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Last year's natural disasters were costly but not so deadly


RT
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 14:57 UTC
Woman holding baby
© Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters
Woman with her son looks at the damage in the neighborhood after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria, in Canovanas, Puerto Rico.
A new report by the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) showed that 318 natural disasters which occurred last year and affected 122 countries have resulted in lower mortality than in previous years.

Floods and hurricanes, as well as landslides and a number of other natural disasters, claimed 9,503 lives compared to the average annual figure of 68,000 lives between 2007 and 2016.

The year was not so deadly but it turned out to be the second most costly, according to CRED, which estimated economic damage at $314 billion. That was reflected in the impact of three hurricanes - Harvey ($95 billion), Irma ($66 billion) and Maria ($69 billion), affecting the United States and the Caribbean.
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Beaker

Mission accomplished? Syrian research lab destroyed in missile strikes produced snake venom antidotes, not toxic weapons


AFP
Sat, 14 Apr 2018 12:42 UTC
Syrian Scientific Research
© AP Photo
Damage is shown of the Syrian Scientific Research Center which was attacked by U.S., British and French military strikes to punish President Bashar Assad for suspected chemical attack against civilians, in Barzeh, near Damascus, Syria, Saturday, April 14, 2018.
Plastic gloves and face masks lay scattered in the rubble of a Syrian research lab destroyed by Western strikes on Saturday, where an official denied the centre was developing chemical weapons.

US, British and French strikes slammed into a series of targets around Damascus that the Western countries said were linked to the Syrian government's chemical weapons programme.

One multi-storey complex, in the capital's northern district of Barzeh, had been completely reduced to rubble, AFP's correspondents saw during a government-sponsored tour on Saturday.

Its roof had been punched down and several walls appeared on the verge of collapse.

Even hours after the strikes wrapped up, plumes of smoke wafted lazily up from the building and a burning smell still hung in the air.

"The building had three storeys: a basement, ground floor, and second floor," said Said Said, an engineer who identified himself as head of the centre's paint and plastics department.

Comment: Good points. If there had been any chemicals weapons there, the whole area would be a no go zone. US Lt. Gen. McKenzie is quoted as saying, "We believe by hitting Barzah, we have hit the heart of the Syrian chemical weapons program." Apparently not.

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Map

Mapping international buyers of Russian agricultural equipment, 47 markets so far


RT
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 14:16 UTC
Farming
© Ilya Naymushin / Reuters
Exports of Russian-made agricultural machinery and equipment have been growing slowly but steadily in recent years. Russia's farming machinery has reportedly managed to win 47 international markets so far.

The latest data from the country's Trade Ministry shows that exports of agricultural machinery and equipment from Russia increased by 3.5 percent within the first quarter of the current year against the same period a year ago.

In 2017, exports grew by 16 percent compared to the previous year, which saw massive growth of 36 percent against 2015, according to the estimates published by the industry journal Agrobusiness.
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Attention

French police use tear gas & water cannons against thousands of eco-camp protesters


RT
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 13:17 UTC
Protesters
© Damien Meyer / AFP
Police use water cannons and tear gas to clear protesters during a demonstration in support of the Notre-Dame-des-Landes ZAD anti-airport camp on April 14, 2018.
Activists clashed with police for a sixth day in western France. Law enforcement officials used tear gas and water cannons against crowds protesting the demolition of their 'eco-camp' on the site of an abandoned airport.

Saturday's demonstration drew nearly 7,000 people in support of occupants of the ZAD (French abbreviation for 'Zone to Defend') anarchist commune, France 24 reported.

The rally erupted into open confrontation after the protesters, holding banners reading 'Stop violence,' attempted to storm barricades erected by law enforcement officials. Riot police fired tear gas in response to rocks and stun grenades being thrown at them. The windows of several shops were smashed and trash bins were set on fire.
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Question

Teen dies in family minivan under mysterious circumstances after police fail to locate him

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Fri, 13 Apr 2018 14:29 UTC
Kyle Plush
A tragic case of police incompetence unfolded this week which led to the death of a young boy who desperately needed police help, calling 911 multiple times, but died as they ignored his pleas.

Kyle Plush, a 16-year-old high school sophomore suffered a tragic fate this week as he was crushed to death in the back of his family's minivan. Somehow, Kyle had gotten trapped under the third row seat while the car was parked in the school parking lot and he was unable to free himself.

After he was trapped, Kyle managed to reach his cellphone and dialed 911 to beg police to come help him. Despite calling 911 twice, however, police ignored his calls. The subject of these calls is now under investigation as the lack of response led to the boy succumbing to asphyxiation and dying.

"I'm going to die here," the sophomore told the dispatcher during his first 911 call, which was placed shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday. "I probably don't have much time left. Tell my mom I love her if I die."
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Propaganda

Pentagon reports 2000% increase in Russian trolls since Syria strike

Josh Delk
The Hill
Sat, 14 Apr 2018 14:25 UTC
Dana White
The Pentagon reported Saturday a massive spike in online Russian propaganda efforts in the hours before and after the U.S. missile strike on Syria the night before.

"The Russian disinformation campaign has already begun. There has been a 2,000 percent increase in Russian trolls in the last 24 hours," chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a briefing on Saturday.

U.S. forces launched targeted missile strikes on Friday at key military outposts in Syria, where the government is thought to have stored chemical weapons used in a strike that killed over 40 civilians last weekend.

Syria, along with its allies Russia and Iran, has denied the use of chemical weapons and Russia has suggested the entire attack was a fabrication by western forces.

Comment: Nice try. The Internet Research Agency is really just a social media spam agency, not a troll farm. As for the 2000% increase in 'propaganda efforts', maybe it's because Russia is the only one keeping a cool head in the game and people are actually not happy with the US government's actions in Syria.

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Arrow Down

GM plant will lay off half of its workforce due to falling demand for small cars

Breck Dumas
The Blaze
Fri, 13 Apr 2018 14:24 UTC
GM logo
© Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
A GM plant in Ohio is cutting half their workforce in the coming months.
A General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio is scaling down operations - cutting as many as 1,500 jobs and reducing operations to just one shift per day. The move means half the employees at the factory will lose their positions.

The plant is dedicated to making the Chevrolet Cruze, but falling demand for smaller vehicles is forcing the manufacturer to adjust operations.

GM spokeswoman Dayna Hart did insist that the plant would remain open, saying in a statement that "Lordstown is among the few remaining builders of small cars in the US, and it is our plan to keep it that way. GM recently stated our commitment to sedans and the role Cruze plays in that commitment."

In a statement, GM added: "As we look at the market for compact cars in 2018 and beyond, we believe a more stable operating approach to match market demand is a one-shift schedule."
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Sheriff

No charges against officer who killed innocent dad during 'swatting' prank

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Fri, 13 Apr 2018 14:19 UTC
SWAT raid
In December, police responded to a prank call, also known as a "swatting," at the home of Andrew Finch. When the entirely innocent and unarmed Finch answered the door during the raid, an unnamed officer was recorded on video killing him in cold blood. Now, as the coverage has died down in the press, and as TFTP accurately predicted in January, the Wichita District Attorney announced that there will be no charges.

According to Kansascity.com, on Thursday, District Attorney Marc Bennett said he had to make a determination based on Kansas law and law handed down by the Supreme Court, which says that when determining if an officer acted reasonably, evidence has to be reviewed based on what the officer knew at the time of the shooting, not 20/20 hindsight, he said.

The DA's office also stated that they will keep the officer's name a secret because he will not be charged. During a press conference on Thursday, the Wichita police department released multiple other body cameras showing the summary execution of Finch. Those videos are below.
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Cheeseburger

'New Yorker' columnist: Chick-Fil-A restaurant must be banned from city cause owner is religious Christian


Conservative Fighters
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 14:06 UTC
Chick-Fil-A restaurant
On Friday, The New Yorker honed in on a serious threat to the lives of all New Yorkers: the arrival of Chick-Fil-A in their homey little corner of the universe. In a 1400-word diatribe titled "Chick-Fil-A's Creepy Infiltration of New York City," one Dan Piepenring wrote that New Yorkers should not accept the intrusion of a popular restaurant serving chicken because the owner happens to be a religious Christian. "The air smelled fried," Piepenring wrote, ominously.

"New York has taken to Chick-fil-A...And yet the brand's arrival here feels like an infiltration, in no small part because of its pervasive Christian traditionalism." What signs are there of this incipient theocracy? Its Atlanta corporate headquarters - not its New York store or any of its other stores - has Bible verses and a statue of Jesus, and its stores close on Sundays. That's it.

But the mere whiff of Jesus means that New York must cast out Chick-fil-A like a leper, and that those who refuse to do so have succumbed to the blasphemous entreaties of the Midianites. "When a location opened in a Queens mall, in 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a boycott. No such controversy greeted the opening of this newest outpost. Chick-fil-A's success here is a marketing coup. Its expansion raises questions about what we expect from our fast food, and to what extent a corporation can join a community," Piepenring rants.

Comment: Western countries are risking a serious war in the Middle East, and a New Yorker columnist decides that the real danger is a chicken sandwich restaurant because there are Christians working there. Talk about losing touch with reality!

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Megaphone

Andre Vltchek: Voices of the Syrian people

Andre Vltchek
New Eastern Outlook
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 13:09 UTC
Syrian children
The attack against Syria - this proud and independent country - has just taken place.

Three countries with zero moral mandate to judge or punish anybody; three countries already responsible for hundreds of millions of human lives lost on all continents for centuries, showered Syria with their missiles.

They tried to scare to death Syria, and to break its determination, but they failed. Most of the Syrian people stood proudly by their government.
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