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Fire

Belfast's Eleventh Night celebration marked by bonfires, a bus hijacking and petrol bombs

eleventh night bonfire
Towering bonfires decked out in Irish and EU flags were set ablaze across Belfast, Northern Ireland as Eleventh Night saw cars burned out, a bus hijack and a pipe bomb incident.

The bonfire night takes place on the eve of July 12, also known as Orangemen's Day, which marks Protestant William of Orange's victory over Catholic King James in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Large bonfires are constructed around Northern Ireland in the weeks leading up to the 11th, with police on high alert to remove the largest stacks of wooden pallets before they are lit.


Propaganda

Monty Python's John Cleese announces he'll leave UK due to 'lying British press'

John Cleese
© Dado Ruvic / Reuters
British actor John Cleese at the 23rd Sarajevo Film Festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 16, 2017
Actor and comedian John Cleese has declared he will leave the UK later this year due to the "lying and triviality" of the British press - ranked the least trustworthy among 33 European nations.

Cleese appeared on BBC Newsnight on Tuesday to express his frustration at the current state of Britain. While exasperated at the level of debate on Brexit, he more pointedly stated that his "particular beef" was with the British press.

The 78 year old, a long-time Liberal Democrat supporter who voted leave in the 2016 EU Referendum, came armed with a clipboard and chart to highlight the research carried out by the EU each year on the trust level, in the printed media by its citizens.

Comment: Here is the full segment on BBC Newsnight:




Gold Seal

Irish Senate passes law banning trade with Israeli illegal settlements

Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign
© AFP
Protesters join the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstration in Dublin
Proposed law prohibits the import or sale of goods and services produced in occupied territories around the world

The Irish Senate gave its support on Wednesday to legislation prohibiting the import or sale of goods and services produced in occupied territories around the world, including Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law.

The proposed law, which passed 25 to 20 to make it an offence to trade in such goods and services, was introduced by independent senator Frances Black and drew support from all Ireland's major political parties except the governing Fine Gael party.

Senior Palestinian Authority official Saeb Erekat hailed it as a "historic" vote and a "courageous gesture", which "sends a clear message to the international community and in particular to the rest of the European Union - to speak of a two-state solution is not enough without concrete measures".

Comment: Israeli settlements on Palestinian land are not only illegal, they are also used as a weapon against the local Palestinian population, as well as a tool to create 'facts on the ground' and take over land.

Imagine someone armed with a gun moving into your house and forcing you to move into the garage or move out. Then you call the police and the bully tells them that's actually his house, because that's where he lives.

For more context on the Irish decision: Ireland set to boycott imports from illegally occupied Israeli settlements


Arrow Down

Darwin award contender: Free jumper obliterates his knee after plunging 112ft into flooded quarry

Ryan Szymanski 1
© Caters News Agency
Ryan Szymanski pictured leaping into the quarry in Vermont
Footage has emerged showing the terrifying moment a daredevil free jumper obliterates his knee after plummeting 112 feet into a flooded quarry.

The clip captures Ryan Szymanski being cheered by onlookers as he hurls himself off the cliff before smashing into the murky water below.

It then shows the horrendous aftermath of the jump, with the 22-year-old in the hospital after he tore every ligament and tendon in his knee.

The video was filmed at a quarry in Vermont nicknamed "The Grotto" - a spot dubbed a "Mecca for cliff jumpers" by adrenaline junkies.

Cliff jumping - also known as tombstoning - involves either jumping or diving from a height into water.

Thriller-seekers hurl themselves from high-up ledges, such as cliffs, piers and other structures into the water below - often unaware of how deep the water may be and what lies beneath it.

Star of David

Pro-Israel think tank Middel East Forum funds UK activist Tommy Robinson's legal costs

Tommy Robinson
© Twitter
Far-right British activist Tommy Robinson
A notorious hardline, pro-Israel conservative think tank has claimed that it is helping fund the legal expenses of jailed far-right British activist Tommy Robinson.

In a statement published Sunday, the Middle East Forum (MEF) also took credit for funding protests that have taken place in support of Robinson, real name Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon.

Robinson was jailed for 13 months in May, "after being given 10 months for contempt of court, which he admitted, and a further three months for breaching a previous suspended sentence".

Comment: Make sure to check out "Working-class hero" Tommy Robinson serving Israel's Yinon Plan for Europe, where we read:
Tommy Robinson is objectively an Israeli asset, but is concerned chiefly with England and the future of the English. He's within his rights to do so. He's supported by international law, the UN founding charter, numerous treaties, as well as the right of any movement for national self-determination of peoples. He does not call for an even Greater Great Britain. There is no irredentism or national chauvinism in Robinson's own line. Palestine is not his issue, and he's not obligated to make it his issue. At this point he's probably said any number of ridiculous but - to be clear - historically and factually irrelevant claims about Palestine to satiate the Israelis. The fate of Palestine was never in the hands of any Robinson, and never will be. Israel is a convenient supporter for him. The Israel-Palestine question is clearly and obviously not his real subject of concern. That Israel has gotten him to mutter this or that about affairs outside of England and Europe is a result of Israel's interests, not Robinson's as such. But lumping him and his supporters into some 'basket of deplorables' is going to work out as well for his detractors as it did for Hillary Clinton.



Biohazard

Traces of chemical weapons agent found in shrimp in Sweden - Agency suspects abandoned WWII munitions

Freshly caught shrimp.
© Hans Deryk / Reuters
Freshly caught shrimp.
Traces of a chemical warfare agent were found in shrimp caught near the Swedish island of Maseskar, where 28 ships with chemical and other weapons were sunk by the allies after World War II, the Swedish National Water Agency said.

"We're talking about a very low concentration [of chemicals], which isn't considered dangerous for consumers, but these are substances that shouldn't be present in the marine environment," National Water Agency expert Fredrik Lindgren said, in a statement published by the organization's website. "This is especially serious" due to the intense fishing in the area, he cautioned.

The agency urged a complete fishing ban in the area surrounding the island, which is located in the Skagerrak straits linking the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Swedish and foreign fishing vessels operate in the area in accordance with international agreements.

Comment: Thinking you can dump unused bombs in the sea and not suffer any blowback is typical thinking for the 'leaders' of our planet:


Quenelle

Nearly half of Germans want US troops of out country, no longer paying for 'protection'

us army
© Omar Sobhani / Reuters
Almost every second German favors the withdrawal of US forces based there, according to a poll taken prior to the NATO summit, at which Donald Trump accused Berlin of relying on Washington's protection and not contributing enough.

Some 42 percent of Germans are ready to see 35,000 US troops return home, a new YouGov poll, conducted on behalf of the German Press Agency, revealed. Only 37 percent wanted to see US troops stay in Germany in some capacity. The remaining 21 percent did not decide.

The call for withdrawal is especially strong among left-leaning voters, with 67 supporting the move. Some 55 percent of Alternative for Germany (AfD) right-wing backers also called for the removal of US forces. The Greens stand 48 percent in support of ending the US presence in Germany.

The US troops served as a guarantor of West Germany's security during the Cold War. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the US refused to abandon its bases in a unified Germany and kept thousands of troops at the heart of Europe. With the ongoing changes in the transatlantic alliance driven by Donald Trump's determination to cut spending on military support of US allies, the administration has reportedly hinted that it might be ready to reduce troops in Germany.

Comment: Germany's politicians and its people are growing increasingly tired of its detrimental partnership with the ailing US regime:


Attention

US Embassy tells US citizens in UK to 'keep a low profile' during Trump visit

british police
The U.S. Embassy in London has issued an alert to U.S. citizens who will be in the United Kingdom's capital city during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit on July 13.

The embassy warned U.S. citizens "to keep a low profile" and "exercise caution" from July 12 to 14 in case crowds protesting Trump's policies become violent.

Protests against Trump are already being planned. London Mayor Sadiq Khan gave protesters permission on Thursday to fly a giant "Trump baby" blimp over the city when the president visits. The mayor of central U.K. city Sheffield symbolically banned Trump, even though the spot is not on Trump's itinerary.

Comment: Nice to see that programmed anti-Trump hysteria is as strong in the UK as it is in the US.

See also:


Stock Down

Markets 'fully in the red' as Trump mounts trade war with China

brokerage house in Shanghai
© Aly Song / Reuters
A man monitors an electronic screen at a brokerage house in Shanghai
Global stocks dropped on Wednesday after the US released a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese exports that could be subject to new ten percent tariffs.

The Shanghai Composite in China fell 1.8 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.3 percent. China's currency, the yuan, slid about 0.5 percent against the dollar.

Other markets also suffered, with Japan's Nikkei closing down 1.2 percent. Major European indexes dropped more than one percent, with shares in London off the most. The FTSE 100 was down by 112 points, or 1.4 percent, while Germany's DAX was off 1.31 percent and France's CAC 40 lower by 1.15 percent. The STOXX 600, which tracks the biggest companies in Europe, was down one percent.

Heart - Black

Paypal tells widower his deceased wife is in breach of contract because she is dead

paypalwl
© Guardian
PayPal always comes to collect your debt, a British man has discovered in a grievous manner, after the US company threatened action against his wife, who recently died of cancer, for the "breach of contract for being deceased."

The death of the 37-year-old British woman, Lindsay Durdle, who passed away from breast cancer, apparently violated PayPal's account holder policies. After being notified by her surviving husband, Howard, of her tragic end on May 31, the American company demanded, in a quite peculiar way, repayment of about £3,200 that she owed.

"You are in breach of condition 15.4(c) of your agreement with PayPal Credit as we have received notice that you are deceased," PayPal scolded, in a letter addressed to Mrs Durdle, after her husband provided copies of her death certificate, her will and his ID.

Comment: There is a point when tech companies rely so much on technology that they degrade humanity rather than helping. We're probably well passed that point.