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Adani mine: Australia approves controversial coal project


BBC News
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 07:01 UTC
Carmichael mine protests
© GETTY IMAGESThough many oppose the mine, others - such as these demonstrators - say it will improve the economy
Australia has given the final approval for construction to begin on a controversial coal mine to be built by Indian company Adani.

The mine, in Queensland's Galilee Basin, has been the subject of years of hold-ups over environmental approvals.

But it was given the go-ahead by the state government on Thursday, after earlier receiving federal approval.

Critics say the project's true impact remains unclear. Approval could pave the way for six more mines in the area.

Construction at the mine site could begin within days, but Adani must wait for additional approvals before it can begin extracting underground coal, for export to India and other countries in Asia.

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Attention

Barrels in Wallowa Lake, Oregon likely contain Agent Orange ingredients


Sputnik
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 22:50 UTC
Diver
On Thursday, a contractor for the US Environmental Protection Agency started an operation to remove barrels containing defoliants from Wallowa Lake in Oregon.

Last August, recreational divers Lisa Anderson and William Lambert came across barrels labeled as containing 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, which are defoliants, chemicals that when sprayed on plants cause their leaves to fall off. The two defoliants combined are also known as Agent Orange.

"We didn't know they were there," Anderson told media outlets at the time. "When we dusted one off, we were shocked to see the words 'weed killer' on it."
According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Agent Orange was used by the US military between 1962 and 1975, when it was sprayed on trees and vegetation during the Vietnam War. Some veterans exposed to Agent Orange during military service later developed cancers and other health problems that have been found to be related to exposure to dioxin, a byproduct of Agent Orange production.
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Question

Jordan Peterson's radical 'anti-censorship' platform promises free speech - but can it deliver?


RT
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 21:26 UTC
Jordan Peterson
© Flickr / Gage SkidmoreFILE PHOTO: Jordan Peterson speaks at a conservative Women's Leadership Summit in Texas, 2018
Controversial psychologist and author Jordan Peterson has launched a new "anti-censorship" social media platform that promises to be an alternative to Facebook and Twitter, but what exactly is it - and could it really work?

Thinkspot, a subscription-based service, is meant to be a radical alternative to the major social media platforms and, Peterson told podcast host Joe Rogan, it will not ban a user "unless we're ordered to by a US court of law."

It describes itself as an "an intellectual playground for censorship-free discourse" and "a collaborative community where individuals can explore and exchange ideas in a thoughtful and respectful manner." The platform also aims to monetize content-creation, making it a kind of social media version of YouTube or Patreon.

Comment: Some interesting questions. We'll have to wait and see.

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Apple Green

School's purpose is indoctrination

Sofia Carbone
Human Events
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 20:58 UTC
Harvard
© Daniel PipesHarvard University, 1969.
It is time to hold the left and academia accountable for their blatant propaganda. Not just teachers and schools, but the creators of course materials.

The near sole purpose of present-day academia is indoctrination. This is a fairly bold thesis, but the evidence is in its favor.

The increasingly progressive leftist agenda is sweeping through academia and conservatives are passively watching it happen.

The main indoctrination stories you hear are those of radical professors on college campuses, outlandish majors created to forward social justice movements, and, on occasion, a political outburst by a high school teacher.

Comment: Left or right, the school system is not intended to rear critically minded and creative adults - and it has been like that for a long time - although it has, of course, gotten much worse: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Arrow Down

The new inequality: The decline of the working class family

Maria Kouloglou
Quillette
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 21:00 UTC
holding hands
© Liv Bruce on Unsplash
The family has been called "the cornerstone of society" and for good reason. According to studies, children born to married parents are more likely to go to university and less likely to receive government benefits. Children raised in fatherless homes, however, appear more likely to face worse outcomes when it comes to well-being, education and mental health. Married people also appear to be healthier and happier.

According to a report, before the 1970s there were no large class divides in American family life. Most people got married and stayed married and the children were raised in two-parent families. This trend eventually changed, with poorer and less educated people becoming less likely to get married and stay married. The decline of marriage is also correlated with the rise of single-mother households. A similar decline of the working class family appears to exist in the UK, with men from poor backgrounds being significantly more likely to be single in their forties than richer men.
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Star of David

How and why neocon billionaire Paul Singer Is driving the outsourcing of US tech jobs to Israel

Whitney Webb
MintPress News
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 18:02 UTC
paul singer
© Associated PressPaul Singer, vulture capitalist
With nearly 6 million Americans unemployed and regular bouts of layoffs in the U.S. tech industry, major American tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Intel Corporation are nonetheless moving key operations, billions in investments, and thousands of jobs to Israel - a trend that has largely escaped media attention or concern from even "America first" politicians. The fact that this massive transfer of investment and jobs has been so overlooked is particularly striking given that it is largely the work of a single leading neoconservative Republican donor who has given millions of dollars to President Donald Trump.

To make matters worse, many of these top tech companies shifting investment and jobs to Israel at record rates continue to collect sizable U.S. government subsidies for their operations while they move critical aspects of their business abroad, continue to layoff thousands of American workers, and struggle to house their growing company branches in Israel. This is particularly troubling in light of the importance of the tech sector to the overall U.S. economy, as it accounts for 7.1 percent of total GDP and 11.6 percent of total private-sector payroll.

Comment:

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People

Outrage ensues after Detroit imam gives lessons on wife-beating


Sputnik
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 17:34 UTC
nervous woman
© Pixabay
Shia imam Bassem al-Sheraa, who lives in Michigan, reportedly held a lecture in Detroit on how to properly teach women who have misbehaved and explained what beating means by referencing the Quran.

Media watchdog Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI, has called out US-based Shia Imam Bassem Al-Sheraa over his lesson on wife beating at the Az-Zahraa Islamic Centre in Detroit. The group published a clip with subtitles from the lecture that was reportedly uploaded on the centre's YouTube channel in May, in which the cleric is seen dwelling on punishing wives and its interpretation in the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

According to the translation of Bassem Al-Sheraa's speech, made by MEMRI, Islam's teaching refers to beating as something that is not supposed to cause pain because it should be done with a teeth cleaning twig to teach a woman a lesson.

Comment: See also:

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Water

Flint prosecutors drop criminal charges in water scandal, will start investigation from scratch

Mimi Hsin Hsuan Sun and Tatyana Walker
CNN
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 17:17 UTC
Flint, Michigan water tower
© Ryan Garza / Global Look Press
Nearly four years since the City of Flint declared a state of emergency over the state of its water -- and three years after the first criminal charges were filed against government officials -- prosecutors on Thursday dismissed all pending criminal cases, pledging to start the investigation from scratch.

Prosecutors said that they had grave concerns about the investigative approach and legal theories embraced by the former Office of Special Counsel (OSC) that oversaw the investigation, according to a press release issued by the Michigan Department of Attorney General. The OSC was appointed by former Attorney General Bill Schuette.

The OSC entered into agreements that gave private law firms that were representing the accused a role in deciding what information would be turned over to law enforcement, according to the release.

"We cannot provide the citizens of Flint the investigation they rightly deserve by continuing to build on a flawed foundation," said Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy, who are now leading the criminal cases.

Comment: More on the Flint water crisis:

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Car Black

Dutch MP wants to bring grid girls back to the Grand Prix


RT
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 17:10 UTC
grid girls
© Global Look Press / imago sportfotodienstGrid girls at 2017 Monaco Grand Prix.
Dutch politician Roy van Aalst has slammed the removal of grid girls from Formula 1 as an example of "female patronizing," calling for organizers to return the models for next season's Grand Prix in his homeland.

Aalst, a member of the Party for Freedom in the house of representatives, expressed hope that podium girls will take part in next year's event in Zandvoort as the Dutch Grand Prix returns to the F1 calendar for the first time in 35 years.

"The decision that the FIA has taken is the umpteenth form of female patronization. Grid girls belong just as much to Formula 1 as the cars," Aalst said.

Comment: PC culture gone mad: Formula 1 'grid girls' hit back against sacking - Dumped for being 'at odds with societal norms'

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Beer

Drunk man terrorizes streets of small Polish town in Soviet tank


RT
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 14:45 UTC
Tank
© www.twojepajeczno.pl
Police in central Poland responded to a late evening call over an incident that surely sent chills down the spines of Russophobe conspiracy theorists: a T-55 tank rampaging down the main street.

When police arrived at the scene in the town of Pajeczno on Thursday night, they found the Soviet-era tank casually parked on a central roadway with its two occupants nearby, one of whom was an intoxicated 49-year-old man who had been in the driver seat.

As it turns out, he had been authorized to drive the vehicle - although his superiors presumably only wanted him to move it off and on the damaged trailer on which it was being transported, rather than driving it through the city center. They also likely expected him to remain sober while operating the 36-ton armored combat vehicle. To make matters worse, local media report that there was no insurance policy on the tank.

Police were unable to get the tank off the street and onto a trailer until 5am.
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