Society's ChildS


Question

Flashback Best of the Web: Local medic writes The Times: "No patients have experienced symptoms of nerve agent poisoning in Salisbury"


Moon of Alabama
Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:30 UTC
hazmat suits Sergey Skripal
© Ben Stansall / Agence France-PresseAll a big show? Salisbury, southern England, March 8, 2018
There have been some interesting developments in the alleged poisoning case of the British-Russian double-agent Sergej Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The British governments standing on the issue is getting worse as more inconsistencies and doubts on its statements come to light. The international support for its claims is weakening.

On March 4 the Skripals collapsed on a public bench in Salisbury in England after they had visited a pub and a restaurant. They were brought to the local hospital. A local policemen was probably also affected. (See our previous posts, liked at the end, for many additional details.) A week later, on March 12, the British government said that a nerve agent was the cause of the incident and accused Russia of being responsible for the act:
Mr Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with Novichok-a military-grade nerve agent developed by Russia. Based on this capability, combined with Russia's record of conducting state-sponsored assassinations-including against former intelligence officers whom it regards as legitimate targets-the UK Government concluded it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for this reckless and despicable act.
Novichok is not a nerve agent but supposedly a group of chemical substances investigated in the Soviet Union for their nerve agent potential. Only recently have some of these substances been synthesized.

Comment:

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Cloud Lightning

Looks like the future ain't what it used to be

Chris Martenson
Peak Prosperity
Fri, 30 Mar 2018 20:36 UTC
stormy weather
Looks like we're in for a much rockier ride than many expect

This marks our our 10th year of doing this. And by "this", we mean using data, logic and reason to support the very basic conclusion that infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible.

Surprisingly, this simple, rational idea -- despite its huge and fast-growing pile of corroborating evidence -- still encounters tremendous pushback from society. Why? Because it runs afoul of most people's deep-seated belief systems.

Our decade of experience delivering this message has hammered home what behavioral scientists have been telling us for years -- that, with rare exceptions, we humans are not rational. We're rationalizers. We try to force our perception of reality to fit our beliefs; rather than the other way around.

Which is why the vast amount of grief, angst and encroaching dread that most people feel in western cultures today is likely due to the fact that, deep down, whether we're willing to admit it to ourselves or not, everybody already knows the truth: Our way of life is unsustainable.
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Cardboard Box

The reasons why a dollar collapse is inevitable

Alasdair Macleod
Goldmoney
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
dollar crash
"Naturally, the smooth termination of the gold-exchange standard, the restoration of the gold standard, and supplemental and interim measures that might be called for, in particular with a view to organizing international credit on this new basis, will have to be deliberately agreed upon between countries, in particular those on which there devolves special responsibility by virtue of their economic and financial capabilities."

General Charles de Gaulle, February 1965
We have been here before - twice. The first time was in the late 1920s, which led to the dollar's devaluation in 1934. And the second was 1966-68, which led to the collapse of the Bretton Woods System. Even though gold is now officially excluded from the monetary system, it does not save the dollar from a third collapse and will still be its yardstick.

This article explains why another collapse is due for the dollar. It describes the errors that led to the two previous episodes, and the lessons from them relevant to understanding the position today. And just because gold is no longer officially money, it will not stop the collapse of the dollar, measured in gold, again.

General de Gaulle made himself very unpopular with the international monetary establishment by holding the press conference from which the opening quote was taken. Yet, his prophecy, that the gold exchange standard of Bretton Woods would end in tears unless its shortcomings were addressed by a return to a gold standard, turned out to be correct shortly after. What the establishment did not like was the bald implication that it was wrong, and that the correct thing to do was to reinstate the gold standard. Plus ça change, as he might say if he was still with us.

Comment: See also: and for a possible way to protect yourself: Hyperinflation, Nails in the Coffin and Silver Bullets

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Network

Iran pursues building of major new trade route with Iraq, Syria and Lebanon reaching to Mediterranean Sea


Sputnik
Mon, 09 Apr 2018 02:56 UTC
Iran
© Sputnik/ Dmitriy Vinogradov
The ambitious project will reportedly connect Iran with three other Middle Eastern countries and is expected to serve as Tehran's main transit route for exports.

Iran plans to build a highway connecting Tehran with cities in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and provide the country with access to the Mediterranean Sea, Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper reported.

According to the media outlet, Iranian authorities have already signed bilateral agreements on the construction of a 1,700 km long land route with authorities in Baghdad and Damascus.
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Arrow Down

American celebrity scandals: If adults won't grow up, nobody will

Peggy Noonan
The Wall Street Journal
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
From Facebook to Harvey Weinstein, America's scandals amount to a giant crisis of maturity.
Mark Zuckerberg in Roman bust
© Chad Crowe
I want to write about something I think is a problem in our society, that is in fact at the heart of many of our recent scandals, and yet is obscure enough that it doesn't have a name. It has to do with forgetting who you are. It has to do with refusing to be fully adult and neglecting to take on, each day, the maturity, grace and self-discipline that are expected of adults and part of their job. That job is to pattern adulthood for those coming up, who are looking, always, for How To Do It-how to be a fully formed man, a fully grown woman.

It has to do with not being able to fully reckon with your size, not because it is small but because it is big. I see more people trembling under the weight of who they are.

Comment: Neither Weinstein nor Zuckerberg are honest enough to be examples to follow. Decades of MSM propaganda funded by the war-mongering financial elite, left-leaning educational system, instant gratification of social media technologies created an infantile and dumb society that is not prepared for the realities of the life. See also:


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Hiliter

John Helmer writes letter to Salisbury Hospital regarding Yulia Skripal

John Helmer
Dances with Bears
Sun, 08 Apr 2018 20:34 UTC
Salisbury Hospital
Salisbury Hospital becomes secret rendition center for Yulia Skripal

Salisbury Hospital's chief administrator and chief doctor refuse to say they are holding consent forms signed by Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal. Without those forms, and proof the hospital has obtained them from the Skripals since they regained consciousness last week, the hospital is making claims about their privacy which are improper, according to the practice rules of the British National Health Service, and unlawful violations of their human rights, according to British and European law.

Late on April 4, Cara Charles-Barks, the Salisbury Hospital chief executive, said by email: "Due to patient confidentiality, the [Salisbury Hospital] Trust is not able to enter into further correspondence about the clinical care of patients." This was her reply to the request that she confirm her hospital's standard practice for communication between patients and their next of kin; and the particular next-of-kin arrangements which the Skripals have agreed with Salisbury Hospital. For details of that story, read this.
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Bad Guys

Islamist group Jaysh al-Islam admits using banned weapons against Kurds in Aleppo


RT
Sat, 07 Apr 2018 21:45 UTC
Jaysh al-Islam
Jaysh al-Islam
The Jaysh al-Islam militant group fighting government forces in Syria has admitted to using "forbidden" weapons against Kurdish militia in Aleppo. The group's statement comes after reports of chemical gas being used in shelling Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsood district.

The hardline Islamist group did not not specify what substances were used, but claimed that it will punish those responsible.

The group's statement reads: "During the clashes one of the Jaysh al-Islam brigade leaders used [weapons] forbidden in this kind of confrontations."

The group claims that the brigade commander in question was summoned to a military court, where it was decided he is to be held accountable. "This situation is contrary to the charter of Jaysh al-Islam," says the group.

Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood was shelled with mortars containing chemical agents earlier on Thursday.

Comment: See: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Perfidious Albion: If Russia is a Rogue State, What is the UK?

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Eye 1

"Bureaucratic tricks": Niece of Yulia Skripal refused visa, recent phone call with her was strange


RT
Sun, 08 Apr 2018 01:52 UTC
Viktoria Skripal, niece of poisoned former double agent Sergei Skripal
© Tatyana Makeyeva / ReutersViktoria Skripal, niece of poisoned former double agent Sergei Skripal
Sergei Skripal's niece has written a letter to Theresa May after the UK abruptly denied her an entry visa to visit relatives, who are recovering from alleged poisoning by a military grade nerve agent, Victoria Skripal told Ruptly.

Shocked by the British authorities' refusal to grant her a visa to visit relatives recovering from the March 4 attack in Salisbury, Viktoria Skripal told RT's Ruptly video agency that she is planning to plead the case to the British Prime minister - especially after she was forced to tell Skiripal's 90-year-old mother about the poisoning in order to get the needed paperwork.

"The main thing I want now is to see them in person in order to personally tell our grandmother about the state of health of her son and granddaughter. But my visa was denied," Viktoria said, quoting the text of the letter she plans to send to PM May.

Comment: See Also: Also check out SOTT radios: Behind the Headlines: Perfidious Albion: If Russia is a Rogue State, What is the UK?

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Heart - Black

City of Detroit to resume brutal policy of mass water shutoffs

Debra Watson
World Socialist Web Site
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 17:54 UTC
detroit water shut off
© Rebecca Cook/ReutersProtesters demonstrate against water shut-offs in Detroit in July 2014.
More than 17,000 Detroit households face having their water turned off as the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) resumes mass water service shutoffs to city homes this month. Since the Detroit municipal bankruptcy devastated city workers' pensions and jobs in 2014, the DWSD has issued water shutoff notices to over 100,000 residences.

Between 2014 and 2017 Detroit saw more than one in seven of its 677,000 residents lose access to running water.

Because cold weather prohibits the smooth and cost-effective execution of water shutoffs, the annual culling waits for the spring thaw. Homrich Wrecking, a private contractor hired by the city to turn off water at the street, or rip out water connections when warranted, has just had their contract extended by the Detroit City Council to 2021, an indication that no one among the city's officialdom expects this annual horror to end any time soon.

Comment:

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Megaphone

Nine major studies reveal US anti-drugs program DARE may actually make problem worse

John Vibes
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 12:00 UTC
Nine Major Studies Reveal DARE Program Actually Makes Drug Problem WORSE
© The Free Thought ProjectDARE has been around for decades, despite the fact that every single study done on the program has shown that it was ineffective at best, and counterproductive at worst.
In the mid-1980s when the crack epidemic was in full swing, there were a number of public programs and policies put into place that promised to curb drug trafficking and thus addiction. Many of these policies centered around a mentality of abstinence and zero tolerance, such as mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes, as well as "educational" programs like "Just Say No" or "DARE."

Nearly 40 years later, it is clear that the establishment's "War on Drugs" has done nothing to prevent drug addiction, and has instead created a long list of other problems, like violent criminal black markets where tainted drugs are the norm. The generation that grew up on DARE and Just Say No is now experiencing an unprecedented rate of heroin addiction with an overwhelming number of overdoses.

If the evidence in front of your eyes is not enough to convince you, consider the fact that every single study done on the infamous DARE program showed that it was ineffective at best, and counterproductive at worst. As a result, the organization has seen their revenue dwindle over the years, falling from $10 million in 2002 to $3.7 million in 2010.

Comment: The world is turning away from the catastrophic failure that is the 'war on drugs', which was forced on them by the United States (who at the same actors with the US facilitated and profited from the drugs trade) because, looking at the state of drug use in the US, evidently the policy never has or will work:

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