Society's ChildS


USA

Kid Rock upset at 'fake news' accusations he's violating election law

Kid Rock
Kid Rock has hit back at 'fake news' accusations that he was violating election law for not registering his candidacy or reporting campaign donations in his run for senator.

The musician, who was born Robert Ritchie and lives near Detroit, claims the press is 'misinformed' because he has not officially announced his candidacy, he said Friday.

The violation reports emerged after a watchdog group filed a complaint against him for allegedly not complying with candidate filing requirements.

MIB

Report: Dozens of Al-Nusra and ISIS-affiliated jihadists came into Germany posing as refugees

Al nusra
© File Photo Alaa Al-Faqir / Reuters
Several dozen Syrian extremists linked to both al-Nusra Front and ISIS, who committed "numerous massacres" of civilians and captives, have sought asylum in Germany, Der Spiegel reports.

Some 60 members of a Syrian militant group called Liwa Owais al-Korani or the Owais al-Korani Brigade arrived to Germany as refugees, Der Spiegel reports, citing sources within the German security services.

The Owais al-Korani Brigade initially fought on the side of the Free Syrian Army but then switched sides and joined al-Nusra Front (now self-styled Jabhat Fateh al-Sham) - Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, the weekly says, adding that the group also fought alongside Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL) in the Raqqa province for months.

Comment: For an in-depth discussion concerning the inns and outs of 'Merkel's Migrant Bomb', have a listen:

The Truth Perspective: Weapons of Mass Migration: Interview with Michael Springmann on Europe's Migrant Crisis


Cross

Texas, thou hast sinned: Progressives blame Houston's success for the hurricane disaster

Trump in Houston
Who says progressives don't believe in religion? They may not believe in Jehovah or Jesus, but they certainly believe in Old Testament-style wrath against sinners. Real Noah and the Ark stuff. Witness the emerging theme on the media left that Texas, and especially Houston, are at fault for the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.

This has happened even faster than usual, perhaps because the Katrina II scenario of emergency mismanagement didn't pan out. The state, local and federal governments have done a competent job under terrible conditions, and stories about neighborly charity, racial goodwill, the heroism of rescuers, and Big Business donating money and goods don't fit into any agenda. Whinging over Melania's heels also lacks political legs.

Comment: See also:


Windsock

Harvey's unlikely hero: Meteorologist Jeff Linder

Jeff Lindner
© JOE STINEBAKER/HANDOUTHarris County Flood Control District meteorologist Jeff Lindner.
Move over, Beyoncé, Houston has a new celebrity: Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for the Harris County Flood Control District.

As Tropical Storm Harvey inundated the greater Houston area with as much as 51 inches of rain over the past week, Mr. Lindner, 35 years old, has been a reassuring voice in a near-apocalyptic disaster, calmly updating millions via televised news conferences and Twitter posts about rising water levels in bayous and reservoirs.

To the multitudes worrying about whether floodwaters were inching closer to their homes, Mr. Lindner, with his blue button-down shirt, government lanyard around his neck and disheveled, close-cropped hair, has become a no-nonsense hero.

"What we've been thankful for in Jeff Lindner is that he's giving us straight answers, whether we like them or not," said Emma McGarity, a 50-year-old secretary.

Comment: Harvey updates: Houston declares flash flood emergency, unprecedented 1.2m rainfall


Info

The hippie commune deep in Missouri's Bible Belt

east wind commune
© Max LondbergOn a recent day, an East Wind guitarist sang, “That I am me, and you are you my friend. Your mind creates all that you see.”
Nestled amid several dozen hilly acres in Ozark County, in what would later become Trump's America, 16 people once banded together to help spread socialism.

Decades later, the East Wind community is the largest it's ever been, with 73 members sharing more than 1,000 acres.

But despite a long history in this county on the Arkansas border, where Trump received 80 percent of the vote, East Winders are outsiders.

The Ozark locals regard them with a sense of suspicion and sanctimony.

Peggy Williams, 44, who was raised and still lives in this county, said those at East Wind "don't bother nobody."

"Least they're not going out killing people, least I know of," she said before pausing. "Might be a pile of dead bodies back there."

Comment: From the end of the article:
East Wind was in debt from land acquisition and capital investment until about 10 years ago. Money, which some members disdain, is now flowing into the community. And people are remaining here longer. The average stay has doubled in recent times, to about five years.

Though difficult to estimate, scholars believe there were roughly 50,000 communes in the U.S. by 1974, with as many as a million members. But the vast majority disbanded over the next decade. Today, there are only about 300 communes listed in a directory from the Fellowship for Intentional Communities.



2 + 2 = 4

Fake Scholarship: How higher education "studies" men

men's studies and feminism
In 2013, Stony Brook University (part of the SUNY system) revealed plans for a new "Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities." Since I'm a Stony Brook grad, I was quite interested in this development. Would the new Center do anything to enhance the school's reputation for scholarship?

I didn't think it would, but the announcement of the ten advisory board members erased all doubt. Six were well-known women: feminist icon Gloria Steinem, actress Jane Fonda, author Eve Ensler (author of the play The Vagina Monologues) and leading women's studies figures Madeleine Kunin, Catharine Stimpson, and Carol Gilligan, whose claims that girls were being denied their "voices" in education led to Christina Hoff Sommers' book The War Against Boys.

Heart

Houston rescue images destroying media's race narrative

Countless pics and videos show white, black and Latino Americans aiding each other without hesitation

Houston rescue pics
For the past two weeks, media panels on CNN have painted a picture of America as a nation deeply divided by race. But the countless rescue stories out of Houston, and the images of men rushing in with boats to rescue whites, blacks and Hispanics from rooftops and flooded homes and streets have shown Americans something different.

"The racist thing is going out the window because of the hurricane that happened in Texas..." a Florida woman named Jennifer Santana who goes by the pen name Political Avenger said in a YouTube video that got a thousand likes on Monday.

Comment: So if everyday people are capable of helping each other in times of need, what's really going on?


Bullseye

Shooting the messenger: Drug-carrying 'narco pigeon' shot and killed by Argentina police

Pigeons
© Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters
Argentine police have shot and killed a homing pigeon after it was spotted smuggling drugs and other contraband into a state prison.

The bird, dubbed a 'narco pigeon' by local media, was found to be carrying a 7.5 grams of cannabis, 44 sedative pills, and a USB stick inside a small fabric backpack sewn into its feathers.

The drug mule's owners took advantage of the fact that 15,000 pigeons were being released about 10 kilometers away that day, reportedly at an event being held at a racetrack.

TV

Glenn Beck cuts staff at his media companies citing unspecified 'hurdles'

Glenn Beck
Conservative Christian TV commentator Glenn Beck speaks during a rally in Jerusalem's Old City, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011.
Glenn Beck announced that he laid off a sizable portion of the workforce at his production company and conservative-learning news outlet on Thursday, citing the "structural challenges facing media companies today."

He laid off slightly more than 20 percent of the combined workforce of The Blaze, a right-wing multiplatform news organization, and Mercury Radio Arts, his production company.

Under the heading "disrupt, or be disrupted," Beck noted that the past year has been hard on his business and emphasized the necessity of innovation.

"This year has been one of the hardest years of my life," he wrote. "I've learned so much about myself, my friends and coworkers, and basic human nature. I have also learned a lot about my business and what I believe it will take to succeed in tomorrow's America. The industrial revolution took 100 years to unfold; industry-altering change now occurs in days, not centuries."

Info

Macron party politician M'jid El Guerra detained after hospitalizing colleague

French police car
© AFP Photo/Kenzo Tribouillard
Police officials in France say a lawmaker has been detained after a fight with another politician.

Two police officials said Friday that M'jid El Guerrab, a member of French President Emmanuel Macron's party, was being questioned over a fight he had Wednesday with Socialist Party lawmaker Boris Faure.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't allowed to speak about an ongoing investigation.

Earlier Friday, El Guerrab said on his Facebook page that he is taking a leave of absence from his party. He acknowledged he had a verbal and physical altercation with Faure and said they were on bad terms since the electoral campaign for legislative elections in June.

French media have reported that Faure was hospitalized after El Guerrab hit him with a motorcycle helmet.