Society's ChildS


Arrow Up

Petrol bombs, gas canisters, chemicals seized by Hong Kong police as PolyU campus standoff ends


RT
Fri, 29 Nov 2019 08:50 UTC
PolyUbombs
© Global Look Press/XinhuaThousands of petrol bombs were abandoned on the campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)
Hong Kong police have completed searches at the Polytechnic University, removing a disturbingly vast arsenal of urban warfare weapons, including firebombs and hazardous liquids, from the recently besieged campus.

Police officers from explosive ordnance teams have secured hundreds of petrol bombs, cans of gas and buckets of chemicals after they cleared the Polytechnic University (PolyU) early on Friday.

The find adds to 3,800 petrol bombs, 921 gas canisters and 588 chemicals, including acid and other corrosive liquids, recovered the previous day, local media report.

Police have also found over 40 damaged cars parked outside the campus; the protesters are believed to have siphoned petrol from them to make Molotov cocktails - a weapon widely used in recent street battles.


Comment: See also:

Read More...
Airplane

Tough luck, Aussies! Pentagon won't compensate Australia for faulty Boeing fighter jet that went aflame on takeoff


RT
Fri, 29 Nov 2019 18:35 UTC
Aircraft
© Reuters / US NavyA US Navy EA-18G Growler launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson
The Australian taxpayer will foot the bill for a $85 million (AUS$125 mn) Growler fighter jet that burst into flames on the runway due to an engine fault. The US Navy will not reimburse Australia for the "dud" warplane.

Boeing's engineering woes are not limited to the civilian field. Before design flaws sent two of the Seattle firm's 737 MAX 8 aircraft diving into the ground, before the company was accused of carrying out "shoddy work" on its flagship 787 Dreamliner, and before the fuselage of its upcoming 777X failed critical pressure testing in September, one of Boeing's military aircraft also suffered a dramatic mishap.

A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing EA-18G Growler aircraft burst into flames while attempting takeoff during a joint exercise with the US Air Force in Nevada last January. As the plane's pilot gunned it down the runway at full power, a high-pressure compressor inside one of the engines broke into three pieces, which tore the jet to pieces as they exploded out of the engine housing. The airplane came to a halt engulfed in fire and beyond salvage.

Since the crash, the Australian government has tried to claim compensation from the US Navy for the loss of the $85 million plane. The faulty Growler was one of 12 purchased from Washington in 2017.
Read More...
Arrow Down

Ukraine facing $3bn budget revenue shortfall with Russian gas transit contract in limbo


RT
Fri, 29 Nov 2019 19:12 UTC
pump
© Reuters / Gleb Garanich
Kiev has missed the opportunity to ink a new profitable gas transit deal with Moscow, Ukrainian politician Victor Medvedchuk said on Friday after another day of fruitless talks between Russia, Ukraine and the EU.

With the current agreement set to expire after December 31, "for the moment, there are hardly any mechanisms that could prevent the loss of transit of Russian gas through Ukraine..." he said.

According to the politician, the creation of a "gas consensus" with the participation of Ukraine, Russia and EU operators was the only "beneficial option" for Kiev.

He pointed out that since the Ukrainian side didn't do that, all other results of the talks will be negative for Kiev. "With the termination of gas transit to Europe, we will lose revenue to the state budget in the amount of about $3 billion," he said.

The deal for Russian gas supplies to Ukraine and those transiting to Europe expires at the end of this year. The final signing of a new agreement has to happen before December 13, when European operators finish filing applications for Russian gas supplies. But talks between the sides have stalled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to discuss problems regarding the negotiation of a new gas deal when they meet other European leaders in Paris on December 9.
Read More...
Network

Russia & China complete their first cross-border mega highway bridge


RT
Fri, 29 Nov 2019 19:06 UTC
amur river
The construction of a bridge over the Amur River to link Russia and neighboring China has been completed in the Far East. The historic road is first of its kind between the two states and is set to boost economic ties.

The bridge links the cities Heihe in northern China and Russia's far eastern city of Blagoveshchensk located on the opposite banks of the Amur River, also known as Heilongjiang by the Chinese. The bridge is more than 1km long (0.6 miles) and is a part of key 19.9km (12.4 miles) two-lane highway project.

The ambitious $300-million construction project was started in December 2016 and the two parts of the massive cable-braced bridge were joined together at the end of May. The new milestone was reached on Friday, when local authorities announced the end of the construction works paving the way for the opening, scheduled for April 2020.

"The bridge has a strategic importance for us. It is a very serious perspective for our region," the governor of the Amur Region, Vasily Orlov, said during a special ceremony marking completion of the project.
Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Hunter Biden suspected of smoking crack in DC strip club's VIP room

Joe Marino, Elizabeth Rosner and Bruce Golding
Page Six
Tue, 26 Nov 2019 18:49 UTC
Hunter and Joe Biden
© Teresa Kroeger/Getty ImagesHunter and Joe Biden
Hunter Biden was suspected of smoking crack inside a strip club where he dropped "thousands of dollars" during multiple visits — at the same time he held a seat on the board of a controversial Ukrainian natural gas company, The Post has learned.

The incident, which took place at Archibald's Gentlemen's Club in Washington, DC, late last year, represents the most recent alleged drug use by Biden, 49, who has acknowledged six stints in rehab for alcoholism and addiction that included a crack binge in 2016.

Workers at Archibald's, located about three blocks north of the White House, said Biden was a regular there, with two bartenders and a security worker all instantly recognizing his photo and one worker identifying him by name.


Comment: Hunter Biden is also being sued for paternity by a stripper at a separate club in DC. Apparently he frequented that club around the same time he was dating his brother's widow, with one source saying he was "well known."


Security worker Ranko Petrovic said Biden — the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic front-runner to challenge President Trump next year — would routinely hole up in a VIP room and drink during his visits.
Read More...
People

Almost 50 percent of Sweden's homeless population is foreign-born - report


RT
Fri, 29 Nov 2019 17:47 UTC
Sweden's homeless
© REUTERS/Bertil Ericson/TT News Agency
A damning new report suggests that Sweden's integration policies are failing migrants, who now account for almost 50 percent of the country's rising homeless population.

The average homeless person costs the Swedish state up to SEK 600,000 ($63,000) per year according to housing expert Linda Jonsson, who warned of an impending "economic and social crisis."

"It is mainly about new arrivals who have not been able to establish themselves and lack sufficient income," says Jonsson.

Jonsson predicted that some 2,700 migrants are likely to become homeless next year in Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city.

According to a recent report by the construction company Veidekke, Sweden's total homeless population hovers around the 33,000 figure, which includes those in shelters, various forms of emergency accommodation as well as those sleeping rough on the streets and in public parks.
Read More...
Family

Flashback Norwegian nightmare: 'Barnevernet' child welfare preys on children and parents

Dale Hurd
CBN News
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 18:30 UTC
Barnevernet norway protest
One of the first things you notice about Norway when you visit is how beautiful it is. But there is a very dark side of Norway that most of the world knows nothing about. It's called Barnevernet, and it can be as cold and brutal as the Norwegian winter.

Barnevernet means "child welfare." It's Norway's network of local child protection service offices. But to its victims, Barnevernet means anything but protecting children.

'Barnevernet' Takes American Children

After moving to Norway from Atlanta for her husband's employment, American mother Natalya Shutakova's three American-born children were taken by Barnevernet two months ago for alleged child mistreatment.

Shutakova and her Lithuanian husband were jailed for 24 hours and told they could get two years in prison for discussing the case. They're waiting to hear if they will lose custody of their children for good. All three are American citizens.

Foreign Families at Special Risk

Foreigners living in Norway seem especially at risk of having their children taken by Barnevernet.

Video on YouTube shows police tackling Kai Kristiansen outside his home while his mother films it and pleads, "Would someone please help us. Barnevernet is here in our home and they're trying to take our son. I'm Canadian."

Barnvernet moved in after the Kristiansens started homeschooling Kai because he received death threats at school.

Comment: This is the hidden underbelly of "child services", but it's not just Norway (though things seem to be particularly bad there). Similar stories circulate of these sorts of things happening in the U.S. too.

See also:

Read More...
Car Black

'Ford v Ferrari': The return of masculine cinema


RT
Tue, 26 Nov 2019 18:52 UTC
Ford v Ferrari
© Ford v Ferrari, 2019 (Twentieth Century Fox) Dir: James MangoldFord v Ferrari
[ERROR] The historical drama 'Ford v Ferrari' starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale is lighting up the box office, but it really stands out because it celebrates two things Hollywood hates today: men and ambition.

'Ford v Ferrari' surprised just about everyone when it not only opened at the top of the US box office, but managed to blow past expectations and bring in a whopping $31.5 million. What makes such an opening surprising is that 'Ford v Ferrari' is not based on a comic book. It's not a reboot or attached to any franchise or fictional universe in any way. It doesn't even boast any shoutouts to fleeting social justice movements we always hear dropped in cringe trailers today.

Instead, it's a film based on an incredible true story about men who dared to dream big and were willing to put in the greasy leg work that needed to be done to make their dreams reality.

Matt Damon stars as Carroll Shelby, a retired driver recruited by Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) to win Team Ford the famous Le Mans race. Ford wants to stick it to Ferrari after an embarrassing negotiations loss.
Read More...
Syringe

California parents flood school board meeting to demand parental rights sanctuary regarding vaccines and sex education

Brian Shilhavy
Vaccine Impact
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 01:00 UTC
parents protest california
© Michelle Mears for California Globe
This week the Murrieta Unified School District in Southern California saw hundreds of parents turn out for a school board meeting to protest the loss of parental rights when it comes to the issue of mandatory vaccines and the sexualization in sex education of their children without parental approval.

They brought a proposal to make their community a "sanctuary city for parental rights," claiming that if illegal immigration can be protected by a sanctuary status, then so can parental rights.

Reporter Michelle Mears was present, and published a report at the California Globe.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Red Flag

Australia: NSW police strip-searched more than 100 girls under 18, including 12-year-olds

Michael McGowan
The Guardian
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 17:03 UTC
NSW police australia
© Dean Lewins/AAPAs part of strip-searches, NSW police are permitted to instruct people to squat, lift their testicles or breasts or part their buttock cheeks. Freedom of information documents reveal that since 2016 there have been 3,919 strip-searches by police on women in NSW, including 122 girls under the age of 18.
The New South Wales police performed strip-searches on more than 100 girls in the last three years, including two 12-year-olds.

Following the NSW police watchdog's investigation into the allegedly illegal strip-search of a 16-year-old girl at a music festival last year, data obtained under freedom of information laws show she was just one of 122 girls under the age of 18 who have been forced to undergo the controversial practice by police since 2016.

The revelations come as the NSW police watchdog revealed last week that it investigated six separate allegations of misuse of strip-search powers by police last year, and is likely to place the practice under increased scrutiny.

Comment: See also:

Read More...