Society's Child

Australians balk as 7-Eleven rolls out facial recognition nationwide

RT
Tue, 23 Jun 2020 17:37 UTC

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is debuting facial recognition across all 700 Australian locations, supposedly for no other purpose than to avoid customers "gaming" their feedback system. Aussies aren't buying it - literally.

A 7-Eleven spokesperson told Australian outlet iTnews that the ominous signs popping up in store windows over the past few weeks - "Site is under constant video surveillance. By entering the store you consent to facial recognition cameras capturing and storing your image" - refer solely to the use of the chain's new Rate It customer feedback tablets.

Footage captured by the system is "not used for any other purpose," the chain claimed on Monday, adding that "if a customer doesn't use the feedback tablet, their image won't be recorded." Images are stored for seven days and permanently destroyed afterwards, and 7-Eleven "does not have access to this encrypted data," the company stated.

Disturbing video shows laughing man throwing huge firework at sleeping homeless person in Harlem

RT
Tue, 23 Jun 2020 17:25 UTC

A man was captured on video throwing a live firework at what appears to be a sleeping homeless person in Harlem, with a massive explosion seen going off at point-blank range.

A brief clip made the rounds on social media on Monday night, showing a group of men and women recording the assailant as he pitched a lit firework at somebody laying on the sidewalk, presumably a homeless man, outside a business in Harlem. The firework is seen detonating just inches away from the victim's body, making a loud bang and shooting off flares as one bystander is heard laughing.

Will to believe: Japanese reporter goes to CHAZ to prove it's peaceful, gets beaten up, returns - to prove it's peaceful

RT
Tue, 23 Jun 2020 17:17 UTC

A Japanese artist, activist and reporter went to Seattle to cover the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) and to show that the protest was non-violent. He left within 15 minutes having been severely beaten up.

Oogesa Taro, the organizer of a collaborative social art project called 'Without Borders', travelled to the US to explore the ongoing protests that erupted in the wake of the George Floyd killing by Minneapolis police.

Reporting from the ground within the CHAZ, it didn't take long before Taro was set upon and beaten up by some of the area's less welcoming residents.

Despite the unsavoury encounter and hostility, Taro's indomitable spirit led him back to the scene of the crime.

"Im back. #CHOP. To prove that this is not a protest that affirms violence. To prove that this is not a violent protest," he said.

Comment: This is a perfect allegory for the history of communist/socialist states in the 20th century. There will always be fellow travelers willing to ignore the totalitarianism, choosing instead to see the socialist utopia of their dreams, even if it kills them.

Russia to prepare 70 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, lead scientist hopes it will provide immunity for more than 2 years

Jonny Tickle
RT
Tue, 23 Jun 2020 17:14 UTC

Russia's homegrown Covid-19 vaccine will create immunity for more than two years, according to the director of Moscow's Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, which developed the drug with the Ministry of Defense.

Alexander Ginzburg, the research center's director, explained that the vaccine will be administered to humans twice - including a so-called secondary 'booster' injection. According to the scientist, the effectiveness of this method was proven by the center's work in Guinea, where they conducted vaccinations against Ebola.

Up to 70 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine will be required for mass immunization of Russians against coronavirus, said Ginzburg. Along with the authorities, the country's health organizations are already planning a quick ramping-up of large-scale production in order to meet this demand.

Clinical trials of the vaccine are expected to be completed by the end of July. If successful, the drug will be officially registered, produced, and distributed throughout the country.

Ginzburg and his team made international headlines earlier this month, when it was revealed that scientists at the Gamalei Institute had successfully tested the vaccine on themselves, with no side effects.

American convicted of espionage in Russia won't appeal, will seek US-Russia prisoner swap

RFE/RL
Tue, 23 Jun 2020 17:10 UTC

A combo photo of Paul Whelan (left), Viktor Bout (center), and Konstantin Yaroshenko

A lawyer for the former U.S. Marine convicted of espionage in Russia last week says his client will not appeal the decision because he doesn't trust the country's judicial system.

The Interfax news agency quoted Vladimir Zherebenkov as saying on June 23 that Whelan hopes Washington and Moscow will instead agree on an exchange of prisoners.

"Today, we met [Whelan] in the detention facility and after a discussion it was decided not to appeal the verdict because he doesn't believe in Russian justice," Zherebenkov was quoted as saying.

"He hopes that he will be swapped in the near future for Russians who have been convicted in the United States," he added.

Comment: Previously:

The Guardian's sister paper forces YouTube to again terminate 'far-right' channel The Iconoclast, doxes man behind it

RT
Sun, 21 Jun 2020 15:52 UTC

The liberal newspaper the Observer has prodded YouTube into re-suspending "the most successful and toxic British far-right" anonymous channel and has unmasked the individual running it.

The Observer, the sister newspaper of British liberal heavyweight the Guardian, has joined campaigners in celebrating a victory over YouTube channel 'The Iconoclast'. It's author will no longer be able to use Google's video platform to deliver messages of hate and white supremacy to its 218,000 subscribers, the newspaper said.

The channel was suspended "after the Observer asked YouTube why it continued to host The Iconoclast," to which the service said they shared "a deep concern and responsibility in protecting the community against hate speech and do not want our platform used for harm."

Police thwart protesters' attempt to remove statue of President Andrew Jackson outside White House

Matt Stieb
Intelligencer
Tue, 23 Jun 2020 13:32 UTC

protester removing statue Andrew Jackson

On Monday night, in the midst of a nationwide wave of protestors taking down statues of slaveowners and Confederate leaders, demonstrators in Lafayette Park outside the White House attempted to remove a statue of President Andrew Jackson. Using ropes attached to the top of the head of the 167-year-old figure, the demonstrators were interrupted by police before they were able to bring down the 15-ton statue.

Comment: This article is yet one more demonstration of the media's deliberate twisting of the facts- many of the 'protests' have descended into violent riots; many police have been injured and some killed by the rioters. See:

Mayor Durkan: Seattle will move to dismantle 'Chaz' occupied protest zone 'in the near future'

Sputnik
Tue, 23 Jun 2020 02:23 UTC

The so-called "Capitol Hill Organised Protest", or "CHOP", was established by protesters in the vicinity of Capitol Hill about two weeks ago, after police retreated from the East Precinct in the area, with Durkan's approval.

Seattle authorities will take back control over the "CHOP", Mayor Jenny Durkan announced on Monday, following two shootings that left a 19-year-old man dead and two more people injured. Durkan said at a news conference:

"The cumulative impacts of the gatherings and protests and the nighttime atmosphere and violence has led to increasingly difficult circumstances for our businesses and residents. We can still accommodate people who can protest peacefully, who come there and gather. But the impacts on the businesses and residents and community are now too much."

Comment: People are dead and wounded because the mayor has condoned a societal framework without accountability. She removed both protection and leverage - and seems in no big hurry to readdress it. Other crimes including rape, arson and burglary have also been reported.

See also:

Seattle will move to dismantle CHOP, mayor says (no plan and no date so far)
Seattle: Police say crowd blocked access to shooting victims in CHAZ, councilwoman blames Trump

If all 'problematic' statues have to go, then that includes monuments to Gandhi, Marx, Engels and Che Guevara

Noah Carl
RT
Mon, 22 Jun 2020 00:00 UTC

Now that both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson have been ignominiously defenestrated, it is clear that the "woke" iconoclasts really do mean business. But will left-wing icons be held to the same standards as everyone else?

Charges leveled at figures who have been marked for defenestration include: being involved in colonialism or slavery; making pejorative statements about other ethnic groups; and expressing support for eugenics. Since all those who stand accused have the misfortune of being deceased, none have been able to repudiate the charges against them. And as a consequence, many have been found guilty.

So far, most of the guilty parties are either symbols of the old order (such as Cecil Rhodes) or individuals more revered on the right than the left (such as Winston Churchill). But when it comes to historical figures at whom the aforementioned charges could be leveled, there is plenty of material to work with on the left.

Israeli spyware used to target Moroccan journalist, Amnesty claims

Stephanie Kirchgaessner
The Guardian
Sun, 21 Jun 2020 23:00 UTC

Amnesty alleges phone of Omar Radi in Morocco was infected by NSO's Pegasus software

As NSO Group faced mounting criticism last year that its hacking software was being used illegally against journalists, dissidents and campaigners around the world, the Israeli spyware company unveiled a new policy that it said showed its commitment to human rights.

Now an investigation has alleged that another journalist, Omar Radi in Morocco, was targeted with NSO's Pegasus software and put under surveillance just days after the company made that promise.

Comment: See also:

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Society's Child

Australians balk as 7-Eleven rolls out facial recognition nationwide

Disturbing video shows laughing man throwing huge firework at sleeping homeless person in Harlem

Will to believe: Japanese reporter goes to CHAZ to prove it's peaceful, gets beaten up, returns - to prove it's peaceful

Russia to prepare 70 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, lead scientist hopes it will provide immunity for more than 2 years

American convicted of espionage in Russia won't appeal, will seek US-Russia prisoner swap

The Guardian's sister paper forces YouTube to again terminate 'far-right' channel The Iconoclast, doxes man behind it

Police thwart protesters' attempt to remove statue of President Andrew Jackson outside White House

Mayor Durkan: Seattle will move to dismantle 'Chaz' occupied protest zone 'in the near future'

If all 'problematic' statues have to go, then that includes monuments to Gandhi, Marx, Engels and Che Guevara

Israeli spyware used to target Moroccan journalist, Amnesty claims

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