Society's Child

Emmanuel Macron's approval ratings continue to fall, now almost 60% say they're "dissatisfied"

Sputnik
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 19:47 UTC

After entering office over a year ago, French President Emmanuel Macron's approval ratings are on a downwards trajectory, with researchers attributing his drop in support to numerous policies and developments.

A poll conducted by the Institute of Opinion and Marketing Studies in France and Abroad (IFOP) yielded a 58 percent domestic disapproval rating of Macron - the highest level it's ever been at since he was elected in May 2017.

The report, which was publicly released on Monday and used data gathered from June 15 to June 23, also found his approval rating to have fallen by one point for the second consecutive month, to 40 percent.

Macron's approval rating worsened particularly amongst those aged 65 and over, falling by 8 percent in the space of a month, to just 38 percent.

Dutch parliament bans Islamic face veils in public buildings

RT
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:37 UTC

The Upper House of the Dutch parliament has passed a law banning Islamic face veils and other face-covering garments in public places such as schools, hospitals and government buildings.

Lawmakers cited security reasons when they introduced the legislation which outlaws all face-covering garb in public buildings but not on the street. Motorcycle helmets and ski-masks are included in the ban and people who break the new law face a fine of up to €410 ($430).

The bill was approved by the Lower House in 2016, following the failure of efforts to impose a more general ban on burqas and other face-covering veils. The Dutch government's main advising body in 2015 said the choice to wear an Islamic veil is protected by the constitutional right to freedom of religion, and that it saw no ground to limit that right.

Staunch anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders welcomed the passing of the new law on Twitter, tweeting a screengrab of an article about the issue along with the message: "Adopted!"

US govt demands last minute changes to report on UK spies' involvement in torture and rendition

RT
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:47 UTC

The US government has demanded the UK make 11th-hour changes to a report on Britain's involvement in rendition during the War on Terror. Human rights groups say caving to US pressure would shatter the inquiry's credibility.

It is understood that the long-awaited report, originally commissioned by David Cameron weeks after he entered Downing Street in 2010, will call for sweeping changes to the rules on how UK spies conduct themselves in the field.

Senate intern suspended after cursing at Trump

Chad Pergram
Fox News
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 19:23 UTC

The Congressional intern who hollered "Mr. President, f--- you!" across the Capitol Rotunda last week during a presidential visit has been identified.

Sources tell Fox News the woman in question is 21-year-old Caitlin Marriott, who is interning in the office of Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.

Fox News is told she has not been terminated and will continue to work there through August.

The intern works for Sen. Maggie Hassan, pictured here.

Congressional authorities were finally able to identifiy Marriott and speak with her to determine if she posed a threat to the president, sources said. She raced from where she heckled Trump, forcing U.S. Capitol Police to put out a "be on the lookout" over their radios.

NSA uses 8 AT&T buildings across US to hide and surveil on global internet and phone trafic

RT
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 19:34 UTC

At least eight AT&T facilities across the US provide the NSA with data essential to spy on internet and phone traffic across the globe, the Intercept has revealed, adding that the agency called AT&T a trusted, solicitous partner.

For over 30 years, Dallas-based multinational telecommunications conglomerate AT&T has provided US intelligence with private data of its customers through a specially designed surveillance program called FAIRVIEW. After the first reports of the secret program surfaced in 2013, following the revelations of whistleblower Edward Snowden, the Intercept has managed to identify at least eight AT&T sites that transmit billions of private messages, chat history and phone calls to the US government.

"AT&T is the only company involved in FAIRVIEW, which was first established in 1985, according to NSA documents, and involves tapping into international telecommunications cables, routers, and switches," the publication said after conducting a thorough investigation of public records, secret NSA records, and witness testimonies.

While other physical locations may be involved in the FAIRVIEW program, the investigation identified AT&T's "backbone" and "peering" facilities in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC, hidden in plain sight.

World Cup exposes England not Russia as the country with a racism problem

John Wight
RT
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 17:13 UTC

Exposed as baseless during this World Cup has been the anti-Russia propaganda peddled by Western ideologues, particularly in the UK, when it comes to the security and safety of travelling fans.

In the lead-up to the tournament the contents of a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee report was made public by the BBC. Consider the following paragraph: "Fans from BAME (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic) backgrounds and those who identify as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) face additional risks of attack and persecution [in Russia]."

This exercise in scaremongering was undertaken by the usual crew of Russophobic cranks that colonises the UK political and media establishment, undertaken as part of a campaign to undermine the tournament and see it end in failure. In deterring fans from England in travelling to Russia to follow their team it worked, reflected in significantly lower number of tickets being sold in England than were sold for past World Cups in which the country's national team were involved.

Alas, with the undoubted success of the tournament thus far, grudgingly acknowledged even by strident critics of Russia, England fans that made the mistake of believing this Russophobic guff have missed out and will be kicking themselves - even more so considering the hospitality the England fans who braved the journey have reported receiving in Russia, "praising a particularly warm reception from their hosts."

Declassified report reveals Northern Ireland police told not to arrest terrorists working for MI5

RT
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:46 UTC

After almost 40 years in the dark, a declassified report has revealed that Northern Irish police were told to put intelligence before arrests by British spies, who were seeking to keep their terrorist informants on the streets.

Commissioned in January 1980, the Walker Report details how the British security apparatus recommended that informers within republican and loyalist paramilitary groups evade arrest for crimes by Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers due to their value as intelligence gathering tools.

This policy allowed such informers to be deemed "protected species" by detectives working as part of the RUC's criminal investigation department (CID).

Compiled by Sir Patrick Walker - a senior MI5 operative who went on to head the domestic security agency from 1987 to 1992 - the report was drafted following a series of high-profile IRA killings the previous year: the assassination of Royal Family member Lord Mountbatten by blowing up his yacht in Co. Sligo, Ireland; and the killing of 18 British soldiers in an ambush at Warrenpoint, Co. Down the same day.

Venezuelan military takes over water distribution in midst of economic collapse

Patricia Laya and Fabiola Zerpa
Bloomberg
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 14:31 UTC

© Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg
People wait to fill their bottles at a spring on the Waraira Repano mountain in Caracas last month

To arrive at the El Paraiso water-filling station in Caracas by sunrise, Rigoberto Sanchez wakes before 4 a.m. Hours later, his tanker is in a slow-moving line with a dozen others. Only two of the 10 pumps work and Sanchez will have time for a couple of deliveries if he's lucky. If he's luckier, the military won't intercept him.

"They hijack our trucks, just like that," said Sanchez, leaning on a rusty railing. "Once that happens, you're in their hands, you have to drive the truck wherever they want you to."'

Venezuela's military has come to oversee the desperate and lucrative water trade as reservoirs empty, broken pipes flood neighborhoods and overwhelmed personnel walk out. Seven major access points in the capital of 5.5 million people are now run by soldiers or police, who also took total control of all public and private water trucks. Unofficially, soldiers direct where drivers deliver - and make them give away the goods at favored addresses.

Comment: It's most likely true that that is happening in some places, and for some people, but not all. In addition, a lot of the chaos in Caracas and a few other cities as regards services is a direct result of walk outs by staff organized by anti-government groups. Yet they blame Maduro and the government.

India no longer has the largest number of people living in extreme poverty

The Times of India
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:51 UTC

The good news is that India is steadily moving down the poverty index. Nigeria overtook India as the country with the largest number of extreme poor and at end of May 2018, Nigeria had about 87 million people living in extreme poverty, as compared with India's 73 million, according to a recent report Brookings.

EXTREME POVERTY IS DROPPING IN INDIA, BUT ON THE RISE ELSEWHERE

Why are thousands of Swedes inserting microchips into themselves?

Moa Petersén
National Post
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 18:50 UTC

© Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images
A man reacts as he gets a chip implant in his hand during a chip implant event in Epicenter, a technological hub in Stockholm on January 18, 2018.

Thousands of people in Sweden have inserted microchips, which can function as contactless credit cards, key cards and even rail cards, into their bodies. Once the chip is underneath your skin, there is no longer any need to worry about misplacing a card or carrying a heavy wallet. But for many people, the idea of carrying a microchip in their body feels more dystopian than practical.

Some have suggested that Sweden's strong welfare state may be the cause of this recent trend. But actually, the factors behind why roughly 3,500 Swedes have had microchips implanted in them are more complex than you might expect. This phenomenon reflects Sweden's unique biohacking scene. If you look underneath the surface, Sweden's love affair with all things digital goes much deeper than these microchips.

The term biohackers refers to those amateur biologists who conduct experiments in biomedicine, but do so outside of traditional institutions - such as universities, medical companies and other scientifically controlled environments. Just as computer hackers hack computers, biohackers hack anything biological.

Comment: See also:

Ehret an idiot beyond belief

smertzasmert

.. .. are wheel barrel sales are up too?

Jibrish

I doubt any pureblood would object to the "vaccinated" being masked, but if they (the "vaccinated") still feel unsafe then maybe their problem is...

HashAttack2

I said this would happen...now they are looking to mandate companies with less that 100 employees...shits getting real, people[Link]

Bezel Bub

it's all a lie ! :O

cracker

Society's Child

Emmanuel Macron's approval ratings continue to fall, now almost 60% say they're "dissatisfied"

Dutch parliament bans Islamic face veils in public buildings

US govt demands last minute changes to report on UK spies' involvement in torture and rendition

Senate intern suspended after cursing at Trump

NSA uses 8 AT&T buildings across US to hide and surveil on global internet and phone trafic

World Cup exposes England not Russia as the country with a racism problem

Declassified report reveals Northern Ireland police told not to arrest terrorists working for MI5

Venezuelan military takes over water distribution in midst of economic collapse

India no longer has the largest number of people living in extreme poverty

Why are thousands of Swedes inserting microchips into themselves?

Latest News

Picture of the Day

Quote of the Day

Recent Comments

Quantum Quirk

Contact Us