Society's ChildS


Jet2

Two F-15s scrambled to intercept unresponsive aircraft over West Palm Beach where Trump is staying


FOX News
Sat, 18 Feb 2017 16:10 UTC
US F-15 fighter jet
© Reuters
Two F-15s caused a 'sonic boom' as they raced from their base in Homestead, Fla., Friday to intercept an unresponsive general aviation aircraft that flew near Palm Beach during a stay by President Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

The jets flew at supersonic speeds and residents were startled by the loud boom, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD, said in a statement. The two fighters were able to establish communication with the aircraft. This incident occurred at about 7 p.m. ET. No further details were immediately available.

"The intent of military intercepts is to have the identified aircraft re-establish communications with local FAA air traffic controllers and instruct the pilot to follow air traffic controllers' instructions to land safely for follow-on action," the statement read.
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Attention

One person dead, up to 25 injured in passenger train derailment in Belgium


RT
Sat, 18 Feb 2017 15:23 UTC
Train wreck
© Eric Vidal / ReutersRescuers and police officers stand next to the wreckage of a passenger train after it derailed in Kessel-Lo near Leuven, Belgium February 18, 2017.
A passenger train has derailed on the way from Leuven to Brussels in Belgium, killing at least one person and leaving up to 25 people injured, according to local media reports.

The Leuven fire department has confirmed to local media that two people are in critical condition and 23 others have been injured. 14 people have already been transferred to local hospitals for treatment.

"The victim who died, was not on the train," Leuven mayor Louis Tobback told VTM. "A judicial inquiry should determine what that person was doing there," he added.
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Cell Phone

About time: Toronto school bans cellphones from class

Laura Beeston
The Star
Sat, 18 Feb 2017 15:52 UTC
cellphone
Earl Grey Senior Public School students were told this week that they would have to leave their cell phones in their lockers during and between classes starting Tuesday.

The school is enforcing the ban after staff, parents and students looked "to minimize distractions in the classroom and reduce the inappropriate uses of the devices during the school day," school principal Bill Vatzolas wrote in a letter to parents this week.

The Grades 7 and 8 students will be permitted to use their devices during lunch hour with restrictions, Vatzolas wrote. But the rules will be: no social media, no texting, no taking or viewing photos and videos.
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Briefcase

Police shooting of unarmed Texas teen ends in settlement for $3.25 million, officer fired


RT
Fri, 17 Feb 2017 22:42 UTC
David Joseph
© kxan / YouTubeDavid Joseph
The city council of Austin, Texas, has approved a $3.25 million settlement with the family of African-American teenager David Joseph, who was fatally shot by a city police officer in 2016. The settlement is the largest of its kind sanctioned by the city.

The Austin City Council authorized the settlement on Thursday minutes after Mayor Steve Adler announced the sum, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

The settlement stems from a February 8, 2016, encounter during which Officer Geoffrey Freeman, also a black male, fired twice at a nude, unarmed Joseph, 17, in response to calls that a man was harassing residents in a North Austin neighborhood.


Comment: The wanton abuse and murder of innocent or unstable people will never end in the U.S. until every guilty officer - and their superiors - are made to account for their grisly behavior. So, keep suing and incarcerate (not merely fire) the guilty!

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Cloud Lightning

The Oroville Dam is just the beginning of California's flood fears

Kurt Snibbe
East Bat Times
Fri, 17 Feb 2017 14:12 UTC
Oroville Dam
© William Croyle/California Department of Water Resources via APThis Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, aerial photo released by the California Department of Water Resources shows the damaged spillway with eroded hillside in Oroville, Calif. Water will continue to flow over an emergency spillway at the nation’s tallest dam for another day or so, officials said Sunday.

RUNNETH OVER

This week, 188,000 Californians were evacuated because an emergency spillway was damaged at Lake Oroville.
With more rain coming and a massive snow pack piling up, the state's reservoirs and dams are being pushed to their limits

DAMS AND RESERVOIRS

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's National Inventory of Dams, there are 1,585 dams in California.

At 770 feet tall the Lake Oroville Dam is the tallest in the U.S. It was finished in 1967.
Here is a profile of dams in California from the National Inventory of Dams.
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Sherlock

New Mexico Senator proposes bill to ban looking for Bigfoot

Piper McGowin
The Daily Sheeple
Fri, 17 Feb 2017 15:42 UTC
Bigfoot ban
You probably thought New Mexico wouldn't need an actual bill to specifically ban this.

Well, then you would be wrong.

Apparently public funds have been expended for college professors to take class trips in search of Bigfoot in New Mexico. To stop this practice, Senator George Munoz has sponsored a bill to ban public funds from being spent on "looking for or catching a fictitious creature" in his state.

To drive this point home, the bill doesn't just specify publicly funded searches for Bigfoot, but for Yeti, the Abominable Snowman, Pokemon, leprechauns and the Bogeyman as well.

Comment: Stay strong, New Mexico. The truth is out there.
'Bigfoots are real. The evidence shows it'

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Cowboy Hat

Multi-billion dollar investors urge banks to divest from #DAPL


RT
Sat, 18 Feb 2017 14:10 UTC
Wells Fargo protests
© Stephanie Keith / Reuters
More than 120 investors with over $650 billion in assets in banks financing the Dakota Access Pipeline have called on the financial institutes to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's call to have the pipeline rerouted from Native American land.

Citigroup, Wells Fargo, SunTrust Bank and BNP Paribas are among the 17 banks targeted in a letter signed by pension funds, asset management companies, and organizations.

The signatories have a total of $653 billion in assets under their control.

"We are concerned that if DAPL's projected route moves forward, the result will almost certainly be an escalation of conflict and unrest as well as possible contamination of the water supply," the letter reads.

"Banks with financial ties to the Dakota Access Pipeline may be implicated in these controversies and may face long-term brand and reputational damage resulting from consumer boycotts and possible legal liability."
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Megaphone

National strike: Over 100 protests organized against Trump, with more to come


RT
Sat, 18 Feb 2017 13:49 UTC
anti-Trump protests
© TheDustyRebel/Facebook
A day after the "Day Without Immigrants" protests, more than 100 general strikes sprouted across the nation "to stand up for America's democratic principles."

On Friday, the group known as Strike4Democracy coordinated more than a hundred actions as a part of the #F17 protests, where tens of thousands of people took to the streets in major cities across the US, including Chicago, St. Louis, New York City, Pittsburgh and many more.

On their Facebook page, Strike4Democracy calls for a day of mass strikes against "ICE raids, travel bans, Trump's mobilization on the border wall, as well as attacks on the rights of workers, women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and our environment."

The group calls on participants to skip work and school, while refraining from spending any money.

In Denver, protesters shut down a downtown Wells Fargo Bank in protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Comment: Together, these useful idiots speak with one voice saying: NO to reality.

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Briefcase

Former Obama aide fined $90k over unethical lobbying for Uber


RT
Sat, 18 Feb 2017 13:44 UTC
UBER taxi
© Gary Cameron / Reuters
A former Barack Obama campaign manager turned Uber executive was fined $90,000 by the Chicago Board of Ethics for failing to register as a lobbyist while lobbying Mayor Rahm Emanuel on behalf of the rideshare company.

Uber executive David Plouffe was fined by the Chicago Board of Ethics after a 5-0 vote Thursday. They ruled that he had acted as an unregistered lobbyist in 2015 when he contacted Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) in regards to regulations for commercial drivers accepting passengers at city airports.

Plouffe managed Obama's 2008 presidential campaign before joining Uber. He is also working with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, NBC reported.

In addition to Plouffe's $90,000 fine, Uber will be fined $2,000. While neither Uber nor Plouffe disputes the allegations, they believe that Plouffe should only be required to pay the $1,000 minimum. However, the Board defended its decision by arguing that "each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense to which a separate fine shall apply," the Chicago Tribune reported.

The illegal lobbying became public when Emanuel released hundreds of personal emails concerning public affairs due to mounting lawsuits accusing Emanuel of violating the state's open records law.
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Bomb

Car bomb in southeast Turkey kills child, wounds 15


RT
Sat, 18 Feb 2017 09:24 UTC
Town of Viransehir in Sanliurfa southern city of Turkey. February 17, 2017
© Depo Photos / Global Look Press via ZUMA PressTown of Viransehir in Sanliurfa southern city of Turkey. February 17, 2017
A car bomb has exploded in front of government lodgings in the town of Viransehir in southeastern Turkey, killing a child and injuring 15 others, local media reports.

The blast happened around 8:45 pm local time (17:45GMT). Authorities believe the car belonged to a teenager who was seen parking the vehicle at the site of the explosion.


The bomb was detonated remotely, according to Sanliurfa Governor Gungor Azim Tuna. The young boy was killed and at least 15 others were injured in the blast. Conflicting reports suggested the child was either six or three years old.


Meanwhile, according to the information obtained from the provincial governor's office by Reuters, at least 17 people were injured.

Comment: See also:

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