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Handcuffs

Surfer handcuffed on beach for going into sea while infected with coronavirus

Gerard Couzens
Metro.co.uk
Tue, 08 Sep 2020 12:14 UTC
covid surfer arrest
© Solarpix
Police arrested the woman on La Zurriola beach, city of San Sebastian, Spain.
A woman was arrested on a Spanish beach after going surfing despite testing positive for Covid-19. The woman - who has not been named - worked as a lifeguard at La Concha beach in the northern city of San Sebastian.

Her colleagues were the ones to call police after she was spotted at nearby La Zurriola beach, according to local reports. Pictures show police handcuffing the woman on the sand after pulling her from the water as she surfed.

She was arrested on suspicion of disobedience, after she reportedly ignored officers for several minutes before getting out of the sea. Photos published by a local paper showed two people in hazmat suits escorting the woman across the sand after asking her to put a face mask on.

She is expected to face a heavy fine for breaching strict quarantine rules, which could be up to £5,500. If it is discovered she has passed coronavirus on to another person through her actions, the fine would be more than £100,000.


Comment: From surfing in the ocean, fresh air and catching an accommodating wave to handcuffs, citations and fines - how ridiculous.



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USA

The United States & its Constitution have two months left

Paul Craig Roberts
Institute for Political Economy
Thu, 10 Sep 2020 17:31 UTC
US constitution
Bob Woodward writes that Trump's Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, and Trump's Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, spoke together about taking "collective action" to remove President Trump from office. General Mattis said Trump is "dangerous. He's unfit."

This is the same thing that the Generals and the CIA said about President John F. Kennedy.

When Generals and the CIA say that a president is unfit and dangerous, they mean he is dangerous to their budget. By "unfit" they mean he is not a reliable cold warrior who will keep hyping America's enemies so that money keeps pouring into the military/security budget. By serving defense contractors instead of their country, generals end up very wealthy.

Comment:

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Pumpkin

CNN has had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week

Tyler O'Neil
PJ Media
Fri, 11 Sep 2020 17:11 UTC
CNN sign
© Shutterstock
September 11 closed off a rather embarrassing week for CNN. Shortly after the network's chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter, published a book condemning Fox News for a "dangerous distortion of the truth," evidence emerged that CNN leaders meddled in a congressional race, offered favors to a presidential candidate in exchange for the promise of a TV show in 2016, and tried to coach President Donald Trump's lawyer on the topic of Stormy Daniels.

But by all means, keep complaining about Fox News. That tactic is sure to hurt your competitor's ratings, right?

Without further ado, here's a round-up of CNN's scandals.

Comment: May the Clinton News Nuthouse have many more such weeks, bleeding into ratings oblivion, with MSNBC not far behind.

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Take 2

Disney's toxic strategy for its Star Wars franchise: Lie, fail, attack the fans

Matthew Kadis
RT
Sun, 13 Sep 2020 16:58 UTC
Darth Vader
© Gettyimages / Charles McQuillan / Stringer
Lucasfilm's modus operandi of lying to fans and then attacking them for being upset over the lies has been going on since Kathleen Kennedy took over in 2012. Can Star Wars survive this poisonous approach?

On September 8, 2020, the Jimmy Kimmel Live show aired a video of actor Josh Gad interviewing actress Daisy Ridley. Gad, being an ardent Star Wars fan, of course questioned Ridley about her role as Rey in episodes 7-9 of the new Star Wars Trilogy. Gad, in particular, focused on Rey's lineage, asking Ridley if she always knew her character was going to be the granddaughter of the evil Emperor Palpatine. Ridley responded:
"At the beginning, there was toying with an Obi-Wan connection. And then it went to 'she was no one', and then it came to Episode 9 and JJ [Abrams] pitched me the film and was like 'Oh, yeah, Palpatine is granddaddy.' And I was like 'awesome'. And then two weeks later he was like 'Well, we're not sure,' so it kept changing. So then even I think we were filming and I wasn't sure what the answer was going to be."
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Attention

State of denial: From 'never forget' to 'sensitive content', Baylor University gives trigger warning for 9/11 remembrance display on campus


RT
Sat, 12 Sep 2020 16:55 UTC
baylor 911
© Twitter / @BaylorYCT
Baylor University posted warnings on a Sept. 11 memorial, saying its "sensitive" content could evoke a "wide range" of emotions.
Baylor University administrators found it necessary to add a trigger warning to an annual September 11 memorial that is displayed on campus each year, suggesting that remembrance of the 2001 attacks is no longer a unifying cause.

The prestigious Christian university in Texas placed signs saying "Please be advised: sensitive content," near the memorial, which features 2,977 small American flags lining Baylor's Fountain Mall walkway to honor the people who were killed in the terror attacks.

"These signs amount to nothing short of a trigger warning for an event that should unite all Americans," said Baylor's Young Conservatives of Texas student club, which sets up the memorial each year.

The club demanded Friday that the university formally apologize. "This is incredibly saddening for us to see," the group said. "9/11 is a day that we can forget our political identities and come together to remember those who died and celebrate the triumph of our nation over evil."

The university issued a statement Friday night saying it apologizes for "any misunderstanding" its decision may have caused. But the trigger warning was just what it appeared to be. Baylor said that realizing the "wide range of emotions" that could be evoked by the flag display, signs were placed nearby to notify passers-by of its "potential impact." Such warnings are now considered for outdoor displays under rules that went into effect last year "based on feedback from our campus community," the administration added.


Comment: The net effect of 'critical' wokeness - its microagressions, trigger warnings, and other related nonsense - is that it has sensitized a substantial demographic to the point where they effectively block themselves off from real atrocities. That's a totalitarian's dream world. If you can't even face evil, you can't do anything about it. It's much more convenient to have the public focused on idiocy like woke "racism", "sexism", and other fictitious evils.

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Ambulance

LA protesters try to break into hospital where two officers are in critical condition after 'a cowardly' shooting

Khaleda Rahman
Newsweek
Sun, 13 Sep 2020 16:36 UTC
Villanueva lapd
© LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks at a news conference after two deputies were shot at point-blank range while in their patrol vehicle.
Two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies are fighting for their lives after they were shot multiple times at point-blank range in an ambush, authorities said.

Crowds of protesters blocked the entrance to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, where the wounded officers were in a critical condition, police said. Some protesters chanted "we hope they die," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said on Twitter. A witness told ABC7 that some had tried to break into the hospital's emergency room.

The shooting happened at around 7 p.m. Saturday at the Metro Blue Line station at Willowbrook Avenue and Compton Boulevard, not far from the Compton sheriff's station.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's department shared video of the incident in a post on Twitter that shows a person open fire through the passenger-side window of the patrol car in Compton.


The department tweeted: "Moments ago, 2 of our Sheriff Deputies were shot in Compton and were transported to a local hospital. They are both still fighting for their lives, so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers."

"The gunman walked up on the deputies and opened fire without warning or provocation," the department added. The suspect remains at large, it added.
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Colosseum

London's neglected bridges really are falling down

Mark Landler
New York Times
Mon, 07 Sep 2020 12:00 UTC
Tower Bridge
© Andrew Testa for The New York Times
Tower Bridge, recently shut for two days by a drawbridge problem, seen from beneath London Bridge, closed to cars during repairs.
Three major crossings on the Thames are closed to cars — one of them considered too dangerous even to walk across. Even the landmark Tower Bridge was recently shut for two days.

One by one, they stepped forward to tell their stories. Children suddenly forced to travel two hours each way to school. Pensioners whose weekly doctors' appointments have turned into arduous, half-day treks. Shopkeepers whose businesses have been crippled by the disappearance of commuters.

All because Hammersmith Bridge, a majestic but badly corroded 19th-century suspension bridge that connects the district of Barnes with much of London, was closed last month for safety reasons.

Comment: The UK, like the US which has seen a similar story with its crumbling infrastructure, is just like every other empire that has gone before it and is literally collapsing under the weight of its own corruption.

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Green Light

France's Yellow Vest protests return to the streets, meanwhile police introduce new 'less dangerous grenade'


France24
Sat, 12 Sep 2020 11:45 UTC
yellow vest gilet jaune
© AFP - Alain Jocard
A man holds a placard reading "Tomorrow the sky will be yellow" as protesters wearing face masks gather to take part in a Yellow Vests demonstration on September 12, 2020 in Paris.
After pausing for the coronavirus lockdown and summer holidays, the Yellow Vests are bringing their anger back to the streets for a series of protests in Paris and a number of other French cities on Saturday.

In France, the schools are back and so too are the Yellow Vest protests. The first Yellow Vest protests since March in Paris and in several large provincial cities is a test for the government under its new prime minister, Jean Castex.

There is the fear of another outbreak of violence on the Champs-Elysées where all gatherings have been banned. Shopfronts have been boarded over and barricades erected even though no protests are officially allowed.

Comment: RT reports from the events on the day:
Yellow Vests' encore: Tear gas & dozens of arrests as France's most vocal protest movement makes 1st comeback during Covid-19

Following a pause for summer holidays and Covid-19 lockdown, the signature 'gilets jaunes' have also planned marches in Marseille, Toulouse, Lyon, Lille, Nantes, Nice, Bordeaux, and Strasbourg.


The procession that set off from the Place Wagram saw people chanting slogans and handing out leaflets listing the movement's grievances, including demands for increases in the minimum wage, retirement pay, and other social benefits.




Paris police were prepared ahead of the renewed Yellow Vests demonstrations. A number of heavily armed riot squads were strategically placed all over the protest venues, most notably at the iconic Champs Elysees avenue - previously a site of many violent scenes. This area was declared off-limits.

Previous Yellow Vest marches in the area were overshadowed by violence, destruction of property and injuries to both police and protesters. "There can be no destruction and chaos on the Champs Elysees," police prefect Didier Lallemant told news outlet BFMTV, urging protesters to remain "calm."

For their part, some protesters had also prepared for street scuffles. Officers have seized an array of prohibited items, among them knives, hammers and bolt cutters.


The Yellow Vest had planned their come back weeks in advance and, the day before this protest, Macron chose to announce a new round of coronavirus related restrictions.

And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal #26: Globalization vs Nationalism - The Hidden Causes of The Yellow Vest Protests in France

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Attention

My daughter was "positive" for Covid...without ever being tested

Helen Ilitha
OffGuardian
Fri, 11 Sep 2020 10:58 UTC
My family was told to self isolate, based a on a test that never took place. Helen Ilitha

Test d'anticorps Covid
My middle child has always struggled with lung issues. She is prone to asthma incidents and attacks after a triggering event. Such an event would be if she were to go swimming when the ambient temperature is very low.

A few weekends ago she went for a walk by a river with her friends and their dad and upon her return I saw from her blue lips that they must have taken a dip into the river.

Her cough developed within an hour and slowly but surely her coughing and wheezing worsened over the next 10 days despite the use of asthma medication. After a sleepless night I contacted the doctor to ask for dissolvable steroid tablets because I knew by then that the situation would not clear itself without stronger meds.

Our General Practitioner has barricaded herself into her surgery and away from her patients since March. This has resulted in us being reduced to requesting medical assistance and advice vicariously through the GP' receptionist.

This has its downsides. She has been massively over diagnosing patients, including myself whom she instructed her receptionist to order me to attend the local hospital's A&E department with a suspected heart attack - which I am delighted to report I was not in the midst of.

Comment: Even if she had taken the test, they are totally unreliable. See also:

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Eye 2

Beware the "learning engineers"


Wrench in the Gears
Sat, 05 May 2018 09:36 UTC
nova school of the future
I watched Nova's "School of the Future" when it premiered in the fall of 2016. The vision of education it promotes, one steeped in rapid innovation and technology, was profoundly disturbing. Funded by the David H. Koch Science Fund and the Carnegie Corporation, a powerful advocate for digital education and competency-based learning, the episode tried to normalize the use of MRIs as a tool for evaluating learning. At the time, I found the producer's repeated references to MRIs strange. Now, seeing how social emotional learning, ed-tech, gamification, brain science, impact investing, behavioral economics, and digital medicine are beginning to intersect, everything is starting to click.

Reformers hope to convince the public that education is a science that should be evaluated using quantitative measures. As they work on this front, they are also expanding cyber education nationally, not just 100% virtual schooling but also blended/hybrid "personalized learning" programs like Mark Zuckerberg's Summit Basecamp. Such models demand hardware, software, telecommunications, and cloud-computing contracts that divert public funds from paid human staff into corporate accounts. It also creates favorable conditions for ed-tech and digital therapeutic "interventions" venture capitalists plan to use to gamble on early-childhood, literacy and workforce outcomes via Pay for Success contracts.

As anyone who has been following Cambridge Analytica knows, digital platforms generate extraordinarily rich data profiles on individuals. And it's not just academic data that is captured. Industry is now demanding metrics on "soft skills" and "mindsets." Adoption of biometric monitoring and video games with embedded psychometrics has vastly expanded the amount of data being aggregated on children. See this video promoting BrainCo's brain wave monitoring classroom wearables created in 2015 by Harvard's innovation lab.

Comment: See also:

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