Society's Child

Suspected 'gas leak' triggers explosion in central Paris, reports of injuries - UPDATE

RT
Sat, 12 Jan 2019 09:36 UTC

A powerful explosion occurred in the central district of Paris on Saturday morning, police confirmed. Reports say several people were injured, while a suspected gas leak is believed to have caused the blast.

The explosion took place on the Rue de Trevise, causing fire and chaos on the adjacent streets, local witnesses and journalists report.

Pictures and videos posted online show plumes of smoke and flames slowly consuming one of the buildings. Witnesses on the ground say many still need medical assistance.

Comment: The media was pretty quick to label this as a gas leak. The question is whether the story will later change to say this was no accident. Some additional footage can be seen here:

A resident from across the street posted on Twitter:

Update: The Guardian 13/1/19: 3 dead, 46 injured

Two firefighters and a Spanish woman have died in a massive explosion caused by a "pocket of gas" in a six-storey building in Paris.

The woman died in hospital and at least 46 others were said to be injured, nine of them critically, including a third firefighter, in the blast in the 9th arrondissement of the capital on Saturday morning.

One of the firefighters was trapped under the rubble of the destroyed building for two-and-a-half hours before being rescued by colleagues.
© Carl Labrosse/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
An overhead view shows debris and vehicle wreckage following the explosion.
"At 8.37am the fire brigade was called to 6 Rue Trévise to investigate a gas leak. While they were there a dramatic explosion occurred," Castaner said. He praised the courage of the firefighters who risked their lives to save people. He said one firefighter had remained under the rubble for two and a half hours before being rescued by colleagues.

Rémy Heitz, the Paris public prosecutor, said an investigation had been launched into the tragedy. The origin of the explosion was a "pocket of gas". He added that the tragedy appeared to be "accidental" but that police experts would verify the exact reason for the explosion.

The blast and subsequent fire destroyed a bakery on the ground floor and destroyed apartments above. It seriously damaged several neighbouring buildings and shattered windows for 100 metres around.

The explosion, which happened just before 9am, was heard a mile away. Dozens of firefighters, police and ambulances rushed to the scene and rapidly sealed off surrounding streets, many of them cloaked in a thick cloud of acrid smoke.

The bakery owner, Hubert Beatrix, watched shocked as dozens of firefighters struggled to put out the blaze and evacuate residents of nearby buildings.

"I have no idea what happened. There's no gas in my shop apart from a small supply for heating. My ovens are electric," Beatrix said. "The shop was closed, luckily for me and my customers. Someone called me to tell me about this, but I still don't know what happened."

The bakery was almost entirely destroyed, leaving a few columns holding up the rest of the six-storey building.

The nearby Place de l'Opera was cleared to allow three emergency helicopters to land in order to evacuate injured people.

The government shutdown reveals more reasons to abolish the ineffective and horrible TSA

Ryan McMaken
Mises Institute
Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:00 UTC

The Transportation Security Administration, a federal agency, is facing a no-show problem with employees, as paychecks are put on hold during the partial government shutdown. This is reportedly leading to longer lines and security problems at airports nationwide. According to CNN ,

Hundreds of Transportation Security Administration officers, who are required to work without paychecks through the partial government shutdown, have called out from work this week from at least four major airports...

TSA spokespeople, meanwhile, insist everything is completely normal although absenteeism has "increased by 200% to 300%," according to Marketwatch.

Not everyone was as sanguine about the situation as government officials. One frequent traveler complained "The lines were exceptionally longer than normal, especially for a peak departure time frame of 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m."

Comment: The wildly dysfunctional TSA mostly exists these days to remind Americans of the 'terrorists' and acclimate people to a finer order of centralized control - all the while making the very idea of air travel as unpleasant as possible:

And the list goes on, and on...

'Jewish Terror': Settler attacks on Palestinians increased by over 300 percent last year, many violent

RT
Sat, 12 Jan 2019 15:17 UTC

In what has been dubbed the 'Jewish Terror', settler attacks on Palestinians and their property tripled last year, with nearly 500 incidents reported ranging from racist graffiti, to assault, to the destruction of olive trees.

According to figures reported by Haaretz, there were 482 politically motivated crimes carried out by settlers in the West Bank last year, compared to 140 in 2017. It's the highest number of incidents in four years.

Comment: As much of the world sits idly by, the lifeblood and the very lives of Palestinians are being slowly but surely drained away by a parasitical and pathological drive of the Israelis and it's government's policy of slow-motion genocide:

Make America smoke again: Self-care can't heal the nation, but cigarettes might

Will Lloyd
Spectator US
Fri, 11 Jan 2019 13:32 UTC

American actress Patty Duke taking a break from filming on the set of 'Valley of the Dolls' in 1967

The number of American adults who smoke has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded, a mere third of what it was 70 years ago. Decades of aggressive public health campaigns and advertising bans are responsible for this remarkable decline. As norms and mores changed, smoking became situated somewhere between bear baiting and regularly dining at Cracker Barrel as a form of utterly deviant behavior.

Those who continue to smoke belong to the struggle towns and junklands of Middle America. They are usually adult men without much of an education, living below the poverty line; they are the very backbone of Trumpism. Of course during the golden age of American smoking in the years after World War II, Marlboro men were just as easily found in Madison Avenue and Wall Street as they were in Texas Hill Country or Youngstown. Smoking - before its deleterious effects on health were properly known - was a truly egalitarian practice that bound the country together as much as compulsory civics education ever did. Big Tobacco even played a surprising and largely forgotten role in the emancipation of women in the 20th century.

Comment: Let's all light up! What you don't know about tobacco

As Democratic elites reunite with Neocons, the party's voters are becoming far more militaristic and pro-war than Republicans

Glenn Greenwald
The Intercept
Sat, 12 Jan 2019 22:35 UTC

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S December 18 announcement that he intends to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria produced some isolated support in the anti-war wings of both parties, but largely provoked bipartisan outrage among in Washington's reflexively pro-war establishment.

Both GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the country's most reliable war supporters, and Hillary Clinton, who repeatedly criticized former President Barack Obama for insufficient hawkishness, condemned Trump's decision in very similar terms, invoking standard war on terror jargon.

But while official Washington united in opposition, new polling data from Morning Consult/Politico shows that a large plurality of Americans support Trump's Syria withdrawal announcement: 49 percent support to 33 percent opposition.

That's not surprising given that Americans by a similarly large plurality agree with the proposition that "the U.S. has been engaged in too many military conflicts in places such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan for too long and should prioritize getting Americans out of harm's way" far more than they agree with the pro-war view that "the U.S. needs to keep troops in places such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan to help support our allies fight terrorism and maintain our foreign policy interests in the region."

Fortnite creator is buying thousands of Blue Ridge Mts., North Carolina forested acres to stop it from being cut down

John Liberty
The Mind Unleashed
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:00 UTC

Tim Sweeney

Creator of the online video game Fortnite, Tim Sweeney, has been captivating audiences for decades by developing intricate and interactive digital worlds for players. However, it is his work away from the screen that is currently grabbing attention from gamers and non-gamers alike.

Sweeney is best known for founding the video and 3-D software company Epic Games in the 1990's. Epic Games has given us popular video game titles such as Unreal Tournament, Gears of War and, most recently, the massively popular game Fortnite. In addition to these popular gaming titles, the billionaire philanthropist has made good on his promise to protect undeveloped and bio-diverse land in the picturesque western Carolina mountains for future generations.

Since 2008, Sweeney has spent millions on conservation projects in his home state of North Carolina to protect and preserve its forest land. He has purchased nearly 40,000 acres over the last decade, making him one of the largest private land owners in the state. Sweeney has also donated money to several conservation parcel projects, including a 1,500 acre expansion to Mount Mitchell State Park.

In November 2016, Sweeney donated $15 million for a conservation easement to protect 7,000 acres of the The Box Creek Wilderness. The forest, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, had been targeted by a company that wanted to carve up the land and run power lines through it.

Megyn Kelly leaves NBC and keeps her $69 million dollar contract

Tom Kludt and Brian Stelter
CNN
Sat, 12 Jan 2019 18:26 UTC

Two years after she signed with the network amid much fanfare, Megyn Kelly and NBC have officially parted ways.

The split was announced on Friday ending a drawn-out and acrimonious exit that was put in motion in the fall after Kelly defended Halloween costumes that incorporate blackface during a segment on her 9 a.m. talk show.

"The parties have resolved their differences, and Megyn Kelly is no longer an employee of NBC," the network said Friday night.

Talks about ending "Megyn Kelly Today" started before the blackface remarks, due to underperforming ratings and growing tensions between Kelly and NBC executives. But the Halloween controversy sealed her fate, according to sources familiar with the matter. Her talk show was cancelled within days, and her lawyer began negotiating the terms of her exit.

Kelly is halfway through a three-year contract worth a total of $69 million -- an eye-popping sum even by the inflated standards of television news.

Comment: Career highlights:

UK: The left and right don yellow vests to vent anger over Tories, Brexit & migrants

RT
Sat, 12 Jan 2019 18:19 UTC

The Brits seem to have fallen in love with the French Yellow Vest fashion, but unlike in France where many protesters lean left, the iconic symbol has been claimed by both sides of the UK debate.

The Yellow Vests ceased to be a uniquely French phenomenon after British protesters started donning the distinctive high-visibility jackets to make their own (very different) points. In the UK, an array of left-wing movements vowed to use the yellow vest during their protests in favor of bringing down the Tory government and abandoning austerity. RT's Polly Boiko explains. But this is where the similarities between the French and British fashions end.

Right-wing activists, some of whom belong to hardcore far-right groups like the English Defence League, are also trying to capitalize on the iconic vests. They vent their anger at the Brexit deal stalemate, heckle politicians, and harass Muslim believers both online and offline. Such groups "who are trying to use anger and mobilize it against refugees and migrants and ethnic minorities are not welcomed in our demonstrations," said Shabbir Lakha, spokesman for the anti-austerity People's Assembly.

Watch more on this below.

Fatalities and multiple injuries in Ottawa double-decker bus crash [Update]

CTV News
Fri, 11 Jan 2019 23:49 UTC

Ottawa police say there are "some fatalities" and at least 17 injured following a bus crash at the Westboro Station.

Ottawa police are responding to a serious crash involving a bus at the Westboro Station, which has left at least 17 people injured and an unspecified number of people dead.

The incident occurred just before 4 p.m. on Friday, according to Ottawa police. Paramedics tell CTV News' Annie Bergeron Oliver that the double-decker bus struck a bus shelter.

Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau confirmed that there are "some fatalities."

The Ottawa Hospital said in a tweet that its trauma centre is treating nine patients in critical condition.

OC Transpo, which runs Ottawa's public transit system, said in a tweet that buses are being detoured from the area.

Comment:

UPDATE: More details have emerged:

Three people have been killed and 23 others injured, some of them critically, when a double-decker bus crashed into a bus shelter at Westboro station in Ottawa in the middle of a Friday evening rush hour.

The most serious injuries occurred on the top right side of the bus, following its collision with the platform at around 4:00pm Friday. Emergency workers immediately rushed to the scene to rescue passengers who were trapped on the upper level. Video footage showed firefighters using ladders to get people out, in an operation which took more than two hours to complete.

Two passengers and one person waiting on the platform died, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told reporters, adding that 23 others were injured in the crash, which he described as "horrific." Local news stations report that at least seven of the injured are in critical condition.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the collision, detaining the driver of the OC Transpo bus for questioning.

GoFundMe is refunding all donations made to the 'Fund the Wall' campaign, new 'We Build the Wall, Inc.' created

Mariana Alfaro
Business Insider
Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:00 UTC

The campaign was on the cusp of reaching $20 million on Thursday. Brian Kolfage/GoFundMe

The GoFundMe campaign that was raising money to build a wall along the US-Mexico border did not meet its $1 billion goal, meaning the platform will begin refunding donors.
On Friday, Brian Kolfage, who created the fundraiser, updated its GoFundMe page to urge donors to redirect their money to a new "501(c)(4) non-profit Florida Corporation named 'We Build the Wall, Inc.'"
The campaign, created in December, raised $20 million.

The GoFundMe campaign that aimed to raise $1 billion for a border wall is shutting down, and the $20 million raised will be refunded to donors.

Ehret an idiot beyond belief

smertzasmert

.. .. are wheel barrel sales are up too?

Jibrish

I doubt any pureblood would object to the "vaccinated" being masked, but if they (the "vaccinated") still feel unsafe then maybe their problem is...

HashAttack2

I said this would happen...now they are looking to mandate companies with less that 100 employees...shits getting real, people[Link]

Bezel Bub

it's all a lie ! :O

cracker

Society's Child

Suspected 'gas leak' triggers explosion in central Paris, reports of injuries - UPDATE

The government shutdown reveals more reasons to abolish the ineffective and horrible TSA

'Jewish Terror': Settler attacks on Palestinians increased by over 300 percent last year, many violent

Make America smoke again: Self-care can't heal the nation, but cigarettes might

As Democratic elites reunite with Neocons, the party's voters are becoming far more militaristic and pro-war than Republicans

Fortnite creator is buying thousands of Blue Ridge Mts., North Carolina forested acres to stop it from being cut down

Megyn Kelly leaves NBC and keeps her $69 million dollar contract

UK: The left and right don yellow vests to vent anger over Tories, Brexit & migrants

Fatalities and multiple injuries in Ottawa double-decker bus crash [Update]

GoFundMe is refunding all donations made to the 'Fund the Wall' campaign, new 'We Build the Wall, Inc.' created

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