Society's ChildS


Handcuffs

Christchurch police arrest 33-yo man after suspected explosive device and ammo found at his address

Charlotte Greenfield, Praveen Menon
Reuters
Tue, 30 Apr 2019 16:42 UTC
christchurch
© TVNZ via REUTERSPolice officers and vehicles are seen behind police cordon, in Christchurch, New Zealand in this still image taken from video April 30, 2019
New Zealand police said on Tuesday a man was arrested and bomb disposal officers found a package with a suspected explosive device at a vacant property in Christchurch, where 50 people were killed in attacks by a lone gunman on two mosques in March.

Police cordoned off streets in the Phillipstown area of the city on New Zealand's South Island, with a bomb disposal team, ambulance and fire and emergency crews sent to the scene.

"Police have located a package containing a suspected explosive device and ammunition at a vacant address ... in Christchurch," district police commander Superintendent John Price said in a statement.

An explosives disposal unit rendered the package safe and a 33-year-old Christchurch man was arrested, the statement said. The police cordon was later lifted.

The New Zealand Herald said police were called due to "threats about an explosive device".
Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Sex-scandal hoaxer Jacob Wohl accused of trying to smear presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg


RT
Tue, 30 Apr 2019 16:42 UTC
jacob wohl
© Reuters / Joshua Roberts
Jacob Wohl, who became notorious after his attempt to set up special counsel Robert Mueller on fake rape charges imploded, has been accused of targeting Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg with a similar stunt.

Wohl and Republican lobbyist Jack Burkman reportedly attempted to convince several young Republican men to claim Buttigieg, the gay South Bend, Indiana mayor who has been climbing the Democratic ranks in 2020 presidential polls, sexually assaulted them, according to the Daily Beast, which claims to have spoken to two of the dynamic duo's would-be partners.

One of the would-be victims supposedly provided the Beast with a recording of his meeting with Wohl and Burkman, in which Wohl refers to Buttigieg as a "terminal threat" to the re-election of Donald Trump. The comedy of errors that ensues is almost too ridiculous to be believed - Wohl and Burkman introduce themselves with obvious fake names, attempt to seduce the mark with promises of wealth, fame, and stardom (using Brett Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford as an example of the superstardom awaiting the mark if he just gives a press conference accusing Buttigieg of sexual assault), and promise the mark that there are plenty of "actual victims" just waiting for him to be first. When he demurs, they ask him if he has any friends that would do it.
Read More...
Handcuffs

Indian counterterrorism agency arrests follower of Sri Lankan bomber who planned terror attack

Rahul Tripathi
India Times
Mon, 29 Apr 2019 16:35 UTC
Moulvi Zahran Hashim, Sri Lanka bombings Easter
© Twitter / DanieleRaineriHashim is suspected to be an organizer of the attacks shortly after senior government officials accused the National Thawheed Jama’ut (NTJ) of involvement, according to multiple media sources. Hashim is both an Imam, and a prolific lecturer for the NTJ, and is said to have used social media to incite violence, including against rival mosques.
A suspect arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Kerala has admitted to be following Sri Lankan bomber Zahran Hashim. The Sri Lankan Cleric behind attacks in Colombo has radicalised several Indian youths in different parts of South India. The Easter attacks, claimed by ISIS, have resulted in death of over 250 people in Sri Lanka.

The accused identified as Riyas A alias Riyas Aboobacker (29), a native of Palakkad in Kerala during interrogation disclosed that has been following speeches/videos of Zahran Hashim of Sri Lanka for more than a year and has also followed the speeches of Zakir Naik. He admitted that he wanted to carry out a suicide attack in Kerala, a statement from the agency said.

"Riyas has been in online contact with absconding accused Abdul Rashid Abdulla @ Abu Isa for a long time and has been following his audio clips including the clip which he had circulated on social media platform instigating others to carry out terror attacks in India. He revealed that he was also having online chat with Abdul Khayoom Abu Khalid, who was believed to be in Syria", the NIA statement added.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Airplane

Boeing's second largest customer for 737 Max jets turns to Airbus; seeks compensation for grounded planes

Deena Kamel
The National
Mon, 29 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
FlyDubai Airbus, Dubai grounded Boeing 737 Max
© ReutersEmirates and Flydubai chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum speaks to reporters at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
Flydubai, the second largest customer of the now-grounded Boeing 737 Max jets, is in talks with Airbus for an order of the competing A320 Neo narrow-body model in the absence of a timeframe for the return of the troubled Maxs to the skies.

The low-cost carrier is seeking compensation from Boeing for its grounded 14 Boeing 737 Maxs and believes the US planemaker's communication about fixes on the jet can be improved, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the carrier's chairman, said at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on Monday. Flydubai, which operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet, has ordered 250 of the re-engined narrowbody model.

"That gave me an option to talk to Airbus to see what exactly will happen because you have to understand until today we don't have a definite date when this aircraft will be flying," Sheikh Ahmed told reporters. "I cannot just not do anything about it."

Flydubai joins carriers such as Norwegian Air in demanding compensation from Boeing, who is facing mounting costs and a crisis of confidence in its Max jets after the model was involved in two deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a span of five months. Flydubai grounded its fleet of 14 Maxs following directives from the UAE aviation regulator in March. The narrowbody aircraft is the workhorse of airlines, especially low-cost carriers.

Comment: Probably a wise response to the situation as it doesn't appear the problems will be quickly solved; and with the level of corruption exposed, caution is well-advised:

Read More...
NPC

Can the anesthetized West ever enact a real rebellion?

Jason Hirthler
Counterpunch
Mon, 29 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
Avengers movie poster
© Theatrical Release Poster – Fair Use
The great religious fabulist Billy Graham once crooned to his audience of wide-eyed acolytes, "I've read the last page of the Bible. It's all going to turn out all right." The assembled flock then fell into a rousing rendition of, "How Great Thou Art." Ah, to have such simple-minded faith. This is evidently what we long for, after all, the credulous faith of children. And you don't have to cast your gaze back to the Nile River Valley or the saline shores of the Dead Sea to discover the human proclivity for savior motifs. Just check the nearest cinema signage or streaming app. From Westeros to Wonder Woman, the public seems to have a bottomless appetite for saviors sweeping in to save civilization - or perhaps to purge it of its more unflattering excrescences. Through the nimbus of a nacreous sky, out of a thick wood, cresting over the roiling waves, dredged up from the sea floor, every corner of the planet has been ransacked for sources of redemption, while the tinseltown scribes continue to scribble their visions of apocalypse. The urge to be saved and the fear of Armageddon come together to a screen near you every six months or so. There's an odd kind of mutualism at work between the Cassandras and Christ-figures.
Read More...
NPC

Hysteria: Norwegian media suspects beluga whale freed by fishermen was really a 'Russian spy'


RT
Tue, 30 Apr 2019 10:10 UTC
Russia beluga whale harness Norway
© Facebook/Fiskeridirektoratet
A friendly beluga whale wearing a harness was spotted by Norwegian fishermen and freed from its garment. Now the country's media are speculating that the marine animal must have been working for the Russian Navy.

The Arctic whale was first sighted last Thursday by a group of fishermen off the coast of Ingoya Island in Norway's north. It was quite friendly and willing to play with humans, but what was peculiar about it was the harness it was wearing, public broadcaster NRK reported.

The fishermen took pictures of the animal and reported their find to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, which is tasked with freeing whales from ropes, fishnets and other trash in which they may get tangled. The authorities sent a crew to the location and encountered the same whale. They tried to take the harness off, but the beluga would not allow them, so they had to send in a swimmer in a warm suit to relieve the mammal of the attire.
Read More...
Sheriff

Watch as group of ISIS recruiters busted outside Moscow


RT
Mon, 29 Apr 2019 18:13 UTC
Russia bust isis
© YouTube / Russia's Investigative Committee
Seven suspected members of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) have been detained outside Moscow. The men were tasked by "foreign emissaries" to recruit more terrorists locally, investigators said.

The group was busted during a joint operation of several Russian law enforcement and intelligence agencies, Russia's Investigative Committee said Monday. It released an undated video, showing a special police task force raiding a house somewhere in the Moscow Region and arresting several men.

Footage of the arrest indicates that at least one firearm was seized during the raid. Apart from that, the police uncovered a cache of prohibited extremist literature and digital materials.

Comment: The source of funding and supplies for these "foreign emissaries" is pretty clear by now:

Read More...
Star of David

'NYT led by anti-Semites': Israeli cartoonist draws response to controversial picture


RT
Tue, 30 Apr 2019 10:10 UTC
New York Times anti-Semite Israel cartoon Shay Charka
© Shay Charka / Makor Rishon
An Israeli illustrator drew his own version of the 'anti-Semitic' cartoon printed in the New York Times depicting PM Netanyahu as a guide dog leading 'blind' President Trump. RT asked people in Israel what they think.

Shay Charka, a cartoonist for Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon published his own 'response' to the controversial New York Times cartoon on Sunday after the leading US paper was accused of printing anti-Semitic imagery.

In Charka's version, Donald Trump was swapped for a copy of the NYT and the dog's head was replaced with a copy of 'the Protocols '- a reference to the so-called Protocols of the Elders of Zion - a century-old anti-Semitic forgery. First published in late-imperial Russia, the discredited document quickly became a centerpiece in anti-Semitic propaganda across the globe, claiming that Jews secretly seek world dominance.

Comment: And of course this last gentlemen would be correct - the cartoon has everything to do with politics and nothing to do with anti-Semitism. The crux of the matter, which is obscured by hyped up charges of 'anti-Semitism', is the well documented meddling in US politics by Netanyahu and other Israeli groups in general.

Also see:

Read More...
Arrow Up

We're at a tipping point and the Gilets Jaunes are winning, what's next?

David Studdert
offGuardian
Mon, 29 Apr 2019 09:30 UTC
Yellow vests
The weekend just gone, Manifestation 23, marked a seismic shift in the five month battle between the Gilets Jaunes and the French state. The Notre Dame fire has brought into the open the strategic shift in public opinion that has occurred over the winter; shifts all to the advantage of the Gilets Jaunes. While the cold winter months with their looming darkness only allowed us to glimpse two equal parties grinding away at each other in the gloom, the advent of spring and its clear light, reveals how the Gilets are gathering reserves of strength all over France, and how, now, they are slowly winning in Paris as well. The sight of French police surrounding Notre Dame and denying access to its 'own' population, starkly illustrates what the state seeks to deny. After all, these sort of monuments are the materiality through which states demonstrates their connection to the population, their right to rule and their own power.

The Neo-liberal state is crumbling and Macron is going be the sacrificial lamb. At this stage he will be lucky to last two months. His clumsy handling of the Notre Dame blaze has outraged and enraged more sections of the French population. Indeed throughout the five months of protest, and despite the wall to wall media propaganda, opinion polls consistently show continued and unwavering sympathy and support of the Gilets Jaunes.

In the sharp light of spring it is clear that Macron's winter strategy: the Great National Debate, has achieved nothing for the government and more tellingly perhaps, has further revealed Macron's own incapacity to either change himself or shift course. As one anonymous French state official reportedly said: 'Mitterrand gave them an extra week's holiday, but Macron can't manage anything'. He simply seems unable in any form to communicate with either the Gilets or the people of France. His constant speeches, with their casual insults and lack of empathy, remain one of the best recruitment tools the Gilets possess.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Blue Planet

Not neo-liberal globalism but "win-win" globalism is the solution

Adam Garrie
Eurasia Future
Sat, 27 Apr 2019 08:47 UTC
global networks
The term "globalism" means many different things to many different people. The definitions vary as much due to cultural factors as ideological ones. When the word first appeared in the common vernacular it tended to have universally positive connotations which referred to the power of technology and the confluence of global trade to prevent world wars and bring nations closer together economically, culturally and diplomatically.

Since then, while the word has retained much of its original spirit in China and other Asian nations, in other parts of the world but particularly in Europe, the United States and the so-called "white (British) Commonwealth", the word has taken on many negative connotations. For China, globalism is contrasted with economic insularity, competing nationalist and extremist geopolitical narratives and geo-economic caution. By contrast, in the west, globalism has become something of a catch all which can mean neo-liberal economics, so-called Cultural Marxist sociological programmes, elitism, so-called reverse racism and at more extreme levels it has become a code word for either a "vast Jewish conspiracy", "vast global Illuminati" conspiracy or the "New World Order" as first articulated by US President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s.

While everyone has the right to define categorically broad terms in the manner of their choosing, in reality insofar as geopolitical policy is concerned, today's world has but two competing forms of globalism: A Chinese win-win model versus the western neo-liberal, zero-sum model.

Comment: See also:

Read More...