Society's ChildS


Handcuffs

Self-exiled, self-styled Russian 'performance artist' placed in disciplinary cell in French prison


RT
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 15:02 UTC
Pyotr Pavlenko
© Aleksey Kudenko / SputnikPyotr Pavlenko during his trial in Russia.
A controversial artist famous for nailing his scrotum to Red Square has been reportedly placed in a disciplinary cell at a French prison, where he is awaiting trial for setting the doors of the nation's central bank on fire.

Pyotr Pavlensky, who fled Russia after several protest performances and received asylum in France only to be charged with vandalizing public property, has been punished by French authorities, his partner Oksana Shalygina said on Facebook.


Comment: In other words, he was better treated by the Russians than the French. Think about that for a minute.


Pavlensky earned international notoriety for several protest actions in Russia involving self-harm. On various occasions he sewed his mouth shut, laid naked in a cocoon of barbed wire, cut off a piece of his ear and nailed his scrotum to the pavement of Red Square. All his actions were aimed at protesting policies of the Russian government.

One of his latest performances involved pouring gasoline on the doors of the national security service FSB and setting them on fire. A Russian court sentenced Pavlensky to a heavy fine for the vandalism, but allowed him to keep his freedom.

In February 2017 the performer and his family fled Russia (without paying the fine) and asked for political asylum in France, which was granted. He claimed the Russian authorities fabricated a new criminal case against him in revenge for his protest. Some media reports in Russia alleged he and Shalygina committed a sexual assault on another woman, but no charges against either of them were placed.

Comment: This story is just the gift that keeps giving:

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Rose

Washington's funding to support Afghan irrigation 'helped' poppy cultivation - watchdog


RT
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 12:17 UTC
Poppy field
US counternarcotics policy in Afghanistan not only failed to reduce the notorious opium production, but also contributed to increased poppy cultivation due to Washington's funding of irrigation projects, a new report said.

The US spent some $8.62 billion on counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan in 2002-2017, a report from Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the US government authority which oversees Afghanistan reconstruction, states. Despite these enormous 15-year-long efforts, the war-shattered country still continues to be the world's largest opium producer. Plus opium poppy remains the "largest cash crop" in Afghanistan.

"Our analysis reveals that no counternarcotics program led to lasting reductions in poppy cultivation or opium production," the document states, noting that "eradication efforts" in the country had no lasting impact. In addition, alternative development programs which often were "too short-term", failed to provide sustainable alternatives to poppy, "and sometimes even contributed to poppy production," it stresses.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) mainly focused its efforts on "large-scale, short-term interventions" which attempted to replace poppy with another crop.
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Arrow Down

Tokyo Medical University caught tampering with exam results to 'keep women out'


RT
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:47 UTC
Doctor nurse hospital medical
© Bilderbox / Global Look Press
Tokyo Medical University has found itself in hot water after it was discovered to be altering exam scores for female applicants to boost the number of male doctors, prompting widespread outrage.

The fudged exam results were discovered in an internal investigation following allegations of corruption over the entrance procedures for the Tokyo medical school, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported. The internal probe will also investigate allegations that the university was entangled in bribery to admit the son of a senior official of the education ministry.


Comment: The Japan Times reports that two university executives have quit after being accused of offering bribes, and an education ministry official has been arrested for accepting them.


The revelations have sparked outrage on social media, with one person on Thursday branding the "logic of systemic discrimination against women applicants" as "disgusting." Another called it "crazy, disturbing... stuck in the 1950s," while another pointed out that if the Japanese will apologize for "tiny train delays," how many times will they say sorry for "how they treat their women."
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Toys

Video shows French rappers fighting at airport, parts of terminal shut down


Sputnik
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:40 UTC
Booba and Kaaris,
© AFP 2018 / Dominique FAGET
Two French rappers, Booba and Kaaris, which were reportedly trading barbs in social media, started a real fight when they saw each other in Orly International Airport.

A video, circulating in social media, shows rappers Booba and his rival, Kaaris, as well as their entourages clashing in front of a shocked public. Booba, dressed in a black T-shirt and Kaaris, dressed in grey, reportedly known to hate each other, are seen exchanging punches.

The fight resulted in some flights being delayed and the closure of part of the terminal.

The artists were heading to Barcelona, where they were expected to play live at two different nightclubs located near one another. However, the fateful meeting is unlikely to let them get that far now, as both are currently under arrest and have been taken into custody.

Comment: According to Billboard:
Both of the artists had supposedly been beefing since a falling out took place in 2013 when Booba apparently became frustrated that Kaaris didn't side with him in his feud against Rohff.
Jesus wept. Kaaris is 38 years old and Booba is 41. This kind of behaviour has become common place amongst teenagers with no sense of purpose and amongst adults who have yet to grow up:

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Info

Wright-Patterson Air Base blames 911 call for false alarm over 'active shooter incident'


RT
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:47 UTC
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
© WikipediaA section of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio
An errant 911 call by an "unknown" person brought out a first response team at Ohio's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The call was made while an active shooter training scenario played out in another part of the facility.

"There was no real world active shooter incident on Wright-Patterson AFB and base personnel remain safe," the facility said through its Twitter account, two hours after the incident made headlines in media worldwide.

One firearm was discharged reportedly during the emergency operation, used to open a door inside the medical center, where the shooter was reported to be.
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Bizarro Earth

The Dangers of celebrity activists: U2's Bono and the CIA

Thomas C. Mountain
American Herald Tribune
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 11:20 UTC
Bono Vox (U2) Toronto Int. Film Festival 2011
© Marco Manna/ flickrBono Vox (U2) Toronto Int. Film Festival 2011
U2's Bono picked a Capo Grande from the US intelligence community to run his "One" NGO, choosing Gayle Smith, who as Senior Director of the US National Security Council and Special Advisor to President Barack Obama used to tell the CIA what to do, especially when it came to Africa.

Ms. Smith, also known as "Obama's Quiet Consigliere", is infamous for her heart felt eulogy based on over 30 years of friendship at the funeral for Meles Zenawi, today Ethiopia's "No.1 Most Hated Person".

Comment:

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Black Cat 2

Catcallers beware: Bill to fine 'harassment' of women on streets with up to €750 gets the OK by French parliament


RT
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 09:55 UTC
lady walking
© Getty Images
Catcallers, wolf-whistlers or those who follow a woman asking for her number 20 times will soon face punishment. French MPs have approved a bill which would allow fines of up to €750 for the 'harassment' of women on the street.

"Harassment in the street has previously not been punished. From now on, it will be," France's Secretary of State for Equality Marlene Schiappa, who has been advocating the legislation, told Europe 1 radio on Thursday. On Wednesday evening the French National Assembly, the lower house of the bicameral French parliament, approved the legislation which was earlier given the backing of the Senate.

"What's key is ... that the laws of the French republic forbid insulting, intimidating, threatening and following women in public spaces," Schiappa insisted. The fines for such behavior would range from €90 up to €750.

After the legislation was approved by parliament, Twitter users started wondering if simply telling a woman that she is beautiful or glancing at her would be considered a punishable offence.

Comment: See also: France moving forward with on-the-spot fines of €90-750 for "sexual harassment" in public

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X

News media works to manufacture consent - don't give it to them

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Thu, 02 Aug 2018 08:37 UTC
mainstream news media
Plutocrat-owned news media outlets lie constantly. When I say this I don't mean that everything they say is false; many of the events reported by mass media are for the most part factual. Whenever it's convenient for the loose alliance of western plutocrats, the political establishment those plutocrats own and operate, and the secretive government agencies with which they are allied, the plutocratic media tell the truth to the extent that it advances plutocratic agendas. But only telling the truth when it suits one's agendas is the same as lying constantly.

A good liar doesn't simply say the opposite of what's true all the time; nobody does that. A good liar tells the truth enough of the time to gain a reputation as an honest and trustworthy source of information, and then, when the truth poses an obstacle to their agendas, they put the slightest spin possible on it to nullify that obstacle. They tell half-truths, they omit key pieces of information, and, with really important maneuvers like manufacturing consent for a strategic military destabilization in the Middle East or new cold war escalations against a nuclear superpower, they shift accountability for factual reporting from themselves onto secretive military and intelligence agencies. In this way they keep full control of the narrative and still ensure that the public supports agendas which do not serve the public interest.

This is evidenced by the fact that the public has continued collaborating with a system which kills the ecosystem we depend on for survival and allows people to die of poverty while spending trillions of dollars in needless wars overseas and an ever-expanding Orwellian surveillance network. Everyone besides the most powerful and their lackeys is aware on some level that the current system is not working for them, and yet the overwhelming majority of people keep playing into it by supporting mainstream parties that are fully owned and operated by wealthy oligarchs, and then shrugging and sighing when things keep getting worse.

Comment: See also:

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Bug

Mom and son contract 'rat lungworm' after eating raw centipedes at market

Madeline Farber
Fox News
Thu, 02 Aug 2018 08:40 UTC
centipede
© iStockA centipede was likely the cause of the rat lungworm parasite found in the mother and son.
A woman and her grown son contracted "rat lungworm" after eating raw centipedes they bought at a market in China, researchers said.

Scientists with the Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China recently wrote in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene that the A. cantonensis parasite - often known as "rat lungworm" - was "transmitted through an intermediate centipede host," MedPage Today reported.

Rat lungworm is a parasite that's found in rodents. The infected rodents then pass the parasite's larvae through their feces, later infecting snails and slugs, among other creatures, when they ingest the larvae. Humans who eat raw or undercooked snails or slugs that contain the parasite can be infected, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports.

The parasite is typically found in China and Southeast Asia, though it has also been reported in the U.S.


Comment: Hawaii confirms nine cases of rat lungworm infections; researchers call it 'epidemic'


The newly reported research is significant because it suggests the parasite can be found in centipedes as well.
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MIB

Russian employee at US embassy in Moscow targeted in propaganda war


RT
Thu, 02 Aug 2018 23:58 UTC
U.S. embassy Moscow
© Tatyana Makeyeva / ReutersA general view shows the U.S. embassy in Moscow, Russia.
The Secret Service has dismissed the report that a Russian employee at the US Moscow embassy, who was reportedly fired after her contacts with the Russian intelligence came to light, had access to secret data.

The woman was reportedly dismissed from her job last summer over the allegations of her ties to the Russian intelligence, according to the Guardian citing an unnamed US intelligence source.

The newspaper has not revealed the capacity in which the woman was working at the embassy, nor the responsibilities she had, noting only that the supposed Russian spy was working "at the heart of the American embassy for more than a decade."

The woman did not come on the radar of the US Department of State's Regional Security Office (RSO) until 2016, the year of the US presidential elections that spawned a wide-ranging hunt for "Russian interference" by the media and intelligence circles amid claims Moscow attempted to "sow discord" in the American society and sway the vote in favor of Donald Trump.

Comment: The initial response was lackluster because there was nothing to it, as the Secret Service has confirmed. This is just another 'nothing burger' presented to the public to maintain the anti-Russian hysteria.

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