Society's ChildS


Robot

Japanese firms to try out singing drones to combat overwork culture


RT
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 19:51 UTC
A T-Frend indoor drone
© Blue Innovation / AFPA T-Frend indoor drone
Japan's intense work culture may be put to the test by a new drone, circling over the heads of over-industrious employees and blasting out loud music in an attempt to make them go home.

On Thursday, the companies Taisei, NTT East and Blue Innovation unveiled their new T-Frend drone, which hovers around the heads of workers clocking in overtime. It plays Auld Lang Syne, an 18th century Scottish ballad better known in Japan for telling shop customers it's closing time.

"You can't really work when you think 'it's coming over any time now' and hear Auld Lang Syne along with the buzz," Taisei director Norihiro Kato told AFP.

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2 + 2 = 4

Russia's ski jumping team elects to take part in 2018 Olympics under neutral flag


TASS
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 19:34 UTC
President of the Russian Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Federation Dmitry Dubrovsky said that the Association of Olympic Winter Sports was informed about federation's position

Russian ski jumper Denis Kornilov
© EPA/FEHIM DEMIRRussian ski jumper Denis Kornilov
Russia's ski jumping team has unanimously voted for taking part in the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea's PyeongChang under the neutral flag, President of the Russian Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Federation Dmitry Dubrovsky told TASS on Sunday.

"Members of the Russian ski jumping team held a general meeting and unanimously voted to taking part in the Olympic Games under the neutral flag. I think our Nordic combined athletes share this opinion. They simply cannot gather together now. Moreover, the presidium of our federation on Friday spoke in favor of participation of our athletes in the 2018 Olympics. We informed the Association of Olympic Winter Sports about our position," he said.
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Fire

Explosion & fire on Argentina's San Juan sub blamed on dysfunctional replacement batteries from German companies - reports


RT
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 13:43 UTC
Submarine
© ReutersThe Argentine military submarine ARA San Juan and crew are seen as they leave the port of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Two German companies are accused of supplying low-quality parts to the Argentinian Navy, German media say. The parts include batteries thought to have short-circuited inside the submarine ARA 'San Juan' that vanished in the Atlantic with 44 on board.

Ferrostaal and EnerSys-Hawker are the two companies suspected of delivering dysfunctional replacement batteries for the 'San Juan' through a vague corruption scheme, according to a report by German broadcasters Bayerischer Rundfunk and ARD.

The submarine, laid down in 1983 on German shipyards, underwent a major overhaul in 2011. Meant to give the 'San Juan' another 30 years of service, the overhaul included replacement of the vessel's 964 battery cells. Both firms have signed a contract worth €5,000,000 to deliver the spare parts, but they may have secured it through corruption means, according to the media outlets.

Cornelia Schmidt-Liermann, head of the foreign affairs committee of the Argentinian Parliament, told ARD the authorities believe that bribes have been involved in securing the 'San Juan' repair contract.
In addition, there are indications that the batteries did not meet quality requirements, she told Bayerischer Rundfunk: "There is a suspicion that the batteries that have been replaced were not of the quality that they should have been."

Comment: See also:

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Eye 1

Israeli logic: IDF ridiculed after taking a stance on commander caught stealing apples from Palestinians, massacring thousands of Palestinians is self-defense


RT
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 14:35 UTC
Soldiers stealing apples
© Mussa Qawasma / ReutersAn Israeli soldier shouts during clashes with Palestinians at a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the West Bank city of Hebron
The Israeli military has been flamed online after news of its suspending a squad commander. The IDF said it didn't condone his act of stealing apples from a Palestinian street vendor, which he did amid a crackdown on protests in occupied West Bank.

The unit from the Givati brigade was deployed to to Hebron and patrolled an area near the Palestinian city's market on Saturday, when the act of petty theft took place, according to Haaretz. The soldiers had been ordered to deal with any disturbance in the wake of Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

The unidentified squad commander seized an opportunity to take three apples from an abandoned vendor stall and share them with his subordinates. He probably didn't expect that anyone outside of the squad would notice, but the episode was not only witnessed but also filmed by a group of Palestinians hiding in a building nearby. The video was published online and quickly went viral.

The IDF responded by suspending the man from his position until a full investigation is conducted. A spokesman for the military said the thief was facing disciplinary action. The IDF also made a statement on its Twitter account, saying it "does not condone this behavior". The responses to the tweet, some of which are in broken but intelligible English, are probably not what the Israeli command would like to see.

Comment: See also: How Israel uses the holocaust to deflect from its own damning similarities with the Nazi regime

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Bullseye

Why the self-deceptive sexual inquisition has crossed the line into vengeance

Melanie Phillips
The Times UK
Tue, 05 Dec 2017 23:19 UTC
#MeToo, sexual harassment
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
The tsunami of allegations about the sexual misbehaviour of men prominent in public life shows no sign of abating. Almost every day sees another high-profile man accused of sexual assault or harassment, leaving him fighting for his reputation and career.

In Los Angeles at the weekend I watched a terrific film that provides an illuminating if unintentional commentary upon the current furore. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri opens in the UK next month. The plot revolves around a woman called Mildred Hayes whose daughter has been raped and murdered.

Mildred is nearly driven mad by grief and rage over the fact that the murderer has not been caught. Convinced that this is because the police are indifferent to a brutal sex crime against a young girl, she uses three huge billboards to shame the local police chief into action.

The film is beautifully written and brilliantly acted and directed. It is a deeply black comedy which, through an often nightmarish and surreal plot, also conveys the bleakness of life for those who have been dealt an unfavourable hand by fate.
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Question

Why are record numbers of American farmers killing themselves?

Cristina Abellan Matamoros
The Guardian
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 17:47 UTC
The suicide rate for farmers is more than double that of veterans. Former farmer Debbie Weingarten gives an insider's perspective on farm life - and how to help

Debbie Weingarten
It is dark in the workshop, but what light there is streams in patches through the windows. Cobwebs coat the wrenches, the cans of spray paint and the rungs of an old wooden chair where Matt Peters used to sit. A stereo plays country music, left on by the renter who now uses the shop.

"It smells so good in here," I say. "Like ..."

"Men, working," finishes Ginnie Peters.

We inhale. "Yes."

Ginnie pauses at the desk where she found her husband Matt's letter on the night he died.
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Bulb

China looking to deploy 'swimming pool' sized nuclear plants to provide reliable winter heating

David Stanway
Reuters
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 13:17 UTC
china nuclear power
With its smog-prone north desperate to slash coal consumption, China is looking to deploy nuclear power to provide reliable winter heating, raising public safety concerns - though developers say the risks are minimal.

State-owned China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) recently conducted a successful 168-hour trial run in Beijing for a small, dedicated "district heating reactor" (DHR) it has named the "Yanlong".

With the north facing natural gas shortages as cities switch away from coal, CNNC presented the "DHR-400" as an alternative heat supplier for the region, with each 400-megawatt unit capable of warming 200,000 urban households.
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Attention

Israeli security guard wounded in knife attack; unnamed Palestinian man taken into custody


RT
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 17:45 UTC
Israeli police
© Ronen Zvulun / ReutersPedestrians stand behind a police cordon as Israeli police patrol the area where a man was stabbed at the central bus station in Jerusalem December 10, 2017.
An Israeli security guard has been severely wounded in a stabbing attack outside Jerusalem's central bus station, paramedics say. The knifeman has been taken alive into custody.

Medics at the scene treated a 25-year-old man for a stab wound to his upper body, Magen David Adom (MDA), head of Israel's national medical emergency service, said on Twitter. The attack occurred on Jaffa Street in central Jerusalem.

Little is known about the attacker beyond the detail that he was neutralized and sustained a head wound, but survived.

Comment: Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital - makes it official, Israel controls USA

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Attention

Russian police search for man with grenade launcher seen in St. Petersburg metro station


RT
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 14:45 UTC
St. Petersburg Metro
© Alexei Danichev / SputnikA train arrives at station of the St. Petersburg Metro.
Russian police are looking for a man who was reportedly seen riding the St. Petersburg Metro with what appeared to be a rocket launcher. The manhunt was launched after other passengers reported the issue to police.
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Eye 1

Trump administration sued by Center for Biological Diversity for allowing 'unlimited' dumping of fracking waste into Gulf of Mexico


RT
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 10:30 UTC
Oil rig
© Henry Romero / ReutersA general view of the Centenario deep-water oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Veracruz, Mexico.
The Trump administration is being sued by an activist organization for allegedly allowing oil companies to dump waste from fracking and drilling into the Gulf of Mexico, without considering the detrimental effect it will have on marine life.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice of intent Thursday, after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a Clean Water Act permit in September for new and existing offshore oil and gas platforms operating in federal waters off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Center allege that the Trump administration approved the permit - which allows unlimited amounts of waste fluid and chemicals to be dumped into the Gulf of Mexico - without evaluating the effect it will have on sea turtles, whales and other marine life.

Comment: See also:

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