Society's ChildS

Bizarro Earth

Trump prediction comes to pass: Charlottesville cancels Thomas Jefferson's birthday

thomas jefferson
© Wikimedia CommonsThomas Jefferson
The city of Charlottesville, Virginia, will no longer celebrate the birthday of Thomas Jefferson, the author of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, founder of the University of Virginia, and third president of the United States.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday:
Charlottesville, Virginia, will no longer celebrate Thomas Jefferson's birthday as an official city holiday and instead will observe a day recognizing the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans.

The city council voted Monday night to scrap the decades-old April 13 holiday honoring the slave-holding president and Founding Father. Charlottesville will now mark Liberation and Freedom Day on March 3, the day U.S. Army forces arrived in the city in 1865.

Magnify

Western media dubs Russia's mobile power plant 'floating Chernobyl', but is it?

Akademik Lomonosov
© Sputnik / Pavel Lvov
With the horrors of HBO's dramatization of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster fresh in mind, the Western media has begun fearmongering about Russia's latest nuclear innovation - a floating power plant built to serve the isolated Arctic.

The mainstream media has dramatically dubbed the plant a "floating Chernobyl" - but is it all just hyperbole? In reality, the plant is based on long-established technology and concerns over nuclear Armageddon in the Arctic seem overblown to say the least.

The Russian-built Akademik Lomonosov was issued a 10-year operating license in June and is slated to be towed to its final destination - the small Arctic port of Pevek in the remote Chukotka Region. There it will begin supplying heat and electricity to local consumers before year's end.

Propaganda

Corbyn calls for independent inquiry into 'frailty' claims

corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn looking particularly old and frail drinking his cuppa.
Jeremy Corbyn has called for a "speedy and thorough" independent investigation into reported claims by senior civil servants that he is "too frail" to be prime minister.

The Labour leader, in a letter to the cabinet secretary, Mark Sedwill, said the matter had "undermined confidence in the principle of civil service neutrality" as he called for an inquiry.

The Times reported at the weekend that it had been told by two senior civil servants that Corbyn, 70, may have to stand down due to health issues. The report drew a furious response from Labour, which denounced the comments as a "scurrilous" attempt to undermine the party's efforts to gain power.

Comment: From the original article: Jeremy Corbyn too frail to be PM, fears civil service
The future of Mr Corbyn, 70, was openly discussed at an event attended by mandarins this month amid suggestions that he has become "too frail and is losing his memory".

They say they are increasingly worried about the prospect of him becoming prime minister because he is being "propped up" by his advisers and lacks a firm grasp of both foreign affairs and the domestic agenda.

One senior civil servant said: "When does someone say [he] is too ill to carry on as leader of the Labour Party let alone...
Sounds like hot air to further discredit and undermine Corbyn... nothing new here.

See also:


Bullseye

Germans display 'F*** You Greta' bumper stickers to protest being lectured about global warming

fuck you Greta Thunberg


Turns out adults don't like being told by a child how to live their lives.


German drivers have begun displaying 'f*ck you Greta' bumper stickers to protest against being lectured about global warming by a 16-year-old child.

Greta Thunberg is a Swedish teen climate activist who has been heavily promoted by the establishment and was placed on the front cover of Time Magazine back in May.

Ingmar Rentzhog, founder of the non-profit We Don't Have Time Foundation, claimed to have 'discovered' Thunberg and used her to push climate change messaging.

Comment: See also:


USA

Massive turnout as Trump delivers first Independence Day address at US National Mall since Truman in 1951


Comment: This is one of only a handful of US media reports about this event that did not either insinuate that Trump pushed for this event in order to declare the US a dictatorship, downplay its massive turnout, or suggest that, because it rained, 'God' disfavors Trump. This 'unreality' in the US infosphere is an extraordinary indicator of the chasm that exists between elites and people in the USA.


salute america 4 july military parade
© Getty ImagesPeople react to a military fly-over on the National Mall while President Donald Trump gives his speech during Fourth of July festivities.
President Trump honored American history and heroes ranging from George Washington to Martin Luther King Jr. during a rousing Fourth of July speech punctuated by displays of the country's military air power.

Speaking before a cheering crowd that repeatedly erupted in chants of "USA! USA!," Trump hailed US innovations in science, medicine and space exploration during his 45-minute "Salute to America" speech on the National Mall in Washington, DC.


Comment: What was so hard about this event for Trump's powerful enemies - themselves mostly American and otherwise similarly die-hard 'exceptionalists' - to accept?

In what way do they perceive - or merely instinctively sense - that it hurts their plans or power?

Is it because the foundational tenet of America's independence means independence from Britain, about which America's Transatlanticists are ultra-sensitive?

Is it because the military should never be seen to be 'with' the president, but 'independent', thus controlled from the shadows?

Is it because they're vaguely self-aware that their military conduct is shameful, especially relative to its righteous use by rivals like Russia?

America, a land of strange contradictions!


Attention

Putin confirms deadly fire was aboard nuclear-powered research submarine on highly classified mission

Losharik russian submarine
Reported picture of Losharik - Reports say that the Losharik, also called the AS-12, was on a research mission to measure sea depths in the Barents Sea within Russian territorial waters.
When the story first broke yesterday that fourteen seaman aboard a Russian submarine died when a fire broke out while in Russian territorial waters in the Arctic region, there were conflicting accounts over the nature of the underwater vessel, specifically, whether it was a deep-sea research submersible or whether it was a nuclear powered submarine. Speculation was fueled further when the fact that many among the deceased were high ranking naval officers was revealed โ€” unusual for a mere underwater "research" vessel.

Russian President Putin has now confirmed it was indeed a nuclear-powered submarine after officials declined to reveal even the most basic details, citing its "secret mission". As CBS reports:
Putin met Thursday with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who had returned from the Navy's Arctic base of Severomorsk, and asked him about the submersible's nuclear reactor. Shoigu said the reactor is "completely isolated now" and it is "in full working order."
The blaze has been identified as starting in the sub's battery compartment and spreading from there, causing 14 crewmen to succumb to smoke inhalation, while an undisclosed number survived. Norwegian officials had also previously reported that they have discovered no unusual levels of radiation near the accident.

Comment: RT adds that the fire broke out in the sub's battery compartment:
The nuclear reactor on the submersible has been fully isolated," Sergey Shoigi told President Vladimir Putin.

The vessel's crew also "conducted all necessary measures to protect the reactor. It's fully functional. So we hope the repair of the submersible can be done quickly."

The main cause of the tragedy was a fire which broke out in the sub's battery compartment and "managed to somewhat spread." Battery malfunction was earlier viewed as the likely cause of the deadly blaze by Russian defense experts.

The president and the minister also discussed compensation for the families of the 14 officers who died in the fire.

"We are working with each family individually," Shoigu said, adding that "all necessary help will be provided."
See also:


Star of David

'Women have no place in politics': Israeli rabbi sparks wave of criticism for chauvinistic comments

Shlomo Aviner West Bank rabbi
© AFPShlomo Aviner, a leading West Bank rabbi.
Hardline conservative Israeli rabbi, Shlomo Aviner, has said that women have no role in politics, arguing that former justice minister Ayelet Shaked should not lead the right wing coalition party, stoking a wave of criticism.

Aviner told an Israeli broadcaster on Thursday that "It's not ok" for Shaked to head up the Union of Right Wing Parties (URWP), adding "the complicated whirlwind of politics is not the arena for the female role."

Aviner's comments come on the heels of a letter which he signed alongside dozens of fellow religious leaders urging the URWP to back a "God fearing and Torah observant" candidate, though the rabbi went further than the letter itself, which did not single out Shaked.

Though she served as a member of the Knesset for the Orthodox Jewish Home Party until 2018, Shaked is an avowed secularist.

The rabbi provoked a torrent of disapproval from lawmakers across the spectrum of Israeli politics, who slammed the comments as bigoted.

Comment: No stranger to controversy, indeed:


Arrow Down

Tijuana authorities report migrants are attempting to buy children to more easily cross into US

Migrants Tijuana, child trafficking tijuana
Some migrants in Tijuana are trying to purchase children from vulnerable single mothers in local shelters so they can more easily cross into the United States, according to shelter directors, migrants and Tijuana law enforcement authorities.

Migrants in Tijuana shelters said they are alarmed after reports of single mothers being approached by groups of men who have offered to buy children to improve their chances of safely crossing into the United States.

A decades-old legal document, known as the Flores agreement, says migrant children should only be held briefly in U.S. border custody, which often means they are released, along with the parent or guardian with whom they crossed while they wait for their asylum cases to make their way through clogged immigration courts.

Typically, when migrants are apprehended at the border with their children they are held in custody for a few days before they are released. Single adults who cross the border can face months in detention.

U.S. border authorities have been warning since June 2018 about people fraudulently using children who aren't theirs to pose as family units and gain entry into the United States, a claim that critics said was overblown.

But now, authorities in Tijuana are warning migrant mothers to keep their children close by and supervised, after reports of men offering to purchase migrant children in order to cross.

Comment:


USA

'Say I love my tank': US DOD's guidance to service members for 4th of July event

Tank in DC
© AP/Jacquelyn Martin
Tanks are rolling into Washington, DC, tomorrow for Donald Trump's "Salute to America," a revised version of the city's annual Fourth of July celebration that the president promises will be the "show of a lifetime." It will be a full-on military display, which โ€” in addition to the tanks โ€” includes "multiple flyovers," military music, a Trump speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial to top Republican donors and political appointees, and, of course, fireworks. All of which has caused the National Park Service to divert nearly $2.5 million typically used to improve its parks to cover the costs.

Realizing this will be a controversial event, the Pentagon has distributed instructions to service members participating in the shindig on what to do if approached by a reporter, and the advice is essentially this: Say you love your tank.

Since this is a military celebration, there's sure to be plenty of military personnel in attendance โ€” alongside hordes of reporters angling to get the inside scoop from service members about what they really think of this whole celebration. Not on Trump's watch.

Newspaper

MAD magazine ends new content after 67 years of political satire

Mad Magazine stops publishing new content
© Cory Doctorow/Flickr (file photo)
MAD magazine will no longer publish new content and the 67-year-old political humor and satire outlet won't be sold on newsstands, prompting its fans to decry the end of an era as the anti-authority publication bites the dust.

The influential cult comic book and later magazine was launched in 1952, thrilling a generation with its sharp observations and ridiculing of US culture, politics and the media. In its heyday in the 70s, its circulation was 2 million as readers relished its jabs at advertising, hippies, and politicians, spearing both Republicans and Democrats in equal measure. It's credited with teaching young people how to be skeptical of government and the media, and its longtime fans mourned the end of an era on social media on Thursday, sharing their favorite covers.