Society's ChildS


Sherlock

Investigators from European Commission raid Rupert Murdoch's Fox HQ in London


RT
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 15:50 UTC
rupert murdoch
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
The British headquarters of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox has been raided by investigators from the European Commission (EC) over possible breaches of antitrust rules.

The EC confirmed media reports on Tuesday that they carried out an "unannounced inspection" of the company over concerns that they may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels. The investigation is looking into companies active in the distribution of media rights linked to sports events in several member states, the EC confirmed.

Investigators gained access to the company's offices in Hammersmith, west London, which is home to the Fox Network TV channel business, and they seized a number of documents and computer records, according to The Daily Telegraph. The Fox Networks Group said they are fully cooperating with the inspection.
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Snakes in Suits

Lawsuit alleges late Saudi prince owed $110k for private porn shoots


RT
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 15:46 UTC
Saud al-Faisal
© Amr Dalsh / ReutersSaud al-Faisal
A French court heard that Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal had a penchant for commissioning private porn films. A producer claims that when he passed away in 2015, the Saudi left the company out of pocket to the tune of $110,000.

Prince Saud al-Faisal, who served as Saudi Arabia's foreign minister for 40 years until his death, was a regular visitor to the French capital, where he stayed in the lap of luxury.

Now SARL Atyla, a company producing pornographic films, is suing SCI 25 Avenue Bugeaud, a firm managed by al-Faisal's daughter, Lana. The company wants to be reimbursed for services allegedly rendered for the prince.
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Magnify

Zuckerberg reveals his thinking at Congressional hearing - leaves notes on table in open view of photographers

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 15:26 UTC
Zuckerberg testifies congress
It looks like Mark Zuckerberg just got an embarrassing taste of his own medicine.

The Facebook CEO must've been shaken up after being grilled by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Ted Cruz yesterday just before taking the first of several breaks during yesterday's Odyssey-like Senate hearing, because he left a copy of his hearing notes on the table in plain view of press photographers, who were quick to "document" them.

While photographers only managed to photograph the top pages of Zuckerberg's lengthy memo, they provided insight into how Zuckerberg would've handled questions about whether Facebook should be broken up - which he was never asked, though Sen. Lindsey Graham came closest by asking Zuck if he felt Facebook had monopolistic power (Zuckerberg elicited chuckles by claiming "it doesn't feel that way to me" in response).
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Clipboard

Report: Cambridge Analytica pitched 'psychological profiling' services to multiple US campaigns


RT
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 09:00 UTC
FB Cambridge Analytica
© Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFPA laptop showing the Facebook logo is held alongside a Cambridge Analytica sign at the entrance to the building housing the offices of Cambridge Analytica, in central London .
Cambridge Analytica boasted about its possession of unique data in pitches to multiple Republican election campaigns after harvesting personal information from 87 million Facebook users, a new report reveals.

The data mining firm, which worked for President Donald Trump's campaign in 2016, pitched its "unique" data and "psychological profiling" abilities, which could be used to micro-target voters on Facebook, according to a Channel 4 News report.

According to the documents seen by Channel 4, Cambridge Analytica told prospective clients that its data had been successfully used by the North Carolina Republican Party, the conservative For America advocacy group and a number of Republican campaigns in Arkansas, North Carolina and New Hampshire, which were funded by the John Bolton Super PAC.

Comment: The truly crazy thing about all this is that it's actually coming as a surprise to people. It should be obvious by now that this type of data analysis is done constantly and is used to sell you everything from laundry soap to political candidates. The only thing mildly remarkable about the current 'scandal' is that Cambridge Analytica may have been using data they weren't supposed to use. And no one would be freaking out about this if it was used by the Hillary campaign.

See also:

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No Entry

3 people dead and over 100 sickened from smoking synthetic pot laced with rat poison

Andrea Miller
ABC news
Tue, 10 Apr 2018 15:21 UTC
synthetic marjuana
© Susannah Bryan/Sun Sentinel via Getty Images,Synthetic marijuana, sold in colorful packages with names like Cloud Nine, Maui Wowie and Mr. Nice Guy.
A third person who experienced severe bleeding after using synthetic marijuana has died in Illinois, health officials confirmed.

There are now 107 people in central Illinois and the Chicago area who experienced severe bleeding after using the synthetic pot, often called spice, K2 or fake weed, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

"Each day we've seen the number of cases rise," said director of the IDPH Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D. "Synthetic cannabinoids are unsafe. They are not regulated and people don't know what chemicals may be in them, like rat poison. While efforts are underway to get the contaminated drugs out of circulation, it's possible they could re-emerge. We urge people not to use synthetic cannabinoids now or ever."

Comment: Health officials warn against synthetic pot as 22 users report bleeding from the eyes and ears

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Heart - Black

Cop who beat 13 y.o. old girl turned in by his supervisor

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 10 Apr 2018 15:09 UTC
police beating girl
Body camera footage of a Gloucester Township police officer was recently released which captured the disturbing assault of a small 13-year-old girl by a massive cop. The attack was so deeply troubling that the officer has actually been suspended and subsequently charged-after his own cops turned on him.

The incident began on March 8 and was captured on another officer's body camera. It shows Gloucester Township police officer John Flinn repeatedly punching and attempting to choke a small 13-year-old girl as he places her in handcuffs.

According to prosecutors the attack was entirely unprovoked as the girl was complying with the officer, yet he began attacking her anyway. Camden County prosecutors said the juvenile followed police instructions and allowed Flinn to handcuff her, but the crazed cop "struck her twice on the side of the face, causing her to cry out in pain."

Police originally said they were responding to a disturbance call in the Camdem County township. However, no more details on why they contacted the 13-year-old girl have been released.
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Propaganda

BBC journo deletes tweet doubting 'staged' scenes in Syria: Twittersphere calls him on it


RT
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 14:59 UTC
Twitter
© Thomas White / Reuters
A BBC journalist expressed skepticism about an alleged chemical attack in Syria that the West has largely - and without evidence - blamed on Bashar Assad. He tweeted that he was tired of "staged" scenes before deleting the post.

"Sick and tired of activists and rebels using corpses of dead children to stage emotive scenes for Western consumption. Then they wonder why some serious journos are questioning part of the narrative," BBC Foreign News Producer Riam Dalati wrote on Twitter. He later deleted that tweet, but not before others in the Twittersphere managed to grab a screenshot of it.

Comment:

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Airplane

Over 250 dead in plane crash outside Algiers - Worst air crash in Algerian history

Ruth Michaelson
The Guardian
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 14:59 UTC
Il-76 transporter was carrying soldiers and their families when it crashed soon after takeoff
algeria plane crash
© APRescue workers attend the scene of the crash.
A military plane carrying soldiers and their families has crashed soon after takeoff in northern Algeria, killing 257 people in what appears to be the worst plane crash in the north African country's history.

The defence ministry said 247 passengers, made up of Algerian soldiers and their relatives, died along with 10 crew members when the plane crashed into a field on Wednesday, next to an airbase in the town of Boufarik, 20 miles (30km) from the capital, Algiers.

The cause of the crash was unclear and an investigation had been launched, the ministry said. The head of the Algerian army, the vice-minister of defence, and military chief of staff visited the crash site to inspect the wreckage.

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Camera

Syrian Army finds White Helmets film set for propaganda videos in Eastern Ghouta


FARS News Agency
Tue, 10 Apr 2018 14:53 UTC
white helmets
The Syrian Army troops could have found a site used by the pro-militant White Helmet Organization to produce its fake videos during their mop-up operations in Eastern Ghouta, an Arab media outlet reported on Tuesday.

Al-Ahd news website reported that the army has discovered a location in the small town of Saqba in Eastern Ghouta that was used by the White Helmets to shoot and produce videos that depict the army as a savage force that kills civilians mercilessly.

It further said that the army men found a series of cameras and film-production equipment at the site.
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Star of David

Oops! Israel examining ways to expel Dublin Lord Mayor who is visiting Ramallah after bureaucratic screw-up on ban

Jack Power
The Irish Times
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 14:36 UTC
Dublin Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha BDS
Dublin’s Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha said he had accepted the invitation because Dublin City Council supports the people of Palestine and was critical of Israel.
Israeli Government officials say misspelling of Mícheál MacDonncha's name allowed him into the country

Dublin's Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha said he had accepted the invitation because Dublin City Council supports the people of Palestine and was critical of Israel.

Israeli authorities say they are examining ways to expel Dublin's Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha and will issue him a letter after he leaves Israel stating that he will not be permitted to visit again.

The Mayor is currently in the West Bank city of Ramallah after border control officials at Ben-Gurion airport failed to prevent his entry last night due to the misspelling of his name on the warrant issued preventing him from entering the country.

Comment: Twitter, as always, is there to comment:



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