Welcome to Sott.net
Thu, 04 Nov 2021
The World for People who Think

Society's Child
Map

Eye 1

Should the BBC have fired Danny Baker even if it believed he was 'unintentionally racist'?

Igor Ogorodnev
RT
Fri, 10 May 2019 03:29 UTC
Danny Baker
© Twitter/Getty Images
Danny Baker and the offending tweet.
With sensitivity to perceived racism growing all the time, how important should intent be when society punishes someone for stepping over the line?

On Wednesday, BBC radio presenter and comedian Danny Baker posted a black-and-white retro photo meme that showed a chimp accompanied by two well-dressed chaperones, with the caption "Royal baby leaves the hospital."

If we believe that this was a joke mocking the mixed-race origins of the newborn Archie, whose mother Meghan Markle is half black, then there is clear-cut cause for dismissal. Characterizing black people as simians has a long and inglorious history.

But what if we take the furious Baker at his word - that his "mind is not diseased" so he didn't think of the "possible connotations" and deleted the tweet voluntarily as soon as he was alerted to them.

Comment: Perhaps the BBC should focus on the very real scandals it's currently embroiled in, such as how it has actively protected pedophiles and pushed propaganda that incites war: Also check out SOTT radio's:

      Read More...
Dollars

Nxivm sex-cult members presented Hillary Clinton with illegal campaign donation

Chris Spargo
The Daily Mail
Thu, 09 May 2019 21:30 UTC
Nancy Salzman Clare Bronfman Nxivm
© Associated Press
Raniere and his co-defendants reportedly gave money that was reimbursed by Nancy Salzman (left) and Clare Bronfman (right)
Nxivm members presented Hillary Clinton with illegal campaign donation at event in hopes of 'obtaining political influence to further their agenda'

It seems that Hillary Clinton may have unknowingly played a large role in the racketeering charges that Nxivm founder Keith Raniere is currently facing in court.

Court documents filed by the US Attorney's office prior to the trail detail how multiple members of he cult - including all five of the defendants who were indicted in the case - exceeded the legal limit for campaign donations when giving money to Clinton's first campaign for president.

Comment: NXIVM sex-cult prosecutors claim evidence for illegal Clinton campaign contributions seeking "political influence"

      Read More...
Dollar

'Bitcoin is fool's gold': Peter Schiff weighs in on calls to replace gold with cryptocurrencies


RT
Fri, 10 May 2019 21:20 UTC
Bitcoin
© Reuters / Dado Ruvic
The value of digital currencies cannot be on par with gold, veteran stock broker and CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, Peter Schiff, told RT's Keiser Report as they discussed the recent #DropGold campaign.

Last week, a New York-based crypto-asset investment firm Grayscale Investments (Grayscale), ran a TV commercial, showing people pulling shopping cart full of gold bars, trying to convince investors that bitcoin is "displacing gold" as we live in a "new financial era."

The "ridiculous" advertisement is just a farce, according to Schiff, who stressed that cryptocurrencies, and bitcoin in particular, have nothing in common with the precious metal and have "no intrinsic value" other than people willing to buy it.
      Read More...
Handcuffs

Michigan police thwart serial killer who'd killed two women and planned to kill more


AP
Fri, 10 May 2019 21:14 UTC
police lights
A 26-year-old mid-Michigan man killed two women, intended to kill two more and texted a former girlfriend that he "had been ridding the demons of some dear friends of his," authorities said Friday.

Police found the bodies in separate locations after the man showed Eaton County sheriff's deputies cellphone photos of the bodies following a traffic stop on Interstate 69, about 108 miles (174 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.

Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth said the deputies "saved many more lives."

"There is no doubt the suspect was on a killing spree," Wriggelsworth said. "The investigation has identified two additional potential victims that the suspect had planned to kill. They have all been contacted and are all safe."

Neither of the other intended victims were the ex-girlfriend, investigators said.
      Read More...
Megaphone

'Why do we fuel the war?' French peace activists manage to stop arms shipment to Saudis - report


RT
Fri, 10 May 2019 20:45 UTC
French protesters
© Jean-Francois Monier / AFP
A ship that was set to carry arms to Saudi Arabia has apparently left France without them, a day after a protest at port. Activists rallied to stop the delivery, saying the weapons could be used to slaughter civilians in Yemen.

The Bahri-Yanbu, a cargo ship that was meant to deliver the latest shipment of French weapons to the Gulf kingdom arrived in the port Le Havre on Thursday. Protesters gathered there to denounce their government's refusal to stop arms trade with Saudi Arabia after reports revealed that French weapons have been used by Riyadh in its four-year-long military campaign in neighboring Yemen.
      Read More...
People

Pennsylvania college to no longer allow frats, sororities


ABC News
Fri, 10 May 2019 03:56 UTC
Fraternities
© The Associated Press
Fraternities and sororities will no longer be allowed at Swarthmore College following outrage over years-old documents allegedly written by one fraternity there that contains derogatory comments about women and the LGBTQ community and jokes about sexual assault.

School President Valerie Smith made the announcement Friday in a letter posted on the college's website. Smith says the school's lone sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, can continue with its current members through the spring 2022 semester but can't recruit or initiate new members.

Swarthmore's decision comes about a week after the only two fraternities at the private liberal arts college in suburban Philadelphia decided to disband following the internal documents' release.

"The voluntary disbanding of Phi Psi and Delta Upsilon reflects a broader change in student needs and desires. Exclusive, dues-paying social organizations no longer effectively meet the needs of our residential liberal arts environment," Smith wrote in her statement.
      Read More...
Attention

Columbia: Anti-government protest turns violent as students hurl molotov cocktails at police using water cannons


RT
Fri, 10 May 2019 18:12 UTC
Bogota riot police
© RT
Fierce clashes broke out on the streets of Bogota, Colombia between student protesters armed with Molotov cocktails and police in armored vehicles deploying water cannon.

Violence erupted outside The National Pedagogic University as anti-government protests over education and state pension cuts proposed by President Iván Duque continue.
      Read More...
House

Florida homeowner faces $30K in fines, foreclosure for overgrown lawn


WFTS Tampa Bay
Tue, 07 May 2019 11:54 UTC
FL homeowner faces foreclosure due to overgrown lawn
A Dunedin man faces sky-high fines and possible foreclosure on his home after code enforcement cited him for overgrown grass in his yard.

Jim Ficken returned home last summer to find the grass in his yard grew more than 10 inches tall. Ficken spent most of his time in South Carolina helping take care for his late mother's estate.

Ficken says the man who mowed his yard unexpectedly died and the grass hadn't been cut.

City code enforcement officers noticed and started fining Ficken $500 a day, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Pinellas County. The fines mounted to nearly $30,000 before the city notified Ficken of the problem, according to Ficken.

"That's about five or six years of living expenses for me. So, they're really trying to take five years of my life."

Attorneys with the Institute for Justice are now representing Ficken free of charge, claiming the fines are excessive.
      Read More...
Airplane

Air Canada plane and fuel tanker collide at Pearson Airport


CBC News
Fri, 10 May 2019 17:29 UTC
dented plane
© Daniel Demers
A large dent can be seen beneath the cockpit of the Air Canada Express plane at Pearson airport following Friday morning's collision.
Five people were injured during the collision of an Air Canada Express plane and a fuel tanker truck at Toronto's Pearson International airport early Friday.

The collision occurred around 1:36 a.m. ET as Flight 8615 was taxiing to a gate at Terminal 1 with 50 passengers aboard.

The DHC-8-300 was originally headed from Toronto to Sudbury, but turned back to Pearson due to foggy conditions in the northern Ontario city.

According to Peel Regional Police Sgt. Bancroft Wright, the tanker truck struck the plane and the driver has been charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle.
      Read More...
Attention

Sandra Bland recorded her arrest at 2015 traffic stop - family never saw video, wants investigation into arrest and death reopened


WFAA
Fri, 10 May 2019 17:00 UTC
sandra bland arrest death traffic stop
© Family photo
Sandra Bland
The family of Sandra Bland -- who died in a Waller County jail cell -- is calling for a re-opening of the criminal investigation into Bland's arrest and death after seeing footage for the first time.

New cellphone footage from the now infamous traffic stop of Sandra Bland shows her perspective when a Texas state trooper points a Taser and yells, "I will light you up!"

Bland, 28, was found dead three days later in her Waller County jail cell near Houston. Her death was ruled a suicide.

The new video -- released as part of a WFAA exclusive in partnership with the Investigative Network -- fuels the Bland family's suspicions that Texas officials withheld evidence in her controversial arrest and, later, her death.

Comment:

      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts