sold them for about £30,000 (US$42,000) before taking office in 2010.

Organizers say the Panama Papers leak has exposed the PM's hypocritical attitude to tax avoidance: promising to clamp down on offenders while simultaneously benefiting from their existence.

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