Society's ChildS


Dollar

Public cost of Obama library estimated $175M

Dom Calicchio
Fox News
Sat, 24 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Obama Prezlibe
© Chicago TribuneRevised design Obama Presidential Library
The planned Obama Presidential Center in Chicago is being privately funded, but on Friday city officials estimated how much taxpayers will pay for roadwork and other construction around the center: $175 million.

It was the first time city officials put a specific dollar figure on the expected cost to the public, the Chicago Tribune reported. "These proposed investments are intended to make the (center) and surrounding Jackson Park a world-class destination on par with Chicago's Museum Campus," the city's Department of Transportation (CDOT) told the newspaper, in a statement accompanying the figures.

The planned taxpayer-funded work would include widening portions of some surrounding streets and constructing four or five new underpasses, the report said.

Comment: So...the taxpayers pay into the library project and then the city owns a cash generator that doesn't economically serve the neighborhood surrounding it.

See also:

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Attention

Tory MP forced to grovel an apology to Jeremy Corbyn over false spy claim

Lizzy Buchan
Independent
Sat, 24 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Ben Bradley
© BBCTory MP Ben Bradley
A Tory MP has been forced to issue a groveling apology and to make a "substantial" donation to charity after making false claims about Jeremy Corbyn's links with communist spies.

Ben Bradley said his comments were "wholly untrue and false" and agreed to pay out an undisclosed sum to a homeless charity and a food bank in his Mansfield constituency.

Lawyers acting for the Labour leader contacted Mr Bradley this week over a potentially libellous tweet, in which he made unsubstantiated allegations about Mr Corbyn's interactions with a Czech agent who was posing as a diplomat.

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Footprints

Berlin: Antifa and police shut down women's march

William
Defend Europa
Sun, 18 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
March Berlin
© UnknownWomen's march in Berlin
The liberal establishment once again showed its true colours on Saturday, when the Police teamed up with Antifa to shut down a women's march in Berlin.

The march (#Frauenmarsch), organised by Leyla Bilge of the '120 dezibel' campaign, was attended by around a thousand women voicing their concerns over Angela Merkel's open-door immigration policies.

It's widely acknowledged that the tumultuous influx of African and Arab migrants from 2015 onward unleashed a disturbing wave of sexual violence across Germany.

In fact, sexual offences committed by migrants increased by 500% between 2013 and 2016.

Yet evidently, this was not the right kind of feminism in the eyes of the rabid Antifa counter-demonstrators, who crawled out from under their rocks to disrupt this otherwise peaceful protest. And despite their charge that the police are, and I quote, 'fascist pigs', Antifa were all too happy to enlist their services in shutting down what the media has pejoratively termed an 'AfD-march'.

Comment: Odd alliance between police and Antifa. Shutdown shows the relegation of women's issues as not important or are they quashing yet another migrant protest? Or both.

See also:

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Bomb

Militants shell the Damascus-East Ghouta corridor near refugee's Wafedeen Camp


Sputnik
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 20:06 UTC
Graveyard
© AFP2018/Amer AlmohibanyGraveyard destruction Eastern Ghouta, village of Deir-al-Asifir.
"On Friday, they fired 36 mortar shells at the humanitarian corridor, about 20 on Saturday, they were also firing mortar shells today," a Syrian army officer told Sputnik, adding that Syrian soldiers were ready to provide aid to all civilians willing to escape the territory seized by militants.

"But militants are not letting them leave, humanitarian convoys cannot pass either. People are actually being used as a human shield," the officer stressed.

On Saturday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2401 that urges all parties to the conflict to immediately stop all clashes and adhere to a long-term humanitarian pause on the entire territory of Syria in order to ensure the safe and unhindered humanitarian aid supplies as well as medical evacuation of those injured.

Russian President on Saturday discussed the situation in East Ghouta by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, expressing satisfaction with the adoption of the resolution. However, Putin noted that anti-terror efforts in East Ghouta will continue.

The humanitarian situation in the suburb east of the Syrian capital, has drastically deteriorated since February 18, when Syrian government forces launched an operation codenamed Damascus Steel, in a bid to clear the region of militants. According to the Russian military, the terrorist groups in the region are purposely struggling to escalate the situation in East Ghouta, preventing civilians from leaving the area and provoking retaliatory fights against the Syrian government.
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Attention

Slovakian PM: The rights of Europe's women are threatened by migrants


Voice of Europe
Sat, 24 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
RoberFico
© Getty ImagesSlovakian PM Rober Fico
In his comments on not ratifying the Istanbul Convention, Slovakia's Prime Minister Rober Fico said that protecting women's rights is more important than ever.

"Any violence against women is unacceptable and has no place in our society", Fico said to Sme daily. He added that the protection of women's rights is "particularly important in a time when migrants make up an increasing proportion of the European population" and bring with them "the perception of a woman as a submissive human being".

The Istanbul Convention is focused on "preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence" and is a Council of Europe initiative. To be valid within a country, it needs to be ratified by the national government.

Fico announced on Thursday, that Slovakia will not ratify the Istanbul Convention "because he considers it at odds with the country's constitutional definition of marriage as a heterosexual union". Fico therefor prefers to introduce national laws that protect women from domestic violence.

Comment: The convention produced an initiative. It is up to individual countries to contour the ideas and make it effective.

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Clock

Florida school shooting EMS first responder reveals how botched the response was

Chris Enloe
The Blaze
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 20:35 UTC
florida shooting
© Joe Raedle/Getty Images
An anonymous first responder spoke to a WSVN-TV reporter about what he saw when he arrived to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 - the day that 17 innocent people were murdered by a lone gunman.

The EMT, who was too scared to give his name, shared a jaw-dropping account that provides context to reports that have already established the botched response to the active shooter situation.

What did he say?

According to the first responder, everything about the response was completely botched.

"Everything I was trained on mass casualty events says they did the wrong thing," he explained. "You don't wait for the scene to be cleared. You go in immediately armed. Retrieve the victims. You can't leave the victims laying there."

"We were asking to go in. Asking the scene commander to go in. Why are we all standing around? Why are we not having patients to treat? Why are we not going into the building and retrieving these kids? The response every time was law enforcement did not clear the scene and would not allow medical personnel to go in," he added.

Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

Damore, diversity, and disruption at Portland State University panel discussion

Andy Ngo
Quillette
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 19:59 UTC
James damore
© Freethinkers of PSUJames Damore speaks at a Freethinkers of Portland State University panel.
I held my breath as the protesters stood up and began their walk-out. "Please, let it be peaceful," I said to myself. In the weeks leading up to the event, we had received threats of violence. One person on social media said he would bring explosives. The university administration found the threats credible enough to send a team of armed campus police to patrol the lecture hall. As the protesters neared the exit, a woman suddenly lunged for the audio equipment, pulled leads out indiscriminately, and knocked some of the equipment to the floor. The microphones stopped working. Another protester shoved a student volunteer into the door.

What caused this extreme reaction?

Ex-Google engineer James Damore had been invited to speak as part of a panel discussion on diversity, held at Portland State University on February 17. As I had previously written in the Wall Street Journal, we were anticipating controversy. After the incident, however, the disruption and violent misconduct were downplayed. Willamette Week, a left-wing alternative newspaper, was dismissive: "[The Freethinkers] expected controversy. They warned of violence. None arrived." Perhaps not the kind of violence that had been threatened, but there was intentional "criminal mischief," hundreds of dollars in property damage, and unnecessary disruption lasting just over four minutes (not the 30 seconds the Willamette Week incorrectly reported).


Comment: Kudos to James Damore for continuing to put himself out there of behalf of common sense.

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Russian Flag

Strength in adversity: Despite sanctions, Russia's sovereign credit rating was just upgraded

Seraphim Hanisch
Russia Feed
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Adversity has helped the Russian Federation create a more stable internal economy, and the country is becoming a better investment prospect
Putin
On February 23, 2018, Standard and Poors raised its estimation of Russia's sovereign credit rating from BB+ to BBB-. This is good news for the Russian Federation as it continues to realign its economy in response to the various sanctions that the West, mainly the United States, keep imposing on the nation.

Under President Vladimir V Putin's leadership, the country has gradually improved since the peak of the sanctions crisis near the end of 2015. The rating change means that Russia is no longer considered as "junk" investment territory. The Financial Times reports that S&P attributed the upgrade to the country's "prudent policy response" taken in response to the sanctions. The analysts further said this:
The ratings are supported by Russia's commitment to conservative macroeconomic management, its strong net external asset position, low government debt, and relatively high monetary flexibility, including the flexible exchange rate regime. The ratings are constrained by our assessment of Russia's economy, which remains dependent on revenues from oil and gas exports, as well as by wider institutional and regulatory weaknesses. Further constraints include geopolitical tension, and resulting international sanctions, creating a drag on Russia's long-term economic growth prospects."

Comment: Russian economy under Putin: Quality of life tripled, foreign debt fell 75%

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Passport

Activists are warning illegals not to travel in Florida - immigration arrests rising

D. C. McAllister
PJ Media
Sun, 25 Feb 2018 19:40 UTC
daca protester
© Sipa via Associated Press
As arrests of illegal immigrants increase due to actions taken by President Donald Trump to enforce laws greatly ignored by Barack Obama, civil rights activists in Florida are issuing travel warnings and tips on how to avoid law enforcement.

A Florida immigration coalition composed of activist groups, such as the Council of American-Islamic Relations of Florida, the Women's March, and the Florida Immigrant Coalition, are urging anyone who's in the country illegally to "reconsider visiting Florida and especially recommended to avoid high-risk areas, including ports, airports, and Greyhound stations," as reported by the Miami New Times.

Activists have staged events across the state to get out the word to illegal immigrants who are thinking about vacationing in Florida during Spring Break. They're also posting information on which areas to avoid as cooperation has stepped up between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and 17 sheriffs across the state, a decision that has been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Comment:

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Jet3

Russia deploys state-of-the-art Su-57 fighter jets to Syria for radar and electronic warfare tests


RT
Mon, 26 Feb 2018 19:44 UTC
Sukhoi PAK FA T-50 Su-57
© sukhoi.org / Global Look PressSukhoi PAK FA T-50 (Su-57) fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
New details have emerged on the deployment of Russia's most-advanced fighter jets to Syria. The state-of-the-art Su-57s are in the region to test their electronic warfare and radar capabilities, an insider has said.

Last week, the Russian Defense Ministry reportedly moved four Su-57s, which have been built for trials, to Khmeimim Airbase in Syria. The deployment was seemingly confirmed by Israeli satellite images and footage taken from the ground, but neither the Russian military nor the producer of the advanced warplane would comment on the move.
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