Society's ChildS


Ice Cube

Russia launches 'combat icebreaker' Ivan Papanin, an advanced patrol boat for the Arctic


RT
Fri, 25 Oct 2019 16:42 UTC
Ivan Papanin
© Sputnik / Aleksandr GalperinThe launch ceremony of the 'Ivan Papanin'.
The lead vessel of a new class of Russian ice-rated warships, the 8,500-ton 'Ivan Papanin', has been launched in St. Petersburg. When in service, she will help defend Russia's interests in the Arctic region.

This latest addition to Russia's Arctic military arsenal was launched on Friday at the port city's Admiralty Shipyard. Dubbed 'the combat icebreaker' by some Russian media, she is of a newer design created for the Russian Navy and is, in her role and size, roughly a counterpart to the Norwegian Coast Guard's ship 'Svalbard.'

Work on the 'Ivan Papanin' began in April 2017 and the vessel is expected to be commissioned sometime in 2022 or 2023. The 114-meter-long warship can be used as a patrol ship, a tug or an icebreaker for other vessels. Her hull is strong enough to deal with ice up to 50cm thick.
Read More...
Pistol

8 killed, 2 injured after Russian military service member opens fire on fellow soldiers at high-security base


RT
Fri, 25 Oct 2019 17:12 UTC
russia base shooting
A major gun violence incident occurred on Friday at a nuclear-related military base in Siberia, when a service member opened fire on fellow soldiers, killing eight people on the spot and injuring two others.

The gunman used the firearm he'd been issued with for his guard duties in the attack, the Russian defense ministry said. He was apprehended just after the incident, which occurred in the Chita region.

The two survivors were taken to a military hospital. Their lives are not in danger.

Military investigators have identified the shooter as Private Ramil Shamstudinov. Among the eight people he has alleged to have killed were two officers.

Comment: Incredibly, they captured the shooter alive:

russia base shooting
It sounds like something more than a personal grudge. He's surrounded by equally armed and trained soldiers, and doesn't exactly look physically commanding. Was he under some sort of strange influence?

Read More...
NPC

Best of the Web: PC culture gone mad: Black-o'-lantern or blackface? Retailer pulls pumpkins from sale after racism claims

Sophia Narwitz
RT
Wed, 23 Oct 2019 17:06 UTC
black pumpkin
© imageBROKER.com
In a modern tale that keeps occurring, a retailer once again gave in to the demands of a handful of sensitive Sallys and pulled black pumpkins from sale after they were deemed offensive.

Displayed on the porch of a law office in Nyack, New York, a pair of jack-o'-lanterns found themselves in a mini-controversy after someone within the local community complained about them over concerns they looked like blackface. The issue reached the desk of a local chapter of the NAACP where director Wilbur Aldridge replied by saying the pumpkins show an "extreme lack of sensitivity."

Upon being made aware of the 'issue,' the law firm abruptly took them down before then directing blame at their point of purchase, Bed Bath & Beyond. Mary Marzolla, a partner at the firm, told News 12: "If you go into Bed Bath & Beyond you don't think they're going to be selling offensive materials."

Which begs the question. Who deems what to be offensive?
Read More...
Yellow Vest

Second protester in Baghdad dies in latest protest - over 350 wounded


Sputnik
Fri, 25 Oct 2019 16:50 UTC
iraq protests
© REUTERS / THAIER AL-SUDANI
Earlier on Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said he would carry out a cabinet reshuffle and change election laws amid a wave of anti-government protests.

A second protester has died and more than 350 others were injured during the protests in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the local police and hospital sources have said.

According to AP citing a security official, 5 protesters have been killed during the demonstrations.


Comment: Since the start of the protests, at least 157 have died.


Videos and photos are being posted online showing crowds of protesters in Tahrir square.


Comment: Protests are rocking the world, and the grievances are similar in many of them: state mismanagement of the economy, corruption, croneyism, incompetence. The ongoing protests in Iraq broke out on October 1, in Papua August 19, Sudan September 12, Egypt September 20, Ecuador October 3, Chile October 14, Lebanon October 17, and that's only a fraction of them.

Read More...
Boat

Belgium reopens notorious Dutch 'prison ship' as places for asylum seekers start to run out


RT
Fri, 25 Oct 2019 16:56 UTC
Prison ship
© Nicolas Maeterlinck / Belga via AFP'The Reno' in Gent in 2016.
Facing a shortage of accommodation for immigrants seeking asylum there, Belgium is recommissioning The Reno, the notorious Dutch 'prison ship' that had previously been leased as a stopgap measure during the 2015 migrant crisis.

The boat, or rather the 'pontoon housing unit,' was one of several 'prison ships' used by the Netherlands to address a rapid rise in demand for jail space in the 2000s, partially caused by an increasing number of undocumented immigrants arriving in Belgium. A 2006 exposé by an undercover journalist, which made public the vessel's inhumane living conditions and the widespread abuse of inmates on it, sparked a scandal and forced the closure of the facility.

'The Reno' was leased by Belgium in 2016 to house 250 asylum seekers as Europe was dealing with the aftermath of the immigration crisis a year earlier. The boat was placed in the port city of Ghent and operated by the British private prison behemoth G4S until April 2017, when a sharp decrease in the number of asylum-seekers rendered it surplus to requirements.

But, soon, the boat will be back in Ghent housing asylum seekers again. According to the Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper, the Belgian immigration agency Fedasil will soon reopen the facility as part of a larger effort to tackle an influx of refugees. This time the government will be directly responsible for its operation.
Read More...
Yellow Vest

"Panic mode" run on Lebanon's banks feared after 7-day closure amid protests


Zero Hedge
Thu, 24 Oct 2019 16:31 UTC
lebanon protest
© NBC
Banks across Lebanon have been shuttered now for a seventh consecutive day, with the country's banking association saying banks would remain closed Friday over "safety concerns" as massive anti-corruption protests have brought multiple cities to a standstill, which began a week ago.

Reuters reports that banking operations have been "limited to paying out customer and employee salaries via ATMs" in a situation which has also hit war-torn Syria, given many Syrians rely on the neighboring Lebanese banking system to hold dollars and savings following the collapse of Syria's currency.

For the first time addressing the protests — dubbed the 'WhatsApp Revolution' because it was initially triggered by a government a plan to boost state revenues with a daily tax rate on calls made via voice over internet protocol (VoIP), utilized by applications such as Facebook-owned WhatsApp — Lebanon's President Michel Aoun in a public speech touted an economic reform package proposed by the prime minister as a "first step" toward staving off economic collapse.

Aoun acknowledged state corruption has "eaten us to the bone" and assured the crowds, "I am ready to meet your representatives who carry your concerns, to listen to your specific demands."

He also hinted at a government reshuffle potentially in the works, saying that there was "a need to review the current government."

Comment: For commentary, see:

Read More...
Ambulance

Philippine mayor killed in daylight ambush, as gang of 10 heavily armed gunmen open fire on police convoy


RT
Fri, 25 Oct 2019 16:13 UTC
Philippine police
© REUTERS / Romeo RanocoFile photo
A Philippine city mayor who featured on Rodrigo Duterte's 'drug list' was gunned down in an ambush by a gang of heavily armed men who assaulted the police convoy transporting the politician.

Mayor David Navarro of Clarin, Misamis Occidental, was killed and five others injured in the attack, including a police officer who was shot in the foot.
Read More...
Russian Flag

Over 500 agreements worth $12 billion inked at Russia-Africa forum


RT
Fri, 25 Oct 2019 16:09 UTC
Russia-Africa Economic Forum
© Sputnik / Ilya Pitalev
The first ever Russia-Africa economic forum, which kicked off on Wednesday, has resulted in hundreds of deals and agreements, Russian Presidential Adviser Anton Kobyakov said.

According to him, more than 35 official events and 1,500 meetings took place in Sochi, the resort city where the summit was held.

"The total amount of agreements sealed as of this moment was more than eight hundred billion rubles ($12 billion)," Kobyakov said, adding that the meetings are continuing.
Read More...
NPC

Liberal madness: Clapping hands banned at Oxford University to stop people from being triggered

Basit Mahmood
Metro
Thu, 24 Oct 2019 10:42 UTC
Sabbatical Officers Roisin McCallion
© FacebookSabbatical Officers Roisin McCallion says the move is aimed at making events ‘more inclusive’ and accessible to all
Students at the University of Oxford have voted to 'replace clapping' with a silent wave because it 'could trigger anxiety'.

They are instead being told to use 'jazz hands', where they wave their hands in the air.

The motion to 'mandate the encouragement of silent clapping' was successfully passed by the university's student union officers, following their first meeting of the year on Tuesday.

It will come apply at student union events, and if successful, rolled out to other societies and events.

Comment: If this new policy among schools of higher learning hasn't convinced one yet that we have entered a new bizzarro world, then nothing will. And just note that the above case at Oxford University (of all places) isn't just an anomaly:

Read More...
Broom

Galloway: Will Britain leaving the EU break up the UK?

George Galloway
RT
Wed, 23 Oct 2019 15:46 UTC
brexit
© Reuters / (R) SIMON DAWSON; (L) Henry Nicholls
If Britain ever leaves the EU, as the Brexit referendum of 2016 mandated its politicians to do, many speculate that this will unleash inexorable forces leading to the breakup of the United Kingdom too... but will that happen?

For my part, the answer is 'yes' and 'no.'

I think that Her Majesty, aged 93 and long life to her, will be on her throne for longer than Northern Ireland will be in the United Kingdom.

The six counties of the north east of Ireland were unnaturally torn from the Irish motherland a century ago, but its status was always historically speaking, doomed.

Comment: See also: Brexit: Tusk asks for 3-month extension, negotiations 'waste of time and energy' says Juncker

Read More...