Society's ChildS


Star of David

Israel converts confiscated historical mosque into bar and event hall


Middle East Monitor
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 17:17 UTC
israel mosque bar event hall
Al-Ahmar Mosque, Safed
The Israeli municipality in Safed has turned Al-Ahmar Mosque into a bar and events hall, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported yesterday.

As one of the most historical mosques in the Arab city, which was occupied by the Jewish gangs in 1948, the building was first turned into a Jewish school, then into a centre for Likud's elections campaigns and then into a clothes warehouse before finally being converted into a nightclub.

The London-based newspaper reported that the mosque was turned to a bar and wedding hall by an firm affiliated to the Israeli municipality. Its name was changed from Al-Ahmar Mosque to Khan Al-Ahmar.

Comment: Israel does go out of its way to insult the people it claims it wants to make peace with.

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Books

The nation's only all black, all-male college will begin admitting transgender students in 2020


WTKR
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 09:14 UTC
Morehouse College
Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Morehouse College, a historically black all-men's school in Atlanta, will begin admitting transgender students who identify as men in 2020, according to a news release from the school.

The new policy, known as the Gender Identity Admissions and Matriculation Policy, applies to all students who enroll in the private college by the fall 2020 semester.

The announcement comes after Spelman College, a private historically black all-women's school in Atlanta, adopted a similar policy in 2017.The announcement comes after Spelman College, a private historically black all-women's school in Atlanta, adopted a similar policy in 2017.

"In a rapidly changing world that includes a better understanding of gender identity, we're proud to expand our admissions policy to consider trans men who want to be part of an institution that has produced some of the greatest leaders in social justice, politics, business, and the arts for more than 150 years," said Terrance Dixon, Morehouse vice president for enrollment management. "The ratification of this policy affirms the College's commitment to develop men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service."
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Quenelle - Golden

Street theater and support for Julian Assange: Yellow Vest protests roll on into 22nd week UPDATE


RT
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 17:18 UTC
Yellow vests act 22 April 2019
© Pascal Pavani / Agence France-PressePolice officers run as a trailer is set on fire during an anti-government demonstration called by the "Yellow vests" movement in Toulouse, on April 13, 2019.
Sporadic clashes with police marred Yellow Vests protests in Toulouse, the city chosen as the 'capital' of this week's anti-government marches in France. Act 22 is the first since a controversial anti-rioting law took effect.

Several thousand protesters took part in the demonstration in Toulouse on Saturday, marking the 22nd consecutive week of the "gilets jaunes" movement. Smaller rallies involving hundreds of people happened in capital Paris, and other French cities.

Unlike some earlier protest gatherings, no major rioting has occurred so far this weekend. The police in Toulouse was filmed deploying tear gas and some clashes were reported.

Comment: The protests against the government have persisted for five months. Macron appears to be waiting for them to fizzle out. So far it doesn't look like that's going to happen. How long does he think he can survive?

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe seems to be a little panicked:
France's Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has called for quick tax cuts in response to the anger expressed by Yellow Vests protesters. Philippe on Monday unveiled the results of a three-month "grand debate" launched by President Emmanuel Macron in response to the protests. The PM said the debate clearly indicates that "we must cut taxes and cut them more quickly." He said however, that the government must also cut public spending. Macron is expected to unveil a series of economic measures next week, AP reported.
UPDATE 14/04/19: Not all was quiet across France in the fifth month of protests as Toulouse filled with clouds of tear gas:
yellow vest protest toulouse april 2019
© RuptlyOfficers in full riot gear blocked several streets in attempts to hold off the Yellow Vests, some of whom tried arguing with the police.
Footage shows riot police struggling to contain Yellow Vest protesters on the tear-gas-filled streets of Toulouse, France during clashes in which 43 people were arrested and more than a dozen were injured.

Sporadic clashes broke out in the French southern city of Toulouse of Saturday as it was declared the 'capital' of the Yellow Vest (Gilets Jaunes) protests that day. Footage filmed by video agency Ruptly shows people running in panic through thick clouds of smoke and tear gas filling the streets.


Protesters were coughing and covering their faces in an effort to avoid being gassed. Others kicked the gas canisters away, while some picked them up and hurled them back at officers. Volunteer medics could be seen rushing to treat a man lying on the pavement, who appeared to be unconscious.

Officers in full riot gear blocked several streets in attempts to hold off the Yellow Vests, some of whom tried arguing with the police.

During the clashes, the protesters threw stones, bottles, and firecrackers at the officers, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. Some 21 people were injured and 43 arrested in Toulouse during the day.


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Star of David

Palestinian family attacked by mob of Israeli settlers storming West Bank village; IDF uses tear gas against the Palestinians


RT
Sun, 14 Apr 2019 16:17 UTC
Settler attack Palestinians West Bank
© Adel Ammar / B'Tselem / TwitterB’Tselem reported that the IDF used tear gas and live rounds against the Palestinians and didn’t detain any settlers.
A Palestinian family was forced to flee under a barrage of stones when an angry mob of Israeli settlers stormed the village during tension in the West Bank. None of them were detained, human rights groups say.

Human rights groups Yesh Din and B'Tselem said that around 50 Israeli settlers from Yitzhar in the West Bank entered the neighboring Palestinian village of Urif on Saturday, smashing windows of cars and hurling stones at houses.

Security camera footage from Urif shows a group of masked men run down the road and throw stones at a family as they were about to get into a car. The father and the hijab-clad mother rush to grab their children and then flee in the house, while several of the stones hit the vehicle's roof. The mob then proceeds to attack another car, parked nearby.

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Binoculars

2 more fatal falls at Grand Canyon follow dozens of others


ABC News
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 09:57 UTC
The Skywalk hangs over the Grand Canyon
© AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, FileIn this March 20, 2007, file photo, the Skywalk hangs over the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai Indian Reservation before its grand opening ceremony at Grand Canyon West, Ariz. Two recent deaths in which men plummeted to their death in the Grand Canyon follow dozens of apparently accidental fatal falls since the national park was established 100 years ago.
Two recent deaths in which men plummeted in the Grand Canyon follow dozens of apparently accidental fatal falls since the national park was established 100 years ago.

Michael Obritsch, of Santa Rosa, California, died April 3 after falling from the edge of the South Rim in Grand Canyon Village, near the Yavapai Geology Museum.

His body was found 400 feet (more than 122 meters) below the rim, according to park officials.

A tourist from Macau, China, fell to his death on March 28. The man was at least 50 years old, park officials said.
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Cell Phone

Facebook investors want to 'check Zuckerberg's power' and oust him from company chair


RT
Sun, 14 Apr 2019 16:01 UTC
Mark Zuckerberg
© Reuters / Aaron P. Bernstein
Facebook's shareholders are gearing up for a fresh attempt to oust its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg as chairman, as well as shake up the company's governance, in the wake of "severe controversies" for the social network.

Documents filed by Facebook to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 12 outline the schedule of business for the company's annual shareholder meeting at the end of next month, and include eight shareholder proposals. One of these calls for replacing Zuckerberg as company chair with a new independent member, so as to clearly separate the roles of company chair and CEO.
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Bad Guys

No 'housewife': UK 'jihadi bride' Shamima Begum was a gun-toting member of Daesh's morality police


Sputnik
Sun, 14 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
Shamima Begum jihadi bride
The young woman has denied any wrongdoing during her time with the terror group and claimed she was only a "housewife" to her jihadi husband.

Shamima Begum, the young woman who ran away from the UK to join Daesh when she was 15, was actually a member of Daesh's so-called "hisba", which acted as a morality police on terrorist-occupied territories, a report by The Sunday Telegraph reads.

An anti-Daesh activist from Deir Ez-Zor reportedly told the newspaper that Begum - who claimed she was only a "housewife" during her time with the terror group - had been seen wielding an automatic weapon and shouting at Syrian women for wearing brightly coloured shoes.

"Members of our group from Raqqa knew her well", the activist, Aghiad al-Kheder, told the newspaper. "There were lots of young European women in the hisba. Some of them were very harsh and the local population became very scared".

Comment: See also:

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Airplane

American Airlines extends flight cancellations of Boeing MAX 737 planes until August

Jay Blackman and Kalhan Rosenblatt
NBC News
Sun, 14 Apr 2019 10:20 UTC
AA Boeing Max 737
An American Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 lands at LaGuardia Airport on March 11, 2019, in Queens, New York.
American Airlines is extending a cancellation of flights aboard any Boeing 737 Max aircrafts in its fleet until August, the company said in a letter to its employees.

In the letter, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom said that they believed the aircraft would be re-certified before August, but added that removing the planes until then would allow them to better plan for the busy summer travel season.

"Once the MAX is re-certified, we anticipate bringing our MAX aircraft back on line as spares to supplement our operation as needed during the summer," the letter states.

American Airlines estimates that the cancellations will affect approximately 115 flights per day - or 1.5 percent of the company's total flying each day through August 19.

Comment: Wise decision: Officials find additional software problem in Boeing 737 Max flight control system

See also:

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Evil Rays

SOTT Focus: Roger Scruton: An Apology For Thinking

Roger Scruton
spectator.co.uk
Sun, 14 Apr 2019 12:14 UTC
I recently gave an interview to the New Statesman, on the assumption that, as the magazine's former wine critic I would be treated with respect, and that the journalist, George Eaton, was sincere in wanting to talk to me about my intellectual life. Not for the first time I am forced to acknowledge what a mistake it is to address young leftists as though they were responsible human beings. Here is my brief response to an unscrupulous collection of out of context remarks, some of them merely words designed to accuse me of thought-crimes, and to persuade the government that I am not fit to be chairman of the commission recently entrusted to me.
George Eaton Roger Scruton
George Eaton posted this picture of himself drinking champagne to celebrate the sacking of the “right-wing racist and homophobe Roger Scruton.” He has since apologised for the picture but says he stands by the interview.
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Attention

Large, flightless bird attacks and kills its fallen owner near Gainesville, Florida


Associated Press
Sun, 14 Apr 2019 09:32 UTC
A cassowary
A cassowary
A large, flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea attacked and killed its owner when the man fell on his farm in Florida, authorities said Saturday.

The Alachua County Fire Rescue Department told the Gainesville Sun that a cassowary killed the man Friday on the property near Gainesville, likely using its long claws. The victim was apparently breeding the birds, state wildlife officials said.

"My understanding is that the gentleman was in the vicinity of the bird and at some point fell. When he fell, he was attacked," Deputy Chief Jeff Taylor told the newspaper. He said first responders got a call at 10 a.m. Friday and rushed the man to a hospital for trauma care but he died.
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