Society's ChildS


Megaphone

Union boss threatens to bring US economy to its knees in dockworker strike

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
Headline USA
Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00 UTC
Harold Dagget
© @jasonahart via Twitterhe International Longshoremen’s Association’s chief negotiator, Harold Dagget
'I will cripple you, and you have no idea what that means...'

The International Longshoremen's Association's chief negotiator Harold Daggett recently stated that the recent strike by dock workers would "cripple" the United States.

"These people today don't know what a strike is. When my men hit the streets, from Maine to Texas, every single port will lock down," he said, adding that the country would collapse without dock workers. "Everything in the United States comes on a ship."

Daggett then said that American government officials would be unable to stop the strike because, ultimately, the union and workers would win.

"Who's gonna win here in the long run?" he asked rhetorically. "In today's world, I'll cripple you. I will cripple you, and you have no idea what that means. Nobody does."

Comment: Righteous and tough negotiating tactic and rhetoric or dangerous power trip - or both?

See also: It begins: US port strikes erupt, first shutdown in 50 years sparks fears of supply chain crisis

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Bullseye

Julian Assange says "I pled guilty to journalism" in exchange for freedom


yourNEWS Media
Tue, 01 Oct 2024 18:04 UTC
julian assange Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe speech
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, recently released after five years in a British prison, declared that his plea of “guilty to journalism” secured his freedom, as he addressed European lawmakers about his years of incarceration.
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, made his first public remarks on Tuesday since his release from prison in June, telling the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that his freedom came after pleading "guilty to journalism."

Assange, who spent five years in a British prison and seven years in self-imposed exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, addressed lawmakers from 46 European countries during a session of the assembly's legal affairs and human rights committee in Strasbourg, France. He detailed the impact of his years of confinement and reflected on his plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department, which concluded a long legal battle.

"I am not free today because the system worked," Assange said. "I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism."
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Arrow Down

The UK's 'Chicken License' rebellion - the GOOD way to deal with BAD laws

Kit Knightly
Off-Guardian
Wed, 02 Oct 2024 17:46 UTC
chicken protest license law britain
Apologies if you can't read their *ahem* chicken scratch.
As of today, the UK's "Chicken License" is in full effect. October 1st marked the deadline for registering your chickens with the proper authority.

Moving forward anyone caught with an unlicensed chicken will be in breach of the law and subject to fines and poultry reclamation.

I am entirely serious.

Back in March the UK govt's "Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs" (DEFRA) announced changes to the poultry registration laws, essentially redefining a "flock" from "50 birds or more" to 1.

So, from now on, everybody in the country who keeps even a single bird - not just chickens, all outdoor birds - has to register as a poultry keeper.

You understand, this is all about protecting birds and the public from avian influenza, not at all about increasing government monitoring with the final aim of stamping down on self-sufficiency.

Banish that cynical thought from your head.

Fortunately, the people of the UK have a tried-and-tested method of dealing with absurdity — more absurdity.
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Fire

Teslas are spontaneously combusting in Hurricane Helene's wake

Tricia Crimmins
Daily Dot
Mon, 30 Sep 2024 17:36 UTC
tesla fire helene hurricane
© Milos Ruzicka/Shutterstock Pinellas County/XBatteries and salt water are a bad mix.
Teslas can catch fire if they are submerged in saltwater.

Over the weekend, Hurricane Helene ravaged the southeastern U.S., flooding areas in six states and killing almost 100 people. The flooding also brought saltwater into contact with electric vehicles — specifically Teslas — causing them to catch fire.

News reports from Florida show multiple Teslas that caught on fire when parked in garages or near beaches.

On Saturday , the Pinellas County government in Florida tweeted footage of a Tesla bursting into flames inside a garage alongside a request that county residents tell officials if they left an electric vehicle after evacuating. In the video, the garage fills with smoke as the car burns.
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Explosion

Apalling: Ukrainian recruits survive only a few days, poorly trained and prone to panic


Military Watch Magazine
Sat, 28 Sep 2024 21:11 UTC
Ukrainian Army Personnel
© AFP 2023 / Genya SavilovUkrainian army personnel
The Ukrainian Army is suffering from a continued decline in the capabilities of its frontline units, as losses among trained and experienced units have fuelled a fast growing reliance on conscript units with very limited operational capabilities.

According to a report from the London based Financial Times, 50 to 70 percent of recruits survive only a few days on the frontlines, and suffer from low motivation while being prone to panic. Training standards have reportedly been so poor that not all of them know how to hold a weapon. Furthermore, exhaustion in the number of males considered to be of fighting age means that the average age of mobilised recruits is now 45 years old. The report follows a statement by Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi, who was appointed in early February, that recruits have consistently proven to lack necessary training for frontline operations. Lamenting the complete technological superiority of Russian forces, he stated at the time that personnel underwent just two months of training - although other sources have indicated that training time is very significantly less.

Comment: All for the benefit of BlackRock and Big Ag.







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Briefcase

Babylon Bee files lawsuit against California over unprecedented crackdown on satire, parody

Zach Jewell
The Daily Wire
Fri, 30 Aug 2024 20:56 UTC
Babylon Bee seth dillon gavin newsom
© Jason Davis/Getty Images for Bentkey Ventures; Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesBabylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon and California governor Gavin Newsom
The Babylon Bee filed a lawsuit against the state of California on Monday after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a series of "deepfake" laws that target outlets that publish satire and parody.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and shared exclusively with The Daily Wire, begins by noting that in July of this year, Newsom tweeted that a parody video of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris should be "illegal." "The legislature heard the call and passed two laws that forbid political expression under the label of 'materially deceptive content,'" the lawsuit asserts.

The complaint explains that one of California's new laws will require social media platforms to become "state snitches" and force them "to field reports about user posts with 'materially deceptive content' and then remove or label them."

Comment: Tyrants can't bear to be laughed at. It's the surest marker of psychopathy.

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Cow Skull

Best of the Web: It begins: US port strikes erupt, first shutdown in 50 years sparks fears of supply chain crisis

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Tue, 01 Oct 2024 19:25 UTC
dockworker strike
© Fox News
Update (1330ET):

Here's a closer look at Harold J. Daggett, who leads the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA).

According to Politico, Daggett, the ILA's president, earned $728,000 from the union last year and another $173,000 as president emeritus of a local union branch.

The New York Times said the union boss previously owned a 76-foot yacht, the Obsession, and runs around town in a Bentley.
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Cell Phone

Verizon cell users reportedly hit by widespread US outage: 'Stuck in SOS mode'

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Mon, 30 Sep 2024 18:56 UTC
Verizon
© Mike Blake / Reuters
Verizon outage reports are surging on Downdetector, with issues being reported nationwide. Additionally, X users complain that their smartphones using the mobile carrier are stuck on 'SOS' mode.
Verizon is experiencing a massive outage, according to subscribers across the United States. Several of us here at 9to5Mac are also affected by the outage and are unable to an access any sort of cellular connectivity. This includes cellular data, phone calls, and text messages. -9to5Mac
Data from Downdetector shows that the first Verizon cell outage report emerged around 0945 ET. By 1115 ET, nearly 100,000 reports of outages across various large metro areas in the US had been received.

Comment: Verizon seems to have sorted out most of its problems for the moment. As of Oct 1, 2024:
down dectector verizon
© Downdetector.com
Verizon has yet to comment on the cause of the outage.

Full text:

The latest information indicates that Verizon has confirmed its network is fully restored following a significant outage that affected many of its customers across the U.S. The service disruption, which began on the morning of September 30, 2024, led to widespread issues with making or receiving calls, texting, and internet connectivity, with some users experiencing their phones in SOS mode.

- **Restoration of Service:** Verizon announced that service had returned to normal levels by the evening of September 30, 2024. Customers still experiencing issues were advised to restart their devices to reconnect to the network.

- **Customer Impact:** At its peak, the outage impacted over 100,000 users, with significant reports coming from various parts of the country, including Chicago, Columbus, and other major cities.

- **Cause of the Outage:** Despite the restoration, the exact cause of the outage has not been clearly communicated by Verizon. There has been speculation and unconfirmed reports on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), suggesting everything from technical failures to potential cyberattacks, but no definitive cause has been officially confirmed.

- **Public and Official Response:** The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) acknowledged the outage and mentioned they were working to determine the cause and extent of these service disruptions. Meanwhile, customer frustration was evident due to the lack of communication during the outage duration.

- **Apology from Verizon:** The company issued an apology for the inconvenience caused, emphasizing the reliance customers have on their services.

Remember, while the service has been restored, the underlying reasons for the outage remain undisclosed, leading to various speculations among users and tech analysts.


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People 2

Right wing triumphs in Austrian election


RT
Sun, 29 Sep 2024 18:53 UTC
Freedom Party of Austria
© Getty Images / Sabina CrisanSupporters of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) hold a pre-election rally in Vienna, Austria, September 29, 2024
The right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) has won its first ever general election, emerging three points ahead of Chancellor Karl Nehammer's Austrian People's Party (OVP) according to an exit poll published on Sunday evening.

The FPO secured 29.1% of the vote, ahead of the OVP with 26.2% and the center-left Social Democrats with 20.4%, according to Austria's ORF broadcaster. The liberal NEOS party and the Greens came in a distant fourth and fifth place with 8.8% and 8.6% respectively.

The result comes three months after the FPO narrowly defeated the OVP in the European Parliament election, winning 25.4% of the vote to 24.5%.
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Cloud Lightning

Musk warns "If Trump is not elected, this will be the last election"


Zerohedge
Mon, 30 Sep 2024 08:22 UTC
Elon serious
Elon Musk has argued that the influx of illegal immigrants into the United States, "something that the Democrats are expediting as fast as humanly possible," will effectively establish a 'one-party state and Democracy is over.'

Responding to a thread on X in which Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) pointed out that the DOJ is suing Alabama for trying to remove noncitizens from its voting lists, and blocked the SAVE Act - Musk noted that "Everywhere in America will be like the nightmare that is downtown San Francisco.:

Read Musk's entire post below (emphasis ours),
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