Society's ChildS


Pistol

FSB says it thwarted Ukrainian plot to assassinate RT editor-in-chief


RT
Sat, 15 Jul 2023 18:20 UTC
Margarita Simonyan editor Russian broadcaster RT
© RTMargarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Russian broadcaster RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group.
Detained 'neo-Nazis' also planned to kill Ksenia Sobchak, another prominent female journalist

Russian law enforcement has thwarted assassination plans targeting RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan and journalist Ksenia Sobchak, which were prepared by Ukrainian intelligence, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced.

In a statement on Saturday, the agency declared that, together with the Interior Ministry and the national Investigative Committee, an unspecified number of "neo-Nazis from the Paragraph 88 group who were gathering information at the work and home addresses of Simonyan and Sobchak" had been arrested.
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Microscope 1

Here is how Russia's upcoming ban on 'sex changes' will work


RT
Fri, 14 Jul 2023 12:54 UTC
trans flag wave
© Getty Images/nito100
MPs say the legislation is needed to crack down on a transgender industry which has been too lightly regulated.

The Russian State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, has passed a bill that would impose strict limits on people's ability to legally change their sex or undergo a reassignment surgery.

Here is why MPs say they sponsored the legislation and how the new system will work.

Comment: Sounds perfectly reasonable, unlike what the hysterical activists are saying. See, for instance, BBC's reporting on the bill. The Russians see transgender ideology for what it is and are taking perfectly reasonable steps to ensure people with a mental illness aren't able to hurt themselves or others.

See also:

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Brick Wall

What to know about Texas Gov. Abbott's floating buoy barrier along the Rio Grande

Adam Powell
El Paso Times
Sat, 15 Jul 2023 07:26 UTC
barrier
© TwitterMarine barrier being installed along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar is criticizing a move by Gov. Greg Abbott to deploy a floating barrier in the Rio Grande as a "dangerous stunt" that will endanger migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Escobar sent a letter, alongside seven other Texas congressional Democrats, to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken alleging that Abbott's aquatic barrier along the river border in Eagle Pass, Texas, is a potential violation of international law.
Gov. Abbott's installation of floating barriers in the Rio Grande to deter migrant crossings is yet another dangerous stunt that prioritizes political posturing over the safety and well-being of both Texans and migrants. Instead of notifying and collaborating with the appropriate federal agencies — such as the International Boundary and Water Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Homeland Security — Gov. Abbott continues to undermine the federal government by misusing state resources to interfere with federal immigration and security responsibilities.

Gov. Abbott is not only wasting taxpayer dollars with these stunts ... he is once again choosing inhumane and dangerous practices that intimidate, endanger, and hurt migrants and their families and put CBP personnel at risk.

We urge the DOJ and DOS to take immediate action regarding this matter and the potential violations and obstructionism.
The letter states that the first segment of the barrier, being installed in Eagle Pass, is expected to cost $1 million.

Comment: Mexico files a border boundaries complaint regarding the floating barrier:
Mexico´s top diplomat said Friday her country has sent a diplomatic note to the U.S. government expressing concern that Texas´ deployment of floating barriers on the Rio Grande may violate 1944 and 1970 treaties on boundaries and water.

Foreign Relations Secretary Alicia Bárcena said Mexico will send an inspection team to the Rio Grande to see whether any of the barrier extends into Mexico´s side of the border river.

She also complained about U.S. efforts to put up barbed wire on a low-lying island in the river near Eagle Pass, Texas.

Bárcena said that if the buoys impede the flow of water, it would violate the treaties, which requires the river remain unobstructed. Mexico has already asked that the barriers be removed.

Migrant advocates have voiced concerns about drowning risks from the buoys and environmentalists questioned the impact on the river.

Once installed, the above-river parts of the system and the webbing they´re connected with will cover 1,000 feet (305 meter) of the middle of the Rio Grande, with anchors in the riverbed.
See also: Texas begins installing buoy barrier along Rio Grande to deter migrant border crossings

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Bullseye

UK: Transgender riders banned from all women's cycling events

Jeremy Wilson
The Telegraph
Sat, 15 Jul 2023 19:34 UTC
Austin Killips trangender cyclist banned women events
© Roxo RacingTransgender rider Austin Killips, centre, won the Tour of the Gila earlier this year
The UCI has followed athletics in preventing transgender women competing if they went through male puberty

Transgender cyclists have been banned from international women's competition, prompting the Welsh rider Emily Bridges to threaten legal action and furiously accuse the governing body of discrimination.

In a move that mirrors British Cycling's new transgender policy, as well as those now in swimming, athletics and rugby, the Union Cycliste Internationale has ruled that no transgender woman who has gone through male puberty will be permitted to compete in the female category.

Riders could previously race provided that they had reduced their testosterone to below 5 nmol/L but this rule came under acute scrutiny in March last year when Bridges entered the National Omnium Championships following her transition.
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Blackbox

How will the EU react to millions of Europeans shifting to populist Right-wing groups?

Sue Reid
The Daily Mail
Fri, 14 Jul 2023 17:58 UTC
political shoft europe far right demographic
© The Daily MailThe forces driving more and more nations to the Right – so how will the EU respond?
This map shows a new and extraordinary change in Europe's political landscape. Across the continent, millions of citizens are shifting their allegiance towards populist Right-wing parties.

The dramatic development will transform the EU if the swelling wave of populist sentiment translates into political power at the bloc's parliamentary elections next year.

In a backlash against open borders and net-zero diktats, the EU's traditional social democrats, green ideologues and Left-wingers are losing their appeal at the ballot box. The rebellion has been growing — and the dominoes continue to fall. Right-wingers have gained power in Sweden, then in Italy, Finland and Greece.

The Spanish could be next, with national elections in a week, then Holland and — as I reported in these pages earlier this week — Germany could soon follow.

Comment: The EU top-brass will likely react as they have done so far: ignoring the peasants, and any one who tries to represent them. Clare Daley comes to mind as one who is consistently disregarded, despite her principled views:



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Sherlock

Cylinder ruptures at world's largest uranium plant in Russia, technician killed


Reuters
Fri, 14 Jul 2023 12:00 UTC
uranium
FILE PHOTO
One person was killed at a uranium enrichment plant in Russia's Urals region on Friday after a cylinder containing a depleted uranium compound ruptured, state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

It said that radiation levels at the plant and surrounding area were normal and that the incident posed no threat to people living in the area.

"We are deeply saddened to announce a tragic incident at the Ural Electrochemical Plant, resulting in a worker fatality," Rosatom said.

It said the worker died from a "mechanical injury" caused by a breach in a container of uranium hexafluoride, a chemical compound used in uranium enrichment.

Comment: Whilst it may or may not be related, the incident is notable considering: US splurges $1 billion on Russian uranium despite sanctions war

See also:

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Megaphone

Calls for violence in the trans debate only come from one side

Joan Smith
Unheard
Mon, 10 Jul 2023 00:00 UTC
Sarah Jane Baker
© GettySarah Jane Baker addresses a protest outside Downing Street in January.
An activist advocated punching feminists at a rally this weekend

On Saturday, a convicted criminal got up in front of a cheering crowd in central London and publicly incited violence against women. "If you see a terf, punch them in the fucking face," he declared to whoops of approval from his audience at Hyde Park Corner. (Terf is a slur used against feminists who support women's rights.)

The trans activist, who now call himself Sarah Jane Baker, served thirty years in prison for a series of violent offences including kidnapping, torture and attempted murder. Since he was released in 2019, he has been a regular attendee of trans events, including a demonstration outside Parliament in January when the UK Government blocked the SNP's gender reform bill. On that occasion, he was photographed with three Labour MPs who later claimed not to know who he was.

After Baker called for assaults on women at Saturday's London Trans Pride event, the organisers defended him. They insisted they did not condone violence, but added that "Sarah and many others in our community hold a lot of rage and anger and they have the right to express that anger through their words."
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Attention

Explosion at Louisiana chemical plant kills 1, injures 73

Jonathan Bachman
Reuters
Fri, 14 Jul 2023 01:59 UTC
Louisiana explosion
© REUTERS/Jonathan BachmanRescue workers are seen at a medical triage center set up on highway LA 3115 near the Williams Olefins chemical plant, after an explosion and fire there, in Geismar, Louisiana June 13, 2013.
An explosion and fire killed one person and injured 73 at the Williams Olefins WMB.N chemical plant in Geismar, Louisiana, on Thursday, unsettling an industrial town where authorities ordered people to remain indoors for hours to avoid the billowing smoke.

The blast at 8:37 a.m. (1337 GMT) sent a huge fireball and column of smoke into the air. The plant along the Mississippi River, about 60 miles (100 km) from New Orleans, is one of 12 chemical plants along a 10-mile (16-km) stretch of the river.

The fire, fueled by the petrochemical propylene, burned for more than three hours, though government monitors had yet to detect dangerous levels of emissions, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal told a news conference near the scene.

Comment: See also: Another incident at a Pemex facility: Huge fire at oil platform injures 6 in Gulf of Mexico

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Bullseye

Russian lawmakers unanimously pass bill outlawing gender reassignment


Al Jazeera
Sat, 15 Jul 2023 11:12 UTC
LGBTQ russia flag
© Anton Vaganov/ReutersIn this image from 2019, a participant waves a rainbow flag during an LGBTQ community rally in Saint Petersburg
Russian politicians have adopted a bill outlawing gender-reassignment procedures amid the Kremlin's push to protect what it views as the country's "traditional values".

The toughened version of the bill was passed unanimously on Friday in its third and final reading in Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma.

The bill bans any "medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person," as well as changing one's gender in official documents and public records.
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Pistol

Tennessee surgeon shot to death by patient who had allegedly threatened staff for a week

Katherine Donlevy
New York Post
Wed, 12 Jul 2023 00:55 UTC
Dr. Benjamin Mauck
© Campbell ClinicDr. Benjamin Mauck of Campbell Clinic was fatally shot in the exam room by a patient.
A Tennessee surgeon was shot to death Tuesday by a patient who lay in wait at the clinic for "several hours" before carrying out the targeted attack, police said.

Dr. Benjamin Mauck was killed in an exam room by an unidentified gunman at the crowded Campbell Clinic Orthopedics in Collierville, a town roughly 30 miles east of Memphis.

"This appears to be a one-on-one interaction," Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane said at a press conference, adding that the gunman spared the "many" patients and employees who were in the clinic.

Comment: The shooter has now been identified. From Yahoo:
Tennessee cops identified 29-year-old Larry Pickens as the man who allegedly staked out and shot physician Benjamin Mauck dead in an exam room this week — an "unthinkable tragedy" that's horrified his loved ones and colleagues.

Pickens now faces charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault. He's accused of waiting inside Mauck's orthopedics office for hours before eventually barging into an exam room and shooting the beloved doc dead around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Details surrounding the slaying have been limited. Cops in Collierville, a city of 50,000 about 30 miles west of Memphis, are yet to release a suspected motive, but confirmed Pickens was receiving care from Mauck.

Chief Dale Lane said officers responded to Mauck's office in less than five minutes, but they weren't able to revive him. Lane said Pickens seemingly spared other patients after he opened fire then ran outside the building — a sign that Tuesday's slaying was targeted.

"This appears to be a one-on-one interaction," Lane said Tuesday. "It's bad. It's horrific. It's terrible. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family."


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