Society's ChildS


Red Flag

Make no mistake, a new Civil War is a very real prospect for the US

Tarik Cyril Amar
RT
Mon, 05 Feb 2024 19:22 UTC
Texas National Guard
© SERGIO FLORES / AFPMembers of Texas National Guard in Eagle Pass, Texas
Let's sketch a big country in three broad strokes:

First, its population is over 333 million. These citizens privately own about (or at least) 339 million guns. They are unique in that no other state in the world has more private guns than people. They easily outdistance, for instance, Yemen, a country with a martial culture that has gone through years of civil war and yet there are only about 53 firearms per 100 inhabitants.

Second, polarization is unusually high and virulent: As of 2020 already, a political scientist at one of America's most prestigious universities, found that "political polarization among Americans has grown rapidly in the last 40 years — more than in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia or Germany," for instance. The result: America is special, but not in a good way. "None of the wealthy, consolidated democracies of East Asia, Oceania, or Western Europe," a 2022 paper published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace pointed out, "have faced similar levels of polarization for such an extended period."
Read More...
Books

Elite university reverses course, reinstates standardized tests as part of admissions applications

Brandon Poulter
The Daily Caller
Mon, 05 Feb 2024 16:26 UTC
Dartmouth College
© CopyrightDartmouth College
Dartmouth College announced Monday that it is reversing course on its testing policy by reinstating its use of standardized testing in its admissions process.

The school had previously suspended its testing requirements in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release. However, the college said Monday that research on the matter showed testing is correlated with academic success and that some "low-income" students who would be admitted with their test scores withheld their test scores due to the policy.

"Nearly four years later, having studied the role of testing in our admissions process as well as its value as a predictor of student success at Dartmouth, we are removing the extended pause and reactivating the standardized testing requirement for undergraduate admission, effective with the Class of 2029," a press release announcing the move reads.

Comment: Another woke theory goes down in flames:

Read More...
Russian Flag

'Russia's Google' completes $5bn divorce


RT
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 15:07 UTC
Yandex headquarters
© Getty Images/Pavel Byrkin
Yandex NV, the Dutch-registered parent company of the Yandex group, has reached an agreement to sell its Russian business, including the country's most popular search engine, to a consortium of private investors, according to a statement released by the company on Monday.

The tech giant, which is often referred to as "Russia's Google," will sell its Russian operations in a deal worth 475 billion rubles ($5.2 billion), which will be payable in a combination of cash and shares of the parent company, and spin off its main international projects, the company said.

According to the statement, the sale price "reflects a mandatory discount of at least 50% to fair value" under the Russian law that covers divestment procedures for foreign companies departing the country.

"Under the terms of the proposed transaction, Yandex NV will sell its entire interest in IJSC Yandex, an international joint stock company incorporated in Russia that will hold all of Yandex's assets and operations in Russia and certain international markets," the statement said.

The group of investors, which is led by the management of the company will get stakes in Yandex International PJSC, which was registered in Russia's Kaliningrad special economic zone late last year.

"The proposed transaction will allow shareholders to recover some value for the businesses that we are divesting, while unlocking new growth potential for the international businesses we will retain and enabling the divested businesses to operate under new ownership," Chairman John Boynton said in a statement.

Yandex's Russian business will be owned by a consortium including members of the company's senior management and Russia's largest private oil company Lukoil, while the Dutch company will rebrand and retain control of several internationally-focused businesses run by former Yandex executives.

Comment: This works out well for Western consumers looking to use services that are outside of Western control.

Read More...
Bandaid

Kazakhstan will surgically remove paedophiles' genitals under new draft law after complaints that chemical castration was not harsh enough

Will Stewart
Daily Mail
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 14:46 UTC
Chemical castration, Kazakhstan
© CopyrightChemical castration in Kazakhstan (File Photo).
Kazakhstan will surgically remove the genitals of the worst offending paedophiles under a new draft law.

It follows complaints from MPs that the current system of chemical castration - one of the toughest in the world - is not deterring child sex offenders.

Elnur Beisenbaev, an MP and executive secretary of the ruling Amanat Party, said the government was 'spineless' and pandering to paedophiles for failing to insist on 'surgical castration'.

'Unfortunately, [sex crimes against children] are happening more and more often,' he said, suggesting chemical castration - which lowers the male libido through injected anti-androgen drugs - was not effective.

'By letting a rapist go free, we create conditions for recidivism with our own hands,' he added.

Comment: A harsh punishment for a horrendous crime. Certainly there would be no point in surgical or chemical castration if the individuals were imprisoned for life with no possibility of release and no access to children, ever. But trying to find the right balance of punishment and preventative measures for such individuals is better than trying to normalize them and their predilections.

Read More...
Airplane

Boeing's standards 'progressively declining' - top airline boss


RT
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 13:31 UTC
Boeing 777
© Getty Images / the_guitar_mann
US aerospace giant Boeing is in the "last chance saloon" in light of the long decline in the company's manufacturing performance, Tim Clark, the head of Emirates Airline, has said.

One of the most high-profile figures in aviation, Clark told the Financial Times on Sunday that he had seen a "progressive decline" in Boeing's standards, which he put down to long-running management and governance missteps, including prioritizing financial performance over engineering excellence. Clark also said he was preparing to send his own engineers to oversee the US plane maker's production lines.

"They have got to instill this safety culture which is second to none. They've got to get their manufacturing processes under review so there are no corners cut etc. I'm sure [chief executive] Dave Calhoun and [commercial head] Stan Deal are on that . . . this is the last chance saloon," said Clark, who has held senior roles at Emirates since the 1980s and has been the airline's president since 2003. One of Boeing's largest customers, Emirates in November placed an order for 95 wide-body Boeing 777 and 787 jets.

Boeing's previous management made numerous mistakes, the Emirates boss claimed. Those included outsourcing some of its manufacturing and moving parts of the 787 production to South Carolina to cut costs following battles with unions at its primary base north of Seattle, Washington. Boeing lost "skills and competencies" through the move, argued Clark.
Read More...
Bomb

Russia's FSB foils Ukrainian terrorist plot against senior official


RT
Mon, 05 Feb 2024 12:58 UTC
German-made DM22 anti-tank mine, FSB
© Federal Security Service of the Russian FederationThe warhead of a German-made DM22 anti-tank mine, seized from the suspects.
Russia's security service (FSB) has apprehended three suspects on suspicion of working for Ukrainian intelligence agency the SBU. The group was allegedly plotting an attack on a motorcade transporting a senior official from the Crimean Peninsula, the agency said on Monday.

Footage released by the FSB shows the suspects, an apparent couple and another man, detained at unspecified locations. Arresting agents also seized various equipment from the group, including an improvised explosive device packed with steel balls, as well as a German-made DM22 anti-tank directional mine. Mines of the type have been supplied to Kiev by Berlin amid the ongoing conflict.

The detained suspects have already admitted their involvement in the alleged plot, giving testimony on their roles and on the involvement of the SBU. The attack was set to be conducted in the city of Simferopol, the agency noted, without revealing what senior official had been targeted.
Read More...
Road Cone

Viral videos of Tesla drivers using VR headsets prompt US government alarm


Reuters
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 10:56 UTC
Tesla truck, VR, VR driving Tesla
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Monday said human drivers must pay attention at all times after videos emerged of people driving Teslas while wearing what appeared to be Apple's recently released Vision Pro headset.

Buttigieg responded on X to a video that had more than 24 million views of a Tesla driver who appeared to be gesturing with his hands to manipulate a virtual reality field.


Comment: When wild technologies meet stupid people, everyone suffers.

Read More...
Megaphone

Spanish farmers blockade roads, joining EU peers' protests


Reuters
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 10:29 UTC
Spanish farmer protesters, Spanish tractors
© REUTERS/Albert GeaFarmers drive their tractors as they protest over price pressures, taxes and green regulation, grievances shared by farmers across Europe, in Girona, Spain, February 6, 2024.
Spanish farmers blocked traffic on some of the country's main highways on Tuesday, joining colleagues in other European countries protesting against high costs, bureaucracy and competition from non-EU nations.

"With different shades, in the whole of the European Union, we have the same problems," Donaciano Dujo, vice president of ASAJA, one the largest farmers associations in Spain, told national broadcaster TVE.

ASAJA and other associations had called for protests from Thursday, but many farmers took to the roads with their tractors on Tuesday, snarling traffic throughout the country from Seville and Granada in the south up to Girona near the French border, traffic authorities said.

"The countryside is fed up," Dujo said.

In Girona, tractors could be seen gathering ahead of the day of protests, carrying placards with one reading "without farmers there is no food".

Like colleagues in France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal, Spanish farmers are complaining about the increasing weight of European bureaucracy, low produce prices and rising costs.
Read More...
Bad Guys

Ukrainian official tries to justify the killing of 28 civilians in Russian bakery


RT
Mon, 05 Feb 2024 16:38 UTC
Rescuers searching for survivors
© Sputnik / Yevgeny BiyatovRescuers searching for survivors after a Ukrainian strike on a bakery in the city of Lisichansk in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic.
Petr Andryuschenko called the strike "heavenly punishment," insisting it was legitimate because it claimed the life of Lugansk's emergencies minister

The emergencies minister of Russia's Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), Aleksey Poteleschenko, was confirmed on Monday as being among the victims of the recent Ukrainian strike on a bakery in the city of Lisichansk. The attack claimed the lives of 28 civilians.

Moscow has denounced Kiev for the "terrorist attack." However, former aide to the mayor of Mariupol Petr Andryuschenko (who fled the city in early 2022 following the outbreak of conflict) has suggested that the death of the regional minister in the attack legitimized the murder of 27 others.

Comment: Considering the technological support from NATO, how many targets are selected without the involvement of Western military advisors. High powered precise strikes are needed to create the effect observed. Earlier there was in At least 20 killed in Ukrainian attack on bakery in Russian city - Emergencies Ministry:
No official information on weaponry used by the Ukrainian military to strike the bakery was readily available. Some media reports, however, suggested the building was struck by a projectile launched from a US-supplied HIMARS missile system.
On Wednesday, during a visit to Kiev, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said that GLSDB (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb) munitions (which can hit targets at a distance of up to 150km) were already on their way to Ukraine.

Nuland, a foreign policy hawk, is widely seen as one of the key figures in the 2014 Maidan coup which led to the toppling of then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and plunged the country into turmoil. The US official ended up in the media spotlight after she famously handed out pastries to protesters in the Ukrainian capital in late 2013.

Commenting on the announcement on Thursday, Antonov called it "irresponsible" and "simply shocking." He described the GLSDB delivery as "a kind of a reaction to the terrorist attack by Ukrainian thugs" on an Il-76 Russian cargo plane with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, three Russian troops, and six crew members aboard.

Moscow has said that the aircraft, which was transporting the POWs to the border region of Belgorod for further exchange, was downed by Kiev's US-supplied Patriot air defense system.
In general: If the supporters of Israel and of Ukraine are the same, may that explain what is accepted by the West when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine?

Read More...
Rainbow

Amy Hamm: The gender activists are the ones spreading division

Amy Hamm
National Post
Mon, 05 Feb 2024 08:06 UTC
Protect Trans Kids activists
© Ashley Fraser/PostmediaA group of activists joined together for the Protect Trans Kids (again) protest to show support for anti-LGBT hate, rallying together at the Human Rights Monument on Elgin and marching to Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Oct. 21, 2023.
Last November, the Post ran a column by transwoman Julia Malott who allegedly supports my right to free expression but simultaneously believes that my "persona" has devolved and that I've become divisive and resentful. The devolution, she wrote, occurred during my three-year-and-counting legal battle with the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives over my political speech on women's rights and the binary nature of human sex.

I could lose my nursing license and job because I said that males can never become females. I am resentful and I have changed after facing years of legal, professional, and personal abuses — but I haven't devolved.

Twenty years ago, no one would have batted an eye if a health care professional said that only women can give birth, or that women do not have penises. Today? You'll get hauled into a disciplinary tribunal for daring to say so. And just because I've insisted on loudly repeating these facts — it's obvious that human males don't birth offspring, whatever gender-obsessed "queer" activists think — I am called divisive, by detractors and supporters alike. That's wrong. What's divisive is our culture, with its increasingly pathological aversion to basic truths.
Read More...