Society's Child

When children protest, adults should tell them the truth

Kathrine Jebsen Moore
Quillette
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 07:55 UTC

Last Friday, children in over 120 countries skipped school to follow the example of a Swedish 16-year-old who has become an international icon of climate change activism. Greta Thunberg's extensive media coverage has made her a familiar figure-large almond-shaped eyes, brown plaited hair, serious expression, and diminutive stature. This month she was named Swedish Woman of the Year and also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by three socialist Norwegian MPs. She has spoken to world leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference and she has delivered a talk to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Her achievements are extraordinarily impressive for a young girl suffering, by her own account, from several mental health issues.

Thunberg is inspiring thousands of schoolchildren to join her skolstrejk för klimatet, or "school strike for the climate." She has dedicated every Friday to this cause since August 2018, following her first full-time strike. Inspired by the teen activists in Florida who organised the March For Our Lives in response to the shooting at Parkland school, Thunberg's protests outside the Swedish Parliament and clever speeches-a TedxStockholm talk in November 2018 and rallies in Hamburg and London-have brought a fresh face to the environmental movement. Her activism has received uncritical adulation from public figures and world leaders, including Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel and US Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders, who tweeted:

Comment: See also:

France: 12 churches attacked, vandalized in a week

Thomas D. Williams
Breitbart
Fri, 22 Mar 2019 02:47 UTC

A dozen Catholic churches have been desecrated across France over the period of one week in an egregious case of anti-Christian vandalism.

The recent spate of church profanations has puzzled both police and ecclesiastical leaders, who have mostly remained silent as the violations have spread up and down France.

Last Sunday, marauders set fire to the church of Saint-Sulpice - one of Paris' largest and most important churches - shortly after the twelve-o'clock Mass.

Police have concluded that the fire was the result of arson and are now looking for possible suspects. The restoration of the church from the damage caused by the fire will reportedly cost several hundred million euros.

Comment: In addition, yesterday, in the UK, four mosques were vandalized. It's possible that some of these vandals are a ideologically motivated by recent events, some are copycats, while others are a deliberate effort to incite further trouble:

Red Bull wingsuit stunt team's 'meteor' sets Los Angeles skies ablaze

Travis Fedschun
Fox News
Fri, 22 Mar 2019 03:24 UTC

parachute meteor stunt los angeles red bull

A streak of light in the skies over downtown Los Angeles Wednesday night that sparked the attention of onlookers wasn't the opening to the next Hollywood disaster flick, but instead a stunt to celebrate the final supermoon of the year.

The spectacle was reported around 7:30 p.m., with many taking to Twitter to share videos and photos of the sight.

"What is this flying item on fire above downtown Los Angeles?" Dennis Hegstad wrote.

FBI joins criminal probe into Boeing 737 Max certification

Mike James and Kevin Johnson
USA Today
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 21:12 UTC

© Reuters / Tiksa Negeri
Aircraft engine parts scattered at the scene of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. March 11, 2019.

The FBI has joined the widening criminal probe into how Boeing's 737 Max 8 jets were deemed as safe in the months before two of them crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, leading to a worldwide grounding of the vaunted planes amid scrutiny of U.S. certification standards.

A person familiar with the inquiry told USA TODAY on Wednesday that the FBI is assisting federal transportation authorities in their investigation into the jet's certification process, which has come under criticism for possible cozy relationships between Boeing and FAA inspectors.

The two crashes killed more than 300 people since October. Transportation Department officials are leading the investigation into the Federal Aviation Administration approval of the passenger jet, while the FBI is providing needed resources, said the person, who is not authorized to comment publicly.

Comment: New details have also surfaced that the captain of the doomed Ethiopian airliner had ZERO hours of 737 MAX 8 simulator training:

The Ethiopian carrier set up a MAX 8 flight simulator in January, two months before the crash, but the captain of the doomed aircraft never used it, the New York Times wrote on Wednesday, citing people close to the airline.

According to the report, the pilot's last simulator training took place in September and October, when the company still didn't have the necessary equipment to teach its staff to fly Boeing's newest aircraft. The next training course wasn't scheduled until after March 10 when the disaster happened.

Church of England calls out Home Office for denying refugees asylum over 'violence' in Christianity

RT
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 19:15 UTC

The UK Home Office has refused asylum to an Iranian convert, saying that Christianity is not as 'peaceful' as he claims. It even cited Bible verses to support its position. Now the Church of England is stepping in.

The letter from the Home Office now making the rounds on social media uses out of context Bible verses from books like Revelations to disprove the Iranian national's claim in his 2016 asylum request that he abandoned Islam and converted based on the peaceful nature of Christianity.

Comment: Part of the problem of immigrants vs natives in a country is the clash of values. Yet here was a refugee professing the values as the country applied to (Christian), and yet was turned down. What is really going on here?

'Miss Hitler' used in effort to recruit members in neo-Nazi group, court hears

Danny De Vaal
The Daily Mail
Wed, 20 Mar 2019 20:38 UTC

© youtube
Alice Cutter 22, leaves Birmingham Crown Court where she is on trial with three others, accused of being members of the banned Neo-Nazi group National Action

A NEO-Nazi terror suspect took part in a "Miss Hitler" beauty contest organised to attract new members for a far-right extremist group, a court heard.

Alice Cutter, 22, went on to win the competition organised by National Action after taking on the nickname Buchenwald Princess in a nod to the Nazi death camp.

The competition has since been branded a 'publicity stunt' to gain new members and to raise the group's profile.

Cutter is standing trial at Birmingham Crown Court with her partner Mark Jones, who is accused of posing for a photograph while giving a Nazi salute in Buchenwald's execution room.

Comment: People are told 'white extremism' like this is on the rise and infiltrating all of society. Let's not lose perspective. A grand total of four people are being charged with membership in this group.

Clueless scholar makes 'moral case' for letting people decide their own age

Edyta Wolk
The College Fix
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 20:07 UTC

Says recognition of 'trans-ageism' would prevent 'severe discrimination'

A recent article published in The Journal of Medical Ethics by a Finnish bioethicist made a moral case for the legal change of a person's age to correspond with that person's "experienced age."

The piece, by Joona Räsänen of the University of Oslo in Norway, titled "A Moral Case for Legal Age Change," concludes that there are three scenarios when a change to one's legal age should be allowed: When "the person genuinely feels his age differs significantly from his chronological age," when "the person's biological age is recognized to be significantly different from his chronological age," and when "age change would likely prevent, stop or reduce ageism, discrimination due to age, he would otherwise face."

Räsänen differentiates between "chronological" age, or how long the person has actually lived; "biological age," or the state of one's body; and "emotional" age, the age as which one identifies.

UN human rights chief decries US choking of Venezuela as Trump mulls imposing 'toughest' sanctions

RT
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 19:59 UTC

US economic pressure only contributes to Venezuela's woes and will likely further affect the people's "basic rights," the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, has warned, as the US threatens even tougher sanctions.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has stepped up her criticism of the US policies against crisis-ridden Venezuela, saying that Washington's approach only makes the situation there worse. Bachelet in particular expressed her concern over the sanctions targeting Venezuela's oil trade, as these "may contribute to aggravating the economic crisis" and have "repercussions on people's basic rights and wellbeing."

It is not the first time the UN human rights chief has scolded Washington over its pressure against the Latin American country, which suffers from hyperinflation and other economic problems. On March 6, Bachelet said that the sanctions had fueled the crisis, which had reached an "alarming" state.

Google slapped with another EU antitrust fine; grand total now over $9.3B

Cale Guthrie Weissman
Fast Company
Wed, 20 Mar 2019 07:37 UTC

This morning, the European Union slapped Google with a €1.5 billion fine, which comes to a little over $1.7 billion. This latest fine was over its antitrust practices with its advertising business.

Essentially, for years Google didn't allow its AdSense customers to feature rival search engines on their sites. Over the years, the company eased up on these rules, but European officials still decided the practice amounted to illegal behavior. This may be an especially tough blow for Google, since AdSense's contribution to the company's overall revenue has been steadily decreasing over the last six-plus years, according to Bloomberg.

This is the latest of many European fines Google has been hit with over its advertising practices. The EU levied both a €4.3 billion and €2.4 billion fine, over its mobile advertising business and e-commerce search results. This latest decision brings the bill to €8.2 billion, or a little over $9.3 billion. Google has been appealing both previous rulings.

Comment: See also:

Birmingham, UK: Four mosques attacked with sledgehammers

RT
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 10:58 UTC

Mosques have been targeted in overnight attacks in Birmingham, police have confirmed. Counter-terrorism officers are investigating the incidents, but no motive has been attributed.

An initial attack was reported at a mosque on Birchfield Road 2.32am local time and, as officers were responding, additional reports were received of a man smashing windows at another mosque on Slade Road at approximately 3.14am local time.

New Lt. Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears: "We're going to have safer neighborhoods, safer communities, and our children are going to get a good...

parzival

Bill Gates is going to be the one with the uncertain future,,, * New Lt. Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears: "We're going to have safer...

parzival

The more we hear about adverse affects the more we will merely shrug. It's a catch 22. Is that an asteroid trail in the photo?

sass

Welcome to the new normal. The more sensory exposure we have about such things, the less it is an issue.

sass

more misbehaving phuqqin' jewzskies starring on the sott; speaks for itself

Jibrish

Society's Child

When children protest, adults should tell them the truth

France: 12 churches attacked, vandalized in a week

Red Bull wingsuit stunt team's 'meteor' sets Los Angeles skies ablaze

FBI joins criminal probe into Boeing 737 Max certification

Church of England calls out Home Office for denying refugees asylum over 'violence' in Christianity

'Miss Hitler' used in effort to recruit members in neo-Nazi group, court hears

Clueless scholar makes 'moral case' for letting people decide their own age

UN human rights chief decries US choking of Venezuela as Trump mulls imposing 'toughest' sanctions

Google slapped with another EU antitrust fine; grand total now over $9.3B

Birmingham, UK: Four mosques attacked with sledgehammers

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