Society's Child

What chutzpah! US demands shared use of Russia's Northern Sea Route

RT
Thu, 12 Apr 2018 16:15 UTC

The Northern Sea Route, which lies in Arctic waters and within Russia's Exclusive Economic Zone, should be a transport corridor open to the entire world community, Admiral Paul Zukunft, Commandant of the US Coast Guard, said.

Zukunft told journalists that the US Armed Forces still do not intend to conduct operations in the Arctic to uphold the principle of freedom of navigation, as is done in the South China Sea.

"There is currently no pressure to conduct exercises for the freedom of navigation in the Arctic, but... the US approach is that the Northern Sea Route should be open as an international water corridor for, let's say, a transit passage - as we see this area is being cleared of ice,"Zukunft said, adding that at the moment there's no certain plan for conducting any exercises in the area.

Comment: How very American! Russia has something the US likes, so the US should be able to use it just because! Considering that it is Russia who is clearing the ice for the corridor in a massive infrastructure project, and that it is within Russia's territory, it is Russia's right to say who can use the corridor and who cannot. If the US wants to use it, then a good start would be to stop poking the bear every chance they get.

IS linked terrorists sentenced to jail for planned attacks in Barcelona

The Local
Tue, 10 Apr 2018 17:21 UTC

Ten members of a jihadist cell linked to the Islamic State group (IS) who planned attacks in Barcelona and to film a decapitation were sentenced to 8-12 years in jail on Tuesday.

The defendants included five Moroccans, four Spaniards and a Brazilian, the National Court, which handles terror cases, said in a ruling.

They were "ready to wage an attack against institutions such as the police, banks or Jewish institutions in Spain at any time, or to join the ranks of Daesh," it added, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

The cell was based in Terrassa, not far from Barcelona, the Catalonian capital.

Comment: Empire Idiots: Postcard from post-terror Catalonia

Three Californias? Billionaire gathers 600,000 signatures to trigger referendum

RT
Thu, 12 Apr 2018 15:08 UTC

Billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper has gathered enough votes to trigger a referendum on splitting California into three separate states.

Draper's CAL 3 campaign has gathered 600,000 signatures supporting the split since he proposed the initiative last August. He told the Telegraph that 600,000 signatures was a "milestone" and sent a message that people across California would "create a brighter future for everyone."

With only 364,000 signatures needed to force a referendum, a vote will be held on the proposal this November, alongside the midterm elections.

Draper's proposal envisions splitting California into three separate states. Northern California, which would include San Francisco and Sacramento; Southern California, including San Diego, San Bernardino, and the Mojave Desert; and California, a sliver of coastline taking in Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

Comment: See also:

Taliban overtakes 'safe' Afghan district weeks after Pentagon declares progress under Trump's new strategy

RT
Thu, 12 Apr 2018 16:08 UTC

© Reuters
An Afghan policeman walks at the government district building after a Taliban attack in Khawaja Omari district of Ghazni province, Afghanistan April 12, 2018.

A district governor was killed in a Taliban raid in an Afghan region once considered relatively secure from attack. The Taliban now claims it controls key parts of the area - even as the US boosts troop levels in Afghanistan.

Taliban fighters killed the governor of Ghazni's Khawaja Omari district, Ali Dost Shams, as well as his bodyguards, seven police officers, and five government intelligence agents, according to a local police official. The Taliban also torched the district headquarters, the police official said, as cited by Reuters.

The Taliban claims that 20 police officers were killed in the attack.

Organic Agriculture is worse for the environment than...

David Middleton
Watts Up With That?
Tue, 10 Apr 2018 00:01 UTC

Inorganic agriculture?

Guest commentary by David Middleton

New study challenges beliefs about organic ag

BY MARK LYNAS
APRIL 9, 2018

Organic agriculture is not as good for the environment as commonly believed, according to a new scientific study reviewing multiple lines of evidence over more than two decades.

The study, conducted by German researchers Eva-Marie Meemken and Matin Qaim from the University of Goettingen and published in the journal Annual Review of Resource Economics, challenges many beliefs that have helped the organic food industry grow into an $82 billion global market.

Comment: The point against "climate-friendly agriculture" is well taken, but the rest of this post seems like pointless nit-picking. OK, the term "organic", as it applies to agriculture or foods, doesn't stand up to scrutiny. But the avoidance of glyphosate alone should be a good reason to try to get as much organic foods as possible. Yes, it's a buzz-term, and of course one needs to wary of marketing gimmicks, but does that mean we should throw out the baby with the bathwater and start poisoning ourselves?

See also:

BBC journalist tweets stunning evidence of staging of chemical attack in Syria - later deletes tweet

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Thu, 12 Apr 2018 14:58 UTC

Twitter tweet BBC journalist Douma chemical attack

BBC journalist is confronted after deleting tweet calling chemical attacks in Syria "staged" scenes.

The Army of Islam and the ISIS PR White Helmets, that POTUS Trump is about to provide air cover for in Syria, have been caught staging corpses of dead children in Douma.

A BBC journalist expressed skepticism about an alleged chemical attack in Syria that the Trump White House has, without evidence, blamed on Bashar Assad.

The BBC journalist tweeted that he was tired of "staged" scenes before deleting the post.

Comment: RT's take on this issue:

BBC journo deletes tweet doubting 'staged' scenes in Syria: Twittersphere calls him on it

It is obvious that the so-called 'chemical attack' was staged by jihadists and their White Helmet friends. On this Facebook post you can see a picture of dead children's bodies, and next to it another with the extra body of a baby added - probably for additional dramatic effect.

Furthermore:

Duma passes bill on multimillion-ruble fake news fines

RT
Thu, 12 Apr 2018 15:08 UTC

The Russian lower house has passed in the first reading a bill that counters internet fake news by ordering fines of up to 50 million rubles (US$800,000) for refusal to delete illegal, false or slandering information.

Once the bill is passed into law, all owners of "public networks" or websites that attract over 100,000 visitors daily would have to delete fake news that touches upon important subjects, as well as any other banned topics, within 24 hours of receiving an official request. Network owners are also obliged to create and maintain a register of all such requests and present it to the state internet watchdog, Roskomnadzor, on demand.

Refusal to comply is punishable by fines between 3 and 5 million rubles for citizens ($48,000-$80,000) and between 30 and 50 million rubles for companies ($484,000-$806,000).

The main sponsor of the bill, MP Sergey Boyarsky (United Russia), said that its main purpose was to reply to "modern challenges," in particular to spreading fake information that slanders citizens, as well as other unlawful information on social networks.

The School of Terror: The facts behind the 'staged' video of kids' chemical weapons drill in Syria

RT
Thu, 12 Apr 2018 13:21 UTC

A video described as showing Syrian children being trained to fake the symptoms of a chemical weapons attack has been widely shared online with fake and menacing misinformation.

RT Digital investigated the origins of the video and found that it doesn't depict children being coerced and prepared for future propaganda videos, as falsely suggested by users on Twitter.

The video is more than four years old and the actions carried out by the children in the video are part of a play by a group called the Nesma Organization based in eastern Ghouta.

Syrian news cites local reports of US choppers evacuating more ISIS militants

Sputnik
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 14:33 UTC

US Air Force aircraft have allegedly been spotted evacuating non-Syrian Daesh commanders with their family members from al-Hasakah province and transferring them to an unknown destination, according to the SANA news agency. The news emerged a day after US President Trump threatened Syria with a possible strike.

US military helicopters reportedly evacuated several Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) commanders from the al-Hasakah province, Syria's SANA news agency has reported on April 10, citing local sources.

The media outlet specified that the Americans conducted yet another operation rescuing three Daesh commanders of Iraqi origin along with their family members from Tal al-Shayer region 20 kilometers southeast of the Syrian city of al-Shadadi in Hasakah. The evacuees were transferred to an unknown location.

It was also reported that in the course of the evacuation, US troops organized a staged clash on the ground that resulted in the death of one civilian while several others were injured.

Zuckerberg struggles to answer Sasse's plea to define hate speech during senate meeting

Curtis Houck | April 10, 2018 7:08 PM EDT
NewsBusters
Tue, 10 Apr 2018 13:08 UTC

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg grappled with questions of all stripes at Tuesday's Senate hearing on the social media platform and the 2016 election, but it was Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse's questions about hate speech that should alarm free speech advocates.

Along with inquiries from Texas Republican Ted Cruz, Sasse stood out. His portion began by acknowledging that companies like Facebook "have a hard challenge" when it comes to creating their own rules in addition to government regulations.

That being said, Sasse told him that he acknowledges yet worries about private groups like Zuckerberg being able to "make policies that maybe less than First Amendment-full spirit embracing" and "go from violent groups to hate speech in a hurry."

Sasse then asked the key question:

You may decide or Facebook may decide it needs to police a whole bunch of speech that I think America might be better off by not having policed by one company that has a really large and powerful platform. Can you define hate speech?

Comment: That's not the only question he was being evasive with. 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

What chutzpah! US demands shared use of Russia's Northern Sea Route

IS linked terrorists sentenced to jail for planned attacks in Barcelona

Three Californias? Billionaire gathers 600,000 signatures to trigger referendum

Taliban overtakes 'safe' Afghan district weeks after Pentagon declares progress under Trump's new strategy

Organic Agriculture is worse for the environment than...

BBC journalist tweets stunning evidence of staging of chemical attack in Syria - later deletes tweet

Duma passes bill on multimillion-ruble fake news fines

The School of Terror: The facts behind the 'staged' video of kids' chemical weapons drill in Syria

Syrian news cites local reports of US choppers evacuating more ISIS militants

Zuckerberg struggles to answer Sasse's plea to define hate speech during senate meeting

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