Society's Child

Proposed ban on filming IDF soldiers called 'absurd', meant to limit freedom of press and speech in Israel

RT
Wed, 30 May 2018 21:09 UTC

The proposed ban on filming of IDF soldiers is "absurd" and means the "end of democracy," experts told RT, adding that the images showing abuse by Israeli soldiers show "how morally corrosive the occupation" has become.

The proposal, lobbied for by Israeli right-wing politicians, states that anyone who "filmed, photographed, and/or recorded soldiers in the course of their duties, with the intention of undermining the spirit of IDF soldiers and residents of Israel, shall be liable to five years imprisonment," Israeli media reported.

The draft bill accuses human rights groups, including B'Tselem, Machsom Watch Women, and Breaking the Silence, which repeatedly filmed the abuses committed by Israeli soldiers, of waiting for any IDF activity "that can be presented in biased and tendentious form."

How Italy ended up with a pro-austerity fmr IMF director it never voted for as its PM

RT
Wed, 30 May 2018 21:02 UTC

Italy's March elections were followed by months of negotiations, which ended with the president's move to block the will of people and pick an ex-IMF director as the new interim PM. Let's recap how it happened.

Improbable as it first seemed, a League-Five Star Movement coalition was formed nearly three months after the country voted. The elections of March 4 resulted in two winners - the center-right coalition led by the League that, collectively with Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia, won 37 percent; and the Five Star Movement, which won nearly 33 percent.

The unlikely allies had contrasting missions during their electoral campaigns. While the League vowed to staunchly fight to ease taxation and introduce new measures to deal with illegal migrants, the Movement gave an impression of leaning more to the left. Widely supported in the south of the country, Naples-native Di Maio was expected to deal with some of the most painful issues, such as unemployment and sloppy local government. With their missions framed differently, the two parties did not immediately begin talks.

Access denied: RT journalist barred from attending Macron press conference

RT
Wed, 30 May 2018 21:00 UTC

An RT journalist has been barred from attending a conference hosted by Emmanuel Macron in Elysee palace. The reporter was told that the president "was clear" about RT: access for the channel's staff is denied.

Kyrill Kotikov, working for RT France, was stopped by security at the gates of the palace where Macron was due to give a speech at the international conference on Libya on Tuesday.

Kotikov had the conversation recorded. "The president was clear about Russia Today," one of the officers is heard saying after journalist's documents were checked. Kotikov was carrying a press card as instructed by the palaces' press office.

Tensions rising: Tommy Robinson supporters threaten judge behind ex-EDL leader's jail term

RT
Wed, 30 May 2018 19:40 UTC

Tommy Robinson fans are lashing out at the media and Judge Geoffrey Marson QC, who sentenced him to 13 months in jail. Marson has been called a "traitor", "pedophile" and some have demanded his address be made public.

It is understood that police are acting on several threats made on social media against Marson, including calls for him to "live in fear every second until Tommy Robinson is freed". Marson has been the target of an online hate campaign, including a video set to strange orchestral music zooming in on a photo of the judge's face.

Comment: Tommy Robinson seems to have a colorful history prior to his emergence as free-speech crusader:

They say the economy is booming - just not for you

No More Mister Nice Blog
Mon, 28 May 2018 00:00 UTC

Axios reports on some frank talk by our corporate overlords about how screwed the rest of us are:

... executives of big U.S. companies suggest that the days of most people getting a pay raise are over, and that they also plan to reduce their work forces further.

... This was rare, candid and bracing talk from executives atop corporate America, made at a conference Thursday at the Dallas Fed. The message is that Americans should stop waiting for across-the-board pay hikes coinciding with higher corporate profit; to cash in, workers will need to shift to higher-skilled jobs that command more income.

Troy Taylor, CEO of the Coke franchise for Florida, said he is currently adding employees with the idea of later reducing the staff over time "as we invest in automation." ...

The moderator asked the panel whether there would be broad-based wage gains again. "It's just not going to happen," Taylor said. The gains would go mostly to technically-skilled employees, he said. As for a general raise? "Absolutely not in my business," he said.

John Stephens, chief financial officer at AT&T, said 20% of the company's employees are call-center workers. He said he doesn't need that many. In addition, he added, "I don't need that many guys to install coaxial cables."

So much for Paul Ryan's claim that, as a result of "corporate tax reform" in the 2017 tax bill, "on average, American families will see a wage increase of at least $4,000 annually" -- although...

Comment: "...the rich have too much money and too much power, and democracy is unresponsive to the rest of us." Scrap it all and start over!

The war on smoking continues: Bangladesh aims to make its country tobacco-free by 2040

United News of Bangladesh
Sun, 27 May 2018 18:42 UTC

Stressing the importance of proper enforcement of law to reduce tobacco consumption in Bangladesh, speakers at a programme here on Sunday said the young generation needs to be made aware to make Bangladesh a tobacco-free country.

Speaking at a programme titled 'Tobacco Control Journalism Award-2018' organised by Progga at the Cirdap auditorium ahead of the World No Tobacco Day to be observed on May 31, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said anti-tobacco awareness needs to be created among the new generation so that they do not get habituated to it and pressure others to quit tobacco.

Mentioning that topics like anti-terrorism and anti-drug messages have been included in school textbooks, the minister promised that there will be clear message against tobacco in the textbooks from 2020, aiming to create awareness among children.

Labour Friends of Israel rightfully slammed for visiting country after recent massacre of Palestinians

RT
Wed, 30 May 2018 17:06 UTC

Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) have been heavily criticized for promoting their latest trip to Israel with a series of pictures on social media, just weeks after the 'massacre' of Palestinian protesters by Israeli Defense Forces.

LFI are currently in Israel to "promote bilateral ties and meet politicians", according to Britain's Jewish News. They've been marking their trip with a series of smiley photos and meetings with Israel's Labor party, much to the dismay of many of those on Twitter who are outraged at Israeli military action against civilians.

Their first tweet said: "We're in Israel this week for a parliamentary delegation - here's the group in Jerusalem this morning."

Comment: Those who make excuses for Israel's genocide against the Palestinians are essentially condoning pathological behavior making them complicit in those crimes.

NYT is still whitewashing Israel's massacre in Gaza - ignores fact that Israel deliberately provoked latest violence

James North
Mondoweiss
Wed, 30 May 2018 17:34 UTC

You can turn to Haaretz, the distinguished Israeli newspaper, to see how the New York Times slanted today's article about the increase in violence inside Gaza and across the border in Israel. Haaretz quotes Jamal Zahalka, a Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset, who blames Benjamin Netanyahu's government for the escalation:

The Israeli government is being pushed into a corner by the non-violent demonstrations in Gaza and is initiating a military confrontation to stop them.

The timeline proves that Israeli is provoking the latest violence. On Sunday, Israeli tanks killed 3 members of the small Islamic Jihad group who were inside Gaza. (The Israeli military said it killed the 3 because a bomb had been planted overnight near the border; it offered no proof the dead had anything to do with the alleged bomb.)

Comment: That's because in the minds of the Israelis and their supporters, "if A wrongs B, B can wrong C in return."

In response, Islamic Jihad, and the much larger Hamas, supposedly fired 70 mortars or rockets into Israel, killing no one but allegedly injuring 3 soldiers and one civilian. Israel knows full well that Hamas fears losing support if it makes no answer to the most extreme Israeli provocations. The Times article fails to report that during months of murderous Israeli aggression against Gazan civilians, the Palestinians until now have not launched a single rocket.

Shooter in Liege attack labeled 'terrorist', was on radical watchlist

RT
Wed, 30 May 2018 17:07 UTC

The Liege attack which left three dead, along with the gunman, was a "terrorist murder," Belgium's federal magistrate said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Benjamin Herman attacked two policewomen in Liege, Belgium with a knife. He then seized a gun from one of the officers before shooting both women dead. A man in a nearby car was also fatally wounded by gunfire.

Comment: Previously: Liège, Belgium shooting: Two police and a passer-by dead

The attacker then ran into a school and took a woman hostage inside. As he attempted to flee the building, he threatening police and was shot dead by officers on the street. Several police officers were wounded in the incident.

"The signs are pointing towards a terrorist act," prosecutor spokesman Eric Van Der Sypt told reporters Wednesday. "Facts are qualified as terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder."

Europe's biggest prison is "cracking" under pressure from radicalization of inmates and with overworked staff resorting to suicide

RT
Wed, 30 May 2018 16:56 UTC

French prison Fleury-Merogis, which holds 20 female jihadist inmates and is notorious for Islamic radicalization, is "simply cracking." The staff struggles with violence and exhaustion, a prison union representative told RT.

The facility for imprisoned women within the Fleury-Mérogis Prison, located just 24km from Paris, has 290 female inmates, 20 of whom the administration tagged as Islamic terrorists, or TIS.

"Due to their specific profiles [of these 20 women], all their movements must be accompanied by prison staff, but we do not have enough personnel to carry out this task properly," the regional secretary of the Ile-de-France branch of the CGT Penitentiaries union, Ambroise Koubi, told RT France.

One significant problem is that the French intelligence services hesitate to share information with the prison administration. "We know that some were detained following terrorist acts, but we do not know under what conditions," the official explained, noting that the staff are often not aware of what to expect from the radicalized women.

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Society's Child

Proposed ban on filming IDF soldiers called 'absurd', meant to limit freedom of press and speech in Israel

How Italy ended up with a pro-austerity fmr IMF director it never voted for as its PM

Access denied: RT journalist barred from attending Macron press conference

Tensions rising: Tommy Robinson supporters threaten judge behind ex-EDL leader's jail term

They say the economy is booming - just not for you

The war on smoking continues: Bangladesh aims to make its country tobacco-free by 2040

Labour Friends of Israel rightfully slammed for visiting country after recent massacre of Palestinians

NYT is still whitewashing Israel's massacre in Gaza - ignores fact that Israel deliberately provoked latest violence

Shooter in Liege attack labeled 'terrorist', was on radical watchlist

Europe's biggest prison is "cracking" under pressure from radicalization of inmates and with overworked staff resorting to suicide

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