Society's Child

211.6 million gallons of sewage spilled into Florida town's waterways

Emma Fiala
The Mind Unleashed
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 11:37 UTC

According to officials, around 212 million gallons of sewage has spilled into Fort Lauderdale's waterways over the last few months. That's enough sewage to fill a shocking 320 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

During December 2019, the south Florida city's sewer pipes broke six times resulting in the spilling of 126.9 million gallons of sewage. It was one of south Florida's biggest spills to date. In the end, the Tarpon River, the Himmarshee Canal, and the streets in three different neighborhoods were affected: Rio Vista, Victoria Park, and Coral Ridge.

And then from January 30 until February 8, 79.3 million gallons of additional sewage spilled into George English Lake while 5.4 million gallons flooded city streets.

City officials reportedly stopped the leak three days after it was discovered by installing a bypass line but later that same day another leak was found.

Man seeks release from prison 25 years into 60-year cannabis sentence in a legal state

John Vibes
The Mind Unleashed
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 09:55 UTC

"I can't die in here. For what? Some marijuana and some guns in a locked closet?"

For more than a year, cannabis has been legal in the state of Michigan and businesses across the state are making millions in the legal industry. However, tens of thousands of people are still incarcerated under charges relating to cannabis, despite its recent change in legal status.

Michael Thompson is one of those people. The 68-year-old is currently fighting for a shot to be released after spending the past 25 years in jail. Thompson was sentenced to 60 years in prison for cannabis distribution in 1996 — a sentence that would effectively keep him in jail for the rest of his life with no chance for parole until he is in his late 80s.

Two years ago, Thompson was denied clemency by former Gov. Rick Snyder, but he hopes his chances will be better now that cannabis is legal and now that there is a growing support movement on the outside.

As Weinstein verdict comes in, what has #MeToo wrought?

Nebojsa Malic
RT
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 11:49 UTC

© REUTERS/Carlo Allegri; AFP / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Sarah Morris
(L) Film producer Harvey Weinstein (R) #MeToo March on November 10, 2018 in Hollywood, California

Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein is facing a reckoning for his 'casting couch' habits - but the #MeToo movement he triggered has not only empowered victims, it's grown into a weapon for politicians and culture warriors.

Weinstein was hauled before a Manhattan court last month, to answer a multitude of charges of rape and sexual assault. Over 100 women have gone on record accusing him of misconduct since actress Rose McGowan (Charmed) led the way in 2017, accusing the powerful producer of having raped her 20 years prior.

The jury begins deliberations on his verdict on Tuesday. Whether he is found guilty or acquitted, Weinstein's case has reverberated not just in Hollywood or the US, but globally, with far-reaching consequences on society, politics and relations between the sexes.

The 'casting couch' has long been one of Hollywood's worst-kept secrets. McGowan's allegations brought some of it out into the open, only to see Weinstein's powerful political friends weaponize the mounting #MeToo outrage for their own ends.

Comment: See also: West Point tackles 'toxic masculinity'

Commercial pig farm in China said it jammed drone signal to combat swine fever blackmailers

Min Zhang and Tom Daly
Yahoo! News
Fri, 20 Dec 2019 18:45 UTC

One of China's biggest animal feed producers said it had used a radio transmitter to combat crooks using drones to drop pork products contaminated with African swine fever on its pig farms, as part of a racket to profit from the health scare.

In July, China's agriculture ministry said criminal gangs were faking outbreaks of swine fever on farms and forcing farmers to sell their healthy pigs at sharply lower prices.

And on Thursday, a state-backed news website, The Paper, reported that a pig farming unit of Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co Ltd had run foul of the regional aviation authority, as its transmitter had disrupted the GPS signal in the area.

Comment: Maybe more of an excuse to crack down on civilian access to drones?

Dr. Liu Zhiming, hospital director in Wuhan, succumbs to coronavirus

Lee Brown
New York Post
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 18:24 UTC

Dr. Liu Zhiming, director of Wuchang Hospital in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

The head of the Chinese hospital at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak has become one of the latest victims — dying Tuesday despite "all-out" attempts to save him, officials confirmed.

As director of Wuchang Hospital, Dr. Liu Zhiming led the fight to try to contain COVID-19, dedicating the hospital to treating the thousands of patients arriving every day. It ultimately cost him his life, with Wuhan's health bureau confirming that he died at 10:54 a.m. Tuesday. He was 51.

Announcing his death, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said Liu had taken part in the battle against the virus from the start and had made "important contributions in the work of fighting and controlling" the virus.

Comment: Dr. Zhiming's death is a tragedy, as it was due to his dedication to his patients to the point of exhaustion. It is sad that he will not see this outbreak diminish as the COVID-19 virus burns out. His patients will remember him with gratitude.

Russia experiences a 20.5% jump in tourism, e-visa liberalization planned for 2021

RT
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 17:43 UTC

It may be the world's largest country and bursting with visitor attractions, but Russia has long punched below its weight in the tourism sector. Now, signs suggest this is beginning to change.

In 2019, 5.1 million people came to the country as tourists - a 20.5 percent increase on the previous year, during which the FIFA World Cup was staged in 11 Russian cities. That's according to brand-new figures released by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.

At the top of the leaderboard for visitors is China. In 2019, 1.5 million Chinese crossed the border for the purposes of tourism, a rise of almost 19 percent. The vast majority of Chinese citizens visited through the visa-free scheme, which makes it easier for tourist groups to travel.

Of course, these figures may drop in 2020, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Overall, the top five countries sending tourists to Russia have not changed: Germany, South Korea, the USA and Israel making up the rest of the quintet, with the most significant growth coming from France, at 32.4 percent.Tourism from all areas of the globe increased in 2019, with the exception of Latin America. This is probably due to inflated 2018 numbers as the World Cup attracted so many football fans from this region.

Teen accused of killing mother, brother arrested in North Carolina

Hannah Natanson, Moriah Balingit and Marissa J. Lang
Washington Post
Sun, 16 Feb 2020 23:56 UTC

© Moriah Balingit/The Washington Post
The Fauquier County house where 17-year-old Levi Norwood is accused of killing his mother and 6-year-old brother and then shooting and wounding his father.

The Virginia teen was allegedly trying to steal hair dye, a change of clothes and a backpack from a store in Durham, N.C., when police arrested him Saturday evening.

But Levi H. Norwood, a 17-year-old high school junior, is accused of a far more disturbing crime than shoplifting. He has been charged with two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of his mother, Jennifer L. Norwood, 34, and his brother Wyatt Norwood, 6.

At a news conference Sunday, Fauquier County Sheriff Robert P. Mosier said investigators have yet to recover any guns used.

The victims were discovered by Levi Norwood's father, Joshua H. Norwood, when he arrived home Friday evening shortly after 6 p.m. Some time after that, authorities said, Levi Norwood shot and injured his father, who ran outside and phoned 911.

Joshua Norwood was later hospitalized and in stable condition as of Saturday, though Mosier would not give an update on his status Sunday. Mosier also declined to discuss possible motives for the shooting, though he noted there were no previous reports of 911 calls made from the Norwoods' home while the family lived there.

Carnage as brawl erupts at England youth boxing championships

RT
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 10:43 UTC

There were terrifying scenes as a man with blood gushing from his head was seen wielding an axe at a junior boxing event in England this weekend as mass violence broke out among the crowd.

Four people were hospitalized following the clashes at the England Boxing National Youth Championships, during which chairs were launched and one man was seen setting off a fire extinguisher before hurling it.

A trail of destruction was also seen outside the Sports Connexion venue in Coventry, where police were called to the scene before the event was called off.

There are reports that the violence - which was described by local police as "terrifying" - was sparked by rival families in attendance.

Comment: See also: Mass brawl and stabbing at London's Euston tube station

Gangster-climate ally? Greta gets flamed for posing with crime-glamorizing rapper

RT
Mon, 17 Feb 2020 08:59 UTC

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has exposed herself to intense internet mockery after posing with a controversial Swedish rapper who purportedly spent several years in prison.

The musical artist, 1.Cuz, performed at Thunberg's recent "Fridays for Future" rally in central Stockholm. Known for always wearing a mask and keeping his real identity a secret, 1.Cuz raps about crime, drugs and his hatred of the cops.

In a recent interview with Swedish media, the rapper reportedly revealed that he had served two years in prison for a "serious" crime - but did not go into specifics. According to local media reports, the rapper was invited to perform at the rally in the hope of bolstering attendance.

Comment: Being an extremist herself, it is not all that strange for her to befriend questionable characters. See also:

John Pilger: Julian Assange must be freed, not betrayed

John Pilger
johnpilger.com
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 00:01 UTC

On Saturday, there will be a march from Australia House in London to Parliament Square, the centre of British democracy. People will carry pictures of the Australian publisher and journalist Julian Assange who, on 24 February, faces a court that will decide whether or not he is to be extradited to the United States and a living death.

I know Australia House well. As an Australian myself, I used to go there in my early days in London to read the newspapers from home. Opened by King George V over a century ago, its vastness of marble and stone, chandeliers and solemn portraits, imported from Australia when Australian soldiers were dying in the slaughter of the First World War, have ensured its landmark as an imperial pile of monumental servility.

As one of the oldest "diplomatic missions" in the United Kingdom, this relic of empire provides a pleasurable sinecure for Antipodean politicians: a "mate" rewarded or a troublemaker exiled.

Comment: See also:

well you sure don't have to think about anything so what would you call it

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Society's Child

211.6 million gallons of sewage spilled into Florida town's waterways

Man seeks release from prison 25 years into 60-year cannabis sentence in a legal state

As Weinstein verdict comes in, what has #MeToo wrought?

Commercial pig farm in China said it jammed drone signal to combat swine fever blackmailers

Dr. Liu Zhiming, hospital director in Wuhan, succumbs to coronavirus

Russia experiences a 20.5% jump in tourism, e-visa liberalization planned for 2021

Teen accused of killing mother, brother arrested in North Carolina

Carnage as brawl erupts at England youth boxing championships

Gangster-climate ally? Greta gets flamed for posing with crime-glamorizing rapper

John Pilger: Julian Assange must be freed, not betrayed

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