Society's ChildS


Pistol

Volunteer battalions hand in weapons in E. Ukraine


RFE/RL
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 19:50 UTC
ukraine battalion
Servicemen from Ukrainian volunteer battalions in the village of Shyrokyne in the Donetsk region, pictured in June 2015.
Three volunteer battalions that for years fought for Kyiv against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have handed over their weapons to law enforcement.

The Sheikh Mansur battalion, the battalion of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), and the 8th battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army voluntarily surrendered their arms to the National Police in the Donetsk region on September 11, according to a police statement.

Photographs published by the National Police showed artillery shells, rocket-propelled grenades, boxes of bullets, and crates of explosives that were turned in.

National Police First Deputy Chairman Vyacheslav Abroskin oversaw the transfer along with members of the military and the country's security services.

The battalions were among the last units comprised purely of volunteer soldiers fighting in the 5-year war that has killed more than 13,000 people. Most of Ukraine's volunteer battalions were incorporated into military and police structures in 2014 and 2015.

The Ukrainian military, neglected for years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, was caught flat-footed when Russia sent soldiers to Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and backed separatists fighting Kyiv in eastern Ukraine in the spring of 2014. Kyiv relied heavily on volunteer fighters funded by powerful businessmen to slow the advance of the separatists.


Comment: Translation: they were caught flat-footed by what should have been an easily predictable uprising by Ukrainian citizens in the east against the illegal, anti-Russian coup on the Maidan in 2014. Kiev had to rely primarily on extremist, neo-nazi mercenaries to fight a war of aggression against its own people.

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Light Sabers

'Tradition is important to us': Swedish town rebels against LGBT rainbow flag on city hall


RT
Sat, 14 Sep 2019 18:01 UTC
Flag
© Jonathan Nackstrand / AFPA man holds a rainbow flag during the Gay Pride Parade on August 2, 2014, in Stockholm, Sweden.
A municipality in Sweden decided to quit flying LGBT pride flags on public buildings, after conservative parties took over the city council.

The town of Solvesborg in southeastern Sweden has voted to stop hoisting the rainbow-colored flag on the city hall every August during Stockholm Pride, the annual LGBT-themed festival held in the nation's capital. From now on, only local and national flags are allowed on public buildings.

The idea of flying the Pride colors was introduced in 2013, when the city council was led by the center-left Social Democrats. But now the city is controlled by conservative Swedish Democrats (SD) and three other right-leaning parties, who decided to revise the local flag code.
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Fire

Yemeni Houthis claim drone strikes on Saudi oil sites


RFE/RL
Sat, 14 Sep 2019 17:40 UTC
saudi oil facility
Videos apparently shot in Buqyaq showed smoke rising over the skyline and glowing flames could be seen at the Abqaiq oil-processing facility.
Yemen's Huthi rebels have claimed responsibility for two drone attacks on oil facilities operated by Saudi Aramco earlier on September 14.

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry said an oil field in Khurais Province and an oil-processing facility, the world's biggest, in Abqaiq Province, were targeted in the drone strikes.

The attacks sparked fires, which Saudi authorities later said were brought under control.

Several hours after the predawn attacks, Aramco has issued no statement and the authorities have not reported on casualties.

State television said exports were continuing.


Comment: Three anonymous sources allegedly told Reuters that the attacks disrupted oil production: "According to one of the sources, the incident impacted almost half of the country's oil production, costing the nation roughly 5 million barrels per day." The Houthi spokesman told Al Masirah TV that 10 drones were deployed in the attacks and even claimed the attacks were made possible thanks to "advance monitoring and cooperation" from people in Saudi Arabia. He continued:
We promise the Saudi regime that our future operations will expand further and be more painful than ever as long as it continues its aggression and siege.

We affirm that our goals bank is expanding day by day and that there is no solution for the Saudi regime except to stop the aggression and siege on our country.
Moon of Alabama comments on the attacks:
But drones may not have been the sole cause of the incident. Last night a Kuwaiti fishermen recorded the noise of a cruise missile or some jet driven manned or unmanned aircraft coming from Iraq. Debris found on the ground in Saudi Arabia seems to be from a Soviet era KH-55 cruise missile or from a Soumar, an Iranian copy of that design. The Houthi have shown cruise missiles, likely from Iran, with a similar design (see below). After an attack on Saudi oil installations in August there were accusations that at least some of the attacks came from Iraq. Iran was accused of having been involved in that attack. While this sounds unlikely it is not inconceivable.

That attack in August was the checkmate move against the Saudi war on Yemen. As we wrote at that time:
Saudi Arabia finally lost the war on Yemen. It has no defenses against the new weapons the Houthis in Yemen acquired. These weapons threaten the Saudis' economic lifelines.
Saudi Arabia has nothing that could stop mass attacks by these drones. It would require hundreds of Russian made Pantsyr-S1 and BUK air defense systems to protect Saudi oil installations. There would still be no guarantee that they could not be overwhelmed.
Good luck to MBS selling off shares in Aramco now.

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No Entry

Rukban camp authority blocked UN evacuation, civilians to be used as shields


Sputnik
Sat, 14 Sep 2019 02:33 UTC
Rukban
© APRukban Camp
The 'administration' of the Rukban camp in Syria would not let UN buses inside to evacuate those in need. Instead, the militants intend to use the refugees as human shields, Maj. Gen. Alexey Bakin, head of the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation, said at a briefing Friday.
"The so-called camp administration, controlled by illegal armed units, issued a statement refusing admission to the camp for UN buses to evacuate temporarily displaced persons wishing to leave Rukban. Given [that] the camp's population can't leave its territory without coordination with the command of the illegal armed unit, we regard this statement as yet another evidence of the militants' intention to keep the refugees in Rukban as a human shield."
On 12 September, a significant amount of cargo earlier delivered by the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to Rukban was seized by militants and moved to a base of the Kuwat Shahid Ahmad al-Abdo militant group, located to the north of the camp, Maj. Gen. Alexey Bakin said, citing refugees.

The Rukban camp houses some 25,000 people in conditions described by the World Health Organization as "deplorable" - lacking food, access to medical care and basic amenities. The camp is located in the US-controlled zone around its unauthorized military base at Al-Tanf, making it almost impossible for humanitarian workers to access the area.

The Syrian government and the Russian reconciliation center have been assisting those wishing to leave the camp.

Comment: See also:
Militants open fire in US-held Rukban 'refugee camp' after civilians demand seized UN food

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Dollars

New York AG says Sacklers used Swiss accounts to transfer $1 billion from pharma accounts to themselves

Richard Gonzales
npr
Sat, 14 Sep 2019 02:21 UTC
purdue pharma, sackler family opoid crisis
© Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty ImagesMembers of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and Truth Pharm staged a protest on Thursday outside Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., over its recent controversial opioid settlement.
New York state Attorney General Letitia James says the family that owns Purdue Pharma, maker of the opioid OxyContin, used Swiss bank accounts to transfer $1 billion from the company to itself.

The allegation, which came in court documents filed late Friday, indicates that the Sackler family is trying to keep its wealth free from potential liability in other court cases involving Purdue Pharma's role in the opioid crisis.

"While the Sacklers continue to lowball victims and skirt a responsible settlement, we refuse to allow the family to misuse the courts in an effort to shield their financial misconduct," James said in a statement.

"Records from one financial institution alone have shown approximately $1 billion in wire transfers between the Sacklers, entities they control, and different financial institutions, including those that have funneled funds into Swiss bank accounts," she added.

The filing comes after nearly two dozen states and 2,300 local governments reached a tentative settlement with Purdue Pharma to resolve thousands of lawsuits alleging that the company helped fuel the opioid crisis. New York and others states rejected the settlement.

Comment: More on the Sackler / Purdue Pharma role in the opioid crisis:

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Heart - Black

Ho ho NO! PC Scrooges take their war on Christmas to Australia

Robert Bridge
RT
Sat, 14 Sep 2019 16:06 UTC
Christmas tree
With the holiday season still three months away, the city council of Perth is gearing up to make this Christmas a more "culturally diverse experience," which is just woke code for watered down, irrelevant and irreligious.

If modern PC culture has taught us anything, it is to be surprised by absolutely nothing. In fact, there appears to be some sort of secret contest going on among social justice warriors to see who can get the most engaged and enraged over the most absurd things. Today, everything and anything is susceptible to the wrath of the 'woke' brigade, whose singular mission, it seems, is to search and destroy all of the old manners, customs and traditions of Western society.

By way of example, try and imagine Christmas without a decorated tree, joyful street carolers, and the sense of magic that pervades the eggnog-fueled atmosphere of the season. It's a bit like trying to imagine the North Pole without snow, or New York City without Central Park. It just doesn't work. Yet the push for that sort of sterile, joyless environment, so as not to offend the sensitivities of the minority, just might be the new Christmas reality for millions.

In the Australian city of Perth, a hotbed of diversity and multiculturalism, city fathers are preparing to deliver, like black coals in the public stocking, a Christmas experience that is "representative and inclusive of Perth's multicultural community; a more diverse offering that is meaningful for a wide demographic," according to its 'Cultural Development Plan'. Although the authorities do not explain how they will pull off the juggling act, the citizens of Australia's fourth largest city should prepare themselves for a "Christmas experience" that is altogether devoid of a traditional Christmas experience. That much seems obvious from the next line in the glorious 10-year plan.
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Alarm Clock

Gender insanity: BBC tells primary schoolchildren there are 'over 100 genders'

Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.
Breitbart
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 16:01 UTC
Child on a swing
© Sharon McCutcheon/Unsplash
The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) tells primary schoolchildren that there are over 100 genders as part of its "Teach" video series, which has some concerned parents and observers up in arms.

"You know, there are so many gender identities," declares the head teacher in response to child's question. "We know that we have got male and female, but there are over 100, if not more, gender identities now."

The video for schoolchildren aged 9-12 is part of nine new BBC "Teach" films produced as support material for the personal, social, and health education (PSHE) curriculum in UK schools.

Telegraph columnist Celia Walden has written a scathing review of the program, which she calls "noxious nonsense" that poisons children's minds, a product of the modern "Emperor's New Clothes gender diversity narrative."

BBC is indulging in the "propagation of misinformation," Ms. Walden writes, thereby betraying its journalistic duty "to deal not in fads, but facts."
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Arrow Down

Court orders Julian Assange to stay in prison while awaiting US extradition


RT
Sat, 14 Sep 2019 14:52 UTC
Assange
© REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
A judge has ordered Julian Assange to remain in prison indefinitely while awaiting extradition to the US because of his "history of absconding."

The WikiLeaks founder was due to be released on September 22 after serving his sentence for breaching bail conditions when he sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Assange spent almost seven years inside the embassy.

On Friday the Westminster Magistrates' Court claimed there were "substantial grounds" for believing he would flee if released from prison. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser said Assange's lawyer had not made an application for bail on his behalf, adding "perhaps not surprisingly in light of your history of absconding in these proceedings."
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Toys

No laughing matter: PC policing would make 'Monty Python' and other classic comedies 'crimes' today

Neil Clark
RT
Tue, 10 Sep 2019 13:53 UTC
Monty Python
© Getty Images / Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer
The classic British comedy series 'Monty Python' is 50 years old this month, but the sobering fact is that it, along with other shows of the era, would not be made today due to politically correct policing.

The Spanish Inquisition was a series of sketches in a 1970 episode of 'Monty Python.' Whenever a character said "I didn't expect a Spanish Inquisition," the Spanish Inquisition would turn up with the words "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition." The thing is today, all comedy writers do expect the PC Police Inquisition, so they self-censor. Which is why modern comedy is nowhere near as inventive, or funny, as it was 50 years ago.

There are so many things modern comedy writers can't say, for fear of being branded 'racist/anti-Semitic/sexist/homophobic/genderist/misogynistic - or a combination of the aforementioned. Even the mildest joke could get you into serious trouble. And that's a big problem. As Python John Cleese has said: "All humor is critical. If you start to say 'We mustn't; we mustn't criticize or offend them,' then humor is gone."

Comment: See also:

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Magnify

Justice Department, IRS investigating USOPC, USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming

Scott M. Reid
The Orange County Register
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 12:34 UTC
Scott Blackmun
© AP File Photo/Lee Jin-man, File
Former USOPC chief executive officer Scott Blackmun is allegedly part of a wide-ranging federal investigation for his potential role in handling the initial Larry Nassar allegations and whether he misled members of Congress about the case and other matters.
U.S. Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service investigators have crisscrossed the country in recent months interviewing more than a dozen witnesses and subpoenaing thousands of pages of documents in a wide-ranging criminal investigation into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming, USA Taekwondo and other national sports governing bodies and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's handling of sexual abuse cases, according six people familiar with the investigation.

Justice Department and IRS officials are also looking into financial practices of officials at USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming and other national governing bodies, according to four people familiar with the probe.

A Washington, D.C., based-team of approximately 10 federal investigators and prosecutors have interviewed at least 16 people, including Olympic and world champion medalists, about the USOPC and at least five national governing bodies as part of a probe into potential money laundering, sex trafficking and child sex labor, the Southern California News Group has learned.
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