Society's Child

Obama: Drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic off limits

RT
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 13:45 UTC

President Barack Obama is ready to block the sale of new offshore drilling rights in the US Arctic and parts of the Atlantic; Bloomberg cites sources familiar with the matter. The block on sales would restrict American oil production. The move could reportedly come on Tuesday and would limit future oil and gas leasing in US waters.

The president is expected to evoke a provision in a seldom used 1953 law to preserve coral reefs, marine sanctuaries and walrus feeding grounds, the agency reports. The measure aims to respond to an outcry from environmental protesters who have been seeking to lock in protections before President-elect Donald Trump and his administration enter office. Canada may announce similar plans at the same time, the sources said.

Using the provision will draw a legal challenge, though there is scant legal precedent. Once Donald Trump takes office, he may rescind Obama's order, but it could take years of litigation as the statute does not include a provision for reversal.

The Republican-led Congress could also introduce legislation to eliminate the underlying provision empowering Obama's move. "Congress didn't give the president that power to undo a withdrawal. Trump may claim it. And it may even get upheld," said Niel Lawrence, Alaska director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, as quoted by the agency.

Comment: One of Obama's last hurrahs. ("Hurrah!")

Cops abuse paraplegic during arrest, disabled man pleads for help (VIDEO)

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Mon, 19 Dec 2016 16:57 UTC

A video uploaded to Facebook over the weekend has caused quite the debate online showing Battle Creek police officers apparently abusing a disabled African American man.

The incident happened on Thursday, Dec. 15 as police pulled over a driver for a suspended license. The video shows cops yelling at the man they just pulled over as he lays on the ground immobilized. The driver is politely telling police that he needs his walker to get up and instead of giving it to him, they yell in his face.

"You dragged me out of the car bro," says the driver as he lays there helplessly on the ground. "Look what you just did to me." "How would you like to get up," asks one officer. "I can't get up without my walker," responds the driver. The driver continues to plead with the officers for his walker, but they hold it just out of reach while screaming in his face.

Comment: See also:

Cop nearly kills handcuffed boy by shoving him through window - loses only 5 days vacation

Study finds sex with AI celebrity robots could soon replace intercourse between couples

RT
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 17:30 UTC

According to a new study, intercourse between long term couples is expected to dwindle in the not so distant future, being saved only for special occasions, because robots will be taking care of people's basic sexual needs.

In as few as 25 years, engaging in bedroom romps with artificial intelligence will be seen as a completely normal, but this may also put you at risk of having your "deepest perversions" revealed to total strangers.

"It could be that we are so busy with our lives, we are so embedded in our technological narrative that the idea of engaging in long-distance sex and robot sex is actually a natural process in our evolutionary cycle," Dr. Trudy Barber from Portsmouth University said at the International Congress of Love and Sex with Robotics on Monday.

The scientist, who is a leading figure in the study of technology's impact on our sexuality, believes that machines will help us cherish "the real thing" and make our "real-time relationships more valuable and exciting."

Ukraine neo-nazi thug lawmaker praises 'heroic' Turkish terrorist who killed Russian Ambassador

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 16:43 UTC

Volodymyr Parasyuk kicking Vasyl Hrytsak.

What else would one expect from a neo-nazi, Ukraine lawmaker?

The failed state of Ukraine, run by a combination of CIA spooks, neo-liberal technocrats, and neo-nazi thugs appointed by US neocon (Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs) Victoria Nuland, has never exhibited one hint of proper diplomacy and statesmanship since the Maidan coup in 2014.

Volodymyr Parasyuk, a Ukrainian nationalist lawmaker, who is suspected of committing war crimes against his own people in the Donbass, praised the murder of Russian Ambassador Karlov...calling the jihadists Turkish killer a 'hero'.

Comment: Yes, this idiot: Rage unleashed: Ukrainian brawler MP makes political point with his fists after debate

Get over it: Clinton's snowflakes need to quit whining about the Electoral College

James E. Campbell
Market Watch
Mon, 19 Dec 2016 12:25 UTC

The Founding Fathers got it right, and California is proof.

Shocked and appalled by the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency, some supporters of Hillary Clinton have turned to minimizing and even delegitimizing Trump's election. In an era of severe political polarization, in an election with two candidates seen from the outset in highly unfavorable terms, after the most brutal campaign in modern history, and with an outcome that astonished just about everyone, these reactions are understandable, but wrong.

Many diehard Clinton supporters cannot bring themselves to believe their candidate could lose to Donald Trump. They think: How could such a crude and inept con man be elected president? Even after it has happened, it is unthinkable, a nightmare. So, the election must not have been fair.

Those on the fringe raise the specter of diabolical Russians hacking away at our democracy. More grounded Clintonians have less malevolent bogeymen — our Founding Fathers. As they see it, the election's outcome should be blamed on a dysfunctional and archaic electoral-vote system. Hillary won the national popular vote. She should be president. It is as simple as that. The Electoral College should go the way of Trump University.

PornScrub: South Carolina bill blocks obscene content on personal computers

RT
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 04:46 UTC

Computers purchased in South Carolina in 2017 may only offer PG-13 rated internet. A bill pre-filed by Republican State Representative William Chumley would require that personal computers and other devices block internet access to pornography and obscene content.

Pornography is believed to represent 4 percent of the internet, but computers in South Carolina would come with a blocker that only allows them to access the other 96 percent. Rep. Bill Chumley (R-Spartanburg) made sure to give himself the Christmas present of pre-filing a bill that would block cellphones, tablets and computers from accessing pornography unless consumers pay an extra $20.

The bill, fecklessly titled the Human Trafficking Prevention Act, would fine manufacturers or sellers of electronic devices that do not install the blocks, whether they are created in factories or are at the point of sale. Even the kinds of filters that couldn't otherwise be easily uninstalled by a user remain unknown.

Comment: See also: Substitution: Internet porn creates men desensitized to real life sex

Rusian elections chief Pamfilova asks Putin to reinstitute video monitoring for 2018 elections

RT
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 16:36 UTC

The head of Russia's Central Elections Committee told Vladimir Putin that a review of the federal parliamentary elections in September had uncovered various violations in 23 of 85 Russian regions, and requested that video monitoring be reinstituted.

"Our experts have determined that out of 85 federal regions, 62 had practically no violations, and the elections there were conducted on a very good level. Others did have violations, including some that can be blamed on regional leaders," Ella Pamfilova told Russian President Vladimir Putin at the meeting. She also said that her agency had decided to sack 32 heads of territorial elections commissions as punishment for the violations.

The Russian elections chief also said that the national polling system needed some improvements, as the 2018 presidential election approaches. In particular, she requested that all polling stations have mandatory video monitoring, which was introduced in 2012 but cancelled in 2015 due to the high costs.

Comment: That mean old Putin actually wants legitimate elections!

Bad omen: Ancient 'blood miracle' failed to liquefy heralding disaster for the coming years

Peter Weber
The Week
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 07:19 UTC

One of the most famous recurring miracles — even if one not quite sanctioned by the Catholic Church — is the liquefaction of the dried blood of San Gennaro, or St. Januarius, a bishop of Naples martyred around 305 A.D. and the city's patron saint. Starting in 1389, the vial of San Gennaro's blood typically turns liquid three times a year: on the Saturday before the first Sunday of May; on his saint's feast day, Sept. 19; and on Dec. 16, the day Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 1631.

The blood liquefied on Sept. 19 this year, but not on Dec. 16. "In local lore, the failure of the blood to liquefy signals war, famine, disease, or other disaster," Catholic News Agency reports.

Egyptian police bust staged photo shoot of 'wounded Aleppo child'

Sputnik
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 16:17 UTC

This is why you should double-check any media reports involving images of "wounded children" in Syria. The Egyptian police have prevented another fake story from appearing on your screens. Watch how those fakes are crafted.

Egypt's police detained a man for making staged "wounded children" photos, which he was planning to use to misrepresent on social media as photos of destruction and injured people in Syria's Aleppo, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said on Monday. "The shooting team, which included photographer's assistants and parents of the children, was detained in the Egypt's province of Port Said," the Ministry said on Facebook.

Muslim cleric banned in Pakistan for preaching hatred, tours in Britain cancelled

RT
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 12:40 UTC

A controversial Muslim cleric who has been banned from practicing in Pakistan for allegedly celebrating the murder of a popular politician is touring UK mosques.

Syed Muzaffar Shah Qadri, who has been dubbed a "firebrand" by Pakistani authorities, is due to speak at a number of British mosques in a series of heavily promoted events, despite being prohibited from speaking in his own country.

In Pakistan's Karachi, he has been labeled "prejudicial to public safety and maintenance of public order." He was banned from addressing crowds in October, according to a legal document obtained by Scotland's Sunday Post.

Qadri's UK visit has sparked concern from religious experts and politicians who fear the tour will cause divisions within the Muslim community.

"Syed Muzaffar Shah Qadri and the likes of him should not be allowed to enter the UK or Europe because he incites hatred and he claims to be a Sufi, but the message of Sufism is love all and hate none," Irfan al-Alawi, international director of US think-tank Centre for Islamic Pluralism, told the Observer.

I most certainly would not park my arse on a plane full of vaccinated people and have them infect me with their mutated virus. Whilst my...

Winternights3

What a shitty way to die.

Buffalo_Ken

To follow up on slbeaudry's ( I know there is a way to mention somebody's "name" formally in grey when adding a new comment - versus responding...

Buffalo_Ken

Eh. I was always warned to steer clear if they have little ones. That may provoke attacks. But... Illegal wildlife feeding? Lmao. 🤣 They will...

slbeaudry

I know several folks who are planning to fly for winter holidays in the next few months. All I can say is good luck.

ReRan

Society's Child

Obama: Drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic off limits

Cops abuse paraplegic during arrest, disabled man pleads for help (VIDEO)

Study finds sex with AI celebrity robots could soon replace intercourse between couples

Ukraine neo-nazi thug lawmaker praises 'heroic' Turkish terrorist who killed Russian Ambassador

Get over it: Clinton's snowflakes need to quit whining about the Electoral College

PornScrub: South Carolina bill blocks obscene content on personal computers

Rusian elections chief Pamfilova asks Putin to reinstitute video monitoring for 2018 elections

Bad omen: Ancient 'blood miracle' failed to liquefy heralding disaster for the coming years

Egyptian police bust staged photo shoot of 'wounded Aleppo child'

Muslim cleric banned in Pakistan for preaching hatred, tours in Britain cancelled

Latest News

Picture of the Day

Quote of the Day

Recent Comments

Quantum Quirk

Contact Us