Welcome to Sott.net
Mon, 08 Nov 2021
The World for People who Think

Society's Child
Map

Star of David

Trial of Ahed Tamimi adjourned to next month after brief hearing with public banned from proceedings


teleSUR
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Ahed Tamimi
© Reuters
Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi enters a military courtroom escorted by Israeli security personnel as her lawyer Gaby Lasky (L) stands near, at Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Feb. 13, 2018.
The Palestinian 17-year-old could face up to 14 years prison for defying the occupation.

The trial of Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi started in the Israeli military court at Ofer military prison in the West Bank on Tuesday. The teen activist faces 12 charges, some of which date back to 2016, and could be sentenced to 14 years in prison after the months-long trial is completed.

The Israeli military targeted Tamimi after her mother, a prominent Palestinian rights activist, posted a video last December in which Ahed can be seen kicking and slapping a heavily armored Israeli soldier and threatening to hit another. She was then seized by the military during a night raid and has been in custody awaiting trial since then. Tamimi celebrated her 17th birthday last month in Israel's HaSharon Prison.

Human rights organizations, activists, and well-wishers have condemned her arrest and demanded her immediate release, but authorities have denied her the opportunity to access bail. In India alone, 10 million women are demanding her release, saying in a statement that their own struggles against patriarchy, caste, class, religious divides and militarization form the basis of their solidarity with Palestinian women.

Comment: Please consider signing the letter to free Ahed Tamimi and all Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons.

      Read More...
Ambulance

Homeless man found dead metres from Parliament


RT
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 18:47 UTC
Train station
© Reuters/ Toby Melville
Man found dead outside Westminster Tube Station
A man was found dead just metres from the doors of Parliament in London, sparking outrage from Labour politicians who have called it an indictment of the state of 'Tory Britain.'

A homeless man who frequented the entrance of Westminster Station was found dead next to the underpass in exit three on Wednesday morning.

Ambulances were called, but by the time they reached the man, he was not breathing.
Paramedics said the man died at about 07:33 GMT.

Metropolitan Police are treating the death of the man as unexplained, but not suspicious.
      Read More...
Gem

The Commonwealth has set up 'high level group' to consider who might succeed Queen Elizabeth

James Lansdale
BBC News
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Britain's Queen Elizabeth
© Reuters
Britain's Queen Elizabeth.
The Commonwealth has secretly begun considering who might succeed the Queen as its head, the BBC has learned.

The issue is hugely sensitive because the role is not hereditary and will not pass automatically to the Prince of Wales on the Queen's death.

The Commonwealth has set up a "high level group" to look at the way the international organisation is governed.

This group is meeting later, officially to review how the Commonwealth is run by its secretariat and governors.

It said the issue of the succession of the head of the Commonwealth was not part of the group's mandate, but described the day-long discussions as "open".

However, senior sources added that the gathering in London would also consider what happens when the Queen, who turns 92 in April, dies.
      Read More...
Airplane

San Francisco settles lawsuit by firefighter in Asiana Flight 214 plane crash


Yahoo News
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Plane crash
© AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
This July 6, 2013, file photo shows the wreckage of Asiana Flight 214 on the ground after it crashed at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco. A San Francisco firefighter who says she was wrongly singled out for driving over a teen thrown from the wreckage of the 2013 airliner crash will receive $250,000 from the city to settle her lawsuit. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the settlement in a vote Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018.
A San Francisco firefighter who says she was wrongly singled out for driving over a teen thrown from the wreckage of a 2013 airliner crash will receive $250,000 from the city to settle her lawsuit.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the settlement in a Tuesday vote.

Elyse Duckett alleged she was being made a scapegoat for larger failures in the rescue efforts after the crash of Asiana Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport.

The teen and two other people died, and nearly 200 passengers and crew were injured when the flight from South Korea slammed into a seawall at the end of a runway during its final approach.

Comment: See also: Asiana Flight 214 wreckage at San Francisco airport begins smoking while being removed

      Read More...
2 + 2 = 4

The Young Labour Equalities Conference - "But Some Animals are More Equal than Others"

Tom Chambers
Sott.net
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 19:51 UTC
Labour Party
© Labour Party
War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength

George Orwell - "1984"
You can add to that, 'Inequality is Equality'.

In the weeks preceding Nov. 9th 2016, polls showed that the US presidential race was a done deal: Trump was just a clown, Hillary was a dead cert.

And then, KABOOM! American Liberals, Democrats and the mainstream media had a rude awakening as Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States.

How the hell did that happen?

Well, there's a little secret that many politicians in Western nations today seem to have forgotten. The way democracy works is that, to win an election, you have to actually win a majority of votes. And in order to win a majority of votes, you have to win over a majority of voters.

It's simple math. It's simple economics, too: Know your market. Ingroup self-referencing and hubris-fueled echo chambers don't cut it.
      Read More...
Document

UK MPs targeted with leaflets warning that LGBT-inclusive sex education has 'risks similar to smoking, adultery & violence'


RT
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 17:52 UTC
Laura Pidcock
© Alberto Pezzali / Global Look Press
A string of MPs have been targeted with anti-LGBT leaflets suggesting gay- and trans-inclusive education in schools comes with the same risks as activities such as smoking, adultery and violence.

The pamphlets blasted an "oversexualized" society for promoting LGBT relationships among children in schools, something they branded "thoroughly bad." The leaflets, fronted with a picture of a cigarette package, and which are understood to have been sent to MPs from various parties, debase trans and gay people by comparing the discussion of their activities to "smoking, adultery, lying, violence, stealing or overeating."
      Read More...
Георгиевская ленточка

Resolving Yemen's crisis - ambassador wants Russia to play key role


Sputnik
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 16:29 UTC
Yemen
© Naif Rahma / Reuters
Smoke rises as people inspect damage at the site of air strikes in the city of Saada, Yemen January 6, 2018.
Yemen wants Russia to play an important role in the country's crisis settlement and welcomes Russia's support for the humanitarian response to the conflict, Yemeni Ambassador to Russia Ahmed Salem Wahishi told Sputnik in an interview.

"The Yemeni government is thankful for Russia's political and humanitarian support for the Yemeni people. We look forward to enhancing its role in achieving peace in Yemen," Wahishi said.

The ambassador highly rated recent talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdulmalik Mekhlafi in January, where the two states agreed on the importance of continuing to enhance bilateral cooperation in security and combating terrorism, as well as in political, economic, cultural, social and military areas.

Comment:

      Read More...
Pistol

3 injured in shooting outside NSA headquarters in Maryland, suspect arrested (PHOTOS)


RT
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 17:41 UTC
NSA shooting
Police in Fort Meade, Maryland, have reported a "possible shooting" near the National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters. Several people might have been wounded in the incident, according to local media reports.

Photos emerged on social media appearing to show a black van at the building's entrance and a handcuffed man, possibly an attacker, sitting on the ground. Bullet holes are seen in the windshield of the van, which seems to have crashed into a barrier.

The FBI has sent personnel to respond to the incident, FBI Baltimore said on Twitter. The NSA says the incident is under control, according to local media citing the agency's spokesman.
      Read More...
Attention

Nobel Foundation to tackle 'male dominance' to increase gender diversity in awarding prizes


Sputnik
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 17:27 UTC
Nobel prize
© AFP 2018/ Claudio Bresciani / TT NEWS AGENCY
Too many men and too few women winning the Nobel Prize is a problem - at least for the Nobel Foundation and the committees responsible for awarding the prizes, who are poised to challenge the procedures in order to increase gender diversity among laureates.

Following last year's Nobel Prize cohort, where all nine winners in the natural sciences category were men (which isn't a historical exception), the Nobel Foundation has discussed measures to tackle the skewed gender distribution, Swedish national broadcaster SVT reported.

According to Nobel Foundation chairman Carl-Henrik Heldin, the proposals are aimed to promote female candidates, which, in turn, is expected to result in more female laureates.

Comment: Men get more Nobel Prizes because it is mostly men who pursue education and careers in the STEM fields. It is also mostly men who pursue work in hard labor, but we don't see any push for great gender equality in brick laying and steel construction. But then there's not much of prize for work in those fields...other than providing the literal foundations on which society is built.

      Read More...
Dollars

Income study says money can buy happiness, but only up to a point


RT
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 17:27 UTC
Floyd Mayweather Conor McGregor
© Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports / Reuters
File photo of boxer Floyd Mayweather throwing cash at Conor McGregor
In news that will come as no surprise to cash-strapped individuals the world over, researchers have revealed that there is an optimal amount of money a person needs to be happy. Spoiler: it's a lot.

Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana studied data from 1.7 million people in 164 countries and found that in order for a person in the US to be truly happy, they need to be pulling in $95,000 a year.

In order to be a little less happy, but have "emotional well-being", basically being happy with your day-to-day life, you need to be drawing $60,000 to $75,000 per annum.
      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts