Society's ChildS


Attention

Pilot dead after yet another T-38 supersonic jet crashes at base in Texas


RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 11:34 UTC
Northrop T-38 Talon US fighter jet
© Bruce Weaver / AFPNorthrop T-38 Talon jet trainers.
A US Air Force pilot was killed as a T-38 Talon supersonic training plane crashed at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas on Tuesday night, making it the fifth accident involving the same aircraft model in the last 12 months.

The two-seat jet crashed around 7:40pm local time, the base reported. One pilot was killed, while another was hospitalized. The military didn't provide details of the circumstances of the crash. An official probe has been launched.

According to the aviation blog The Warzone, this is the fifth time a military T-38 has crashed in the last 12 months.
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Book 2

Open-access journal editors resign after alleged pressure to publish mediocre papers

Jop de Vrieze
Science
Tue, 04 Sep 2018 15:45 UTC
corruption of science
All 10 senior editors of the open-access journal Nutrients resigned last month, alleging that the publisher, the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), pressured them to accept manuscripts of mediocre quality and importance.

The conflict is familiar for many commercial open-access publishers: Because authors pay fees per published article (about $1800 in the case of Nutrients), the publisher has an incentive to publish as many as possible. On the other hand, scientists prefer to publish in choosy, reputable journals, and academic journal editors want to maintain this quality.

On 15 August, the editor-in-chief of the journal, Jon Buckley, of the University of South Australia in Adelaide, received an email from MDPI announcing his replacement at the end of the year by someone who would "bring different ideas on board." Buckley says this was an excuse to push him aside because of his strict editorial policy. He resigned immediately, and nine other senior editors followed.

Comment: It looks like just another step in the descending staircase that is scientific integrity. Since the model of open access journals favours quantity over quality, it stands to reason that this will lead to even more poorly conducted research flooding the market. And it seems the number of scientists and editors resigning out of protest is climbing.

See also:

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USA

'Post 9/11 US veterans don't have the illusion of righteousness about the wars they fought'


RT
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 04:17 UTC
US military veteran
© Global Look Press / Miguel Juarez Lugo 14
This generation of US veterans is facing the invalidity of the wars they fought, having been treated like puppets of the government in the execution of the unjust military action, Iraq war combat veteran Adam Kokesh told RT.

A new study has found that American soldiers who were part of the 'War on Terror' are struggling to make ends meet. They are facing greater hardship than veterans of previous generations.

"Post 9/11 veterans have become the first and only generation of veterans to struggle with housing affordability compared to civilians of like ages and demographics," according to the study.
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Music

Mysterious booming music pulsates across the Delaware River keeping residents awake


Sputnik
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 03:59 UTC
Delaware River
© AP Photo / Matt Rourke
A repetitive, full bass has been pulsing through homes across the Delaware River on the Atlantic coast of the US since the summer, agonizing New Jersey residents living in the towns of Carneys Point, Penns Grove and Pennsville.

Although it had been heard multiple times throughout the summer, there has been a spate of music during the past couple of weeks, NJ.com reported at the end of last month.

"It was like a sickening, pulsing heartbeat. We turned up our television but could not overpower the throb," Monica Morris Lind, who lives off the Delaware River, told the media outlet.
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X

Tommy Robinson barred from entry into US to attend conservative event on Islam


RT
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 03:36 UTC
Tommy Robinson
© Reuters / Simon DawsonTommy Robinson poses for a selfie with a Donald Trump supporter
Robinson, founder of the English Defence League (EDL), who is currently on bail after being charged with contempt of court, will have to wait "a while" for a US visa to be granted, according to neoconservative Daniel Pipes - the president of Middle East Forum (MEF), a conservative think-tank.

According to the Press Association, Robinson has labelled reports he has been denied a visa as "fake news."

In 2013 Robinson - real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - was jailed for 10 months for entering the US using someone else's passport. The far-right activist turned self-styled journalist, has a myriad of other convictions to his name, including drug offenses, a number of assaults, leading a football riot and mortgage fraud.
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Bullseye

Noam Chomsky echoes prominent Israeli intellectual - warns of growing 'Judeo-Nazi tendencies' in Israel


Middle East Monitor
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 14:30 UTC
Chomsky speech
Prominent Jewish intellectual Noam Chomsky has raised concerns over what he believes is the rise of "Judeo-Nazi tendencies" in Israel. Speaking to i24NEWS last week, the renowned political dissident, linguist and scholar repeated warnings given by Yeshayahu Leibowitz, an Israeli public intellectual, biochemist and polymath, concerning the dehumanising effect of Israel's brutal occupation of Palestine on the victims and the oppressors.

Chomsky commented on remarks by Leibowitz who was nominated for the Israel Prize saying that "Leibowitz warned that if the occupation continues, Israeli Jews are going to turn into what he called, Judeo-Nazis". Chomsky recognised the description was a "strong term" and that most people wouldn't be able to get away with describing Israel in this manner but explained that Leibowitz's status meant that he was able to speak about Israel without incurring fury.

Leibowitz who passed away in 1994 in Jerusalem, cautioned that the state of Israel and Zionism had become more sacred than Jewish humanist values and controversially went on to describe Israeli conduct in occupied Palestinian territories as "Judeo-Nazi" in nature.

Comment: And Chomsky is not the only Jewish person objective enough to make these comparisons:

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Quenelle - Golden

Palestinians critical of Hollywood stars donating $60 million to support Israeli army terror

Zena Tahhan
Middle East Eye
Fri, 09 Nov 2018 16:09 UTC
Pharrell Williams
© AFPPharrell Williams was one of the US celebrities who participated in the Los Angeles event
Pharrell Williams and Gerard Butler among stars condemned by Palestinians, who say money furthers the occupation

As Hollywood stars celebrated at a fundraiser for the Israeli army last week in Los Angeles, halfway across the world Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip were waking up for another Friday of protest and bloodshed.

The gala on 1 November, organised by Friends of the Israeli Defence Forces and attended by actors such as Ashton Kutcher, Gerard Butler and Andy Garcia, was praised by Israel and its supporters for raising a record $60 million and bringing together more than 1,200 people.

A memorandum of understanding signed between Israel and Barack Obama's US administration in 2016 included a record $38bn deal to provide Israel with military assistance over a ten-year period, the largest such pledge in American history.

In the occupied Palestinian territory and on social media, the star-studded event was met with anger and condemnation.
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Black Magic

'Separatists are not people': Ukrainian children taught to shoot and kill at far-right 'summer camp'


RT
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 05:05 UTC
far right Ukrainian kids
© Reuters / Valentyn Ogirenko
The Ukrainian far-right party 'Svoboda' is training children as young as eight to use firearms and shoot to kill, getting them ready to fight elusive "Russian aggression," and stand up to the "perversions" of the West.

The "Temper of will" summer camp - which looks more like a full-fledged boot camp - is located in a forest close to the Dniester river in the western Ukrainian region of Ternopol. The camp is run by the Sokil (Falcon) organization - a militant youth offshoot of the "national-socialist" Ukrainian party Svoboda (Freedom).

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Pistol

Leader of French police officers' movement found dead amid troubling spate of police 'suicides'


RT
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 21:03 UTC
French police protest
© Thomas Samson / AFP(L) French gendarmes protect themselves with their shields after receiving a petrol bomb; (R) Maggy Biskupski, President of the association MPC (Movement of Angry Policemen)
A policewoman who led a group that raised awareness about violence against French officers has been found dead, amid a wave of suicides in the country's law enforcement community.

Maggy Biskupski, 36, was discovered dead in her home outside Paris, having apparently shot herself with her service weapon. She was the founder and leader of France's Angry Police Movement, or MPC, which she created after two officers were badly injured by a Molotov cocktail attack in 2016. The incident sparked demonstrations by France's police force, with protesters denouncing the rise of anti-police sentiment and demanding more resources to improve public safety.

The outspoken officer had been under investigation for speaking to the media about attacks against the police without permission from her superiors.

Comment: See also:

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NPC

GQ's liberal base frenzied over their 'woman' of the year quote marks for Serena Williams cover


RT
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 20:15 UTC
Serena Williams
© Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY SPORTS / Reuters
GQ magazine has prompted widespread bemusement for a cover featuring Serena Williams as its "Woman" of the Year - with many questioning the use of quotation marks in the title describing the US tennis star.

The men's magazine revealed covers featuring several of its Men of the Year on Monday - including actors Michael B. Jordan, Henry Golding and Jonah Hill. But it was the cover introducing Williams as its pick for the female version of the accolade which caused the biggest commotion.

The image next to the tennis star - who was clad in a revealing black outfit set off with a chunky Chanel belt - was accompanied by a title with the word 'Men' crossed out and replaced by "Woman," denoting the gender in quotation marks.

Comment: One has to wonder if GQ made her their 'woman' of the year precisely because of her outrageous and unsporting behavior during the US Open rather than despite of it. Her conduct has come to epitomize modern liberal values, after all.

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