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The indiscreet charm of the Gilets Jaunes

CJ Hopkins
OffGuardian
Thu, 13 Dec 2018 11:57 UTC
Yellow vests
So it appears the privatization of France isn't going quite as smoothly as planned. As I assume you are aware, for over a month now, the gilets jaunes (or "yellow vests"), a multiplicitous, leaderless, extremely pissed off, confederation of working class persons, have been conducting a series of lively protests in cities and towns throughout the country to express their displeasure with Emmanuel Macron and his efforts to transform their society into an American-style neo-feudal dystopia. Highways have been blocked, toll booths commandeered, luxury automobiles set on fire, and shopping on the Champs-Élysées disrupted. What began as a suburban tax revolt has morphed into a bona fide working class uprising.

It took a while for "the Golden Boy of Europe" to fully appreciate what was happening. In the tradition of his predecessor, Louis XVI, Macron initially responded to the gilets jaunes by inviting a delegation of Le Monde reporters to laud his renovation of the Elysée Palace, making the occasional condescending comment, and otherwise completely ignoring them. That was back in late November. Last Saturday, he locked down central Paris, mobilized a literal army of riot cops, "preventatively arrested" hundreds of citizens, including suspected "extremist students," and sent in the armored military vehicles.

The English-language corporate media, after doing their best not to cover these protests (and, instead, to keep the American and British publics focused on imaginary Russians), have been forced to now begin the delicate process of delegitimizing the gilets jaunes without infuriating the the entire population of France and inciting the British and American proletariats to go out and start setting cars on fire. They got off to a bit of an awkward start.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Police arrest man swinging axe in Toronto subway station


blogTO
Thu, 13 Dec 2018 12:05 UTC
axe suspect subway toronto
© R Pelletier
Commuters in Toronto often have huge headaches during their travels, between late buses, subway closures and streetcar diversions.

But commuters this morning had a very different experience, as they were stuck on a train with a man wielding what's been described by witnesses as a large axe.

Comment: Toronto is quickly getting the reputation for having a lot of crazies. Could the city be becoming unhinged?

See also:

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Question

Two technicians dead after being found unconscious at US research station in Antarctica


Reuters
Thu, 13 Dec 2018 02:01 UTC
McMurdo Station
© Reuters
FILE PHOTO: General view of McMurdo Station operated by the United States on Antarctica. Picture taken January 1 2000.
Two technicians performing maintenance at a U.S. research station in Antarctica died on Wednesday while working on a building that houses a generator for a nearby radio transmitter, the National Science Foundation (NSF) said.

The pair, both employed as subcontractors at the NSF-managed McMurdo Station in Antarctica, were found unconscious on the floor of the building after a helicopter pilot flying over the area saw what appeared to be smoke coming from the structure and landed to investigate.

One of the technicians was pronounced dead by medical personnel called to the scene. The other was pronounced dead a short time after being flown to the McMurdo medical clinic, the NSF said in a statement.

Comment: See also:

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Laptop

The Silicon Valley inquisition gathers pace

Scott Bicheno
telecoms.com
Wed, 12 Dec 2018 10:20 UTC
online censorship free speech
A number of independent online commentators have been blacklisted by technology giants for seemingly arbitrary reasons.

The past few weeks have seen another round of purging, by online platform or financial service providers, of content creators who rely on the internet for a living. The reasons for doing so are varied but usually default to some kind of transgression of their terms and conditions of use. However these Ts and Cs tend to be vaguely worded and appear to be selectively enforced, leading to fears that these decisions have been driven as much by subjective ideology as any exceptional misbehaviour on the part of creators.

If there is an ideological bias it would appear to be against those commentators that are advocates of freedom of speech and unfettered dialogue. On the other side of the fence you have those who are concerned with concepts such as 'hate speech', which seek to ensure nothing that is deemed 'offensive' should be tolerated in the public domain.

Comment: What is so devious about the mass banning from social media platforms of undesirable content is its seeming complete lack of consistency. The only thing in common for most of the people being banned (who come from both sides of the political spectrum) is ability to cause moral outrage. But moral outrage is subjective, so how on earth can someone stay on the right side of the terms of service for these platforms when the interpretation of those rules seems to change daily? Better to have a truly free speech mandate and let the chips fall where they may. But then, we all saw what happened to Gab.ai.

See also:

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Brick Wall

Men die on the job more often than women, but no one cares

Nicole Russell
Washington Examiner
Tue, 11 Dec 2018 16:05 UTC
dangerous job
Monday was Human Rights Day. While the definition of that seems to be ever-broadening, from contraception to healthcare, recent statistics cycling through the news again seem to provide a salient point about gender differences, the so-called "wage gap" and even human rights.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that, in 2015, men dominated the 20 most dangerous occupations in the United States. Logging is the most dangerous job in the U.S., followed by fishing. Mining is the 20th most dangerous profession. More men than women occupied these jobs by anywhere from 85.4 to 99.9 percent.

Comment: There are so many factors involved in the 'gender pay gap' that are never taken into account, dangerous jobs that pay a premium being only one of them. But the idea that the wage gap is due to anything other than blatant sexism simply doesn't fit the feminist narrative, and therefore never gets considered.

See also:

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Clipboard

Groundbreaking poll: American support for one democratic state is equal to support for two state solution in Israel

Adam Horowitz
Mondoweiss
Wed, 12 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
poll on israel
A new poll conducted by Shibley Telhami at the University of Maryland shows unprecedented support among Americans for the one-state solution in Israel/Palestine, and stronger sanctions against Israel for the occupation, as well as growing criticism of the Israeli role in U.S. politics.

Here are some of the findings of the poll (PDF), which was conducted in September and October among 2,352 Americans:
  • 35 percent support a single democratic state in which both Jews and Arabs are full and equal citizens;
  • 36 percent support Israeli and Palestinian states side by side;
  • 11 percent support maintaining the occupation indefinitely;
  • 8 percent support Israeli annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories without offering equal citizenship to Palestinians.

Comment: So this means that roughly 20% of those polled in the US couldn't care less about the well-being of Palestinians - while a larger percentage is growing in the opposite direction.


Comment: See: The BDS movement: A 'strategic threat of the first order' to Israel

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Eye 1

Location targeting: How phone apps track every step you take and every stop you make - then selling it

Daisy Luther
The Organic Prepper
Tue, 11 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
phones watchng you
You're being watched constantly, at least if you have a cell phone with apps on them. A recently published report showed how seemingly innocuous apps were gathering information about how a person goes about their day. They refresh constantly, collecting data about your location.

These companies are tracking every step you take, every stop you make, and then selling it to the highest bidder.

Now, before I get the predictable chorus of people telling me they'd never ever use a smartphone and that if they did have one they wouldn't enable location data on it, I can call BS (baloney sandwiches) on at least 44% of you because...well...Google tells me this. I get emails from Google every week telling me from what type of devices people access my website. I did not sign up to ask for this information - this is what Google does.

So while many of you are not using a mobile device, many of you are.
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Handcuffs

Autistic student dies after being restrained in California school, state suspends certification

Sawsan Morrar and Molly Sullivan
The Sacramento Bee
Thu, 06 Dec 2018 17:05 UTC
Teen With Autism Who Died
The California Department of Education has suspended the certification of a private El Dorado Hills school where an autistic teen stopped breathing last week after being restrained by staff.

The 13-year-old student subsequently died.

The CDE announced Thursday evening that it was investigating the circumstances around the fatal incident on Nov. 28 at Guiding Hands School on Windplay Drive.

El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson also confirmed his office is investigating the death but declined further comment.

A source familiar with the incident said a teacher at Guiding Hands School is under investigation after a 'prone restraint' was used to subdue the child for roughly an hour.

A prone restraint involves immobilizing a student in a face down position.
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Biohazard

Symbolic: Washington 'swamp' overrun by actual vermin

Ashraf Khalil
AP
Wed, 12 Dec 2018 18:00 UTC
washington rats

Pest Control Officers Gregory Cornes, left, uses a hand trowel to scoop-up dry ice before dropping it directly into rat burrows, as his co-worker Curtis Redman assist, near the Capitol building in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018. Both are from the Department of Health's Rodent Control Division. The nation’s capital is facing a spiraling rat infestation, fueled by mild winters and a human population boom. Washington’s government is struggling to keep pace (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
But their target isn't corrupt officials or shady political fixers; it's Rattus Norvegicus, the common Norway Rat.


Comment: Shame.


The nation's capital is facing a spiraling rat infestation, fueled by mild winters and a human population boom. Washington's government is struggling to keep pace, with the pest control department fielding a record number of calls.


Comment: Mild winters?


On one recent day, Pittman and Cornes, both veteran Health Department employees, are working within sight of the Capitol, shoveling dry ice pellets into suspected rat burrow entrances. On another, they're summoned about six blocks north of the White House, at 16th Street and M, where residents have complained of an outbreak.

"Rats adapt to everything. They can be like geniuses," Pittman said.


Comment: And again with the symbolism.


On the grounds of a church, Cornes and Pittman poke around, expertly spotting telltale holes and matted dirt trails that signal rat burrows. Cornes uses an instrument like an extra-long Super Soaker to inject poison into the hole, while Pittman watches to see if the white powder puffs up from other holes and then shovels dirt to block those exits.

Comment: The similarities to the political sphere are astounding. But they're going to need something a lot stronger if they want to rid Washington of its real vermin.

See also: And check out SOTT radio's: The Truth Perspective: Introducing Political Ponerology, plus some odds and ends

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Sheriff

Police in Russia on manhunt for attackers who threw grenade at cops


RT
Wed, 12 Dec 2018 19:24 UTC
russia police
© Reuters / Maxim Shemetov
Russian police are on a manhunt for unknown attackers who reportedly threw a grenade at two police officers near a mall in the southern Republic of Ingushetia. The seriously injured officers have been taken to hospital.

The policemen suffered multiple shrapnel wounds to their hands and legs, a source told TASS. "They remain conscious. Their condition is of moderate severity, non-critical," he added.

The Ingushetia police have confirmed that two of its servicemen were injured outside a shopping center in the city of Nazran on Wednesday.

The officers were trying to detain two men, who resisted arrest and threw a grenade at them. Other reports said the policemen were sitting in a parked car at the time of the attack.

The perpetrators were reportedly killed by return fire and are being identified.
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