Welcome to Sott.net
Fri, 05 Nov 2021
The World for People who Think

Society's Child
Map

USA

Democrats, Republicans and Independents are all getting fed up with social media, says new survey

people on phones
© Reuters / Shannon Stapleton
There are few things these days which unite liberals and conservatives, but according to a new survey, a growing dislike and distrust of social media companies is one of them.

Across the political spectrum, dissatisfaction with sites like Facebook and Twitter is growing - and growing quickly. An Axios survey conducted in November found that 57 percent of US adults felt that social media is damaging to society and democracy, up 14 percent from one year earlier.

When you break it down, Democrats, Republicans and Independents have all been souring on social media, with significant increases in the numbers dissatisfied seen across the three groups in the last year.

Attention

Passenger train derails outside of Barcelona leaving 1 person dead and 44 injured

train derailment
© Reuters / Albert Gea
Rescue workers survey the scene after a commuter train derailed outside Barcelona.
A passenger train has derailed near Barcelona, Spain, leaving at least one person dead and 44 injured, officials confirmed.

The incident took place outside the village of Vacarisses, near the Spanish city on Tuesday morning.

The latest data from the emergency services indicates that at least one person has been killed, and 44 others injured in the tragedy. The train was carrying some 150 passengers when the incident happened.

Pistol

AP photographer shot while covering Gaza protest

shot photographer
© AP/Adel Hana
Wounded Associated Press photographer
A photographer with the Associated Press was shot in the leg on Monday, possibly by an Israeli sniper, while covering a protest in Gaza.

Witnesses and medical officials told AP that their cameraman was wounded. His colleagues said that it appeared that the gunfire that struck Rashid came from the Israeli side of the border.

The photographer, 47-year-old Rashed Rashid, was struck in the leg during weekly protests on the Israeli border called the "Great March of Return," which typically sees most of its weekly activity on Fridays. The demonstration calls for the right of return of Palestinians who have been forced off their indigenous lands.

Witnesses say Rashid was 600 meters (almost 2,000 feet) from the fence separating Gaza from Israel and that he was standing far away from the protesters. He was also wearing a protective vest with the word "PRESS" emblazoned on it, in addition to a helmet.

As of November 12, some 210 Palestinians, including reporters, have been killed during the protests, and more than 18,000 people have been shot, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

According to AP, the photographer was recording the protest live from an elevated position. Doctors said Rashid sustained multiple fractures in his leg, which would require surgery, AP added. He has been contributing to the outlet for more than a decade and a half. Israel's military said that it is investigating the shooting.

Comment: See also:


Snowflake

UK university requests lecturers avoid using capital letters - They can 'generate anxiety and discourage students'

screaming
Leeds Trinity University's journalism department has requested that lecturers avoid a plethora of offenses out of fear of intimidating or frightening students.

So what are those 'offenses?'

Some of those offenses include writing in capital letters - which could "scare [students] into failure," harsh tones, and more, according to the school's memo.

The United Kingdom school's memo was obtained by the Express and published on Monday.

A portion of the memo read, "Despite our best attempts to explain assessment tasks, any lack of clarity can generate anxiety and even discourage students from attempting the assessment at all."

Evil Rays

Inmate accused of killing alleged child molester said mom and God 'told me to do it'

David Faustino Flores
© Tarrant County Sheriff's Office
David Faustino Flores
An inmate at Tarrant County jail charged with killing a notoriously accused child molester said Wednesday that "God and his mother" told him to kill the other man.

Jail officials said David Faustino Flores, 42, killed 76-year-old Clinton Don Simpson on Nov. 7 by slamming his head into the floor more than a dozen times.

Flores talked to reporters from jail on Wednesday afternoon, the same day he was formally charged with murder in the case, according to court records.

Flores told reporters he hears voices and when he first arrived in jail, he told jail officials he needed his own cell because he has schizophrenia.

House

Airbnb pledges to remove listings from illegal West Bank settlements - Israel whines in response

Ariel Gold disrupts Ashton Kutcher's Airbnb presentation.

Ariel Gold disrupts Ashton Kutcher's Airbnb presentation.
Airbnb, the popular home rental company, announced on Monday that it would be removing its listings in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, drawing praise from Palestinian activists who have been advocating for the move for years.

In a statement on its website, Airbnb said: "We concluded that we should remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians."

"Many in the global community have stated that companies should not do business here because they believe companies should not profit on lands where people have been displaced," the statement continued, adding that as part of their decision making process, they "evaluate whether the existence of listings is contributing to existing human suffering."

The San Francisco-based company said the decision will affect some 200 listings in West Bank settlements, but did not specify when the decision will take effect.

Airbnb's announcement came one day before the expected release of a scathing 65-page report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) entitled "Bed and Breakfast on Stolen Land: Tourist Rental Listings in West Bank Settlements," leading to speculation that the company made the move in an effort to get ahead of the HRW report and avoid further public backlash.

Cross

US rebel Orthodox priest to RT: Ukrainian schismatics are 'idolaters' with blood on their hands

Orthodox priest, Mark Tyson
© The Dormition of the Mother of God Orthodox Christian Church (stmarysbluefield.org)
Orthodox priest, Mark Tyson
American Orthodox priest Mark Tyson has told RT he quit the Patriarchate of Constantinople because he couldn't share a church with Ukrainian schismatics, who have blood on their hands and are driven by nationalism and not Christ.

On October 11, the Constantinople Patriarchate, seen as the center of the Orthodox faith, agreed to recognize the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as independent from the Moscow Patriarchate. The church had been led by previously anathematized Patriarch Filaret.

On the day of the schism, Father Mark resigned from his parish in the town of Bluefield in West Virginia and joined the Russian Orthodox Church. It was a tough but a well-informed decision for Tyson, who has been learning Russian since he was 18, and had been closely following news from Ukraine in recent months.

"I know that some 50 churches have been stolen from Metropolitan Onufry [the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine] through force. Blood has already been shed, people have already been wounded and some deaths have occurred. This is a terrible thing."

Pirates

First ISIS executioner - former bricklayer from London - reportedly still alive in Syria

Alexanda Amon Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh
© AP PHOTO / HUSSEIN MALLA
Alexanda Amon Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh, who were allegedly among four British jihadis who made up a brutal Islamic State cell dubbed "The Beatles," speak during an interview with The Associated Press at a security center in Kobani, Syria, Friday, March 30, 2018.
He was the man responsible for a brutal execution tape released in 2014, as confirmed by his own family. Al Manasfi was allegedly killed in an ambush but he Syrian government forces in 2013 near Idlib.

Following the news of his reported death, British Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed at the time they were in communication with his family. A statement from the FCO said: "Their family have been informed and we are providing consular assistance."

However, according to new reports, al Manasfi has survived the attack and still lives in Syria, married with children.

Ali al Manasfi, a 28-years-old bricklayer from west London, travelled to Syria soon after the conflict began.

In 2013, in what was the first known example of such a killing by a British citizen during the Syrian conflict, the balaclava-wearing al Manasfi was seen shooting a hostage in the back of the head. The video was posted online by a group of British fighters in Syria called Rayat al Tawheed, or "Banner of God" - an affiliate of Daesh.

Ambulance

Man shouting 'Allahu Akbar' stabs police in Brussels - being investigated as terrorism

brussels police
© Reuters / Yves Herman
Police keep watch outside the police headquarters after a knife attack on a police officer
A man wielding a knife has stabbed an officer outside a police station in central Brussels, officials confirmed. The attacker reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the attack.

The incident took place in the Ixelles area, which is considered a wealthy part of the Belgian capital, on Tuesday morning.

The police officer suffered minor neck injuries in the attack, officials said, as cited by RTBF. One of the victim's colleagues responded by firing at the assailant, injuring him in the chest.

Sources told Brussels-based Derniere Heure newspaper that the man shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the attack.

However, a police spokesperson said that it was "too early to say anything about" the incident, adding that the attacker's motives have yet to be investigated.

Comment: RT added this update:
The Brussels prosecutor's office told Interfax that the investigation into the attack was being conducted as "an attempted murder in the context of terrorism." A similar comment from the city's police was cited by RIA Novosti.



NPC

A conspiracy theory is born: US comedian calls Ocasio-Cortez 'a Russian tool'

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
© Reuters / Kevin Lamarque
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talks with reporters.
'Russiagate' seems to have claimed another victim. Comedian Jen Kirkman went into a full meltdown, starting by branding Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a Russian tool and ending with blaming Putin for messing up her life.

Representative-elect Ocasio-Cortez is a rising star of progressive politics, whose way to national prominence began after she defeated veteran congressman Joe Crowley in a Democratic primary. She runs on a progressive platform and wants similarly-minded people to get elected the same way she did - by challenging centrist Democrats and thus shifting the entire party to the left.

According to Kirkman, this is all a secret ploy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who wants to divide the Democratic Party and "take over America." On Sunday, she shared her suspicions about the politician with her 260,000 Twitter followers in a long thread that has since gone viral.