Society's ChildS


Bizarro Earth

Economist tells RT Greta Thunberg's dream world would cause 'a human tragedy of disastrous proportions'


RT
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 15:22 UTC
Woman in nature
If you are inspired by Greta Thunberg's emotional speech at the UN and care about our planet, you might not realize how much your everyday life could change should the world follow the advice of climate activists.

RT spoke to economists to find out how the proposed changes could affect the global economy and the daily lives of people around the world.

Fossil fuels

The first thing that comes to mind to stop reported global warming is to impose a carbon tax and divest from the fossil fuel industry, as this sector is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

"A carbon tax and/or forced divestiture from fossil fuels would ultimately make the kind of cheap, varied and efficient transportation that people around the world are accustomed to extremely expensive and more limited," warns Peter C. Earle, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research.
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Light Saber

Assange ordered to court for extradition hearing - first appearance in public since May arrest


MSN
Sat, 12 Oct 2019 15:06 UTC
assange defiant
© Daniel Leal-OlivasWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures from a police van in May.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was ordered Friday to make his first in-person London court appearance to determine whether he can be released from prison as he fights extradition to the United States.

The 48-year-old Australian has been in custody at the high-security Belmarsh prison in southwest London since being dramatically dragged from Ecuador's embassy in April.

He could be sentenced to spend up to 175 years in a US prison if convicted on all charges filed under the US Espionage Act.

Comment: Left out of the above article is that Assange has completed the term he was sentenced to for "bail jumping". He is now openly held by Britain as a political prisoner on behalf of the United States.

Staunch Assange advocate John Pilger maintains he is ready to defend himself regardless of the obstacles the UK has put in his way. From RT:
Julian Assange is in high spirits despite being deprived the materials he needs for his defense, veteran journalist John Pilger has reported, adding that Assange's upcoming extradition hearing will be a battle for democracy.

Pilger tweeted out a status update after visiting the WikiLeaks co-founder in Belmarsh Prison.

"Denied the tools to prepare his defence against extradition to America, [Assange's] resilience endures," he wrote, stating that Assange's upcoming court hearing will being an "epic fight... the fight of democracy."


Pilger has been a tireless advocate for Assange, visiting him in prison multiple times and making appearances at rallies demanding the journalist's release.

Assange will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday as he battles to stop his extradition to the United States.

In the US, Assange is charged with possession and dissemination of classified information. If found guilty, he could receive up to 175 years in prison. The journalist has been in Washington's crosshairs for more than a decade, after WikiLeaks published a video showing the US military attacking journalists and civilians in Iraq in July 2007.

Assange's treatment at the hands of UK authorities and other parties involved in his imprisonment was condemned by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer in October. According to Melzer, the WikiLeaks co-founder has been subjected to "psychological torture" and his right to due process has been "systematically violated."


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Megaphone

Best of the Web: Catalonia independence protests escalate over fourth night - Catalan President blames infiltrators for violence

Sam Jones
The Guardian
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:39 UTC
Catalan
© David Borrat/EPACatalan independence supporters protest in Girona.
Barcelona suffered its fourth and worst night of violence on Thursday as pro-independence supporters clashed with police and right-wing groups in running battles well into the small hours of Friday morning.

The disturbances followed a now familiar pattern as a large demonstration called earlier in the evening dispersed and groups of protesters clashed with police in the city centre who say that a clothing shop was set on fire and a bank was vandalised.

In the early hours groups of protesters fought with police, throwing stones and at least one petrol bomb in an apparent attempt to reach the seat of the Spanish government in the city.

One pro-independence protester was badly beaten by a group of right-wing supporters while once again the streets were acrid with the smell of bonfires of burning rubbish. Numerous injuries were reported.

Comment: RT reports:
Unrest continues to grip Barcelona after Spain jails pro-independence Catalan leaders

Catalan
© Reuters / Rafael MarchanteA Spanish unity supporter jumps on Estelada (Catalan flag) during a demonstration after days of pro-independence protests in Barcelona, October 17, 2019
Protests gripped the Catalan capital on Thursday, continuing the week's unrest. During the day, striking students hit the streets, and in the evening, crowds of protesters gathered in central Barcelona.

In most places the crowds were peaceful, even turning the demonstration into a giant game of volleyball. However, more hardcore pro-independence protesters soon began erecting barricades in the streets and setting things on fire.

Tensions rose even higher where groups of unionists counter-protesters, some covering their faces or draped in the Spanish flag, began shouting slogans and making Nazi salutes.

There were multiple reports from Catalan sympathizers on social media of nationalist gangs beating up pro-independence demonstrators, some claiming the police were turning a blind eye to the violence.

The unrest, however, has not reached the levels seen on Wednesday night, when some 100 people were injured in clashes between pro-independence activists and police.

According to official figures, some 400 dumpsters were burned on Wednesday alone and the city has already sustained property damage of more than €1 million.

The ongoing protest was sparked by the Spanish Supreme Court's ruling sentencing nine pro-independence leaders to lengthy jail terms - ranging from nine to 13 years - over their roles in the failed 2017 independence bid.

Furthermore, Spain issued a new European arrest warrant for the former Catalan President Carlos Puigdemont, who managed to slip through Madrid's hands back in 2017 and is now living in exile in Belgium.





And some footage from today:


See also: 'Catalonia Separatists Bad, Hong Kong Pro-democracy Protesters Good' - Western Media Treating Orwell's 1984 as User Manual

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Snowflake

Zoologist punished for telling school kids politically incorrect facts about polar bears

Donna Laframboise
The Financial Post
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 10:18 UTC
polar bear
© PostmediaZoologist Dr. Susan Crockford says that, contrary to the claims of environmental activists, polar bears are currently thriving and are at no risk of extinction from climate change.
A world-renowned expert in animal bone identification has lost her position at the University of Victoria (UVic), she believes for telling school kids politically incorrect facts about polar bears.

Zoologist Dr. Susan Crockford is routinely hired by biologists and archeologists in Canada and abroad to identify the remains of mammals, birds and fish. She has helped catalog museum collections, and assisted police with forensic analyses. But UVic students will no longer benefit from her expertise, and her ability to apply for research grants has come to a screeching halt. In May, the Anthropology Department withdrew her Adjunct Professor status, depriving her of a university affiliation.

Crockford describes her expulsion as "an academic hanging without a trial, conducted behind closed doors." After being renewed unanimously in 2016 for a three-year term, her adjunct status was not renewed the next time around.

Comment: Pathetic. That a University would fire a world-renowned expert for telling uncomfortable truths is an afront to any illusion of acedemic freedom. From the information presented, Crockford isn't even denying the man-made climate change narrative, only showing that one of its emotionally manipulative tropes isn't true. Apparently that's enough to cost you your acedemic career.

See also:

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NPC

Clueless Extinction Rebellion protester Mr Broccoli interviewed by Piers Morgan

Dominic Smithers
Lad Bible
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 10:52 UTC
XR Mr. Broccoli
© ITV/Good Morning Britain
A climate change protester who goes by the name Mr Broccoli has gone head to head with Piers Morgan this morning, and it was as brilliant as you would expect.

The activist was arrested earlier this week as part of Extinction Rebellion's demonstrations across London, and appeared on Good Morning Britain to explain why he felt people needed to switch to a plant-based diet.

But from the moment he started referring to Piers as 'Peas' during the hated debate, it was never going to go well for the 'humble' piece of veg.

Comment: While it's just an idiotic stunt, this really showcases the average Extinction Rebellion protester's mindset - they have no idea what they're fighting for and, more importantly, why. XR's talking points can be taken apart by a 5th-grader, so it's little wonder they resort to dressing up in funny costumes and talking into a banana.

See also:

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Arrow Up

Hungary's economic growth 'exceeds expectations' - IMF

Péter Cseresnyés
Hungary Today
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 22:53 UTC
hungary
© Facebook/IMF
A Concluding Statement describing the preliminary findings of the IMF after an official staff visit finds that Hungary's economic growth rate is exceptional, with an impressive speed of income convergence to advanced economy levels. However, due to the unpredictable global economic environment, the staff also points out some concrete steps required to maintain the momentum.

As part of regular consultations under Article IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement, an International Monetary Fund staff team visited Hungary from September 24th to October 3rd.

The delegation concludes in its statement that Hungary's economic growth has continued to exceed expectations even amidst an uncertain and increasingly difficult global economic environment, registering one of the highest rates in Europe in 2018.

Comment: Evidently Orban's resistance to mass migration and populist stance has done the country good: Budapest elects liberal mayor as Hungary's liberal opposition breaks conservatives' winning streak - But Orban still reigns

See also: 'Something's amiss': Risk of recession increasing, markets similar to last year's before the collapse - Morgan Stanley

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Book

'Do not wake the beast': Plan to reissue 'Mein Kampf' in France for 1st time since 1934 takes heat on social media


RT
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 19:26 UTC
Mein Kampf
© Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch
New issues of the 'Mein Kampf' manifesto penned by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler over 90 years ago will be produced in France next year for the first time since 1934, much to the consternation of social media users.

Paris-based publisher Fayard raised the possibility of a reissue in 2015 and was met with an angry backlash, however La Journal du Dimanche reports that the company now confirms that they will bring out a new edition of the controversial book in 2020.

Originally written by Hitler in 1926, the new French-translation text will be published alongside criticism penned by a group of 15 French and German researchers and Holocaust historians.

One of the book's translators, Olivier Mannoni, said it's important to confront the taboos surrounding Hitler's text, "because we are so afraid of the lies it contains that we refuse to talk about it," BFMTV reports.
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Bullseye

Why the concept of White Privilege is wrong — Part 2

Vincent Harinam and Rob Henderson
Quillette
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:44 UTC
white privilege sign
Many people enjoy invoking race as an explanation for all sorts of things. It is a shared pastime for both the far-left and the far-right. The media expend vast sums of money and effort to ensure we don't escape discussions about race as something that is or should be important. This vocal minority of political extremists and news broadcasters has directed our attention away from more powerful causal explanations that underlie group outcomes. Perverse incentives for these two groups have made race a more a prominent feature of our lives.

As a consequence, white privilege has become the favoured explanation for differences in group outcomes among many educated people. But unintentional or otherwise, by attributing success to white privilege, affluent individuals who invoke this mistaken idea thwart the ambitions of those who are seeking success but who are also lacking in privilege. If we want to not only understand differences in group outcomes but also mend them, then we need a more robust and less ideological framework.

Comment: Why the concept of 'white privilege' is wrong — Part 1

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Yellow Vest

Best of the Web: Finally, a rebellion against Extinction Rebellion: Londoners take matters into their own hands

Brendan O'Neill
spiked
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 19:33 UTC
XR protests tube
The police won't deal with the extremists so... into the vacuum step ordinary working people.
The people are rising up against the elites. No, I don't mean Extinction Rebellion. I mean the Rebellion against Extinction Rebellion. Today's clashes on the Tube between the commuting working classes and the time-rich, bourgeois fearmongers of the XR cult is a wonderful illustration of the elitist nature of eco-politics and of rising public fury with the eco-agenda.

For more than a week now the XR elitists have been disrupting everyday life. They've stopped flights from taking off, preventing people from going on well-earned holidays or visiting loved ones abroad. They've clogged up roads in city centres, irritating cab drivers and people on buses. And they've stormed Smithfield meat market and Billingsgate fish market - smug middle-class vegans lecturing hard-working traders about the correct way to think and live.

But today their sneering campaigning went too far. Today they disrupted the Tube. Yes, this mass, largely electric public-transport system used by millions of people is the latest target of these arrogant disrupters of the masses' lives. And people got pissed off. Really pissed off.


Comment: This is going to start becoming a lot more common as people begin to fully grok that the whole climate deal is both real AND an attempt to scam the people. Those who are vocal "faces" of different movements that are soon to be perceived as "at fault" will be the main targets, not the string-pullers behind them.

Things just may get very ugly very fast.

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X

'Freedom without security?' FSB chief says Telegram outright refuses to help Russia fight terrorism


RT
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:29 UTC
computer
© Global Look Press/Oliver Berg
Russia's FSB has no issues with most online communications providers except for Telegram, and that's only because the messaging app stubbornly refuses to help Russia fight terrorism, FSB Director Aleksandr Bortnikov said.

The rapid development of internet technology gives people almost unlimited opportunities, but also poses great risks to national security, Bortnikov told the Russian media, adding that most internet giants and security services around the world are more or less "on the same page" on this issue.

"One has to seek a compromise," and it is not enough for the internet giants to independently expose terrorist networks or people linked to them, he explained. "It is very important to hand this information over to the people that work with it on a regular basis and know what to do."
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