Society's Child

Russia's Franz Josef Land in the Arctic may become major tourism attraction

RT
Sun, 02 Dec 2018 14:10 UTC

The world's northernmost archipelago, Russia's Franz Josef Land, could be a key tourist attraction in the Arctic, according to the International Union of Arctic and Far East's Marine Natural Reserves.

Its managing director Valery Korovkin told a tourist forum in Vorkuta that "the Franz Josef Land Archipelago may become a wonderful alternative to Spitsbergen," pointing out that this is the opinion of many experts. He explained that "every other tourist visiting Spitsbergen wants to visit Franz Josef Land."

According to Korovkin, by serving tourists every year, Spitsbergen earns an equivalent of five billion rubles ($74.5 million), with the international airport there serving about 80,000 tourists. "From the Norwegian side, everything is ready and works fine, so we should have a similar tourist center on the Russian side, especially since we all know about the high tourist interest to the archipelago," he said.

Comparing China and America: One rises while the other flounders

Fred Reed
Fred on Everything
Wed, 28 Nov 2018 17:25 UTC

However, it has neglected the fact that the trade war it wages with the world could backfire.

I have followed China's development, its stunning advance in forty years from impoverished Third World to a huge economy, its rapid scientific progress. Coming from nowhere it now runs neck and neck with the US in supercomputers, does world-class work in genetic engineering and genomics (the Beijing Genomics Institutes), quantum computing and quantum radar, in scientific publications. It lags in many things, but the speed of advance, the intense focus on progress, is remarkable.

Recently, after twelve years away, I returned for a couple of weeks to Chungdu and Chong Quing, which I found amazing. American patriots of the lightly read but growly sort will bristle at the thought that the Chinese may have political and economic systems superior to ours, but, well, China rises while the US flounders. They must be doing something right.

In terms of economic systems, the Chinese are clearly superior. China runs a large economic surplus, allowing it to invest heavily in infrastructure and in resources abroad. America runs a large deficit. China invests in China, America in the military. China's infrastructure is new, of high quality, and growing. America's slowly deteriorates. China has an adult government that gets things done. America has an essentially absentee Congress and a kaleidoscopically shifting cast of pathologically aggressive curiosities in the White House.

Asteroids, war, and economic collapse: Is the world heading for imminent disaster?

Robert Bridge
RT
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 14:25 UTC

Thanks to the internet, we are bombarded 24/7 with news of disasters and impending disasters, to the point of ennui. Are things really as bad as the media and Hollywood say? Or are we headed for a happy techno future?

The other evening, in search of some entertainment, I stumbled upon a film by Australian director John Hillcoat entitled, The Road (2009). This riveting post-apocalyptic drama focuses on the travails of a father and son as they set out on foot across a devastated American wasteland following some cataclysmic disaster.

What motivates the characters to persevere in their impossible journey, which presents them with every sort of imaginable and unimaginable nightmare, is simply the quest for survival. Why anyone would want to survive amid such total devastation is another question.

An interesting element of the film is that we are never told what caused so much destruction. All we know is that some overnight event turned America, and possibly the entire planet, into a scorched wasteland. Hillcoat plays on our modern fears that some uncontrollable event, either by force of nature or man-made, is lurking just around the corner, waiting to devour us. The media is certainly culpable for giving life to these fears.

By way of a few examples, consider the terrors lurking in deep space. It seems that every month or so NASA discovers some new asteroid or, worse, a gang of asteroids that "just missed" hitting earth by millions of miles, sparing us yet again the fate of the dodo bird.

Comment: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana

History is replete with the rise and fall of civilizations who did not learn from the mistakes of the past. For those willing to look at all of the data, all of the signs noted in the article, along with many others, such as erratic weather, plagues and mass hysteria. accompany the great shifts on our planet.

See also:

And check out SOTT radio's:

Pakistani protesters who demanded the execution of Christian woman get charged with terrorism

Sputnik
Sun, 02 Dec 2018 17:18 UTC

In October, Pakistan's Supreme Court acquitted Asia Bibi, who had been put on death row for blasphemy several years ago, bringing thousands of protesters to the streets, demanding that the mother of three be executed in public.

Pakistani authorities announced Sunday that leaders behind the Pakistani Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) party will face charges of terrorism after they were in charge of violent protests across the Middle-Eastern state seeking execution of a Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy, the ABC news reported.

According to Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) party leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi had been "charged under sections of sedition and terrorism" in a police station in the city of Lahore. At the same time, three more top figures will face similar charges.

Comment: See also:

Graduate school can have terrible effects on student's mental health

Alia Wong
The Atlantic
Tue, 27 Nov 2018 13:10 UTC

Ph.D. candidates suffer from anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation at astonishingly high rates.

"I was always gung ho about going to graduate school for some reason," reflects Everet Rummel, a data analyst at the City University of New York. "That was naive."

Rummel was indeed gung ho, embarking on a doctoral program in economics immediately after completing both his bachelor's and master's degrees in just four years. He was only 22 years old. And Rummel was indeed naive, at least in his own telling of his plans. That plan-which for the average doctoral candidate takes roughly eight years-ended quickly, not because of Rummel's characteristic efficiency but because he never completed it. "I dropped out," he explains, attributing the decision to a lot of different factors, many of them not directly related to his studies, but each pointing back to the all-encompassing, unforgiving stress of his Ph.D. program.

One major stressor, he says, was the requirement that all first-year Ph.D. economics students take the same three courses. But other major stressors are likely to resonate with graduate students in all kinds of disciplines. The doctoral-degree experience often consists of intense labor expectations for little pay and a resulting lack of sleep and social life. In addition, there is the notorious hierarchy of academia, which often promotes power struggles and tribalism.

Navy admiral Scott Stearney found dead in Bahrain, foul play 'not suspected'

Courtney Kube and Phil Helsel
NBC News
Sat, 01 Dec 2018 16:48 UTC

© Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan / USS Jason Dunham (DDG109)
Vice Adm. Scott Stearney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, speaks on the 1MC shipboard intercom to welcome the crew of the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham to Manama, Bahrain, on Oct. 24, 2018.

This is devastating news for the Stearney family, for the team at Fifth Fleet, and for the entire Navy," Navy Admiral John Richardson said.

The Navy admiral in charge of the military branch's operations in the Middle East was found dead in Bahrain on Saturday, the Navy said.

Vice Admiral Scott Stearney was found dead in his residence in Bahrain Saturday and no foul play is suspected, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said in a statement. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Bahraini Ministry of Interior are cooperating on the investigation.

Comment: One has to wonder what it is about serving in a modern military that bring people to suicide. Could it be they see their 'service' is defending an evil system?

Mother forcing transgenderism on 6-yo son may suffer from mental illness, pediatrician says

Tyler O'Neil
PJ Media
Sat, 01 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC

In a particularly tragic divorce proceeding, a mother who forces a transgender identity on her 6-year-old son James is accusing the boy's father of child abuse because he refers to the boy as male. The father responded by offering James a choice of boy's clothes and girl's clothes, and the boy constantly chooses the male options while away from his mother.

Dr. Michelle Cretella, vice president of the American College of Pediatricians, told PJ Media that the mother may be suffering from a mental disorder. "This case is consistent with a diagnosis of Munchausen by proxy," she said.

"This is a disorder in which an adult feigns either physical or psychological condition in a child for their own subconscious reasons," the pediatrician explained. "Most often the perpetrator is the biological mother and she often has a background in health or medicine."

"In the case of imposing gender dysphoria on a son, there are cases in the scientific literature of severe maternal depression triggered in a mother longing for a daughter," Cretella added. "The mother's depression lifts when the boy dresses and acts as a girl. This has been termed 'gender mourning."

That should go down well: France considers imposing state of emergency to quell further riots

Alice Tidey
Euronews
Sun, 02 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC

The French government is to consider imposing a state of emergency to prevent riots, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said on Sunday, following the arrest the day before of more than 400 people when a "Yellow Vest" protest turned violent.

"We have to think about the measures that can be taken so that these incidents don't happen again," Griveaux told Europe 1 radio on Sunday morning.

When asked whether a state of emergency could be imposed, Griveaux replied: "Every options will be examined."

Guerilla warfare

This comes after a dozen cars were set on fire, buildings were torched, tear gas was fired and water cannons were deployed in the French capital on Saturday in scenes reminiscent of guerilla warfare.

The heavy clashes started shortly before 09:00 CET on the Place de l'Etoile, at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe, when groups of people tried to force their way through a police checkpoint set up to prevent a planned "Yellow Vest" protest from turning violent, like it had the previous week.

Comment: More on the 'Yellow Vest' protests:

Mother of the Year Award: Woman fakes her daughter's death to collect donation money

Hank Berrien
The Daily Wire
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 15:16 UTC

A Ferguson, Missouri mother had an unusual idea to make some extra cash: tell everyone her 21-year-old daughter had died, then collect donations for her memorial service.

It worked, up to a point. Brittany Johnson-Webster's mother claimed that her daughter had been killed in a car crash on October 27, then wrote an obituary stating, "Brittany finished her story on October 27, 2018. She was called to meet all the loving animal babies on the other side of the rainbow," collected the donations, and finally held the service at the Ferguson Heights Church of Christ, with a solo, speeches, and a repass.

One problem: Brittany, who was raised by her grandparents, was very much alive three hours away in Illinois, and discovered through her aunt what had happened. She told WTSP, "They had pictures of me blown up into posters that said rest in peace Brittany, and my aunt eventually had obtained one of the obituaries and sent pictures of it."

Be prepared for colleges ruining Christmas with political correctness

Cory Compton
Campus Reform
Sat, 01 Dec 2018 22:36 UTC

The Christmas season is upon us. It's the time of year filled with gifts, family, Santa Claus, and, as always, free speech being crushed on college campuses. Every year, new controversies emerge because of colleges and universities inhibiting the Christmas spirit through political correctness.

In the past, colleges have banned Christmas trees, wrapped gifts, non-religious Christmas decorations, and even the word "Christmas." A professor has called Christmas a "patriarchal construct" and one college even re-named its annual Christmas event to 'Hotty Toddy Holiday' in the name of inclusivity.

Legally, how far can public colleges and universities go to stifle free speech? Are these practices protected under the law, or is it a violation of our First Amendment rights on public grounds?

One legal resource by the Pacific Justice Institute provides the answers.

covid will seem like a walk in the park when the proper cold sets in later this month and beyond...

steven23

I've got an idea to help folks like this. Anyone know of any in Central Florida? R.C.

Rowan Cocoan

AA's got a thorough article on this hoaxy shit. The bitch even said she was angry that he broke up with her. The “assault” happened BEFORE she had...

Rowan Cocoan

It's not a guarantee that the natural treatments will work, even with intravenous Vit C. My mom had leukemia and she was getting intravenous...

earthwatcher

"Kurtzer notes that only two other events in the history of the relationship approached that level of tension: Gerald Ford's "reassessment" in...

Winston Smith

Society's Child

Russia's Franz Josef Land in the Arctic may become major tourism attraction

Comparing China and America: One rises while the other flounders

Asteroids, war, and economic collapse: Is the world heading for imminent disaster?

Pakistani protesters who demanded the execution of Christian woman get charged with terrorism

Graduate school can have terrible effects on student's mental health

Navy admiral Scott Stearney found dead in Bahrain, foul play 'not suspected'

Mother forcing transgenderism on 6-yo son may suffer from mental illness, pediatrician says

That should go down well: France considers imposing state of emergency to quell further riots

Mother of the Year Award: Woman fakes her daughter's death to collect donation money

Be prepared for colleges ruining Christmas with political correctness

Latest News

Picture of the Day

Quote of the Day

Recent Comments

Quantum Quirk

Contact Us