Society's ChildS


Heart - Black

Best of the Web: Under fire from a Western-backed Ukraine: The people of the DPR share their stories

Eva Bartlett
MintPress News
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 12:00 UTC
Donetsk People's Republic
© Eva BartlettFeature photo | DPR Peoples Militia Platoon Commander Ryka poses for a photo with his rifle.
On September 2, I left the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don via minibus heading northwest to the border of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and on into Donetsk. For my first few days there, I rented an inexpensive apartment in the heart of the city. Walking on a long tree-lined and cafe-filled pedestrian walkway, life seemed normal. But I would soon find that for the people living in Donetsk, it is anything but.

I passed a cafe where a former DPR leader and military commander, Alexander Zakharchenko, was assassinated by a remotely detonated bomb in August 2018. He was beloved, and as I stood there, two women stopped to pay respects and pray.

Days later, at a transit hub in Donetsk, I met with Alexey Karpushev, a resident of the northern city of Gorlovka, an area hard-hit by Ukrainian bombing, and whose outskirts continue to be shelled near-daily.
Read More...
Hammer

Contractor makes claim that video showed structural flaws prior to Hard Rock Hotel collapse

Andrew J. Yawn
USA Today
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 19:31 UTC
hard rock hotel collapse
© Brandon Knox Photography LLC / ScreenshotAftermath of the Hard Rock Hotel collapse in New Orleans.
A video posted on social media claiming to show structural problems inside the Hard Rock Hotel construction site two days before its deadly collapse has become part of the investigation into the tragedy, authorities said Wednesday.

The video, posted Tuesday by a contractor, caught the attention of investigators looking into the collapse that authorities say killed three people, including one person unaccounted for who is now believed to be dead.

Investigators said they will determine the video's authenticity and whether it shows structural problems prior to the collapse.

"We've seen it. We're well aware of it. It's provided to everybody and that will certainly be part of our investigation and our evaluation," New Orleans Fire Chief Tim McConnell said.

Comment:



Read More...
Star of David

Poll: US Jews immune' to Trump's Israel overtures - 42% say he 'favors Israel too much'

Robert Philpot
The Jewish Chronicle
Thu, 05 Sep 2019 10:06 UTC
Trump/Numbers
© Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump
Beyond paeans to the greatness of his record and attacks on the perfidy of the media and the wickedness of his political enemies, nothing appears to dominate Donald Trump's time on Twitter so much as the alleged hatred of Israel and antisemitism of the Democratic party.

But, as a newly released paper from polling agency Gallup underlines, American Jews remain largely immune to the president's apparent attempts to woo them.

Indeed, it cites a recent survey by Pew Research which finds that 42 per cent of Jews believe Mr Trump favours Israel too much. That percentage, moreover, is a much higher figure than that recorded by American Catholics or Protestants. Only 22 per cent of the latter — and a mere 15 per cent of evangelicals — believes the Trump administration has been too pro-Israel.
Read More...
Arrow Down

'Tax intifada': Beirut in flames as protesters demand 'downfall of the regime' for new fees, mounting debt


RT
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 19:11 UTC
Beirut protest
© Reuters/Mohamed AzakirBeirut, Lebanon
Thousands of protestors have blocked streets across Lebanon with flaming barricades, marching for a second consecutive day over new tax proposals, government ineptitude and inefficiency.

The spark for the latest wave of protests came in the form of a proposed new fee of 20 cents per day for calls via voice over internet protocol (VoIP). However, as the anti-government protests gained traction across the country, the proposal was quickly revoked by Telecoms Minister Mohamed Choucair. This proposed "WhatsApp tax" would have come in addition to a tax hike on Value-Added Tax (VAT) from 11 to 15 percent.



Comment: France, Spain, the UK, the US, Lebanon, Iraq, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Ecuador... rebellions are breaking out all over the place. They're happening for different 'reasons', but they're likely all underpinned by a growing sense in people that the climate has 'gone wonky' in ways they cannot control - coupled with a growing sense that their elites not only can't do anything about it, but are instead making out like bandits...

Read More...
Airplane

National security chief: French '9/11' plane hijacking attack foiled


RT
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:20 UTC
New York City
© Office of the Director of National IntelligenceNew York City • 9/11/2001
A terrorist plot inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US was foiled recently by French police, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has revealed, defending his record after fatal stabbings at the Paris police HQ.

During his appearance on the France 2 TV show called 'Vous avez la parole' (You have the word) on Thursday, Castaner brought up for the first time last month's arrest of "an individual who wanted to take inspiration from September 11."

The wannabe attacker had a "project" to hijack a plane and was "getting organized" to do so, the minister said, offering no further details.

French media filled in some of the blanks later in the day, citing police sources. The suspect lived in the Hauts-de-Seine department, just west of central Paris, and is a French national under 30 years of age, according to these reports.
Read More...
Bomb

62 Killed, 60 Injured as Blast Hits Afghan Mosque


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 18:31 UTC
afghanistan mosque attack
© REUTERS / PARWIZ
The death toll in the mosque blasts in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarghar province on Friday has risen to 62, while 60 more people have been injured, TOLO News television reported.

"Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the Nangarhar governor, confirms that 62 people were killed and nearly 60 others were wounded during Friday prayers in today's twin blasts in a mosque in the Jaw Dara area of Haska Meyna district of Nangarhar," TOLO News said in its Twitter blog.

Previous reports indicated 31 dead and 50 injured in the incident.


Comment: Sediq Sediqqi, spokesperson for Afghanistan's president, blamed the Taliban:
Earlier in the day, two blasts hit the mosque located in Jaw Dara area of Huska Meyna district during Friday prayers. At least 62 people were killed.

''The Afghan government strongly condemns today's suicide attack in a mosque in Nangarhar province ... The Taliban and their partners heinous crimes continue to target civilians in time of worship'', Sediqqi tweeted.


Read More...
Shopping Bag

Google affiliate begins drone deliveries in Virginia town


ABC News
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 01:23 UTC
Drone delivery
A Google affiliate is using drones to deliver customers' Walgreens purchases in a test being run in a Virginia town.

Wing, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet, received federal approval earlier this year to make commercial deliveries by drone. It was the first drone company to receive the approval in the U.S., beating out Amazon's Prime Air.
Read More...
Biohazard

Johnson & Johnson recalls some baby powder after asbestos found

Ella Torres
ABC News
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 11:48 UTC
Baby powder
Johnson & Johnson is voluntarily recalling around 33,000 bottles of baby powder after traces of asbestos were found, the company announced Friday.

The contamination was found in a single bottle of Johnson's baby powder purchased from an online retailer, prompting the lot, or around 33,000 bottles, to be recalled, the company said.

The amount of asbestos found was considered a "sub-trace level" (no greater than 0.00002%), but the company issued the recall "out of an abundance of caution."

Johnson & Johnson says it is working with the Food and Drug Administration to investigate how the bottle became contaminated.

Comment: See also: Woman with cancer who used J&J talc awarded $29 million by California jury

Read More...
Cell Phone

Uttar Pradesh: Students, teachers can no longer use mobile phones in colleges


The Week
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 18:11 UTC
Cell phone
Students in colleges and universities in Uttar Pradesh will no longer be able to bring or use mobile phones in campuses.

The state government issued a blanket ban on the use of mobile phones in colleges and universities. The directorate of higher education in the state issued a circular in this regard, say media reports.
Read More...
Airplane

Bird strike grounds Navy 'doomsday' aircraft

Courtney Mabeus
Navy Times
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:19 UTC
Aircraft
© U.S. Air Force/Josh PluegerA U.S. Navy E-6 Mercury aircraft takes flight on Aug. 28, at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. The E-6 aircraft communicates with ballistic missile submarines while also expanding the mission to include ground missiles and nuclear-armed strategic bombers.
A Navy doomsday aircraft was temporarily grounded after it struck a bird during a touch and go landing earlier this month, Navy officials said.

The E-6B Mercury aircraft, assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 at Maryland-based Naval Air Station Patuxent River, suffered at least $2 million in damages after it sucked a bird into one of its four engines during the Oct. 2 landing. A test and evaluation team was aboard at the time conducting a system test, Tim Boulay, a spokesman for Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division said. No one on the aircraft was injured. It's unclear what species of bird was involved.

"We don't know for sure," Boulay said in an email.
Read More...