Society's ChildS


Stock Up

Why are gas prices in Canada suddenly so damned high?

Tristin Hopper
The Province, Canada
Fri, 10 Nov 2017 10:27 UTC
Joliet refinery canada oil
© Scott Olson/Getty ImagesThe Joliet refinery in 2005.
Blame the Americans, then blame the Saudis, then, if you want, you can blame the anti-pipeline crowd

All of a sudden, Canadian gas prices are reaching heights not seen since the release of Sharknado. Even in a cheap fuel haven like Alberta, prices are peaking as high as $1.26 per litre in Edmonton and $1.28 in Calgary. In B.C., the average price is an incredible $1.38 per litre, breaking $1.40 in Vancouver.

So, the National Post called up Dan McTeague with GasBuddy.com and a semi-obsessive expert on all things petroleum. Below, the surprisingly complex backstory to why your Honda just got way more expensive to run.

Blame it all on a production slowdown in the U.S.

Despite our oceans of oil in Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada still gets much of its gasoline from U.S. refineries. ExxonMobil just slowed operations at its Joliet, Ill., refinery to carry out some seasonal maintenance. Same deal at a BP refinery in Whiting, Ind. Then a Texas-to-Oklahoma fuel pipeline sprung a leak, necessitating a temporary shutdown. All of these events barely merited a mention in the news, but they're collectively costing consumers millions in pricier gas. Much of the Canadian gasoline market is subject to the Chicago wholesale price for gasoline. At the beginning of October, it was $0.56 CDN per litre. Now, it's shot up to $0.65 CDN. And, of course, the end cost is significantly higher for Canadian drivers once taxes, transport costs and profit are all tacked on.


Comment: In short, the US sets prices by determining supply, for now at least.

Read More...
Rocket

SpaceX rocket engine explodes during test, investigations underway


RT
Fri, 10 Nov 2017 09:39 UTC
SpaceX rocket
© Bill Ingalls / Reuters
An experimental next-gen SpaceX rocket engine exploded during a test at the company's McGregor facility in Texas.

The explosion, first reported by the Washington Post, occurred on Saturday but the company only confirmed the engine failure on Wednesday. No-one was injured but the explosion caused damage to the facility, the company confirmed in a statement.

"All safety protocols were followed during the time of this incident," Ars Technica reports company spokesman, John Taylor, as saying. "We are now conducting a thorough and fully transparent investigation of the root cause. SpaceX is committed to our current manifest, and we do not expect this to have any impact on our launch cadence."
Read More...
Piggy Bank

Money-grubbing Mother Teresa kept Vatican Bank afloat - journalist


RT
Fri, 10 Nov 2017 09:30 UTC
Mother Teresa
© Nathalie Koulischer / ReutersMother Teresa joins her hands in greeting as she leaves Brussels Zaventem airport June 2, 1995.
Mother Teresa had such huge savings in the Vatican Bank that if she had withdrawn her funds the institution could have defaulted, according to an Italian journalist.

Gianluigi Nuzzi's newly-released book, 'The Original Sin,' digs into the Vatican's darkest secrets and details how, when American archbishop Paul Marcinkus was appointed president of the Vatican Bank, Mother Teresa was believed to have "by far the most cashed up account."

"If only Mother Teresa had closed the accounts or transferred them, the institute would have risked default," Nuzzi writes, La Presse reports.

The Italian author went on to say how the discovery of Mother Teresa's bank account is proof of Marcinkus' long-standing meddling in Vatican affairs.

Comment:

Read More...
Take 2

Terry Crews files sexual assault case against Hollywood

John Vibes
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 09 Nov 2017 08:25 UTC
terry crews
© WB
As the Hollywood sexual misconduct scandal continues to deepen, more high profile victims are coming forward with their stories, shedding more light on the type of predatory behavior that goes on behind closed doors in the entertainment industry. Many of these stories have fit the same profile of men in powerful positions preying on women and small children, but according to recent reports, even former NFL linebackers are not safe from the culture of sexual assault in Hollywood.

This week the beloved comedy actor and former NFL linebacker Terry Crews filed a sexual assault claim with the LAPD against a "high-level Hollywood executive" for groping him at an industry party last year. His wife Rebecca has made a statement that she was with Terry during the time of the assault and witnessed the whole thing. While Crews has not named his attacker in public, The Hollywood Reporter revealed in an investigation that Adam Venit, the head of WME's motion picture group, a talent agency, was placed on leave from the organization after he was somehow identified as the suspect of the assault.

Crews revealed the details of this assault through Twitter last month in response to the Harvey Weinstein revelations, saying that:
"This whole thing with Harvey Weinstein is giving me PTSD. Why? Because this kind of thing happened to ME. My wife n I were at a Hollywood function last year n a high level Hollywood executive came over 2 me and groped my privates. Jumping back I said What are you doing?! My wife saw everything n we looked at him like he was crazy. He just grinned like a jerk. I was going to kick his ass right then- but I thought twice about how the whole thing would appear. "240 lbs. Black Man stomps out Hollywood Honcho" would be the headline the next day. Only I probably wouldn't have been able to read it because I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN JAIL. So we left. That night and the next day I talked to everyone I knew that worked with him about what happened. He called me the next day with an apology but never really explained why he did what he did. I let it go. And I understand why many women who this happens to let it go. Who's going 2 believe you? ( few) What r the repercussions?(many) Do u want 2 work again? (Yes) R you prepared 2b ostracized?(No). I love what I do. But it's a shame and the height of disappointment when someone tries to takes advantage of that. He knows who he is. But sumtimes Uhav2 wait & compare notes w/ others who've been victimized in order 2gain a position of strength."

Comment: See also:

Hollywood imploding as sex scandals pile up
Sexual assault scandals will cost Hollywood millions in cancelled projects
Harvey Weinstein: A product of a sick Hollywood culture of excess and abuse

Read More...
Black Magic

Cannibal poet who ate his date's brain after gruesome murder found to be 'of sound mind'


RT
Thu, 09 Nov 2017 13:01 UTC
human brain
© Reuters
A Russian poet in his early 20s has been accused of killing a woman and "eating her brain piece by piece." The man, who met his victim through social media, has now been diagnosed as having been of "sound mind," local media report.

The blood-chilling episode played out earlier this year in the town of Valday in northwestern Russia, where the man was having a date with the 45-year-old victim. What was supposed to be a romantic encounter for the woman was set for March 8, marking International Women's Day.

However, the date went horribly wrong after the two had a row and the young man smashed the woman's head with bottle of wine, according to the regional Investigative Committee. What followed would send shivers down the spine of the most avid horror enthusiast.
Read More...
Megaphone

Former Channel 5 anchor Heather Unruh says Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her son

Laura Crimaldi and Travis Andersen
The Boston Globe
Wed, 08 Nov 2017 00:01 UTC
Heather Unruh
Former Channel 5 anchor Heather Unruh accused actor Kevin Spacey of sexually assaulting her teenage son last year on Nantucket, recounting the alleged attack during an emotional news conference Wednesday that included a vivid description of the encounter.

In July 2016, Unruh said her then 18-year-old son was at The Club Car, where the "House of Cards" actor was among the late-night crowd in the dimly lit restaurant.

Her son was mesmerized by Spacey, 58, Unruh said, and told him he was old enough to drink.

Comment: More on the revelations of Kevin Spacey's sexual predation:

Read More...
Attention

Remembrance: "To remember so much more"

Tim Hayward
Tim Hayward Wordpress
Thu, 09 Nov 2017 00:00 UTC
Remembrance
It is customary in my country, on Remembrance Day, to wear a red poppy to commemorate the fallen in war, with donations channeled to dependants and veterans. To observe remembrance is a mark of respect. For many, it is also an expression of gratitude.

Some people, however, decline to observe the tradition, on principle. They may believe that war should be lamented, not tacitly condoned. Some will stress that not only on active service are people killed or harmed in wars. Many children, women and men are innocent victims of the combatants commemorated with poppies. Celebrating the poppy could look like acquiescing in a deceptive idea of war as a noble activity allegedly in service of a free and democratic society.
Read More...
Info

Court overturns conviction of US Marine who urinated on dead Afghans


RT
Fri, 10 Nov 2017 02:55 UTC
urinating taliban Afghanistan US soldiers
© ReutersA still image taken January 11, 2012 from a YouTube video shows what US Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan
A former US Marine sentenced for urinating on the corpses of Afghans believed to be Taliban fighters in 2011 has had his conviction overturned. An appeals court ruled the Marine Commandant, who was seeking harsh punishment for those involved, had interfered in the trial.

The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the previous ruling and all charges against Joseph Chamblin were dropped. Wednesday's ruling comes five years after his initial trial, Military.com reported.

The infamous incident took place in July 2011 in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Footage of it leaked to YouTube in January 2012. The video shows a group of Marines joking and laughing while urinating on three corpses, believed to be that of Taliban fighters."Have a nice day, buddy," one of the men can be heard 'telling' a corpse.
Read More...
Syringe

Germany's worst serial killer since WWII is a nurse who may have killed over 100 of his patients


RT
Thu, 09 Nov 2017 17:13 UTC
killer nurse
© Günter Lenz / Global Look Press
More than 100 may have fallen victim to a nurse who induced heart failure in his patients to try to revive them later, authorities believe. Already sentenced to life in prison, the man has been dubbed Germany's worst postwar serial killer.

Named as Niels Hoegel, the male nurse is currently serving a life sentence after an Oldenburg court in Lower Saxony convicted him of two murders and two attempted murders back in 2015. The 40-year-old intentionally administered deadly injections of cardiac medication to stop the hearts of patients he then tried to revive. Hoegel said he enjoyed the feeling of being a heroic savior.
Read More...
Target

The attack on alternative media is being done under cover of an attack on "fake news"

Dave Lindorff
Salon
Mon, 06 Nov 2017 05:00 UTC
fake news
As the author of an article labeled "pro-Russia propaganda," I can testify that unorthodox views are under attack

These are tough days to be a serious journalist. Report a story now, with your facts all lined up nicely, and you're still likely to have it labeled "fake news" by anyone whose ox you've gored - and even by friends who don't share your political perspective. For good measure, they'll say you've based it on "alternative facts."

Historians say the term "fake news" dates from the late 19th-century era of "yellow journalism," but the term really took off in 2016, a little over a year ago, during Donald Trump's run for the presidency. It described several different things, from fact-free, pro-Trump online media to sensationalistic and largely untrue stories whose only goal was eyeballs and dollars. During the primary season, Trump himself began labeling all mainstream media stories about him as "fake news." The idea that there could be different truths, while dating at least back to the administration of President George W. Bush, when his consigliere Karl Rove claimed that the administration "made its own" reality, gained currency when Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, caught making stuff up in a TV interview, claimed that she was relying on "alternative facts."

Comment: And the war against 'alternative news' has just worsened: US Deep State's anti-RT repression reveals its war against those who dissent

Read More...